AS Language holiday work

Clevernesses,

I have been told to stop working from home while I am off sick by the doc, since I have a nasty chest infection (I am signed off until 2 Nov) so I shall just post this and then go quiet for a bit.

Bring all your blog posts up to date, go through your notes and learn your terminology and theory (synthetic personalisation for instance) and also do the following task ready to feed back in lessons: watch three TED talks on Language  and make notes to feed back content and key quotes to the group. Google 'TED talks' and then filter topics, all topics, then 'language' and have a look through for something that seems relevant and appealing or search some key words of interest e.g. accent or gender, dialect or language change.

This link might work to short-cut filtering for language topics:
 https://www.ted.com/talks?topics[]=language&sort=newest

Have a good holiday and see you when we're back.

Halla

A2 holiday work

Beautifuls,

I have been told by the doctor to absolutely stop work because I have a nasty chest infection and have been signed off til 2 Nov so I won't be able to look at methodologies etc. Sorry. Please help each other.

Please collect your data unless that is fundamentally not possible or not advisable til I have checked permissions or the process because it is tricky, in which case wait and keep researching. If there are any hiccups, then we will make it work and sometimes you have to redo things in this process but it is all part of polishing the necessary skillset. Don't worry - there is still a good amount of time.

Also, watch three TED talks on Language (anything from gender to CLA to Language Change or phonetics or anything!) and make notes to feed back content and key quotes.

With you in spirit,

Halla

Synchronic language change: "maiden name" is becoming obsolete

Here's a useful article from The Guardian showing how society's attitudes and changing practices put pressure on language to change.

Synchronic language change is change happening at a particular point in time (the term still exists but is being used in fewer and fewer circumstances so the change is happening right now) but it doesn't have to be now - you could look at when the word "spastic" was becoming unacceptable in the 80s, for instance and explore why.

Obsolete just means not used because it is no longer needed/relevant. 'Maiden' will do doubt remain in collocations such as 'maiden voyage' (at least for a while until its links to women's sexulatity become distasteful to a majority) but 'maiden name' is definitely becoming obsolete as the convention of a woman changing her name when she (invevitably!) marries is becoming less the norm.

Comment with some other examples of words that have recently dropped or are currently dropping out of use and suggest why. Or some historical examples - these are great to link to in the exam.

AS Language computer room lesson 20.10.15

Good morning,

Read all the instructions before you start, as always.

I am still ill, so I hope you are getting on nicely with the transcript work - please blog the answers, re-drafting and polishing the work as you go, working on the targets from the initial assessment (re-read that closely please, looking at what you wrote as well as what I wrote).

It is up to you whether you do the extension. I would - you have practised so many creative writing skills this term and you will have to do directed writing in the exam - it won't be dramatic like this but it will require imagination and careful crafting like this task does.

If you were not here last lesson, please work with someone to catch up - if that is not possible, email me to let me know the situation.

Once you have posted your work, please read and comment on my post on 'avoiding swearwords' - do that for homework if necessary. If you finish all of that, do some more wider reading from my blog and email me or comment below the article to let me know what you've read and what you thought.

Only those who blog their work during the lesson or email me at the end of the lesson with an explanation/update will be marked present. Insufficient or missing work without an emailed explanation will result in an absent mark.

I am not sure if I will be fit to come in and run the extra session on Friday, so please keep checking my blog for news and for holiday work which I will set soon.

Thanks,

Halla

Methodology help for A2

Methodicals,

I've seen a couple now so I know some tips to give you.

Think of it like a scientific method - describe each step you take and the decisions you have made about how you will collect your data.

Details are important:

•  how much data? Link to an evaluation of how reliable the data sample will be (typical of the whole data pool e.g. if you collect three Beyonce songs and she has written over a hundred, how likely is it that those three are typical and therefore that the data is reliable? If you picked a different sample and did the same quantifications, would the results be likely to be roughly the same?).
• how will you cut any samples down and will this aid reliability (e.g. by not using the first couple of minutes of recording while the participants forget they are being recorded and thus lessen the effect of the observer's paradox)? Or comparability (if you are comparing something like political speeches and are quantifying the frequency of techniques, it might help to select extracts that are comparable in length to aid comparability)?
• What are the comparablity factors if you are comparing and how far can you isolate the variable that you are interested in - what have you done to maximise your comparabililty (e.g. starting each group off with the same introductory script)?
• What are the ethicality issues and how have you dealt with them e.g. what did you make sure of informing participants of? How have you anonymised data where necessary?
• What should you end up with? Make it clear what you are collecting, preferably in a table with useful codes to refer to each piece of data.

