TNTEU · B.Ed · BD1LC · Last-Hour Revision
Every unit boiled down to the exam essentials. Read top to bottom; the suggested clock is below.
Language = a systematic, arbitrary system of vocal symbols (sounds) & written signs used by a community to communicate thoughts, feelings & ideas.
DefinitionsSapir — "a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions & desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols" · Bloomfield · Chomsky.
Nature / characteristicssystematic (rule-governed) · symbolic · arbitrary · vocal · social · human & species-specific · creative/productive · dynamic · learned · culturally transmitted · structured (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics).
Halliday's 7 functions — Instrumental · Regulatory · Interactional · Personal · Heuristic · Imaginative · Representational (informative).
Acquisition vs Learning (Krashen) — acquisition = subconscious, natural (like L1); learning = conscious study of rules. Chomsky — innate LAD, Universal Grammar (nativist); Skinner — behaviourist (imitation + reinforcement).
Home vs School language — L1/mother tongue learned naturally vs formal academic language; mismatch hinders learning. BICS vs CALP (Cummins) — basic interpersonal skills vs cognitive academic proficiency.
LAC = language is central to learning in every subject, not just language classes — every teacher is a teacher of language. LSRW used to learn Maths, Science, Social Science; understand the language of each discipline.
Origin — Bullock Report, 1975 — "A Language for Life" (UK) popularised "language across the curriculum".
Principles of LAClanguage is the medium of learning in all subjects · every teacher is a language teacher · build on existing language · integrate the four skills · use mother tongue as a resource · make subject language explicit · encourage talk, reading & writing to learn.
Multilingualism = use/presence of more than two languages; India is multilingual. As a resource: home languages, translanguaging, code-switching, peer support, bilingual materials — an asset, not a problem.
English as L2 in India — associate official & link/library language; taught as a second language; access & equity issues. Three-language formula — mother tongue/regional + Hindi/another Indian language + English (mother tongue at primary, Article 350A).
Communication process — sender → message → channel → receiver → feedback; verbal & non-verbal; barriers to communication.
Classroom discourse = the language / patterns of talk of teachers & students. Dominant pattern: IRF / IRE — Initiation–Response–Feedback/Evaluation (Sinclair & Coulthard). Aim = increase meaningful student talk.
Oral languagefoundation of learning · exploratory talk · using talk to learn · developing speaking & listening.
Discussion as a tool — pupils construct understanding through dialogue; types: whole-class, small-group, panel, debate, brainstorming; teacher = facilitator.
Questioning — purposes: diagnose, stimulate thinking, focus, review. Types: lower-order (recall/closed/convergent) vs higher-order (open/divergent). Teacher control: wait-time, distribution, probing, prompting.
Reading = an active, meaning-making process of decoding print & constructing meaning. Comprehension in content areas = understanding subject texts whose vocabulary & structure differ from everyday language.
Types of readingSkimming (gist/main idea) · Scanning (specific information) · Intensive (close, detailed) · Extensive (wide, for pleasure/fluency); also loud (aloud) vs silent.
Schema theory (Bartlett) — readers understand new text by relating it to schemata (prior knowledge); comprehension = interaction of text & background knowledge; activating prior knowledge aids comprehension.
Levels of comprehension — literal · interpretive/inferential · critical/evaluative · creative.
Strategiesactivate prior knowledge · predict · question · visualise · summarise · context clues · SQ3R · reciprocal teaching · graphic organisers · teach subject vocabulary. Barriers: limited vocabulary, difficult text, no background knowledge, poor decoding, language mismatch.
Writing = a productive skill; encoding thought into written symbols to communicate & to learn ("writing to learn").
| Item | Number | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| LSRW — four skills | 4 | Listening & Reading = receptive (input) · Speaking & Writing = productive (output). Order: L → S → R → W |
| Types of reading | 4 | Skimming (gist) · Scanning (specific info) · Intensive (close) · Extensive (wide/fluency); also aloud vs silent |
| Process writing | 5 stages | Pre-writing (planning) · Drafting · Revising · Editing · Publishing |
| Three-language formula | 3 | Mother tongue/regional + Hindi/another Indian language + English (mother tongue at primary, Art. 350A) |
| Halliday's functions | 7 | Instrumental · Regulatory · Interactional · Personal · Heuristic · Imaginative · Representational |
| SQ3R | 5 steps | Survey · Question · Read · Recite · Review |