Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Contents
10.0 Aims and Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 To Make you Think
10.3 Locating Specific Information
10.4 Choosing the Best Source
10.5 Comparing Sources, Comparing Ideas
10.6 Let’s Sum Up
10.7 Answers to the Tasks
10.8 References
10.1 INTRODUCTION
You cannot always find the information you need in your textbooks. You have to
consult other sources to find the extra information you require. It may also help
your understanding of a particular topic to refer to a book which takes a different
approach form that of our textbook. In this unit you will consider the kinds of help
the different reference sources can provide. The focus will be on reading skills
which allow us to use these sources effectively.
174
10.2 TO MAKE YOU THINK
Task 1
Where would you look for help with these problems?
1. The title of Humphrey Bogart’s last film.
2. The location of Mpwapwa.
3. The most recent figures for the amount of rice produced by major rice exporters.
4. The difference between the behaviorist and the cognitive view of language
learning.
5. A list of books about the education of women.
6. The main political parties in India
7. Who was W.K.Kellogg?
8. Which spelling is correct – ‘enrolment’ or ‘enrollment’?
9. The difference between RAM and ROM in computing.
Task 2
What sort of information would you expect to find in these reference books?
1. Chambers Technical Dictionary 6. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica 7. UN Monthly bulletin of statistics
3. Longman Dictionary of 8. Encyclopedia Americana
Contemporary English 9. The Times Index – Gazeteer of the World
4. The Statesman’s Year Book 10. Webster’s Biographical Dictionary
5. Work on Women: A guide to
the literature
Task 3
Which of the books listed in Task 2 could help you with the problems in Task 1?
Task 4
Try to find the answers to these questions in this encyclopaedia entry as quickly as
you can. Warning! You will not be able to find the answers to all of these questions.
175
No reference source can contain all information on a particular topic. Knowing
when it is time to give up and try another source is important.
1. When was breakfast cereal first developed?
2. Who invented breakfast cereal?
3. What types of breakfast cereal exist?
4. At what stage in the process are vitamins added?
5. Why did the sale of breakfast cereals increase dramatically from the 1950s?
6. Which manufacturer has the biggest share of the breakfast cereal market?
7. Most breakfast cereals are directed towards what section of the market?
Breakfast cereal,
cereal, grain food, usually
precooked or ready-to-eat, that is customarily then cut into biscuits and dried, and granular,
eaten with milk or cream for breakfast in the made by a process in which a stiff dough made
United States and elsewhere, often from wheat and malted barley flour, salt, yeast,
sweetened with sugar, syrup, or fruit. The and water is fermented, baked thoroughly, and
modern commercial concept of cereal food then, after being crumbled and rebaked, is
originated in the vegetarian beliefs of the ground into rough grains. As a final step in
American Seventh day Adventists, who in each process, the cereal is treated to restore
the 1860s formed the Western Health vitamins lost through cooking and often coated
Reform Institute, later renamed the Battle with sweet flavoring.
Creek Sanitarium, in Battle Creek, Mich. Until the mid to late 1950s, the market for
The entrepreneurial possibilities of the ready-to-eat breakfast cereal was relatively
ground, thin-baked cereal dough served to small, making its subsequent rapid growth one
the Sanitarium’s patients inspired two men, of the most dramatic success stories in modern
C.W.Post and W.K.Kellogg, each to found advertising. By skillful product diversification
his own business. In the late 20th century the and promotion, ready-to-eat products took over
ready-to-eat breakfast cereal industry sold the breakfast food market – children found a
the equivalent of several billion bowls of prize in every package or associated a cereal
cereal to Americans yearly, having far with their parents, ever reminded of the
surpassed the market for the traditional “hot” convenience and the nutritional value of
cereals made from rolled oatmeal or enriched fortified cereals, could enter manufacture
wheat farina. sponsored contents for prizes of their own.
Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals are of four Late in the century, the majority of breakfast
basic types: flaked, made from corn, wheat, cereals continued to be directed toward the
or rice that has been broken down into grits, children’s market, with entertainment-oriented
cooked with flavors and syrups, and then packaging and a wide variety of “treat”
pressed into flakes between cooled rollers; flavors. Alongside these, the so-called health
puffed, made by exploding cooked wheat or food movement fostered, or revived, cereals
rice from a pressure chamber, thus composed of “natural” whole grain and fruit in
expanding the grain to several times its the old-fashioned granola style.
original size; shredded, made from pressure-
cooked wheat that is squeezed into strands
by heavy rollers,
rollers
176
Task 5
Write six questions on this dictionary entry to test your partner’s speed at locating
specific information. Make sure you know what the right answers are. Time how
long it takes your partner to find the right answers. Then try your partner’s
questions in the same way.
If you working alone, refer to the Key. It contains questions for you to try.
177
Task 6
Study the table of rice production on the next page. Locate this information as
quickly as you can.
1. Name the three largest rice producers.
2. Which country has the highest productivity (greatest yield per hectare)? Estimate.
3. Rank these countries in terms of rice production: Burma, Nepal, Japan,
Bangladesh.
4. What general statement can you make about rice production in Bangladesh
between 1985 and 1988?
5. Using the table as evidence, give one possible reason for the decline in Mexican
rice production between 1985 and 1988.
6. What problem is there in calculating the productivity of Vietnam with regard to
rice?
7. What conclusion can you make from the world totals for area and production for
the period covered by the table?
178
10.4 CHOOSING THE BEST SOURCE
Task 7
If you wish to read more about a subject, how can you obtain suggestions for
further reading?
Task 8
Study this list of books on study skills from a university library on-line catalogue.
Select from it books which might help you to improve your skills in reading
textbooks.
Compare your selection with your neighbors. Try to agree on a list of not more than
three books which may be worth referring to. Discuss the factors which influenced
you choice.
179
Adler (Mortimer Jerome)
HOW TO READ A BOOK; A GUIDE TO SELF-EDUCATION
8 Lond (1940) .028 Adl
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrass, Robert
STUDY!: A GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE STUDY, REVISFION AND
EXMAINATION TECHNIQUES
London, Chapman and Hall, 1984 .028 Bar
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ellis (Richard) and Hopk (Konrad)
HOW TO SUCCEED IN WIRTTEN WORK AND STUDY
London, Collins, 1985 .028 Ell
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Houle (Cyril Orivin)
CONTINUING YOUR EDUCATION
New York, 1964 .028 Hou
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO READ A BOOK IN THE BEST WAY BY A WRANGLER.
Lond., 1860 S.B. .504/J
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joint Industry Committee for National
Readership Surveys
NATIONAL READERSHIP SURVEY 1968 – 70
Lond. Stat. Ref. .028 Joi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Klein (Marion H.)
DYNAMICS OF COMPERHESNION; HOW TO LERAN FROM A
COLLEGE TEXTBOOK
New York, 1970 .028 Kle
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
180
Main (Alexander N.)
