Reading and Writing Skills

Reading and Writing Skills
Core Subject Description:
The development of reading and writing

skills as applied to a wide range of
materials other than poetry, fiction and
drama.
Text as Connected Discourse
(Spoken)
Discourse vs. Text
– There has been some confusion in the
literature regarding the distinction
between “discourse analysis” and “text
analysis”.
– It is a result of the confusion in the terms
“discourse’ and ‘text”.
2
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
Discourse vs. Text
– Some researchers label their analysis
“discourse analysis”, while others claim
they are doing “text analysis”, but the
difference is often inconsistent.
– Some claim to make clear distinctions
between “discourse” and “text”, but a
closer look reveals that their distinctions
do not hold.
3
discourse
text
4
Text vs. Discourse
Text: Discourse:
• Is made up of • Is the use of such
sentences. sentences.
• A text is made up of • A discourse is made up
sentences having the of utterances having the
property of grammatical property of coherence.
cohesion.
• Text Analysis: deals • Discourse analysis:
with cohesion. investigates coherence.
5
Text vs. Discourse
Text: Discourse:
• Text is defined in • Discourse is viewed
terms of its being a as a process.
physical product.
• Meaning is not found • Meaning is derived

in text. through the reader’s
interaction with the
text  discourse.
6
Text vs. Discourse
Text: Discourse:
• Is written • Is spoken
• Text Analysis: • Discourse Analysis:

investigates written analyzes spoken
form form.
7
What is Connected Speech?
• "English people speak so fast" is a complaint
often hear from students, and often from
those at an advanced level, where ignorance
of the vocabulary used is not the reason for
their lack of comprehension.
• When students see a spoken sentence in its
written form, they have no trouble
comprehending. Why is this?
8
• The reason, it seems, is that speech is a
continuous stream of sounds, without clear-
cut borderlines between each word.
• In spoken discourse, we adapt our
pronunciation to our audience and articulate
with maximal economy of movement rather
than maximal clarity.
9
• Thus, certain words are lost, and certain
phonemes linked together as we attempt to
get our message across.
• When we speak naturally we do not
pronounce a word, stop, then say the next
word in the sentence.
• Fluent speech flows with a rhythm and the
words bump into each other.
10
• To make speech flow smoothly the way we
pronounce the end and beginning of some
words can change depending on the sounds
at the beginning and end of those words.
• These changes are described as features of
connected speech.
11
Importance of Studying
Connected Speech
• There is a huge difference between what students
see printed on a page and what we actually say in
everyday speech.
• Research shows that teaching learners about
connected speech can really make a difference in
terms of how well they understand native speakers.
• Equally, some ability to use these features in their
own speech will also be likely to make students
more confident and fluent speakers.
12
Features of Connected Speech
• As a brief overview, there is a strong
tendency in English to simplify and link words
together in the stream of speech, in order to
help the language flow rhythmically.
• Some of the most common features:
13
1. Weak Forms
• There are a large number of words in English which
can have a "full" form and a "weak" form.
• This is because English is a stressed timed
language, and in trying to make the intervals
between stressed syllables equal, to give the phrase
rhythm, we tend to swallow non-essential words.
• Thus, conjunctions, pronouns, prepositions,
auxiliaries and articles are often lost, causing
comprehension problems for students, particularly
for those whose language is syllable timed.
14
1. Weak Forms
• Some examples of words which have weak forms
are:
And
fish and chips (fish´n chips)
a chair and a table (a chair ´n a table)
Can
She can speak Spanish better than I can (The first
"can" is the weak form, the second the full form.)
15
1. Weak Forms
Of
A pint of beer
That´s the last of the wine!
Have
Have you finished? (weak)
Yes, I have. (full)
Should
Well, you should have told me. (Both "should" and
"have" are weak here)
16
1. Weak Forms
• When we talk about weak forms in the phonetics of
English this regards a series of words which have
one pronunciation (strong) when isolated, and
another (weak) when not stressed within a phrase.
a car
/ˈeɪ ˈkɑ:/
I bought a car
/aɪ ˈbɔ:t ə ˈkɑ:/
17
1. Weak Forms
• Commonly used words as weak forms
are :
– Prepositions
– Auxiliary verbs
– Conjunctions
18
1. Weak Forms
Prepositions Auxiliary Verbs Conjunctions
and Others
•to •are •and
•for •was •but
•from •were •that
•into •would •than
•of •could •you
•as •should •your
•at •can •her
•must •a
•an
•the
19
1. Weak Forms
• Weak = Unstressed
– In the following sentences the underlined words
are stressed and so would be pronounced using
the strong form:
• I do like chocolate.
• She drove to Las Vegas, not from Las Vegas.
• We were surprised when she told us her
secret. (stress on ‘were’ for emphasis)
20
1. Weak Forms
EXAMPLES
1. “Betcha” for
“( I ) bet you” as in “Betcha can’t catch me”.
2. “Gotcha” for
“( I’ve ) got you” as in “Gotcha at last”
21
1. Weak Forms
Look at this phrase:
“I went to the hotel and booked a
room for two nights for my father
and his best friend.”
22
1. Weak Forms
What are the most important words?
I went to the hotel and booked a

room for two nights for my father
and his best friend.
23
1. Weak Forms
If we eliminate the other words can
we still understand the message?
went hotel booked room

two nights father best
friend.
24
1. Weak Forms
Let’s look at the phrase transcribed:
/aɪ ˈwent tə ðə həʊ ˈtel ən ˈbʊkt ə

