developing grammar & vocabulary skills academic …

DEVELOPING GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY SKILLS FOR ACADEMIC LITERACY: NOTICING & PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES FOR MULTILINGUAL WRITERS Jan Frodesen, UC Santa Barbara Margi Wald, UC Berkeley April 29, 2016 UC Irvine

Ch What Student Know What They Need

2 The verb subside means to become settled or become less.

Grammatical environment: Since subside is an intransitive verb, it cannot take a direct object. Thus, one cannot, for example, say, The counselor subsided the student’s anger

3 The verb alter means to change or modify.

Collocations: In academic writing, alter is frequently followed by abstract noun phrase direct objects: plans, beliefs, understanding, approaches and so on.

4 Subordinators, coordinators and sentences connector like because, so and therefore express reasons or results.

Prepositional connectors: In academic writing, preposition reason connectors such as given, due to or as a result of followed by an abstract noun phrase (e.g. the need for…) can often better express complex causal relationships between parts of texts.

Ch What Students Know What They Need

5 The verb phrase account for means to provide a satisfactory record or explanation for something.

Collocations: This verb phrase is often followed by a noun phrase that indicates a number or amount: e.g., half of, the majority of, a total of

7 The noun tendency refers to a predisposition to act or move in a particular way or direction.

Classifier nouns: Tendency belongs to a large class of abstract nouns known as classifier nouns, which can serve to summarize and connect ideas in previous text.

10 Discuss is a common reporting verb that can be used to reference a source in academic writing.

Grammatical environment: The reporting verb discuss takes a noun phrase direct object and not a that-clause; e.g., “The author discusses the drawbacks of the solution” but not “The author discusses that the solution has drawbacks.”

WHAT IT MEANS TO “KNOW” A WORD Analysis and Resources

Activity: When the thesaurus backfires Below the sample sentence there are 5 synonyms MS Word lists for the verb “affect.” Substitute each one directly for the word “affected.”

1.  Unemployment affected the economy.

2.  Unemployment ___________ the economy. •  influenced •  disturbed •  manipulated •  changed •  inspired •  improved

•  Get reactions: •  OK, not OK? •  Differences/Shades of meaning?

Activity: When the thesaurus backfires Unemployment influenced the economy. Unemployment disturbed the economy. Unemployment manipulated the economy. Unemployment changed the economy. Unemployment inspired the economy. Unemployment improved the economy.

•  Unemployment (negatively) affected the economy. •  Unemployment (negatively) influenced the economy. •  Unemployment disturbed economic growth. (??) •  Increased employment inspired economic growth. (??) •  The economy improved due to economic growth

Reflect: What are the dangers of looking up words in a bilingual dictionary or a thesaurus? What did I learn about how “different” synonyms can be?

Activity: Denotation & Figurative Uses 1a. The researchers counted the number of responses given by each participant. 1b. How much do student evaluations count in the reviews of instructors?

Denotation 2a. During the practice trial, the Olympic athlete set a new record in the 110-meter hurdle race. 2b. Coming from a very low-income background, he faced many financial hurdles in college.

Concrete and abstract meanings

ExOp, p. 2

Activity: Connotation, Register, Frequency

3a. After the plane crash, the investigators interviewed the pilots. 3b. After the plane crash, the investigators interrogated the pilots.

Connotation 4a. Researchers compiled tons of evidence to support their position. 4b. Researchers compiled abundant evidence to support their position.

Formality or register 5a. Scholars dismiss this theory as risible. 5b. Scholars dismiss this theory as ridiculous.

Frequency

ExOp. p. 3

Activity: Collocations, Homophones, Derivatives, Grammar 1.  Researchers are quite interested about the relationship

between socioeconomic status and acquisition of academic English.

2.  In her article, Santos sites several studies that examine this relationship.

3.  According to these researchers, unequal school funding can negatively effect students’ success.

4.  It is also important to recognition the debates about bilingual education in the U.S.

5.  Many people claim that bilingual education causes that learners develop English skills more slowly than English-only programs, whereas others believe the opposite.

