Pullaperuma March

Simple and complex sentences

A simple sentence has one main verb (finite verb). So it can stand on its own. It has meaning on its own.
E.g. I go to school every day.

It has complete meaning. That is a simple sentence.

Complex sentence: Sankeerna vaakya.

A complex sentence consists of an independent clause + a dependent clause.

independent clause: same as a simple sentence. It has a main verb and has meaning on its own and it
can stand on its own.

Dependent clause/subordinate clause/dependent: it depends on the independent clause. it starts the

We missed the train because we were late. It starts with a conjunction or a relative pronoun. It has a
subject, we and verb were but it cannot stand on its own and does not have a meaning.

We missed our train – independent clause. It does not depend on any other clause to give the meaning.
Because we were late is the reason the subordinate/dependent.

A simple sentence has a subject and a verb. And it can stand on its own. It has complete meaning on its
own. It is an independent clause-

Our dog barks when she hears a noise. Independent clause is our dogs bark. When she hears a noise is
dependent, because it starts with a relative pronoun.

Common subordinating conjunctions: after, although, we use them to combine sentences.

Basically, there are five relative pronouns that are most often used: that, which, who whom, whose.

We can combine these sentences by using conjunctions or relative pronouns and make them compound
or complex sentences.

E.g. I like coffee. Mary likes tea. I like coffee and Mary likes teas. Use a conjunction to form a compound
sentence. Two simple sentences that have meaning on their own.

Combine these sentences. So use the conjunction and because the simple sentences are similar in
meaning.

So a compound sentence has been built.

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Mary went to work but John went to the party. There is a contradiction here so we use the conjunction
but. Contradictory ideas.

Even a semi-colon can be used to combine two sentences: our car broke down; we came last.
Compound sentence: two verbs without a conjunction.

There are 7 coordinating conjunctions. Fanboys.

Simple, compound, complex sentences.

Simple sentences: I go to school every day.

We learn during the weekend.

Has a single subject and a single verb and can stand on its own.

Eclectic Approach

First paragraph:

Eclectic approach refers to mixture of all. To teach English Language today, we don’t recommend one
single method. We recommend a mixture of all the methods acc. to the given situation/needs of your ss,
you can use any method/technique appropriately.

e.g. if your ss are very weak. So tr may start using simple drills. Drills is a technique used in grammar
translation method. Drills means using a simple structure e.g I like apples. Put it on the board and it is
called drilling. That particular day you will teach the names of fruits, I like papaw, I like bananas, etc.
simple drilling because your ss are weak, level is weak. So you want them to utter words, practice
speaking, it means that with the purpose of the particular lesson and level of the ss, teacher is given
freedom to select the suitable techniques and methodology for L/T process. That is Ecclectic approach. It
does not mean that you can use any technique/method. It means that you can use the suitable
technique/s or method depending on the particular set of ss, the circumstances, the level, focusing on
all those areas you can select the methods.

Underlying PRinciplpes:

Point one has been taken from the communicative approach.

Eclectic: you get mixture of all the good points in other methods. Lang. is for interaction and
communication.

Point 2: if he has no stress, stress-free envir. Language-learning will be facilitated. If the learner is always
tense or afraid of the tr, whether the tr. Will scold him, etc. tr, is not friendly, under those
circumstances, learner will not learn as we expect him to do so.
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Stress free environment.

You should create this sort of environment for your ss. there should be opps. For your ss to interact and
communicate and you should always as a tr. Create a stress-free environment. They should be able to
raise questions, share ideas, especially with young learners that environment should be created.

Building relationships in and among ss is important. That can be created through pair work or group
worl. Tr and ss rapport is important. The relationship of mutual trust between tr and ss is considered
necessary to the learning process. Here the tr trusts ss and the ss trust tr. Ss believe that our tr is very
competent in the part. Subject he/she is teaching us.

They see tr as a competent person. That is imp. To build trust. Ss. learn best when they feel secure.

3.) You should create an enriched environment in the classroom. You should give them the max.
exposure. You use target language, you give instructions, everything in target language, maps and
charts, displays in target language in an around the class so exposure is high.