ˈru:m fə ˈtu: ˈnaɪts fə maɪ ˈfɑ:ðər
ən hɪz ˈbest ˈfrend/
25
1. Weak Forms
• Learners must come to not only
recognize and cope with the weak forms
they hear,
but also to use them themselves when
speaking English.
• If they do not their language will sound
unnatural and over formalized, with too
many stressed forms making it difficult for
the listener to identify the points of focus.
26
1. Weak Forms
• This, the degree to which connected
speech contributes towards
"naturalness" or "intelligibility", is a
useful starting point from which to
measure the value to students of the
different features of connected speech.
27
2. Catenation
• This is when the last consonant of the first
word is joined to the first vowel of the next
word.
• This is very common in English, and can be
very confusing for students.
• For example:
“an apple” sounds like “a napple”
(Teacher, what is a napple?)
28
2. Catenation
• Other examples:
“get up” sounds like “getup”

“full on” sounds like “fullon”
“beat it” sounds like “bea tit”
“start up” sounds like “star tup”
29
3. Assimilation
• This is when the sound at the end of one word
changes to make it easier to say the next word.
• For example:
‘ten boys’ sounds like ‘ tem boys’
(the /n/ sound changes to the bilabial /m/ to
make it easier to transition to the also bilabial /b/)
• Incidentally bilabial just means two lips together,
which is a good example of the kind of jargon
that puts people off!
30
3. Assimilation
Regressive Assimilation:
The phoneme that comes first is affected by
the one that comes after it.
Example:
this year / ðij jiə /,
bright color /braik kalə/
light blue /laip blu/.
31
3. Assimilation
Progressive assimilation:
The phoneme that comes first affects
the one that comes after it.
Example:
those year / ðəʊʒ jiə
32
3. Assimilation
33
3. Assimilation
34
3. Assimilation
35
3. Assimilation
36
3. Assimilation
Assimilation of Manner
37
3. Assimilation
Assimilation of Voice
eg: I like that black dog

/ ai laik ðæt blæk dɔg/
→ / ai laig ðæd blæg dɔg/
38
4. Elision
• Elision is simply the omission of certain
sounds in certain contexts.
• The most important occurrences of this
phenomenon regard:
1. Alveolar consonants /t/ and /d/ when

‘sandwiched’ between two
consonants
39
4. Elision
The next day…. /ðə ˈneks ˈdeɪ/
The last car… /ðə ˈlɑ:s ˈkɑ:/
Hold the dog! /ˈhəʊl ðə ˈdɒg/
Send Frank a card. /sen ˈfræŋk ə ˈkɑ:d/
40
4. Elision
2. Africates / t / & / d /
•This can also take place within affricates /t/ and

/d/ when preceded by a consonant
e.g.
lunchtime /ˈlʌntʃtaɪm/ becomes
/ˈlʌnʃtaɪm/
strange days /ˈstreɪndʒˈdeɪz/ becomes

/ˈstreɪnʒˈdeɪz/
41
4. Elision
Elision of “not”
• The phoneme /t/ is a fundamental part of