6.  ExOp, pp. 5-6

Activity, cont. 1.  Researchers are quite interested in the

relationship between socioeconomic status and acquisition of academic English.

2.  In her article, Santos cites several studies that examine this relationship.

3.  According to these researchers, unequal school funding can negatively affect students’ success.

4.  It is also important to recognize the debates about bilingual education in the U.S.

5.  Many people claim that bilingual education causes learners to develop English skills more slowly than English-only programs, whereas others believe the opposite.

Collocation Homophone

Derivative

Derivative

Grammatical Environment

Learner Dictionaries (Oxford Online)

(formal)

1 [transitive, intransitive] (of a liquid, gas, etc.) to spread to every part of an object or a place

permeate something The smell of leather permeated the room. The air was permeated with the odor of burning rubber. + adverb/preposition rainwater permeating through the ground 2 [transitive, intransitive] (of an idea, an influence, a feeling, etc.) to affect every part of something

permeate something a belief that permeates all levels of society A feeling of unease permeates the novel.

+ adverb/preposition Dissatisfaction among the managers soon permeated down to members of the workforce. !permeation noun [uncountable] (formal)

ExOp, p. 10

Activity: Learners Dictionary Derivatives: _______________ and _______________ What do you learn about the noun form? Concrete or physical meaning _____________________ Abstract or figurative meaning _____________________ What do we learn about register? What do we learn about collocations? What do we learn about the appropriate grammatical environment(s)?

Based on ExOp, p. 11

Collocations Dictionary (Oxford Online)

Collocations Dictionary (Oxford Online) 1.  The author presents really great evidence to

support his position, making his argument very persuasive.

2.  Providing only a little bit of evidence, the author fails to convince his audience.

3.  Much research on the link between athletic participation and leadership has been performed on U.S. college campuses, providing big evidence that student athletes gain strong leadership skills.

4.  Before this new set of economic data, experts believed that the crisis was over. Now, the tables and charts in this report provide real evidence to support this belief.

•  Awkward

•  Informal

•  Word choice

•  Wrong word

ExOp, p. 15

Concordancers: Frequency/Accuracy •  http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/

•  Indubitably • Undoubtedly • Without a doubt

•  In spite of • Despite • Despite of

Concordancers: Grammatical Environment •  http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/

•  dwindled

Your turn • What type of exercises might you create with

concordancers and other resources?

17

SHOWING RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN SENTENCES Change-of-State and Causality

Rationale: Change-of-State & Causal Relationships •  Writers often need to express increases and decreases when

describing conditions, processes, reasons, and results.

•  Academic writing tasks often involve analyzing processes, problems, solutions, policies, and arguments and presenting students’ opinions or results of their own research. Such assignments require giving the reasoning behind the claims and examine the causes and effects that explain that reasoning.

•  Textbooks focus on subordination and coordination via clauses (therefore, so, because). Academic writers tend to use connectors + noun phrases (Given these factors), causal/change-of-state verbs (diminish, promote), and causal nouns (consequences, reduction)

Bennett, 2011; Biber et al., 1999; Flowerdew, 1998;

MICUSP, 2009; NAFWiC, 2009; Nesi & Gardner, 2012

Meaning: Change of State Verbs

Meaning: Cause-Effect Verbs Exercise 2 Circle the verb or verb phrase that has a meaning significantly different from the others in each set of verbs that expresses a causal relationship.

1. a. curb b. deter c. provoke d. suppress

2. a. enable b. induce c. inhibit d. promote

3. a. block b. create c. evoke d. generate

4. a. bring about b. contribute to c. lead to d. stem from

5. a. enable b. spark c. stimulate d. trigger

Mining texts The Flat World and Education

• Dramatically •  Led to

Collocations: Change of State Verb Nouns that can follow as objects amplify augment deplete lessen

Nouns that can precede as subjects Verbs abate condense depreciate subside

Collocations: Cause-Effect Verbs

Collocations: Cause-Effect Verbs, cont. 1a. generate + positive things having to do with money or the economy 1b. generate + ______________________________________ 1c. generate + _______________________________________ 2a. give rise to + _____________________________________ 2b. give rise to + _____________________________________ 3a. yield + __________________________________________ 3b. yield + __________________________________________

Collocations: Cause-Effect Verbs, cont. Write a sample sentence for each collocation type. If possible, write about one of our course readings. 1a. The company keeps the strawberry picker salaries very low in order to generate profits. 1c. These low wages have generated concerns about the plight of the farm workers. 2a. give rise to + _____________________________________ 2b. give rise to + _____________________________________ 3a. yield + __________________________________________ 3b. yield + __________________________________________

Collocations: Cause-effect Verbs, cont.

