Workshop two
Liz M. Laboy Vázquez
ENGL245
Date: March 6, 2015
Professor: C. Garcia
Tasks before Workshop Two
Instructions:
1. Visit the electronic addresses provide it for the workshop. Define the following terms:
a. Verbs
1. Verbs tenses
2. Intransitive, transitive and linking verbs
3. Modal Verbs
2. Complete and hand in the on-line quizzes.
3. Write an abstract about Interlanguage.
Definitions
1. Verb- a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, and forming the main part
of the predicate of a sentence, such as hear, become, happen.
2. Verb tenses- Verb tense is the form of the verb that indicates time. A verb tense not only
indicates past, present, and future action, but also indicates whether the action is ongoing
or complete.
3. Intransitive verb- A verb (such as laugh) that does not take a direct object or complement.
Contrast with transitive verb. Many verbs have both a transitive and an intransitive
function, depending on how they are used. The verb break, for instance, sometimes takes
a direct object ("Rihanna breaks my heart") and sometimes does not ("When I hear your
name, my heart breaks").
4. Transitive verb- (of a verb or a sense or use of a verb) able to take a direct object
(expressed or implied), Example: saw in he saw the donkey. The opposite of intransitive.
It’s a verb accompanied by a direct object and from which a passive can be formed, as
deny, rectify, elect.
5. Linking verb- A verb, such as a form of be or seem, that joins the subject of a sentence to
a complement. A linking verb is a verb that connects the subject of a sentence to the
complement. It is sometimes called a copula or a copular verb. An example is the word is
in the sentence "The sky is blue".
6. Modal verb- A verb that combines with another verb to indicate mood or tense. A modal
(also known as a modal auxiliary) expresses necessity, uncertainty, ability, or permission.
Most linguists agree that there are 10 cores or central modals in English: can, could, may,
might, must, ought, shall, should, will, and would. Other verbs--including need, had
better and invariant be--may also function as modals (or semi-modals).Unlike other
auxiliaries, modals have no -s, -ing, -en, or infinitive forms. (Because ought requires a toinfinitive complement, some linguists regard it as a marginal modal.)
Quizzes
1. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/modal_quiz.htm
Use of Modal Auxiliaries
From the choices provided after each sentence select the verb that would correctly
complete the sentence. Submit the quiz for grading with the SUBMIT APPLICATION
button at the end of the exercise. Your score will be returned to you in a few seconds.
1. You seem to be having trouble there. _________ I help you?
Would
Will
Shall
You're right!
2. I don't have enough money to buy lunch. __________ you lend me a couple of dollars?
May
Could
Shall
You're right!
3. That ice is dangerously thin now. You ________ go ice-skating today.
mustn't
might not
would mind not to
You're right!
4. It's way past my bedtime and I'm really tired. I ________ go to bed.
should
ought
could
You're right!
5. He ______________ have committed this crime. He wasn't even in the city that night.
might
shouldn't
couldn't
You're right!
6. John is over two hours late already, He ___________ missed the bus again.
should have
must have
will have
You're right!
7. I'm really quite lost. _______________ showing me how to get out of here?
Would you mind
Would you be
Must you be
You're right!
8. That bus is usually on time. It _________ to be here any time now.
might
has
ought
You're right!
9. I read about your plane's near disaster. You ____________ terrified!
might have been
must have been
shall have been
You're right!
10. It's the law. They ____________ have a blood test before they get married.
might
could
have to
You're right!
11. Professor Villa, we've finished our work for today. _________ we leave now, please?
May
Can
Must
You're right!
Results: 11 Correct -- 0 Wrong -- 0 Skipped
2.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/tenses/tenses_frame.html
IDENTIFYING TENSES
Match the tense name with the number of the sentence in which that verb tense is used in
ALL CAPS.
Your
Answers
Tenses
Sent. No.
Sentences
5
past perfect
1
Television HAS BEEN such an important part of
our family's life for so many years that we can't
imagine being without it.
7
simple future
2
As of this fall, Meet The Press WILL HAVE
BEEN ENTERING our living room on Sunday
mornings for fifty years!
9
future progressive
3
My folks BOUGHT their first TV in the early
50s.
4
past progressive
4
The appliance store WAS SELLING 13-inch
black-and-white TV sets for fifty dollars.
1
present perfect
5
The saleswoman HAD CONVINCED my father
that a TV would make a great Mother's Day gift.