Refer to lessons learned from sample data collection/analysis where possible.
Good luck and don't forget to email me as per the lesson instructions a couple of posts further down.

Avoiding swearwords - taboo language in fictional settings

This article raises an issue that is interesting in lots of aspects of language study: the avoidance of taboo language. It is an issue in Child Language Acquisition (if you watch a recent episode of Numtums, Fluffy McTuffy says "popsadoodles" when her plans are foiled) as words said with emphasis are often repeated by little ones out of context; it is an issue in Language and Power when we consider how you adjust your language for a target audience and in how powerful taboo language can seem in some circumstances; it is an issue in Language and Gender because some theory states that women are less likely to swear and will use milder swears or socially acceptable alternative e.g. sugar.

Please comment with some examples of alternatives to swearing that you have come across and how/when they were used (don't name people, please).

A2 work for Mon 19/10/15

Learneds,

I am not getting better so I am going to stay at home and recuperate. I will however be online during this lesson and everyone needs to use the time to get on as if I were there but you will have online responses rather than oral ones which, with my cough, can only be a good thing! If you don't email me at some point in the lesson with a question or a description of your progress, I will know you have not used this lesson time and will mark you absent. If I allow you to be flexible with your time, you may not make the progress we need at this stage, so work as if I were there!

1) methodologies - send them in note form or fully and I will check (not mark, because I will do that after actual data collection when you have a full, polished draft) them - bear in mind the lessons from sample data  collection and analysis
2) research Jean Piaget's cognitive development theories and summarise on your blog, preferably with examples and definitiely with a bibliography
3) same for Lev Vygotski's scaffolding and his Zone of Proximal development

That should be plenty - if it isn't, please read and comment on one another's blogs as reading these is extremely useful at this stage and you should be doing it during your independent work time if not during this lesson; also keep up with the wider reading on my blog and go to emagazine to search for articles related to your coursework topic.

Remember to email me during the lesson!

P.S. I have now added a methodology help post.

Back in on Monday

Misseds,

the good news is, I am recovered enough to drag myself in! I have missed you all and I am keen to see the progress you've made. I am busy making my list of who's been naughty and nice. I may not have time to check it twice, so prepare your explanations if you haven't posted all the work I wanted or tell me nicely if I have made a mistake.

See you tomorrow,

Halla

The power of collocations and language change

Word meanings shift as they become associated with particular examples or issues and indeed with other words. This article explores this with reference particularly to the way particular word choices 'spin' our response to issues like the refugee crisis/illegal immigration problem. We must beware of the power of words to control our thiking. Research Stephen Poole's 'unspeak'.

A2 coursework progress

Concerneds,

don't worry about coursework but do get on with what you can - anyone who doesn't have sample data can't possibly write their methodology which will definitely be rough-drafted next week. Email me if you are stuck or puzzled. Email me anyway if you haven't with your update of what tasks you have done and how you've got on, as everyone who has emailed me so far has had feedback and it is by no means all of you, despite two posts insisting you email me by today.

Do look at one another's blogs and please, for goodness sake, comment helpfully and positively as well as getting something from seeing their work.

I really am feeling a bit better today so I am hoping for a dramatic upswing over the weekend so I can be with you Monday.

Thanks for the well-wishes from so many of you - it really does pay to think about the needs of your audience when you are emailing! Both what I need and want to know/hear :)

A2 work for Friday

Lonelinesses,

I really wish I could be there supporting you with your coursework but the mini investigation I set last time (see the comment under the other post) should support you in developing skills for the investigation as well as CLA.

• You should give it a title/focus
• Say what theory/research leads you to expect to find and focus this into 1-3 hypotheses
• Talk a little about what data you have and how far it is reliable
• Use tables/charts etc. to quantify the data - that should point you in the right direction of what is significant to look at, but use your good sense as well to lead you to what is worth looking at closely, PEE(+context) and use theory to guide you as well - explore how far the theory is supported by the data, referring back to your hypotheses. Are there sensible sub-headings you could use to organise your analysis?
• To conclude and evaluate, explore why you think you found what you found, evaluating your approach, the theory and the reliability of the data

I look forward to taking a look at these - finish them and post them by Tuesday's lesson (you can use Monday's lesson in C7 whether I am there or not), so I can mark them as this half-term's assessment.

