THE LANGUAGE

MODEL
■The most common approach is the
Language Model.
■Carter and Long (1991) calls this the
‘language-based approach.’
■It seeks a closer integration between
language and literature.
■Students can improve their
language proficiency by using
literature as a resource in language
learning.
■Teacher provides a series of
language activities.
■The language model seeks greater
unification between language and
literature. (Carter:1988)
Lazar (1993)

■Lazar sees literary texts as resources

for language practice through series
of language activities rather than
studying literature for the purpose of
acquiring facts and information.
■The Language Model enables learners
to access a text in a systematic and
methodical way in order to exemplify
specific linguistic features e.g. literal
and figurative language, direct and
indirect speech, and others.
Activities:

■cloze procedure ■summary writing

■prediction ■creative writing
exercises ■role play
■jumbled
sentences
1. Cloze Procedure
■ Cloze Procedure is a reading comprehension activity
in which words are omitted from a passage and
students are required to fill in the blanks.
■ It requires the ability to understand context and
vocabulary in order to identify the correct language
or part of speech that belongs in the deleted
passages.
■ The word cloze is derived from closure in Gestalt theory.
■ The exercise was first described by W.L. Taylor in 1953.
■ Gestaltism is a German term interpreted in psychology
as "pattern" or "configuration."
■ Gestaltism is based on understanding and perceiving
the whole sum of an object rather than its components.
Language skills developed through
Cloze Procedure:
■ It is helpful in developing in students semantics (word meaning) and
syntactic (word order) clues in reading – one of the most important
skills a student can acquire.
■ The importance of syntactics:
– The dog bit the man.
– The man bit the dog.
■ The importance of semantics:
– The little girl fed the cat.
– The little girl hit the cat.
Task Design:

■ Words may be deleted from the text in question either

mechanically (every nth word) or selectively, depending on
exactly what aspect it is intended to test for.
■ Example: A language teacher may give the following
passage to students:
– Today, I went to the ________ and bought some milk and
eggs. I knew it was going to rain, but I forgot to take my
________, and ended up getting wet on the way.
Today, I went to the ________ and bought some milk and eggs.
I knew it was going to rain, but I forgot to take my ________,
and ended up getting wet on the way.

■ Students would then be required to fill in the blanks

with words that would best complete the passage.
■ Context in language and content terms is essential
in most, if not all, cloze tests.
■ The first blank is preceded by "the"; therefore, a
noun, an adjective or an adverb must follow.
Today, I went to the ________ and bought some milk and eggs.
I knew it was going to rain, but I forgot to take my ________,
and ended up getting wet on the way.

■ However, a conjunction follows the blank; the sentence

would not be grammatically correct if anything other than a
noun were in the blank.
■ The words "milk and eggs" are important for deciding which
noun to put in the blank; "supermarket" is a possible
answer; depending on the student, however, the first blank
could be store, supermarket, shop, shops, market, or grocer
while umbrella, or raincoat fit the second.
■ Answer:
– Today, I went to the store and bought
some milk and eggs. I knew it was
going to rain, but I forgot to take my
umbrella, and ended up getting wet on
the way.
Assessment

■ The definition of success in a given cloze test varies,

depending on the broader goals behind the exercise.
■ Assessment may depend on whether the exercise is
objective (i.e. students are given a list of words to
use in a cloze) or subjective (i.e. students are to fill
in a cloze with words that would make a given
sentence grammatically correct).
■ Example:
– I saw a man lay his jacket on a puddle
for a woman crossing the street. I
thought that was very ______.
I saw a man lay his jacket on a puddle for a
woman crossing the street. I thought that was
very ______.
■ Given the above passage, students' answers may then vary
depending on their vocabulary skills and their personal
opinions.
■ However, the placement of the blank at the end of the
sentence restricts the possible words that may complete the
sentence; following an adverb and finishing the sentence,
the word is most likely an adjective.
■ Romantic, chivalrous or gallant may, for example,
occupy the blank, as well as foolish or cheesy. Using
those answers, a teacher may ask students to reflect
on the opinions drawn from the given cloze.
■ Answer: I saw a man lay his jacket on a puddle for a
woman crossing the street. I thought that was very
romantic.
Implementation:

■ In addition to use in testing, cloze deletion can

be used in learning, particularly language
learning, but also learning facts.
■ This may be done manually – for example, by
covering sections of a text with paper.
2. Making Predictions
■ Making predictions is a basic reading skill that requires
higher level thinking.
■ To make a good prediction, readers must consider available
information and make an inference.
■ Good readers make predictions based on textual evidence.
■ If you use evidence to support your predication, you can
justify it whether you are right or wrong.
Benefits of Making Predictions on the
students’ language learning:
■ Predicting encourages children to actively think
ahead and ask questions.
■ It also allows students to understand the story
better, make connections to what they are reading,
and interact with the text.
■ Making predictions is also a valuable strategy to
improve reading comprehension.
■ Making predictions is also a valuable strategy to
improve reading comprehension.
■ Making predictions encourages readers to use
critical thinking and problem solving skills.
■ Readers are given the opportunity to reflect and
evaluate the text, thus extracting deeper meaning
and comprehension skills.
Example:

■ Vince Thunder waved to the crowd one more time before he put on his motorcycle
helmet. The crowd cheered uproariously. Vince looked down the ramp and across
the 17 school busses that he was about to attempt to jump. It was a difficult trick
and everything would need to go right for him to nail it. His cape blew in the wind. As
Vince hoped on his motorcycle and started down the ramp, he noticed something
that he had not seen before. There was large oil slick at the end of the ramp. He
attempted to stop the bike, but it was too late. He had already built up too much
momentum.
■ What event is most likely to occur next?
■ What evidence from the text supports your prediction?
 example:

■ Lance didn't cook much but he wanted to do something nice for his wife's birthday, so he
decided to make her dinner. He was preparing a meal of steak and potatoes by following
a recipe that he had found on the Internet. He put the steaks on the grill on low heat and
quartered the potatoes. Then he threw the potatoes in a skillet with a little bit of oil and
cooked them over medium heat. After browning the potatoes, he grabbed the skillet by
the metal handle and put it into the oven at 400 degrees. Twenty minutes later he
grabbed the steaks off of the grill and began preparing the plates. The last thing that he
needed to do was take the potatoes out of the oven. He thought about using a potholder
to remove the pan, but didn't want to bother with getting one out of the drawer. He
reached into the hot oven, his hand nearing the metal handle of the skillet. He wrapped
his hand around the handle and clenched tightly...
■ What event is most likely to occur next?
■ What evidence from the text supports your prediction?
3. Jumbled
Letters/Sentences
■ Jumbled-sentences technique is effective to
enhance students’ skill in writing report text.
■ The factors influencing students writing skill, which
the jumbled letters/sentences technique is designed
to address, are: lack of vocabulary, grammar errors,
difficulties in understanding and translating words
or sentences.
Examples:

1. evening in Do ? your television the parents watch

Answer: Do your parents watch television in the
evening ?
2. o'clock Jeremy the bus takes Monday mornings.
eight always on
Answer: Jeremy always takes the eight o'clock bus on
Monday mornings.
3. dining please? Ben, to the could the room, you bring
bread
Answer: Ben, could you bring the bread to the dining
room, please?
4. Rogers with London. to is friends she shopping go
Mrs her likes when in
Answer: Mrs Rogers likes to go shopping with her
friends when she is in London.
5. books you the ? many library, have are at all
interesting them read There
Answer: There are many interesting books at the
library, have you read them all?
4. Summary Writing
■ A summary is written in your own words.
■ A summary contains only the ideas of the original
text.
■ Do not insert any of your own opinions,
interpretations, deductions or comments into a
summary.
■ Identify in order the significant sub-claims the author
uses to defend the main point.
Language skills developed in summary
writing:
■ Writing a summary is an important skill that
students will use throughout their academic careers.
■ In addition, summarizing improves reading skills as
students pick out the main ideas of a reading.
■ It also helps with vocabulary skills as students
paraphrase a reading, altering the vocabulary and
grammar as they do so.
Example: Sum up in one sentence the writer‘s advice
to people who want to stop violence, according to the
passage.
Violence
Now, if you want to stop violence, if you want to stop wars, how much vitality, how much of yourself, do you give to it? Isn’t it
important to you that your children are killed, that your sons go into the army where they are bullied and butchered? Don’t you care? My God, if
that doesn’t interest you, what does? Guarding your money? Having a good time? Taking drugs? Don’t you see that this violence in yourself is
destroying your children? Or do you see it only as some abstraction? All right then, if you are interested, attend with all your heart and mind to find
out. Don’t just sit back and say, ‘Well, tell us all about it’. I point out to you that you cannot look at anger nor at violence with eyes that condemn or
justify and that if this violence is not a burning problem to you, you cannot put those two things away. So first you have to learn; you have to learn
how to look at anger, how to look at your husband, your wife, your children; you have to listen to the politician, you have to learn why you are not
objective, why you condemn or justify. You have to learn that you condemn and justify because it is part of the social structure you live in, your
conditioning as a German or an Indian or a Negro or an American or whatever you happen to have been born, with all the dulling of the mind that
this conditioning results in. To learn, to discover, something fundamental you must have the capacity to go deeply. If you have a blunt instrument, a
dull instrument, you cannot go deeply. So what we are doing is sharpening the instrument which is the mind - the mind which has been made dull
by all this justifying and condemning. You can penetrate deeply only if your mind is as sharp as a needle and as strong as a diamond. It is no good
just sitting back and asking, ‘How am I to get such a mind’? You have to want it as you want your next meal, and to have it you must see that what
makes your mind dull and stupid is this sense of invulnerability which has built walls round itself and which is part of this condemnation and
justification. If the mind can be rid of that, then you can look, study, penetrate, and perhaps come to a state that is totally aware of the whole
problem. To investigate the fact of your own anger you must pass non-judgemental on it, for the moment you conceive of its opposite you condemn
it and therefore you cannot see it as it is. When you say you dislike or hate someone that is a fact, although it sounds terrible. If you look at it, go
into it completely, it ceases, but if you say, ‘I must not hate; I must have love in my heart’, then you are living in a hypocritical world with double
standards. To live completely, fully, in the moment is to live with what is, the actual, without any sense of condemnation or justification - then you
understand it so totally that you are finished with it. When you see clearly the problem is solved. But can you see the face of violence clearly - the
face of violence not only outside you but inside you, which means that you are totally free from violence because you have not admitted ideology
through which to get rid of it? This requires very deep meditation, not just a verbal agreement or disagreement. You have now read a series of
statements but have you really understood? Your conditioned mind, your way of life, the whole structure of the society in which you live, prevent
you from looking at a fact and being entirely free from it immediately. You say, ‘I will think about it; I will consider whether it is possible to be free
from violence or not. I will try to be free.’ That is one of the most dreadful statements you can make, ‘I will try’. There is no trying, no doing your
best. Either you do it or you don‘t do it. You are admitting time while the house is burning. The house is burning as a result of the violence
throughout the world and in yourself and you say, ‘Let me think about it. Which ideology is best to put out the fire?’ When the house is on fire, do
you argue about the colour of the hair of the man who brings the water?
Suggested answer. The author advises people who want to stop violence to look at the violence outside and inside themselves
without judging, without justifying or condemning it.
 School and life
In my experience the problem of what to do in life was not made any easier by those who were entrusted with my
education. Looking back, it seems most odd that never once in all the years that I was at school was there any general
discussion about careers. As presumably the main object of going to school is to prepare for after life, it surely would have
been very easy and relevant to organise lectures or discussions designed to give boys a broad view of the enormous variety of
occupations open to men of average intelligence? Of course many boys were destined from birth to follow their fathers’