ENCOURAGING EFFECTIVE LEARNING; AN APPROACH TO
STUDY COUNSELLING
Edlin., 1980 .028 Mai
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meenes (Max)
STUDYING AND LAERNING 8th pr. (Random House Papers)
In Pshycol. P.P. 9)
New York, 1967 P.028 Mee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Millman (Jason) and Pank (Walter)
HOW TO TAKE TESTS (McGraw-Hill Paperbacks)
New York, copyright 1969 .028 Mill
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open University
PREPARING TO STUDY (By M.E. Richardson and others)
Milton Keynes, 1979 F.028 Ope
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Palmer (Richard) and Pope (Chris)
BRAIN TRAIN: STUDYING FOR SUCCESS
London, Spon, 1984 .028 Pal
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Richards (Ivor Armstrong)
HOW TO READ A PAGE: A COURSE IN EFFECTIVE READING
WITH AN INTRODCTION TO A HUNDRED GREAT WORDS
Lond. , 1954 .028 Ric
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sargant (Edmund Beale) and Whishaw (Bernhard) Eds
A GUIDE BOOK TO BOOKS
Lond., 1891 0.S..028 Sar
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
181
Savage (Ernest Albert)
A LIBRARIN LOOKS AT READERS: OBSERVATION FOR BOOK
SELECTION AND PERSONAL SERVICE
Lond., 1947 .028 Sav
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stavely (Ronald)
NOTES ON SOME PROBLEMS IN READING (Lond. Sch. Of
Lib. And Archives, Occas. Publ. No. 4)
School of Librarianship and Archives, 1954
.028 Sta
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Task 9
In the text above, the dates of publication help you to know whether the book will
be of value, but you must rely mainly on the titles to predict how useful the text
may be. Some reading lists and some on-line catalogues provide only brief titles.
What topics do you predict these textbooks will cover?
1. Encouraging Effective Learning
2. The essential Left
3. Workless
4. Doing Your Research Project
5. Brain train
6. Mothers Alone
7. Earth, Water, Wind and Sun
Task 10
Each of the textbooks in Task 9 has a subtitle. Try to match each brief title with its
subtitle.
How accurate were your predictions in Task 9 about the topics covered by these
books?
a) A Guide for Fist-Time Researchers in Education and Social Science
b) Four Classic Texts on the Principles of Socialism
182
c) Poverty and the Fatherless Family
d) Some Unemployed Men and Their Families
e) An approach to study counseling
f) Studying for success
g) Our energy alternatives
Task 11
For many subjects, there are bibliographies which list sources for different topics.
The amount of information provided in bibliographies varies. Study this list of texts
on the topic of Education for Women taken from a bibliography of writing about
women.
Select a suitable source or suitable sources for each of these study areas:
1. Women in higher education in the UK
2. Women and science education
3. Secondary School education for girls
4. Educating the sexes separately
5. Female students in US colleges
BAKER, L. The Seven Sisters and the Failure of Women’s Education (Macmillan,
New York, 1976)
BLACKSTONE, T. The Education of Girls Today, in A. Oakley and J. Mithcell
(eds.) The Rights and Wrongs of Women (Penguin, Harmonds-
worth, 1976).
BORING, P. Sex Stereotyping in Educational Guidance, in Sex Role Stereotyping
in the Schools (National Educational Association, Washington, D.C.,
1973).
BRIERLY,J. Sex Differences in Education (Trends in Education February, 1975).
BRITAIN, V. Women at Oxford (Harrap, London 1960).
BYRNE, E. Women and Schooling (Routeldge and Kegan Paul, London, 1978).
DEEM; R. Women and Schooling (Routledge and kegan Paul, London, 1978
DEAPTMETNT OF EDUCATION AND SCEINCE Curricula Differences between
the Sexes (Education Survey 21, HMSO, London, 1975).
183
FRAZIER, N. and SADKER, M.Sexisim in Schools and Society (Harper and Row,
New York, 1973).
GRHAM, P. Expansion and Exclusion: A History of Women in American Higher
Education, (Signs 3, (4) Spring 1978).
KAMM, J. How Different from Us: A Biography of Miss Buss and Miss Beale
(Methuen, London, 1958).
LEVY, B. Sex Role Socialization in the Schools, in, Sex Role stereotyping in the
Schools (National Educational Association, Washington, D.C., 1973).
MARKS, P. Feminity in the Classroom: An Account of Changing Attitudes, in A.
Oakley and J.Mitchel (eds.)
The Rights and Wrongs (Penguin, Harmonds worth, 1976).
NEWCOMER, M. A Century of Higher Education for Women (Harper and Row,
New York, 1959).
OATES, M. and WILLIAMSON, S. Women’s Colleges and Women Achievers
(signs 2 (4) Spring, 1978).