Prepositional Collocations Exercise 10 Using a learner dictionary or concordancer, fill in the blanks by adding the correct prepositions. 1.  Online music theft has played a big role ______ current

changes to copyright laws.

2.  The mudslides were blamed ______ the destruction of more than a dozen homes.

3.  His severe headache interfered ______ his ability to do well on the exam.

4.  Advances in green technology will give rise ______ new jobs.

5.  The downturn in the housing market has prevented thousands of families ____ obtaining mortgage loans.

Grammatical Environment: Transitivity Sequence

Grammatical Environment: The flip-flop Exercise 11 Determine whether each sentence with a cause-effect verbs is correct (C) or incorrect (I). Correct the incorrect sentences. ___ 1. The recent Supreme Court decision was generated much controversy throughout the country. ___ 2. Lack of technical knowledge can limit a person’s job prospects in the current market. ___ 3. Patricia’s success was derived a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck. ___ 4. My interest in ancient history really sparked the history course I took.

Grammatical environment: Nominalizations For each pair of sentences, transform the first sentence into an abstract noun phrase and place this phrase inside the second sentence. The first one has been done for you as an example. 1a. Serotonin cells are distributed widely. 1b. This influences various psychological functions in the body. The wide distribution of serotonin cells influences various psychological functions in the body. 2a. An individual is able to engage in daily activities. 2b. Poor eyesight can seriously hinder this. Poor eyesight can seriously hinder _____________________ _________________________________________________

Synthesis Exercise 14 Rewrite each passage using the verb in parentheses, making any revisions necessary. Be sure to investigate the meaning and grammatical environments of the verbs. You may need to turn adjectives or verbs into abstract nouns. If the verb in the original sentence introduces an effect, and the verb in the parentheses introduces a cause, you may need to reverse the order of information in the new sentence. 1. If we use fertilizer, the leaves will grow faster. (promote) ____________________________________________________ 2. The doctors soon realized that the patient’s vision problems caused his chronic headaches. (be attributed to) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 3. Many in the workforce feel quite anxious when layoffs increase. (generate) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

CREATING FLOW THROUGH COHESION Helping Student Writers Make Connections

“Flow" as a characteristic of good academic writing DePauw University Writing Study (2007): What do you believe

are the most important characteristics of good writing? Check the 3 you believe are the most important: •  Free of errors •  A strong thesis statement •  Organization and flow •  Personal style or voice •  Incorporation of outside sources or research •  A persuasive argument •  Incorporation of subject-specific vocabulary and knowledge •  Directed toward a particular audience •  Other

Most important characteristics of good writing Characteris*cs N %Freeoferrors 44 30%

Astrongthesisstatement 109 73%

Organiza*onandflow 125 84%Personalstyleorvoice 61 41%

Incorpora@onofoutsidesourceorresearch 28 19

Apersuasiveargument 72 48%

Incorpora@onofsubject-specificvocabularyandknowledge 20 13%

Directedtowardapar@cularaudience 8 5%

((DePauw University survey – N= 149 undergraduates) 3 2%

Most important characteristics of good writing: Multilingual writers’ responses (UCSB) Undergraduate freshmen (N=34)

A strong thesis statement: 74%

Organization and flow: 74% A persuasive argument: 71% Graduate (international) students (N=14)

A strong thesis statement: 57%

Organization and flow: 100% A persuasive argument: 64%

What is “flow” anyway? Undergraduate students’ responses: • Reader-based reactions: Easy to follow, makes sense;

reads correctly without stopping; reader will feel comfortable

•  Logical progression: Doesn’t jump from one topic to another suddenly; related topics, good transition sentences, reasonable

•  Language features: Gives a sign before changing topic

“To me flow is like a string of knots everything in the content together. Or like a stream the idea of the

author flows out coherently.” (NL: Chinese)

Flow: Coherence and Cohesion (Williams, 2006b)

•  We judge whole passages to be coherent depending on how all the sentences in a passage cumulatively begin…Think of coherence as seeing what all the sentences in a piece of writing add up to, the way a hundred Lego® pieces create a building, bridge or boat.”