Authentic situations: e.g. you don’t give a conversation between a passenger and an air hostess because
for most ss it won’t be authentic. Conversation at Food City, Supermarket. It is authentic but not for
most ss. but conversation between a conductor and a passenger or a student and a tr, is more authentic.
So give exposure to real life situations. Sabaa jeewana athdakeem. To enhance their creativity you can
use such instances occasionally.

Language learning should always be linked to using it. This always comes in the communicative
approach. One principle is to learn it, do it.

If you want to learn a language you learn it. If you want to speak in English, you speak it.

Activities that promote coo

Learning through cooperation should be facilitated in the classroom. Ss learning from each other. Who
should take the responsibility for their learning/ the learner himself. E.g. lecturer has given the eclectic,
communicative and structural notes together.

Learner should take the responsibility.

Learning involves transfer of what one knows to new contexts. With new learning, the existing
knowledge should change. From known to unknown, simple to complex. That what you should do for
the learner.

Activating the learners’ imagination will aid learning. We can enhance the learning.

Initially the teacher should look for progress, not perfection. Learning a language takes place over a long
time. At first u should not look for perfection, bear their mistake. The moment they start speaking, you

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should not say, “there is a grammar mistake, look at him, it’s wrong, there is a mistake, etc”. e.g. you
should not initially interfere but look at performance.

Reflecting on what they have learnt helps learners to learn about their own learning.

When you go for teaching practice, you will maintain a log book, records to reflect bakck. E.g. mock
teaching: did I do it correctly, did I achieve my goals, did the ss learn?

Did I manage the group work well? Were the learners motivated? Reflect after each lesson? After your
initial lessons esp.

Feelings of success and a sense of achievement. Daily, learners feel that they are successful in this
learning.

Authentic Activities: Authentic means real life. Day to day life materials. They face such things in real life.
E.g. passenger and air hostess. Rarely, ss, will have that experience. Conductor and a passenger, is
authentic. If you are rich, you won’t travel by bus. Select activities where you can give ss real life
experiences.

E.g. your school is in a remote place. So if you ask them to practice something. Dialogue between
customer and salesman in food city is not authentic. But between vendors and customer at a fair, that is
authentic.

Authentic language means our normal conversational English.

Read Classroom activities.

You can find out the definitions of those activities.

Jig-saw reading, etc. find info about them.

T/L procedure:

These methods come in communicative and grammar translation methods.

Point one: consider two things. Eclectic is a modern teaching approach that you should adhere to in your
l/t process. You should make the learner confident at the beginning. You should not make him confused.
Whatever you teach should be important for the learner. Directly, it may not be important (e.g. a
grammar point that you use). There are some language elements/struccctures that are very useful for
the learner’s communicatively. Communicatively means not only for communication but something that
is worth for the learner.

Remember these two things.

Target lang: language of the classroom. Don’t speak in Sinhala in an English class. Speak in English.

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Please go to the office and bring the register. Mother tongue: it’s wrong to think that you should not use
the mother tongue. You can use it sparingly. You may have noticed that this lecturer uses mother
tongue when she feels that it can be more clear (the meaning). That is something recommended by the
linguists.

All the four main language skills should be taught systematically. Language comes in integration. You
can’t just teach writing. They should leanr grammar too. E.g. we learn, simple sentences, etc. for
learners to write. For you to speak, you need to listen, so these skills come in integration so you can
teach the authentic activity.

Special attention should be paid to learning of vocabulary and grammar. We should focus on grammar
and vocab.

Pairwork: learner should nto learn individiaully. Earlier that was the idea. Individual learning was given
prominence. Now pairwork, group work, collaboration, cooperative. In mock-teaching, include, pair
work or group work in your activity not individual work.

Complex grammar should be taught. When you want to explain a simple grammar item, use the
inductive form, when you explain a complex grammar point, use deductive method.

Process approach to reading and writing is not product approach. Reading/ writing is considered as a
task. You just do not worry about the final product given by the student.

You look at the whole process not the final product. We are not worried about ss’ mistakes, but whether
they write the copy, engaged in the whole process. That is what we care about. Procee approach to
writing.

All activities & tasks. Information gap: real communication happens when these words are transferred.
We communicate to tell something that the other person does not know. To bridge that gap they
communicate. We communicate to bridge the information gap.

Why did you call your mum/friend? Because there is an information gap. If you know everything about
her health? You won’t ask her if she is fine. E.g. yesterday, you didn’t watch a t.v. drama, so you ask
someone else what happened. But if you had watched that you won’t ask. You will ask, why do you think
that man did that.