ROBY, P. Women and American Higher Education (Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science 404 1972).
SHAW, J. Finishing School: Some Implications of Sex Segregated Education, in,
D. Barker and S.Allen (eds.) Sexual Divisions and Society: Process and Change
(Tailstock, London, 1976).
SHARPE, S. Just like a Girl (Penguin, Hardmondsworth, 1976).
SIGNS Women, Science and Society (Special Issue: 4 (1) Autumn 1978)
UNESCO Women, Education, Equality: A Decade of Experiment (UNESCO Press,
Paris. 1975).
WOLPE, A. Some Process in Sexist Education (Women’s Research and Resources
Center, Explorations in Feminism, London, 1976).
184
Annotated bibliographies provide comments on each source. In the next task, note
how the comments on each title help you make the right choice.
Task 12
Using this extract from an annotated bibliography, choose the best atlas for the
following study needs. Note only the number of the relevant atlas, i.e. C656 – C670.
Work as quickly as you can.
1. Growth of the United States, 1775 - 1853
2. Maps of the starts
3. Location of a number of small towns in East Africa
4. Pronunciation of Tbilisi, Baluchistan and Antakya
5. Map of the Pacific
6. Street plan of Tokyo
7. Population of major South American cities
8. Detailed maps of Germany before re-unification
ATLASES
GENERAL-REFERENCE LARGE
WORLD ATLASES
The times atlas of the world, comprehensive edition, 6 th ed. London: Times
C656 The
books, 1980. 123 plates; 227p. (first pub. 1955 – 59, in 5v.; iv. Ed. First pub.
1967).
C657 Rand NcNally and co. the new international atlas. Chicago: Rand McNally,
1984. 320p. Of maps and text; 231p. Index and tables. (updated reprinting of
1980 ed.; 1st ed. 1969).
185
Spanish, and French. To facilitate comparison among areas. Only four scales
are used on regional maps: 1:12,00,00. 1:6,000,00, 1:3,000,000, and
1:1,000,000. Special ,maps of the world’s major urban areas are scaled at
1:300,000. Primarily physical political maps, with relief shown by shading.
Index has about 160,000 names and indicates map location and latitude and
longitude. Includes glossary of geographical terms, world information table,
and population of cities and towns.
C658 Britannica atlas. Chicago: encyclopedia Britannica, 1979. 312p.; 222p. Index.
(Present ed. Basically from 1969)
C659 Hammond. Inc. Hammond medallion world atlas. New census ed.
Maplewood. NJ.: Hammond, 1982, Various paging. [672p.]
World and regional maps. Special features: (1) combines maps. Index, and
statistical data on each double-page layout: (2) political subdivisions of each
country are shown. A complex assemblage of basic political maps
supplemented by many smaller maps of physical features, economic
characteristics, and special maps. Master index of more than 100,000 names.
(32p.), historical atlas (48p.). and U.S. history atlas (64p.). very legible.
C660 Cosmopolitan world atlas. Census ed. Chicago: Random McNally. 1981.
various paging.
About 300 maps. Primarily political. With emphasis on the United States
and Canada (separate map of each state and province). Index with 82,000
entries.
C661 The great geographical atlas. Chicago: Rand McNally in association with
Istituto Geografico de Agostini. Novara. Italy, and Mitchell Beazley
Publishers. London. 1982. 304p. Index.
186
Maps are by the Istituto geograpfico de Agostini, supplemented by Rand
McNally maps for North America. A 112-page encyclopedia section,
prepared by Mitchell Beazley, discusses and illustrates astronomy.
Earth science, life sciences, environmental science, and cartography. The
international map index contains more than 75,000 names; a separate index
for Canada and the untied states contains 24,000 names.
C663 Pergamon world atlas. Oxford and New York: Pergamon, 1968. 525p.
Prepared and printed by the polish army topographical service (Wojsko
Polskie, Shuzba Topograficzna).