8
present progressive
6
In fact, my father HAS BEEN KEEPING that old
TV in our attic all these years.
10
simple present
7
He says he WILL SELL it someday as an antique
for hundreds of dollars.
8
I think he IS HOPING that it still actually works.
9
He WILL BE TAKING it to an antique store soon
to see what it's worth.
10
It still SURPRISES me that he's been able to hold
on to that old TV set.
2
6
3
future perfect
progressive
present perfect
progressive
simple past
Clear Your Answ ers
Results: 10 Correct -- 0 Wrong -- 0 Skipped
Essay on Interlanguage
Interlanguage is language or form of language having features of two others, typically a
pidgin or a version produced by a foreign learner. It’s a language created or used for
international communication. In second-language acquisition the linguistic system characterizing
the output of a nonnative speaker at any stage prior to full acquisition of the target language.
Interlanguage pragmatics is the study of the ways in which nonnative speakers acquire,
comprehend, and use linguistic patterns (or speech acts) in a second language.
Interlanguage theory is generally credited to Larry Selinker, an American professor of
applied linguistics, whose article "Interlanguage" appeared in the January 1972 issue of the
journal International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching. "The process of
learning a second language (L2) is characteristically non-linear and fragmentary, marked by a
mixed landscape of rapid progression in certain areas but slow movement, incubation or even
permanent stagnation in others. And again it process results in a linguistic system known as
'interlanguage' (Selinker, 1972), which, to varying degrees, approximates that of the target
language (TL).
An example of Interlanguage reflects on the learner's evolving system of rules, and
results from a variety of processes, including the influence of the first language ('transfer'),
contrastive interference from the target language, and the overgeneralization of newly
encountered rules."(David Crystal, A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 4th ed. Blackwell,
1997) ".
In interlanguage analysis, you can look at the same learner language but now from
learner’s point of view; now you ask yourself what rule the learner might be using to produce the
patterns you observe. Interlanguage is usefully viewed as a separate transitional linguistic system
(at all levels: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics) that can be described in
terms of evolving linguistic patterns and rules, and explained in terms of specific cognitive and
sociolinguistic processes that shape it. For example, an error analysis might tell you that a learner
makes a lot of errors in using English articles, while an interlanguage analysis may show that
that learner has formed a rule where one article (the) is used for all (or maybe a large class of)
nouns. The cognitive process of overgeneralization that leads to this rule is very typical of
learner language. Many researchers believe that these processes of IL acquisition and use are
unconscious; the learner is not aware of them, being focused on meaning when they’re activated
On the other hand, Human Cognition in Acquisition Researchers believes that this
linguistic structure comes from cognitive processes in the human brain: processes of cognition
and language processing that all humans can be expected to use whenever they learn a second
language. Accumulated research studies now suggest that it is common for learners to form
overgeneralized rules at first, and that there are sequences, or stages, that learners can be
expected to move through on their own, if they are provided with adequate input in the language,
the opportunity to use the language to communicate, and corrective feedback from more
knowledgeable users of the language (Lightbown & Spada 2006). In other words, Corder’s
(1967) construct of the learner’s ‘built-in syllabus’ has research support.
In conclusion, Teachers that teach second languages should watch for patterns in learner
language, and monitor them over time to identify common errors that the learners make and give
back a corrective feedback. In keeping track of these patterns and sequences, teachers are in a
position to maximize the effectiveness of their teaching as they more accurately predict the
systematic ways in which learner language develops in their own classrooms. In my opinion,
making sure students learn all the basic rules of the second language is a must and go from there.
In my point of view, learning takes place when learners respond to stimuli in the environment.
They subsequently have their responses reinforced so what they have learned is retained.
Language learning is a habit-formation exercise, based on a stimulus-response connection
Interlanguage. Last but not least, Teachers can also provide and share what they learn with
researchers, and make important contributions to our understanding of second language
acquisition.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I ...
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference”.
- Robert Frost
References
David Crystal, A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 4th ed. Blackwell, 1997)
Selinker, L. (1972), Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 10, 209–241.
Selinker, L., & Douglas, D. (1985). Wrestling with 'context' in interlanguage theory. Applied
Linguistics, 6, 190–204.
Tarone, Elaine (2006). "Interlanguage". In Brown, Keith. Encyclopedia of Language and
Linguistics. Boston: Elsevier. pp. 747–751