Information gap principle is an imp. Principle in eclectic writing.

The main role of the teacher should be facilitating learning. We have a wrong concept that we should
teach everything. We believe that we have to read the entire note. Don’t spoon-feed your learner. Give
them independence. They will take responsibility for their learning and enjoy learning. Make tehm
independent users of the target language.

Tr. Should be an informed decision maker. So let the learner to learn. Determine that.

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Advantages:

Flexible: acc. to your sitation, you can adapt the method. If ss. are weak you should be teaching
accordingly. If your learners are very advanced, you have other techniques of bringing language to those
learners. Flexible, the most imp. Element.

A teacher usese this method is less likely to become fixed in one single method. If you are using eclectic
you will not be stagnated in one method. You have a variety. You may choose, change, according to the
needs of the learner, acc. to the situation. And more likely to keep an eye open on new techniques.
There is no single methods that can be considered 100% successful.

In eclectic approach, we are adopting techniques that have been successful in different, other methods.
So that since they are using the successful methods and techniques that have been used in other l/t
processes, lang, teaching will become effective using eclectic approach.

Teachers should be warned…Use the techniques with a purpose or a reason.

Important, final point in advantages. According to the needs of the learner, you should adjust. You
should become flexible.

She has talked about role-play. Read the rest, story-building, jig-saw reading. We have talked about
assessment modalities.

She is interested in this part:

State the importance of learner independence.

AKA learner autonomy.

The importance of learner independence.

The ultimate goal of the current approaches to lang. teaching is to enable learners to become
independent users of the target lang. there are other diff. methods have highlighted learner
independence.

The foll. Approaches are not in our syllabus. In Silent Way independence is highlighted. E.g. learner
autonomy is an imp. Principle in lang. learning. We should make learners independent. Read about it on
the internet. Silent way is one method, one approach that highlights learner independence.

e.g .in the exam you may get a question: name three other methods apart from eclectic, that highlights
the importance of learner independence. Silent way, community lang. learning and communicative
approach.

Not only in eclectic approach but also in these methods, learner independence

In community lang. learning, it is the learner who should take responsibility for his own lang. learning.
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What will happen when learner takes responsibility for his own learning/ learner will become an
independent learner.

Communicative approach was discussed earlier.

Quotation: the importance of acquiring autonomy becoming independent from the teacher.

You search for info. You read. You find, you bring knowledge to the class, you are not totally dependent
on the teacher. Learn to learn.

In principles of Ed. Learning to learn. You learn how to learn. That is important.

Allright nutshells: if lecturer gives everything about eclectic, and ask ss to read the tute, that does not
make ss, autonomous, not enough. Let ss read ad refer to other things. Ss shuld take responsibility.

Harmer: quote

Group activities give ss chances for greater independence. Eg when ss are in a group, they will decide
what should we write, what points would we elaborate, what points should we put in point form, what
should we present, who will present. That is why you are encouraged to Involve learners to engage in
group and pair work more sharing happens. More than pair work, group work is better as it involves 4-5
ss. more sharing happens.

In group work, measures are taken in a cooperative way. One person will say, I will do the presentation.
Another one will say, you are not that fluent, Kamal is fluent. So let’s ask hi to do the presentation. You
are very good, so write the note, put it in a list. Cooperative decisions are taken – and shared
responsibilities, one will draw, one will colour, one will make poster.

Questioning is a technique all trs. Use.

Eliciting means we are taking out something in the learner.

You ask the question but the response does not come. You know that the learner knows tha answer so
you give him clues, you make attempts to take the answer out of the learner.

Activities that promote Learner Autonomy:

Simulation

Read it by yourself. Find out the rest. We have covered eclectic,

The ultimate goal of the eclectic approach is to make the learner independent. That is the most
important point.

So always give some work to the learner. Let him take responsibility for his/her own learning. Do not
teach him A-Z.

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Facilitate learning and let the learner learn and develop the techniques of learning to learn.

Silent way they want the learner to self-express themselves.

Community lang. learning

Communicative approach, eclectic approach.

Ultimate goal of learner independence is not only suggested through the eclectic approach but also
through the other methods too.

No need to give examples of those lessons.

Finished Eclectic approach.