Units

Units A-Z

Units are sets of Resources on the same theme.

Spoken language Spoken language and written language are often referred to as two different modes. Spoken language has a structure that is often different from that of written language. Because we use spoken language in different situations from written language, we can often rely on context, gesture and shared understanding, so many of the grammatical structures and devices that we tend to use in written language aren’t necessary. One mode is not ‘better’ than another mode, and we should be careful not to describe spoken language as ‘incorrect’ or ‘wrong’. » Read more	Subordinate clauses in sentences The Activity page appears in the menu entitled 'This Unit' in the upper right corner of this page. The slide in the Activity page can be displayed on a projector or smart board. On the slide are several subordinate clauses, including finite and nonfinite clauses. Ask your students to compose 10 new sentences, each containing at least one of the subordinate clauses. Encourage them to use more than one subordinate clause in a sentence. There are some strong grammatical patterns that guide us. For example, compare: » Read more
Spoken language and literature In this exercise, students look at two examples of English language and describe their characteristics. What each one actually represents may surprise you. Goals Describe the features of some examples of English language. Try to determine from the features where the example might have come from. Lesson Plan The teacher explains that today, we will look at two examples of English language and try to describe them as well as we can. » Read more	Synonymy Plan Please note: there are two pages of activities for this lesson. Activity 1 Start by explaining the meaning of the term synonym. For an example, ask learners to think of some synonyms for the word 'argument'. In the next slide, show the two possible examples. Ask learners if these two words have the exact same meaning or if there are any subtle differences. Try asking learners in what situations they would/would not use each word. » Read more
Standards and variation in Singapore English English is used in remarkably different ways around the world. Exploring that variation is an extremely effective tool towards understanding our own use of English. This lesson looks at some features of colloquial Singapore English. » Read more	Tag questions Questions like ...isn’t it?, ...haven’t they? and ...wouldn’t you? that sit on the end of a statement are called tag questions in linguistics. There’s a range of different tag questions most people call on, varying by verb, tense, person and whether the tag is positive or negative. » Read more
Statement, question, command and exclamation: discourse functions In this starter activity we will look at text examples drawn from our corpus and think about how the clause types statement, question, command, and exclamation function within authentic discourse. Click on the interactive whiteboard icon (top right) and work through the following slides with students. Read each extract and analyse it by answering the accompanying questions. After each extract, there are some suggestions and pointers. » Read more	Tag questions and gender Teacher notes Goals The conversational styles of men and women are a key area of study in the two major English Language A-level specifications. Students are encouraged to analyse examples of conversation, informed by their study of some of the major research into deficit, dominance, difference and social constructionist models. » Read more
Subject-Verb Agreement In this lesson, students select the correct verb to compose an acceptable sentence. Goals Practise composing sentences with appropriate Subject-Verb agreement. Identify acceptable patterns in Standard English. Lesson Plan The teacher explains that today, we will select the correct verb on the smart board, to construct acceptable sentences. » Read more	Teaching grammar in context Pedagogical principles and a rationale for contextualised grammar teaching Teaching grammar in context is a method and approach for teaching grammar. Below is our rationale and guiding set of principles for teaching grammar in this way. You can find out more about this method on our CPD course for teachers. 'In context' means that the teaching of grammar is embedded and integrated into other aspects of the curriculum, such as creative writing and analytical reading, rather than a standalone activity. » Read more

Englicious (C) Survey of English Usage, UCL, 2012-21 | Supported by the AHRC and EPSRC. | Privacy | Cookies