Distinguished by large map-surface area, made possible by foldouts.
Physical, thematic, and regional maps. Index of 150,000 names.
C664 Atlanta international del Touring Club Italiano. 8 th ed. Milan: Consociazione
Turistica Italiana, 1968 2v. maps and index. Updated reprinting 1977.
Detailed reference atlas with large number of place names. Well-designed
and well-produced location maps. 93 maps on 173 plates. Relief by
hachuring and shading. Index of about 250,000 names.
187
on the maps of the atlas, and indicates map location. About 200,000 names.
Glossary of geographical terms and key to transliteration system.
SMALLER ATLASES
C666 Goode’s world atlas. 16th ed. Ed. By Edward B. Espenshade, Jr. and Joel
Morrison. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1982 368p. (first pub. As Goode’s
school atlas, 1923. 96, 41p.)
The most widely used, and generally the best, American world atlas for
school, home, or office. Convenient and up-to-date small atlas with thematic
world maps of physical, cultural, and economic features and regional
physical-political maps. Maps of major cities and environs with separate
index. Table of world comparisons and data on principal countries and
regions of the world. Pronouncing index of 32,000 geographical names, with
map locations and latitude and longitude. Recommended for even the
smallest library and as a convenient shelf-size atlas to be kept handy for
frequent consultation, a source of first resort.
C667 The New York Times atlas of the world: in collaboration with the times of
London. Rev. ed. New York: Times Books, 1981. Various paging. (1 st ed.
1972; rev. ed. 1975, as the times concise atlas of the world)
Excellent medium-size atlas. Introduction with thematic maps. General
reference regional maps. Special maps of metropolitan areas. Index with
90,000 entries
C668 The new oxford atlas. Rev. ed. Prepared by the Cartographic Dept. of the
oxford Univ. Pr. London and New York: Oxford Univ. pr., 1978. 202p.
(Oxford atlas, first pub. 1951; new oxford atlas, 1975)
Regional reference physical-political maps. Maps of oceans, physical
environment of the continents. Thematic maps of the world and of the untied
kingdom. Gazetteer with about 55,000 entries.
188
C669 National Geographic Society. Cartographic Div. National geographic atlas of
the world. Rev. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: The Society, 1981. 383p. (1st ed.
1963. 300p.)
Primarily a location atlas with a large number of place names but also clear
depiction of railroads, roads and various cultural features and physical
forms. Index records map location of about 150,000 place – names.
C670 Phillip (Gorge) and son. The university atlas. 17th ed. Ed. By Harold Fullard
and H. C. Darby. London: Phillip, 1975,. 111p. (1st ed. 1937. 96p.)
High-quality small atlas with thematic world maps and regional physical-
political maps. Tables of statistical information. Index of 46,000 names
indicates map location and latitude and longitude.
Task 13
You are going to study two encyclopaedia entries for a well know American film
actor of the 1940s and 50s. What sort of information do you expect to find? In what
order do you expect to find this information? Make a list of headings for note-
taking.
Task 14
Study these encyclopaedia entries. What additional information does Text 2 contain
compared with Text 1? What information is contained in Text 1 which is not
contained in Text 2? Do the entries disagree on any factual detail?
Text 1
Bogart, bogart, Humphrey (1899 – 1957), American stage and screen
actor, whose haggard face, sarcastic smile, and gravelly voice made him
the archetype of the Hollywood tough guy. He was born in New York
City on Jan. 23, 1899, the son of a prosperous surgeon. After attending
Trinity school in New York and Phillips academy in Andover, Mass, he
joined the navy in world war I. Following a brief interlude of
189
professional vagabondage after the war, Bogart made his stage debut in
1920 as a juvenile in a road production of The Ruined Lady. For years
thereafter he played colorless juveniles.
Bogart’s distinctive acting personality was established in 1935, when he
played a snarling gangster in The Petrified Forest. His recreation of the
part for the screen the following year established him in motion pictures.