the negative particle not, the possibility of
it being elided makes the foreign students
life more difficult.
42
4. Elision
Elision of “not”
• Consider the negative of can – if followed
by a consonant the /t/ may easily
disappear and the only difference between
the positive and the negative is a different,
longer vowel sound in the second:
• (+) I can speak... /aɪ kən ˈspi:k/
• (-) I can’t speak… /aɪ ˈkɑ:n(t) ˈspi:k/
43
4. Elision
• Elision means that you lose a sound in the
middle of a consonant cluster, sometimes
from the middle of a word;
Examples:
“sandwich” becomes “sanwich”
• Or from the end of a word.
Example:
“fish and chips” to “fishnchips”
44
5. Intrusion
• This is when an extra sound ‘intrudes’.
There are three sounds that often do this
/r/ /j/ and /w/
Example:
“go on” sounds like “gowon”
“I agree” sounds like “aiyagree”
“Law and order” sounds like “lawrunorder”
45
(Written)
• In a conversation, some expressions may be in
a form of words, phrases, clauses, sentences, or
even paragraphs.
• A conversation involves a number of
participants, at least two, who express their
individual thoughts and emotions through
spoken words.
• For them to understand one another and to
ensure smooth flow of conversation, the spoken
words must have connectedness.
46
(Written)
• On the contrary, a written discourse generally
involves one individual who expresses his ideas
and feelings through written words.
• Seldom does a writer make use of one word for
a sentence.
• Likewise, he rarely makes use of one sentence
to form his paragraph.
• He puts his ideas such that his words are
interconnected to form one paragraph.
47
(Written)
• Assuming that each sentence constitutes one
utterance from each of the participants in a
conversation and several sentences represent
a number of utterances from the same
participants, they produce a number of
discourse because the parties involved
proceed from one topic to another or from one
genre to another.
48
(Written)
• The change or shift in topic is simply marked
by transitional words.
• In the same manner, transitional devices are
used to show the relationship or connection
between idea in sentences and paragraphs.
• The following are some of these transitional
words:
49
Transitional Words
AGREEMENT / ADDITION / SIMILARITY
• additionally • equally • likewise
• again • equally important • moreover
• also • first… • not only… but
• and second…third… also
• as • furthermore • not to mention
• as a matter of • identically • of course
fact • in addition • similarly
• as well as • in like manner • then
• by the same • in the light of • to
token • in the place • to say nothing of
• comparatively • in the same • together with
• correspondingly fashion / way • too
• coupled with • like • uniquely
50
Transitional Words
OPPOSITION / LIMITATION / CONTRADICTION
• (and) still • conversely • notwithstanding
• (and) yet • despite • of course… but
• above all • different from • on the contrary
• after all • even so / though • on the other
• albeit • even though hand
• although • however • or
• as much as • in contrast • otherwise
• at the same time • in reality • rather
• although this • in spite of • regardless
may be true • instead • then again
• be that as it may • nevertheless • unlike
• besides • nonetheless • whereas
• but • while
51
Transitional Words
These transitional phrases present specific conditions or
intentions.
CAUSE / CONDITION / PURPOSE

• as / so long as • in the event that • so as to
• as since • in the hope that • so that
• because of • in view of • to the end that
• due to • inasmuch as • unless
• for fear that • lest • when
• for the purpose of • on (the) condition • whenever
• given that (that) • while
• granted (that) • only / even if • while
• if… then • owing to • with this in mind
• in case • provided that • with this intention
• in order to • seeing / being that
52
Transitional Words
These transitional devices are used to introduce examples as support, to
indicate importance or a an illustration so that an idea is cued to the
reader.
CAUSE / CONDITION / PURPOSE
• another key point • important to • must be • to be sure
• as an illustration realize remembered • to clarify
• by all means • in detail • namely • to demonstrate
• certainly • in fact • notably • to emphasize
• chiefly • in general • on the • to enumerate
• especially • in other words positive/negative • to explain
• expressively • in particular side • to point out
• first thing to • in this case • point often • to put it another
remember • including overlooked way
• for example • indeed • significantly • to put it
• for instance • like • specifically differently
• for one thing • Markedly • such as • to repeat
• for this reason • most compelling • surely • truly
• frequently evidence • surprisingly • with attention to
• that is to say • with this in mind
53
Transitional Words
EFFECT / CONSEQUENCE / RESULT
• accordingly • henceforth
• as a result • in that case
• because the • then hence
• consequently • therefore
• for • thereupon
• for this reason • thus
• forthwith • under those
circumstances
54
Transitional Words
•Some of these transition words are time words that
are used to show that after a particular time there
was a consequence or an effect.
•Note that for and because are placed because the

cause / reason.
•The other devices are placed before the

consequences or effects.
55
Transitional Words
1. CONCLUSION / SUMMARY / RESTATEMENT
• after all • generally • in summary
• all in all speaking • in the final
• all things • given these analysis
considered points • in the long run
• altogether • in a word • on balance
• as can be seen • in any event • on the whole
• as has been • in brief • ordinarily
noted • in conclusion • overall
• as shown above • in either case • to sum up
• by and large • in essence • to summarize
• for the most part • in fact • usually
• in short
56
Transitional Words
•These transition words and phrases conclude,
summarize and / or restate ideas, or indicate a final
general statement.
•Also some words from the effects / consequence

category can be used to summarize.
57

Reading and Writing Skills

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reading and Writing Skills

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reading and Writing Skills

Core Subject Description:

The development of reading and writing

• Meaning is not found • Meaning is derived

• Text Analysis: • Discourse Analysis:

I went to the hotel and booked a

went hotel booked room

/aɪ ˈwent tə ðə həʊ ˈtel ən ˈbʊkt ə

“get up” sounds like “getup”

eg: I like that black dog

1. Alveolar consonants /t/ and /d/ when

The last car… /ðə ˈlɑ:s ˈkɑ:/

Hold the dog! /ˈhəʊl ðə ˈdɒg/

Send Frank a card. /sen ˈfræŋk ə ˈkɑ:d/

•This can also take place within affricates /t/ and

strange days /ˈstreɪndʒˈdeɪz/ becomes

• The phoneme /t/ is a fundamental part of

CAUSE / CONDITION / PURPOSE

•Note that for and because are placed because the

•The other devices are placed before the

•Also some words from the effects / consequence

You might also like