We judge sequences of sentences to be cohesive depending on how each sentence ends and the next begins… Think of cohesion as fitting together the way two Lego® pieces do.”

Coherence: Known-new Information

Beyond however and therefore beyond this and that:

Teaching the grammar and vocabulary of cohesion

Close reading: Noticing connections SKILLED READERS LESS SKILLED READERS Able to search for and locate prior references easily, regardless of the kind of anaphoric marker or antecedent.

Have difficulty in locating prior references, especially with more complex anaphoric markers, and more distant and more complex antecedent referents, (e.g., referents that span a large amount of text, not just a previous word or phrase) Grabe, 2009, p. 47

Building knowledge of cohesive devices

Excerpt from “The Hurried Child” (handout)

Building knowledge: Lexical connections

• Lexical repetition: Key words • Word forms (word families) • Classifier words (summary words)

Repetition of key words

Procrastination refers to deliberately putting off one’s intended actions. This means that procrastinators intend to perform an action at a certain moment, but do not engage in it at the moment that it was planned. Instead, they postpone it, or even never do it at all. This phenomenon is defined at the behavioral level (not doing what was intended) as well as at the cognitive level (postponing decisions) and does not refer to the possible causes of the dilatory behavior….Two types of procrastinators have been described: the optimistic procrastinator and the pessimistic procrastinator. Optimistic procrastinators put off their intentions but do not worry about doing so …. In contrast, pessimistic procrastinators do worry about their dilatory behavior (Milgram et al., 1992).

DeWitte and Lens (2000) – Excerpted in Swales and Feak (2012)

Repetition of key words

Procrastination refers to deliberately putting off one’s intended actions. This means that procrastinators intend to perform an action at a certain moment, but do not engage in it at the moment that it was planned. Instead, they postpone it, or even never do it at all. This phenomenon is defined at the behavioral level (not doing what was intended) as well as at the cognitive level (postponing decisions) and does not refer to the possible causes of the dilatory behavior….Two types of procrastinators have been described: the optimistic procrastinator and the pessimistic procrastinator. Optimistic procrastinators put off their intentions but do not worry about doing so …. In contrast, pessimistic procrastinators do worry about their dilatory behavior.

Lexical connections through word forms Word families: Words and their derivatives analytical, analytically, analysis, analyze, reanalyze predict, predictable, predictably, prediction, unpredictability, unpredictable Using key vocabulary for your composition units, have students complete a chart from lists of word families, putting each word into its proper place.

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb analysis analyze

reanalyze analytical analytically

Lexical connections through word forms

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

analysis analyze reanalyze

analytical analytically

prediction unpredictability

predict predictable unpredictable

predictably

Lexical connections through word forms Task: Read these paragraphs about technological advances. For each numbered and underlined word or phrase, use a different form of the word(s) in the like numbered blank later in the passage to echo ideas and build cohesion. According to Jared Diamond, many newly invented technologies are never adopted4 by society. Diamond notes that, while many inventions are more efficient1 that older technologies, (1)___________is not always the main factor in embracing a new technology. Often, a society has economic reasons for holding on to an older technology and thus rejects2 the new one. For example, the (2) _____________ of electric lighting in England can be traced to massive investments in gas lighting by British municipalities. In addition, some ancient Mexican societies never adopted the wheel as a tool for transportation, as they were not able to3 use animals to pull wheeled vehicles. This (3)__________ to use animals rendered wheeled vehicles useless and thus uneconomical. Another factor affecting the (4) ____________ of new technologies …