His memorable films include Casablanca (1942), The Maltese Falcon
(1942), To Have and Have Not (1945), Key Largo (1948), The treasure
of Sierra Madre (1948), and The African Queen (1951), for which he
won an Academy Award.
Bogart was married four times, the last time to the screen actress Lauren
Bacall. He died in Hollywood on Jan. 14, 1957.
Text 2
Bogart, Humphrey, original name HUMPHERY DEFOREST BOGART
(b. Dec. 25, 1899, New York City – d, Jan. 14, 1957, Hollywood), actor
who became a preeminent motion picture “tough guy” and was a top
box-office attraction during the 1940s and 50s. In his performances he
created an image of a weather-beaten, individualistic adventurer with a
touch of idealism hidden beneath a deadpan exterior. Off screen he
appeared to be a cynical loner, granting only minimal concessions to
Hollywood conventions and became a cult hero of the American cinema.
The son of prominent surgeon and a famous illustrator, Bogart served in
the untied states navy during World War I. A wood splinter accidentally
penetrated his upper lip and stiffened it, giving him a physical
characteristic that was later one of his screen trademarks. He began a
stage career plying juvenile roles in drawing-room comedies and made
his screen debut in Broadway’s Like That (1930). Achieving little
success in films, he returned to New York. His portrayal of the murderer
Duke Mantee in the Broadway production of The Petrified Forest (1935)
and later in the film version (1936) was a turning point in his career.
Throughout the late 1930s he was a popular gangster figure in crime
190
pictures starring Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, and others. In
1941 Bogart attained stardom for his portrayals of Mad Dog Roy Earle,
the ageing gangster in High Sierra (1941), and then as Sam Spade, the
hard-boiled private detective in The Maltese Falcon (1941). Other
famous characterizations followed, e.g. the expatriate cabaret proprietor
Rick in Casablanca (1942); the greedy prospector Fred C.Dobbs in The
Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); a gin-drinking boatman in The
African Queen (1951), for which he won and academy award for best
actor; the neurotic captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny (1954); a burnt-
out journalist in The Harder They Fall (1956). Bogart formed a
sensational screen partnership with Lauren Bacall, his fourth wife
(whom he married in 1945), in a number of pictures; To Have Not
(1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo
(1948)
Task 15
Study this note-taking frame. How does it differ from the list of headings you
prepared in task 13? Complete the frame with information from the sources
Humphrey Bogart
Dates, birthplace:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Early life:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Early acting career:
------------------------------------------------------------------
Significant films:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of character played:
------------------------------------------------------------------
191
Task 16
You have all learned English as a second or as a foreign language. The text you are
going to read describes a theory of language learning. Before you read, think about
these questions:
1.Why do learners make mistakes?
2. What do mistakes tell us?
3. What is the influence of your mother tongue when you learn a foreign language?
The text uses these abbreviations:
L1 First language FL Foreign language
L2 Second language FLL Foreign language learning
Task 17
Text 1 has these sections:
1. How FLL happens according to behaviorists
2. Influence of L1
3. Aim of behaviorist teaching
4. Problems with the behaviorist view
5. Two problems with imitation
6. Evidence from research
7. Conclusion
Scan Text 1 to mark where each of these sections begins. Then read the text to
complete the section of the table about <Theory – Behaviourist>
Text 1
THE BEHAVIORIST VIEW
A great deal of language learning and teaching in the 1950s and 1060s was
influenced by the tenets of behaviorism (pp. 234, 408). In this view, FLL is
seen as a process of imitation and reinforcement: learners attempt to copy
what they hear, and by regular practice they establish a set of acceptable
habits in the new language. Properties of theL1 are thought to exercise an
influence on the course of L2 learning: learners ‘transfer’ sounds, structures,
192
and usages from one language to the other. A widely used typology
distinguishes two kinds of transfer. Similarities between the two languages
cause ‘positive transfer’: it proves acceptable to use the L1 habits in the L2
setting (e.g. the assumption that the subject goes before the verb
satisfactorily transfers from English to French). Differences cause ‘negative
transfer’, generally known as ‘interference’: the L1 habits cause errors in the
L2 (e.g. the same assumption about subject-verb order does not
satisfactorily transfer into Welsh). Typical interference errors include: I wait
here since 3 hours (from French) and How long must my hand in plaster
stay? (from German). Problems of negative transfer are thought to provide a
major source of FLL difficulty. The main aim of behaviorist teaching is thus
to form new, correct linguistic habits through intensive practice, eliminating
interference errors in the process.