careers, but even these would have benefited by glimpse of a wider horizon. Often and often in after life I have come across
people doing jobs that I had never dreamed of before, and which would have thrilled me had I been told about them at school.
I suppose the reason for this extra-ordinary omission is that so many schoolmasters had themselves such a restricted view.
Spending all their time working to a rigid curriculum, the passing of examinations by their pupils gradually became the whole
object of their working life. I recognize the importance of being made to learn things that one does not like, but surely it was
not good to give the young mind the impression that all education was a form of mental gymnastics. For example, I used to
find geometry rather fun, and, when I still had the naïve idea that what I was being taught might have some practical value, I
asked what geometry was for. The only answer I ever got was that it taught one how to solve problems. If, instead, I had been
told the simple fact that the word was derived from the Greek ge, the earth, and metron, a measure, and that the meaningless
triangles that I was asked to juggle with formed the basis of geographical exploration, astronomy and navigation, the subject
would immediately have assumed a thrilling romance, and, what is more, it would have been directly connected in my mind
with the things that most appealed to me.
My experience in this connection may have been unfortunate, but it was by no means unique; many of my friends
who went to different schools confess to a similar experience, and complain that when they had completed their school
education they had not the remotest idea of what they wanted to do. Moreover I do not think that this curiously detached
attitude towards education was confined to schools. It had been intended that I should go to one of the great universities. I
was tepid about the idea myself, for I had developed a dislike for the very thought of educational establishments. However, the
prospect of three extra seasons in the Alps was a considerable incentive, and by dint of an enormous mental effort I
succeeded in cramming sufficient Latin into my head to pass (at my second attempt) the necessary entrance examination. In
due course I went to be interviewed by the master of my prospective college. When I was asked what subject I propose to take
when I came up to the university, I replied, somewhat diffidently, that I wanted to take Geology - diffidently, because I still
regarded such things as having no reality in the hard world of work. The answer to my suggestion confirmed my fears. ‘What
on earth do you want to do with Geology? There is no opening there unless you eventually get a first and become a lecturer in
the subject.’ A first, a lecturer - I, who could not even learn a couple of books of Horace by heart! I felt that I was being
laughed at. In fact I am sure I was not, and that my adviser was quite sincere and only trying to be helpful, but I certainly did
not feel like arguing the matter. I listened meekly to suggestions that I should take Classics or Law, and left the room in a state
of profound depression. ‘Oh Lord,’ I thought, ‘even here I won't be able to escape from Kennedy's Latin Primer,’ with which I
had been struggling for ten years
Suggested answer. He did not feel his education had much practical value as it failed to prepare him for life after school.
5. Creative Writing
■ Creative writing is any form of writing which is
written with the creativity of mind: fiction
writing, poetry writing, creative nonfiction
writing and more.
■ The purpose is to express something, whether
it be feelings, thoughts, or emotions.
Language skills developed in Creative
Writing:
■ The Ability to Communicate
■ Reasoning and Problem Solving
■ Knowledge of Grammar, Spelling, and
Punctuation
Exercise: take a wonderful line from a text
and make a poem out of it
■ Feeling tired ■ Feeling depressed
■ Not having enough time ■ I was scared when home
■ Being misunderstood alone;
■ Not able to speak clearly ■ I felt comfortable crying in
public;
■ Having a disagreement
■ First time we kissed
■ Being late
■ “I love you”
■ Feeling incompetent
Exercise: choose a simile from the text
and make a poem out of it
■ “Sounds of leaves moving ■ Ivy creeping like silent footsteps.
overhead like so many whispered ■ A breeze gentle as a child
conversations.” wakening.
■ “He slumps like the very meaning
■ Leaves rustling like distant
of surrender.” voices.
■ “Lawyers encircled the farm like a■ Leaves falling like men on a
fence.” battlefield.
■ Now, start making your own. ■ Breath from her mouth like a
Some from my journal: wave of sea water
Exercise: choose a metaphor from the
text and make a poem out of it

■The empty outlet of anxiety

■The withered doghouse of grief
■The empty medicine of hope
■Exercise: write an essay about the
theme of the story
■Exercise: choose a scene from the
story and make a poem out of it
6. Role Play
■ Role play is a learning structure that
allows students to immediately apply
content as they are put in the role of a
decision maker who must make a
decision regarding a policy, resource
allocation, or some other outcome.
Language skills developed in Role
Playing:
■ improve language and communication skills
– students often come out with words or phrases
that we had no idea they knew!
Through imaginative play and role play, students
learn to choose their words carefully so that
others can understand what they are trying to
communicate.
■ Role Play provides students with opportunities to develop their
cognitive skills and make connections between different areas of
activities and experiences.
■ Engagement in pretend play allows students to utilize their language
skills, particularly on their phonological awareness and vocabulary
skills, as these areas provide the basis of word-level reading skills
and, along with other language skills, which are critical to the
foundation of students’ reading comprehension skills.
■ Vocabulary is also one of the strongest predictors of students’
educational success.
■Example: Determine the theme of
the literary text, make a story
based on the them, assign
students for their roles.