Form and Function of the English Language
Before I start talking about
the topic I have to make a pause to talk about this image:
This has been like a bible
to me, every time I have a new student, or when someone at school asks me to do
a quick test I follow this clock just to see the level of the student and them
from there I know if he or she is beginner, intermediate or advanced, and from
there I can see how to help or integrate them to a class. Because when you have
kids as students, yes you teach the functions of English but you have to focus
your attention on the form of the language so they can have strong bases to
learn and use then the language.
After watching the video and
consulting different articles I have a clearer vision of this topic, as teachers
we know many things and some of them we do them just by instinct, it is name,
it is nice like they say; “to put a face to the name”, in this case name to the
concept, I have always used the terms grammar or parts of speech and usage of
English, now I know the correct way to refer to these concepts is form and
functions.
When we have to make a
difference between the form and the function we can do it with an example the form is like the skeleton of a human,
it is the structure, what sustains the body of the language, the basic; then we
have the function, that is like the tissues organs, muscles etc. what covers
the language the uses, the interaction with the world.
Differences between form and
function in the English language:
|
Form
|
Function
|
|
The
structure of the language.
|
The
use of the language.
|
|
Parts
of speech
|
The
integration of sentences in the different tenses.
|
|
The
concept of every part of speech never changes.
|
The
use of the different parts of speech in the sentences can change from subject
to predicate, or some words can be used as nouns and verbs. Depending on the
idea we want to express.
|
|
When
a word is by itself is when we talk about its form as a concept, and
independent idea, basically talking about grammar and its organization.
|
The
use of the words and how they interact with other words in a message, never a
word standing alone.
|
|
We
talk about categories of words
|
We
talk about subject, predicate, direct object, indirect object, sentence,
fragments, indirect object, clauses.
|
|
Answers
the question: What is it?
|
Answers
the question: what does it do?
|
1.
Example of a class teaching form.
· Group of sixth grades, 14 students,
bicultural school.
· They have been taught in English since PRE-K
· They know how to work in flipped classroom, teams, constructive interaction and manage different topics.
· Topic: adjectives.
· Questions: what is an adjective?
· Goal: use adjectives in a presentation.
·
First I would write this on the board and
then I would ask the question to my kids to brainstorm ideas so we could get an
idea of the topic and correct false ideas or incorrect concepts they may have.
·
After the brainstorm and writing a collective
definition on the board with their opinions but fulfilling what I want them to
achieve I would continue with…
·
A story, I love story telling, at this point
I would select a story with advanced adjectives like nostalgia, horrific,
miraculous, fearless, etc. this in order to reinforce a topic they already know
but also to teach them new vocabulary for them to use in their opinions,
because they will have a Cambridge examination in this grade and I’m in charge
as their teacher and their Cambridge coach, since I’m obsessed with achieving
goals with honors I try to prepare my kids to be excellent and not only to pass
the exam.
·
After the story I would elicit the adjectives
they listen to in my story.
·
We would write them in our Cambridge and
vocabulary notebook that is different from the writing notebook they use for
class work.
·
As a teacher I use to notebooks one called
Cambridge and vocabulary notebook used for grammar in this case the form of the
language; and one called writing notebook for the function of English, they use
one for consulting doubts and one for the usage of the language.
·
This
will be my way to teach Form
But
as a bicultural school I don’t only teach English I teach in English so this is
just the first step of my class. The next step is to teach the function
connecting this first lesson to the next without the kids even noticing it.
2.
Teaching Function
o
Now that the kids have the knowledge and idea
of the topic I continue to applying the vocabulary.
o
The students already listen to my story, but
they are not going to write a story they will write a text describing a famous
person but like a biography they have access to Ipads and internet in my
classroom so each one gets an ipad and consults the web page of biography.com
they have to read the biography of the person of interest and write a text
exposing the life of this person from an emotional point of view like a memoir
with their own words checking their vocabulary notebook and online sources,
underlining all the adjectives they use, with the rule of not using common
adjectives.
o
After that they would pass to the front of
the class to read their work.
With these two parts of a
class I would have checked by the end of the day:
a. Prevous
knowledge
b. Listening
c. Writing
d. Reading
e. Speaking
f. Usage
of English.
This is how I work with my
kids, thank you for following my vision of an English class, it has worked and
my kids have achieved their goals on the different English level according to
the international English frame. And I’m proud of applying my personal touch
and personality to all my classes.
References
·
BallardandTighe. (2011). Part 4 Forms and
Functions of Language. 22
de mayo 2020, de YouTube Sitio web: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=685&v=uQ1ME4snl7I&feature=emb_logo
·
prodev.elpa21.org. (2020). Languagefunctions and forms: a brief
summary. 22 de mayo 2020, de
http://prodev.elpa21.org Sitio web: http://prodev.elpa21.org/module2/module2/resources/LanguageFunctionsForms.pdf
·
Jeff Everhart. (2014). Grammar Lecture 2-1 | Form and Function
English 382. 22 de mayo 2020, de YouTube Sitio web: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN1bLdEDVog
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