There are several problems presented by this account of FLL. Imitation
alone does not provide a means of identifying the task facing learners, who
are continually confronted with the need to create and recognize novel
utterances that go beyond the limitations of the model sentences they may
have practised. Nor does imitation suffice as an explanation of the way
learners behave: not many of the errors that are theoretically predicted by
the differences between L1 and L2 in fact occur in the language of learners;
and conversely, other errors are found that seem unrelated to the L1. In a
frequently-cited early study (H.C.Dulay & M. K. Burt, 1973), 145 Spanish –
speaking children aged 5 to 8 were selected and the error patterns analyzed.
It emerged that interference errors (such as They have hunger from Ellos
tienen hombre) accounted for only 3% of the errors made. The majority of
the errors (85%, with a further 12% unclear) were thought to resemble those
that appear in the course of L1 acquisition (e.g. They hungry).
Analyses of this kind have proved to be controversial (largely because of
difficulties in validating the error analysis ____ see below), but their general
conclusion is widely supported. The systematic comparison of L1 and L2, in
193
order to predict areas of greatest learning difficulty – a procedure known as
contrastive analysis explains only a small part of what goes on in FLL.
194
Task 18
Exchange notes with your partner to complete both sections of the table.
Task 1 (Examples)
1. an encyclopaedia
2. an atlas, a gazetteer
3. any source of up-to-date statistics, e.g. The Statesman’s Year Book
4. a specialist encyclopaedia in either psychology or language
5. a specialist bibliography
6. as 3
7. a dictionary of biography, an encyclopaedia
8. a dictionary
9. a specialist dictionary of computing or technology
Task 2
1. definitions of technical terms
2. very wide coverage of all aspects of knowledge
3. up-to-date definitions, examples of use, grammatical information, pronunciation,
illustrations
4. up-to-date information on all the countries of the world, their political systems,
trade, population, etc.
5. a bibliography of writing on women
6. a wide-ranging reference on all aspects of language
7. up-to-date statistics on trade, education, health and many other aspects of all UN
member states
8. wide coverage of all aspects of knowledge, not so comprehensive as Britannica,
with a US slant
9. help on locating places and natural features throughout the world
10. information on the lives of famous people of all ages and times, especially
Americans
195
Task 3
1. 2, 8 6. 4
2. 9 7. 2, 8
3. 4, 7 8. 3
4. 6 9. 1
5. 5 10. 1, 7
Task 4
1. 1860s
2. American Sevnthday Adventists
3. flaked, puffed, shredded, granular
4. the final stage
5. advertising – diversification and promotion
6. not stated
7. children
Task 5
1. Which science used radiocarbon dating?
2. Where can we find further information about radiocarbon dating?
3. When does an organism cease to absorb carbon dioxide?
4. What does B.P. mean in the context of radiocarbon dating?
5. What is the ‘preferred half-life- for carbon fourteen?
6. Why is there a lack of correlation between tree-ring dating and radiocarbon
dating?
