Autonomous University of Baja California
School of Languages
The TKT course
Module 1. Language and background to language
learning and teaching
DESCRIBING LANGUAGE
Designed by Carolina Agundez Rodriguez and María Fernanda Longoria Mejía
LEXIS
Refers to individual words or sets of words, units of
GRAMMAR vocabulary which have a specific meaning.
It refers to how we combine, organise and change parts Words' meaning
of words, words and groups of words to make meaning.
Meaning that describes the thing or idea behind the
Grammatical forms vocabulary item.
Parts of speech: describe how words behave in Meaning from context.
sentences (verbs, adjectives, adverbs, determiners,
Meaning from the items' form, e.g. from prefixes,
prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions and exclamations)
suffixes or compounds.
Grammatical Structures: the arrangement of the words
Lexical Features
into pattern which have meaning.
- Denotations - Homonyms
Words that contain prefixes and suffixes. - Synonyms - False friends
- Antonyms - Prefixes + base word
Grammatical uses - Lexical sets - Base word + suffixes
Grammatical uses refer to how grammatical structures - Word families - Compounds
are used to convey (or communicate) meaning. - Homopohones - Collocations.
PHONOLOGY
FUNCTIONS
Is the study of the sound features used in a
language to communicate meaning. A function is a reason why we communicate
(the purpose or function).
Phoneme. The smallest unit of sound that can
make a difference to meaning in language. The language we use to express a function is
called an exponent.
The phonemes of English are often shown in a Exponents express different levels of
chart, called the phonemic chart. formality (Formal, informal, colloquial or
neutral).
People usually choose to use the level of
formality that suits a situation. This is called
appropriacy.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
READING WRITING
Is a receptive skill, this mean it involves Is a productive skill, this means it involves
producing language rather than receiving it.
responding to text, rather than producing it.
Each text type has different characteristics:
Reading involves understanding the formality, different layouts, complexity.
connection of grammar and vocabulary register, range of vocabulary, etc.
and/or our knowledge of the world.
Connected text is referred to as discourse. Writing subskills
Reading Skills (subskills) - Accuracy: Correct spelling, forming letters
correctly, correct layouts, right vocabulary,
- Scanning - Understanding text right grammar, using paragraphs correctly.
- Skimming structure - Communicating: appropriate style and
- Reading for detail - Inferring register, using typical features of the text
- Deducing meaning - Predicting. type, appropriate functions, etc.
from context
Ways of reading Writing stages
1. Developing ideas. 4. Editing
- Extensive: reading for pleasure. 2. Organizing ideas. 5. Proofreading
- Intensive: reading for language study 3. Drafting. 6. Re-drafting
LISTENING SPEAKING
Is a receptive skill, as it involves responding to Is a productive skill. It involves using speech
language. Listening involves making sense of
the meaningful sounds of language. to communicate meanings to other people.
Listening involves understanding spoken Speaking subskills
language. using the context and our - Making use of grammar, vocabulary and
knowledge of the world, understanding functions.
different text types, understanding different
- Making use of register to speak
speeds of speech and accents, making sense of
connected speech and using appropriate appropriately.
listening subskills. - Using features of connected speech
(intonation, linking and contractions, word
Listening subskills and sentence stress).
- Listen for gist/ global - Detail. - Using body language (gestures, facial
understanding. - Infer attitud. expressions).
- sprecific information - Producing different text types.
Ways of listening - Oral fluency.
- Extensively - Using interactive strategies
- Intensively
Reference.
Spratt, M., Pulverness, A., & Williams, M. (2011). The TKT
Course Modules 1, 2 and 3 (2nd ed.). Cambridge English.