Everyone should have emailed me by now with an update on your progress and any issues you are having (see the instructions in red on the other post). If you haven't had a reply, I didn't get it, so please make sure you sent it to the right email address. Email me by end of Friday without fail. Remember, you are my squad goals (am I using that right?!)!

AS Lang work for Fri 9th Oct

Independents,

the work that I have seen is coming on beautifully and thanks for the emails updating me - I have replied to all those I recieved, so if you haven't had a reply, can you please ensure you sent it to the right email address? Anyone who hasn't emailed me yet (as per the instructions in red on the other post) must do so this week.

I am feeling ever so slightly better so I am hopeful that I will be in on Monday. I am so impressed with how well you have got on without me - this independence is exactly what you need to succeed on the course (and throughout life!).

I thought people might be having a hard time with the commentaries so here's a good one I've seen so far - it is a work in progress, as they all are, so look at my comment below the piece to see how good work can be developed further. Don't forget to use your tips sheet as it asks the kind of questions you will want to answer. Callum's commentary is about 500 words so far and he will need to go upwards of 750 to get a chance to really cover the important aspects in detail.

So spend Friday's lesson time finishing and then re-drafting the pieces you have done so far, revise all the terminology we have done in lessons so far for an upcoming test and put some positive and/or helpful comments on people's work. Don't forget to keep working on your targets and doing the reading on my blog in your independent sudy time.

Email me if you have any worries/issues and email me anyway with a summary of how you are doing if you haven't already.

AS controversial issue blogs - more info

Clevernesses,

I am seeing some good work developing in the few I have had a quick look at but not everyone has quite got the idea - I want to get a sense that these bloggers are different, real people (although of course they are characters that you have created) who have different idiolects and different experiences - you should be planning ways to get that into their posts - almost like a dramatic monologue. Some of them are pretty short, too. If you write too little, you may not have enough to talk about in your commentary, which should be about 750-1000 words. Aim for several well-developed paragraphs per character blog. Have you really thought about what persuasive devices will suit the younger/older man/woman you have chosen? Who are they expecting to read their blog and how will that affect what they say and how? What do they want to come of this post? Be really clear about the GRAPE for each post.

Here are some techniques to think about:

• connotations of word choices e.g. the different effects of using 'refugee' vs 'migrant'
• metaphors
• analogies
• cliches/idioms
• repetition
• alliteration and other phonological effects
• rhetoric
• facts/stats blended with opinions
• ways to hook an audience, especially post title
• emotive language
• personal experience (use of first person) 

... and many more you can think of. But make sure you include enough detail so that I can tell without asking what each person is like e.g. how old they might be, where they come from in the UK, maybe which gender, are they political etc? Make sure you include a blibliogrpahy of the sites you have used to research ideas, facts etc.

work in my absence

I know you are taking the work I am setting seriously and I hope you are continuing to push your learning on. I am really looking forward to being well enough to read your blogs and discuss your ideas when I get back. The doctor has signed me off for another week but I will come back sooner if I am able. Use the support of one another since you have to be in college even if I am not. Although I haven't read your work because I'm not fit, I can see that not everyone has posted what I've asked for yet. Catch up because I don't want to have to chase you for it when I get back.

Here's a copy of what I sent Sophie (Director of Faculty) for you for tomorrow and you can continue work on this on Monday - remember to fill your time with other English tasks if there's not enough here for two solid lessons' work:

A2 should go to the CLA section of our Moodle page and find/watch the Evie video 'all the things' and work through the questions on the 'talking transcript' (making detailed notes of answers), building towards blogging a PEE exploration of the questions 'to what extent is this an example of child-led discourse?' And 'what is characteristic of the two participants' language?' This should be enough work for Friday and Monday.

AS should think of a controversial issue and imagine two characters who would have opposing views. They should write as if each of those characters were blogging their arguments, trying to create a really different, realistic voice (idioletc) for each one. One could be responding to the other's ideas (or not). Bibliography needed for research on the topic. This could be finished on Monday. They should revise terminology learned so far for a test next Friday.

Edit: EVERYONE PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL ON MONDAY TO TELL ME HOW FAR YOU HAVE GOT WITH THE TASKS I HAVE SET IN MY ABSENCE AND EXPLAIN ANY PROBLEMS - please see the comments below for work to continue with on Tues