According to Jared Diamond, many newly invented technologies are never adopted4 by society. Diamond notes that, while many inventions are more efficient1 that older technologies, (1) Efficiency is not always the main factor in embracing a new technology. Often, a society has economic reasons for holding on to an older technology and thus rejects2 the new one. For example, the (2) rejection of electric lighting in England can be traced to massive investments in gas lighting by British municipalities. In addition, some ancient Mexican societies never adopted the wheel as a tool for transportation, as they were not able to3 use animals to pull wheeled vehicles. This (3) inability to use animals rendered wheeled vehicles useless and thus uneconomical. Another factor affecting the (4) adoption of new technologies …

Examples of Classifier Nouns

ac@vity concept effect increase process situa@on

analysis conclusion effort issue program solu@on

approach concern evidence limita@on project strategy

assump@on cri@cism example method purpose sugges@on

aPtude decline explana@on objec@ve ques@on system

behavior difference factor observa@on reac@on technique

belief difficulty finding occurrence reason tendency

change disparity goal phase requirement topic

choice dis@nc@on idea possibility result trend

claim drawback illustra@on problem scenario view

Putting it all together: Combining cohesive devices in academic writing Topic introducers + reference forms + classifier nouns

• As for the first question • Concerning these ongoing problems • In regard to this objection

Combining cohesive devices cont.

Logical connectors + reference forms + classifier nouns

•  given these recent developments •  as a result of this optimistic trend •  in comparison to the first result

Raising awareness: Identifying topic introducers Highlight the topic introducer word or phrase in the last sentence. Underline the words the writer is referring to in the preceding text.

As a result of the 1965 changes in the Immigration and Nationality Act emphasizing family reunification, the number of parents of U.S. citizens admitted annually doubled between 1980 and 1990. Related to this increase, from 1986 from 1986 to 1996, the number of noncitizens receiving SSI benefits rose from slightly over 244,000 to almost 800,000, an increase of about 230 percent.

•  Source: S. M. Keigher, 1997. America’s most cruel Xenophobia. Health & Social Work 22.3, pp. 232-237.

Identifying topic introducers As a result of the 1965 changes in the Immigration and Nationality Act emphasizing family reunification, the number of parents of U.S. citizens admitted annually doubled between 1980 and 1990. Related to this increase, from 1986 from 1986 to 1996, the number of noncitizens receiving SSI benefits rose from slightly over 244,000 to almost 800,000, an increase of about 230 percent.

•  Source: S. M. Keigher, 1997. America’s most cruel Xenophobia. Health & Social Work 22.3, pp. 232-237.

Building knowledge: Logical connectors and reference forms

Meaning Logical Connectors Examples with Reference Forms

Assuming or building on ideas

based on given in light of in view of

based on such findings given such an outlook in light of these limitations in view of this fact

Showing the result or effect of previous ideas

because of due to on account of as a result of

because of this imbalance due to this disparity on account of the pollution as a result of these efforts

Setting up a contrast to highlight difference

contrary to in contrast to compared to

contrary to this belief in contrast to such a position compared to such drastic changes

Building knowledge: Logical connectors and reference forms Read the paragraph. How does the last sentence relate to the previous ones? Complete the blank with a logical connector + reference form + classifier noun.

Over the past several years, the public has received more and more negative information about eating fast food. The nutritional value of fast food has been questioned: often fast food lacks vegetables and whole grains, which provide nutrients and fiber. This food may contain large quantities of sugar, fat, and salt, which have been linked to obesity and type II diabetes. _________________________, more and more people seem to be eating at fast food restaurants, probably for the convenience and low prices.

Grammar and Vocabulary for Reporting Research

Using Reporting Verbs Effectively

What does it mean to know a reporting verb?

• Denotations: Different meanings in context •  indicate

• This study indicates that an outdoor free play setting does not provide adequate PA for children.

• Shading indicates countries that reported confirmed human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

•  observe • Guthman observes that “as a genre,' how to eat'

books are remarkably unreflective about a long history of Americanization and social scolding.

• The researchers observed greater numbers of basking sharks in the fall and winter.

