lesson 2 - (phase 4 and 5)

• Engels
• MBO
• Studiejaar 2

Welcome

English

Mevrouw van Eunen

Welcome to English class 

Miss. Taimounti

Lesson aims

At the end of this lesson:

• You can recognize formal and informal language styles
• You can identify specific language features found in formal and informal styles

what are we going to do today?

- most common mistakes and tops

- rate formal and informal sentences (handout)

- make a list of features for formal/informal language

- make a list of speech communities that you talk to (+ examples)

- Translate sentences from formal to informal, and the other way around (handout)

Most common mistakes and tops

Using informal language instead of formal language

- 'I' schrijf je ALTIJD met een hoofdletter.

- schrijf langere zinnen door comma's en woorden als "therefore", "as a result" te gebruiken.

- Gebruik geen afkortingen zoals (asap, ttyl, 2)

What went well? 

 The layout conventions were well done, the content of the letter was accurate and the purpose of writing was clear. 

Individually

- Look at the Formal and Informal Language handout. 

- Read and rate each sentence on the handout from 1 to 5, with 1 being very informal and 5 being very formal.

in pairs

- Compare your answers.
- think and talk about which features you notice in the sentences that you labeled formal or informal. (what are the differences? what makes a sentence formal or informal?)

- Write a list of the features you found in formal and informal sentences and be prepared to share this with the class.

Share

Let's make two complete lists together in class (formal vs informal language)

who/when would you say this to? why?

• Would you be interested in purchasing a guarantee with your new phone?
  
• Dude, do you wanna come over to my house to watch movies later?
• Can I get a cheeseburger and fries?
• I am a great candidate for the position because of my significant office experience, strong language skills, and sense of organization.
• This TV show totally sucks.

In groups of 4

Make a list together of different (types of) people that you often talk to. 

E.g., parents, siblings, grandparents, close friends, classmates, teachers, passengers on a bus or train, cafeteria staff, store clerks, any sports, clubs, religious affiliations, hobby groups etcetera...

Why is the way we talk different?

Each group of people makes up its own speech community, with its own set of expectations for communicating.

* For instance, we ask for information from a store clerk or librarian differently from how we ask our close friends or parents for answers.

Individually

Look at the list of features we made and at the list of speech communities. Choose (individually) two speech communities from the list:
- one that you think is informal 
- one that you think is formal 

Look at your emails, text messages, or other writing that you received or shared with the 2 speech communities and compare them.

E.g. what is different? do you use other vocabulary?

In groups of 4

- Each learner will present the speech communities that they chose and what they discovered by comparing them.
- They can use examples of their text messages to make their point.
(e.g. a very basic comparison is texting about an event to a friend versus writing about an event to a teacher.)

To sum up

- people adjust their speech and writing to the person they are talking to or the specific situation they are in.

- People who are often close to eachother talk informally, whereas in more formal situation (e.g. a job application, asking a stranger something etc) people use formal language.

- What is true for speech communities is also true for the contexts in which you write;
So, you need to consider the community, or audience, for whom you are writing in order to select the most suitable vocabulary, sentence structures, and overall organization.

In pairs

- Use the handout “translating between formal and informal” and change the sentences from formal to informal, and the other way around.

- Choose the best formal and informal sentence you made, and report back to class

Be prepared to vote! the best formal and informal sentence?

Lesson aims

At the end of this lesson:

• You can recognize formal and informal language styles
• You can identify specific language features found in formal and informal styles

3 things I learned today...
2 Things I found interesting...
1 Question I still have...