Answers
1. archaeology
2. T.Watkins, Radiocarbon: Calibration and Prehistory, Edinburgh, 1975
3. on death
4. before present
5. 5,730 years
6. the production of carbon fourteen has not been constant throughout time
196
Task 6
1. China, India, Indonesia
2. North Korea
3. Bangladesh, Burma, Japan, Nepal
4. There has been no significant change in rice production between 1985 and 1988
5. Area of land under rice cultivation was reduced.
6. The production figures are unofficial
7. In the period 1979 to 1988 the area under cultivation did not change, while
production increased by around 20%
Task 8
Klein and Richards focus on reading. Barras, Palmer, and Open University will
contain general study skills advice which should include reading.
Task 10
1. e 4. a 7. g
2. b 5. f
3. d 6. c
Task 11
1. Britain, possibly Byrne, Oates & Williamson
2. Signs
3. Blackstone, Deem, possibly Sharpe
4. Shaw
5. Graham, Roby
Task 12
1. C659 5. C668
2. C661 6. C666, 667
3. c656, 664, 665 7. C657
4. C666 8. C662
197
Task 14
Americana only: schools attended, vagabond after war, stage debut
Britannica only: cause of stiff upper lip, early screen career, characters played in
films. They disagree on his date of birth (Americana gives Jan. 23, 1899, Britannica
Dec. 25, 1899), on the date of The Maltese Falcon (Americana gives 1942,
Britannica 1941), and other date of To Have and Have Not (Americana gives 1945,
Britannica 1944).
Task 15
Humphrey Bogart
Dates, birthplace: 23/1/1899 or 25/12/1899 (New York) – 14/1/1957
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early life: school in New York and Andover, US Navy in World War 1, vagabond
after war
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early acting career: juvenile roles in comedies, breakthrough in gangster role in
1935
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Significant films:
High Sierra, 1941
Casablanca, 1942
The African Queen, 1951, etc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of character played: ‘tough guy’
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Task 17
Text 1
1. How FLL happens according to behaviorists: ‘In this view. FLL is seen…’
(line 3)
198
2. Influenced of L1: ‘Properties of the L1 are thought to exercise and influence …’
(line 7)
3. Aim of behaviorist teaching: ‘The main aim of behaviorist teaching…’ (line 25)
4. Problems with the behaviorist view: ‘There are several problems…’ (line 29)
5. Two problems with imitation: ‘Imitation alone …’ (line 30)
‘Nor does imitation …’ (line 35)
6. Evidence from research: ‘In a frequently cited early study …’ (line 40)
7. Conclusion: ‘The systematic comparison of …’ (line 54)
Text 2
1. The cognitive view: ‘In this view,…’ (line 3)
2. Definition of interlangauge: ‘At each stage, …’ (line 10)
3. Role of error analysis: ‘Error analysis plays a central role …’ (line 14)
4. Importance of errors: ‘The errors provide positive evidence …’ (line 18)
5. Complexity of error analysis: ‘However, the analysis of errors turns out to be a
highly complex matter …’ (line 31)
6. Limitations of error analysis: ‘However, as with contrastive analysis, the
approach cannot …’ (line 67)
7. Scope of new explanatory models: ‘To understand the way languages…’ (line
75)
199
Errors: Caused by L1 interference
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Teaching aim: Form new correct habits through intensive practice, eliminate
interference errors
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Problems:
1. Imitation cannot provide for creativity in language
2. Imitation does not explain how learners behave
3. Contrastive analysis cannot predict or explain more than a small part of errors
and difficulties.
Theory – Cognitive
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When influential: 1970s on
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Learning takes place though:
1. Forming hypotheses about the structure of L2
2. Constructing and trying out rules
3. A series of transitional stages when learner’s language = interlanguage (neither
L1 nore L2)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Errors: Evidence of learning taking place
Problems:
1. Errors are also due to L1, teaching, materials, need to communicate with limited
resources
2. Not all errors are equally systematic and disruptive, e.g. vocabulary errors are
less predictable, yet more disruptive
3. Learner’s intentions are often unknown therefore difficult to identify nature of
the error
__________________________________________________________________
200
10.7 REFERENCES
201