(Source: COCA)


• Connotations: Strength of claims • Which three verbs could introduce an author’s strong

claim? assert claim contend note remark • Which three verbs could introduce a weak or tentative

claim? confirm maintain propose speculate suggest • Which three verbs could introduce a paraphrase or

quotation that represents a point of lesser importance? assert mention note remark urge


• Register: Less formal vs. more formal usage • say vs state/assert/maintain,etc. •  figure out vs. determine •  look into vs. investigate •  In general, register of reporting verbs is fairly formal in academic research writing; often less so in journalism.


• Frequency • Rank these verbs from most to least frequent in academic registers: argue, mention, speculate

• Verb frequencies in COCA’s academic register (April 22, 2016):

• argue (argues, argued): 23,703 • mention (mentions, mentioned) – 12,645 • speculate (speculates, speculated) – 1,357

•  Note: Some frequencies context/genre-sensitive (e.g., found vs. discovered in reporting scientific research)


• Collocations • Reporting verbs with animate or inanimate subjects

1. Harvard researcher Joshua Hartshorne contends that, contrary to other findings, his studies suggest that birth order influences whom people select for friends and spouses 2. The following figures investigate these changes further. 3. This paper first discusses some case studies of tall buildings which have advantageously incorporated outrigger beams in their design, and then explores some of the solutions which have been proposed in the literature.

For investigation: What reporting verbs do not collocate with inanimate subjects?


• Collocations Object noun phrases co-occurring with reporting verbs:

•  dismiss: the possibility, the notion, claims •  identify: areas, factors, issues, patterns •  provide: answers, evidence, suggestions •  reject: the hypothesis, the argument

•  Reporting verbs with prepositions •  advocate/argue for •  insist on •  advise/caution against

Reading: Noticing Activities • Highlighting/circling reporting verbs • Discuss verb voice: active or passive? Why is passive voice used?

• Explore relevant word knowledge features • What is the strength of claim? •  Is the subject animate or inanimate? If animate, could

the verb also be used with an inanimate subject like this study, this graph?

• What kind of complement (e.g., noun phrase, that-clause) follows?

Identifying Reporting Verbs A recent study in the journal Science indicates that

Tibetans have developed a unique form of a gene allowing them to thrive at altitudes above 14,000 feet. The research group, led by a UC Berkeley biologist, found that the DNA of Tibetans differed from the Han Chinese with whom they are closely related ethnically. The genetic variant was identified in 87% of Tibetans and only 9% of Han Chinese. Researchers determined that these two ethnic groups separated from each other about 3,000 years ago. As John Hawks, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin, pointed out, in evolutionary terms, this is not the distant past. The rapid evolutionary change was explained by the need for Tibetans to adapt quickly in the harsh environment of the Himalayas. •  (Adapted from “Tibetans’ genes have quickly adapted to high

altitude,” by Rachel Bernstein, Los Angeles Times, July 4, 2010)

Meanings: Using summary verbs Identify the summary sentence (a, b or c) that you think most accurately summarizes the information, the author’s stance and/or strength of claim. Circle the letter of your choice and be prepared to explain. According to Patricia Greenfield, UCLA distinguished professor of psychology, increased exposure to technology has improved our visual skills. Based on analysis of more than 50 studies of learning and technology, Greenfield said that what is known as visual intelligence has been rising globally for the last 50 years.

a. Professor Patricia Greenfield predicts that our visual skills will get better. b. Research on learning and technology, according to Professor Patricia Greenfield, indicates that our visual intelligence has improved worldwide during the past five decades. c. Professor Patricia Greenfield explains why technology has increased visual skills.

Meanings: Using summary verbs Identify the summary sentence (a, b or c) that you think most accurately summarizes the information, the author’s stance and/or strength of claim. Circle the letter of your choice and be prepared to explain. According to Patricia Greenfield, UCLA distinguished professor of psychology, increased exposure to technology has improved our visual skills. Based on analysis of more than 50 studies of learning and technology, Greenfield said that what is known as visual intelligence has been rising globally for the last 50 years.

b. Research on learning and technology, according to Professor Patricia Greenfield, indicates that our visual intelligence has improved worldwide during the past five decades.

Learning the grammar of reporting verbs

Reporting Verb Examples Verb + Noun phrase analyze compare discuss examine identify

This study analyzes the effects of sleep on concentration. The editorial compares voters’ reactions to several proposals.

Verb + that- Clause

argue assert find predict propose

The authors argue that adolescents have few safe alternatives to malls. These and other analyses predict that college fees may continue to rise sharply.

Learning the grammar of reporting verbs

Reporting Verb Examples Verb + wh-Word Clause consider describe question wonder

This article considers why the military did not intervene earlier. These findings question whether the intervention has been at all successful.

Verb + that-Clause with to-less infinitive

advise demand recommend Suggest

The author demands that dramatic steps be taken to reduce the budget deficit. The results suggest that the government monitor offshore oil drilling more carefully.

Learning the grammar of reporting verbs • Knowledge building activities

•  Identify a small subset of common reporting verbs whose complement types you think it would be especially beneficial for your students to know.

•  Ask students to review a chart of complement types and choose two or three reporting verbs that they would especially like to use appropriately.

•  Ask students to make observations about the grammatical environments of these verbs.

•  Ask students to find examples from COCA written registers using the verbs.

•  Ask students to write one-word summaries of paragraphs or sections in assigned course readings; e.g., “The author/develops the idea of…;” “This paragraph discusses the author’s belief in…” “The author suggests that we….” (Also good for practice of 3rd person singular subject-verb agreement!)

More practice with complement types Circle two complements that could complete each of the following two sentences. 1. A study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reported a. that one in every five teens now has at least a slight hearing loss. b. slight hearing loss in one of every five teens. c. whether 20% of teens now have at least a slight hearing loss. 2. Many experts speculate a. that headphones used to listen to music may be a primary cause. b. headphones used to listen to music as a primary cause. c. whether headphones used to listen to music may be a primary cause.

References and Resources Bennett, G. (2011, March). Noticing language features across registers; Applying academic

language in EAP writing [PowerPoint slides]. Paper presented at the annual International TESOL Convention, New Orleans, LA. http://writing.berkeley.edu/staff/margi-wald/

Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman grammar of spoken and written English. London: Longman.

Davies, MDavies, Mark. (2008-) The corpus of contemporary American English: 520 million words, 1990-present. Available online at http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/.

DeWitte, S. and Lens, W. (2000). Procrastinators lack a broad action perspective. European Journal of Personality, 14, 121-140.

Flowerdew, L. (1998). Integrating ‘expert’ and ‘interlanguage’ computer corpora findings on causality: Discoveries for teachers and students. English for Specific Purposes, 17, 4. 329-345.

Frodesen, J. and Wald, M. (2016). Exploring options in academic writing: Effective vocabulary and grammar use. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Frodesen, J. (2013). Grammar noticing and production tasks for academic writing in IPS. TESOL Applied Linguistics Forum, August.

Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.rom

Hinkel, E. (2004). Teaching academic ESL writing: Practical techniques in vocabulary and grammar, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,

References and Resources MICUSP: Michigan Corpus of Upper-level Student Papers. (2009). Ann Arbor, MI: The

Regents of the University of Michigan. http://micusp.elicorpora.info/ Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge, UK:

Cambridge University Press. Nesi, H & Gardner, S. (2012). Genres across the disciplines: Student writing in higher

education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. North American Freshman Writing Corpus (NAFWiC). (2009). Compiled by Gena

Bennett at the Department of English, University of Birmingham, UK. Schmitt, N. (2008). Instructed second language vocabulary learning. Language Teaching

Research 12, 3: 329-363. Swales, J. & Feak, C. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students. 3rd ed. Ann

Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Williams, J. (2006). Style: The basics of clarity and grace. 2nd edition. New York:

Pearson Education, Inc. Zimmerman, C. and Schmitt, N. (2005). Lexical questions to guide the teaching and

learning of words. The CATESOL Journal 17, 1. 164-170.

developing grammar & vocabulary skills academic …

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