Controlled assessment

Friday 4th November – Texting and Internet talk

Differences between written and spoken language

Written : encyclopedia entry Spoken : phone call

• Visual (it’s read) • Aural (it’s heard)

• Permanent – can be checked and re-read

• Temporary – only retained in the memory

• Impersonal: the audience is not known

• Personal: directed towards a known audience

• Distant – can be accessed at any time

• Immediate – restricted to the time of the call

Can you think of anything else?

Language forms aren’t always one or the other – some fall in between the extremes. Where on the continuum would you place the following?

Visual (it’s read)

Permanent – can be checked and re-read

Impersonal: the audience is not known

Distant – can be accessed at any time

Aural (it’s heard)

Temporary – only retained in the memory

Personal: directed towards a known audience

Immediate – restricted to the time of the call

The BibleA classroom discussionAn internet chat roomA Shakespeare playA ‘tweet’Text message advertAn episode of Eastenders

A shopping listText message from a friend

Mixed mode texts

Mixed mode texts share features with both written and spoken language.

Two examples of mixed modes are texting and ‘internet communication’ (the variety of language used by different people to send emails and communicate on forums, instant messaging software like MSN and post in internet chat rooms).

You receive this text from a friend...

Write a fairly brief reply using a style that you would usually use when texting a good friend. Don’t alter your style.

hi how ru gd wknd?

BrevitySelf expressionSculpting social imageRebellionPlayfulnessFitting inPeer group


Tuesday 8th November – Ways people text

To investigate the different ways in which people text and understand new terminology for our spoken language study.

Statement – 1 to 10 Agree?

The interaction would actually be quicker if you just rang the person rather than texted.

Texting is for young people.Texting uses slang most of the timeTexting is just another form of speechText language/use is not proper EnglishIf you don’t text proper English, you should!

Wednesday 9th November – Ways people text

To apply new terminology to actual examples of real texts focusing on why they have used certain text language.

Revision of termsWhat is an initialism?What is an emoticon?What are number/letter homophones?What is phonetic spelling?What are abbreviations?

Ways of texting What they are Examples

Initialisms Initialisms are things like LOL. Each letter stands for a word and they are used instead of the whole phrase.

Emoticons They are used to show the emotion of the message. It may help the message be clearer. You stink is different to you stink ;)

Number/Letter homophones

Use a number instead of the letter they sound like.

Phonetic spelling Words are spelled how they sound.

Abbreviations When words are shortened.

Compressed language When words are left out of sentences but the sentences still make sense.

Non-standard When text messages don’t look like proper English (slang or omission etc.)

Back-channelling These are noises we make to show we’ve listened when other people have said something.

A: Thought u woz meeting me in town?B: Soz, forgot, give me 20.A: Pizza Express?B: Yeah.A: Cool.B: L8RS x

Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channelling


Thursday 10th November – Good or bad?

To focus on the positive and negative aspects of texting conventions and apply those positives and negatives to single texts.

Initialisms Emoticons Back channellingNumber homophones

You sometimes have to use ___________ as you cannot hear someone laughing or see someone frown if you are texting.

Using ___________whilst texting can sometimes be confusing as LOL can mean Laugh out Loud or Lots of Love.

Using ______________ can save a lot of time as you only have to press one thing to replace a full word.

_______________ is useful as it shows somebody you have read their text or acknowledged a certain aspect of what you said.

Back channelling Emoticons InitialismsNumber homophonesWhen I text, I use _____________ to show that I

acknowledge what the other person has saidYou sometimes have to use ______________ as

you cannot hear someone laughing or see someone frown if you are texting.

Using ______________ is a way to type your text much quicker as you swap lots of presses for a word for one press.

Using _______________ whilst texting can sometimes be confusing as LOL can mean Laugh out Loud or Lots of Love!

Ways of texting Positives Negatives

Initialisms Most people nowadays know and use them so can be another time saving device.

Emoticons People could find the text a bit childish


Far quicker – you are saving on average two key presses.

Phonetic spelling The person receiving the text may think the sender cannot spell

Abbreviations

Compressed language Focuses on the key words of the sentence. Most people can work out the meaning anyway.

Non-standard Receiver may not like slang or even understand it.

Back-channelling Shows the person you have read the information.

Thought u woz meeting me in town?

Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channelling

Friday 11th November – Attitudes to texting

To understand and apply different attitudes to texting.

Positives of AbbreviationsBackchannellingEmoticonsPhonetic spellingCompressed language

Negatives of InitialismsNumber/Letter homophonesNon standard English

Texting – Friend or FoeGo back through the text

underlining/highlighting all the ways in which Crystal supports/defends text messaging.

Wednesday 16th November – Attitudes to texting

To appreciate the negative attitude to texting and apply both attitudes to sample texts.

Attitude starterWots ur ati2d to txt slng?Wot othr ati2dz av u hrd?Wot abt slng in gnrl? Do u uz bare sik wurdz?Or do you prefer Standard English? Why/ why

not?

David Crystal’s defence

In what ways does John Humpreys say texters defend it?

Thursday 17th November – Applying attitudes to texting

To apply positive and negative attitudes to sample texts.

What reasons does John Humpreys have for disliking it?People should have time to text things

properly.He doesn’t like that phones can use

emoticons automatically.Ambiguity of Initialisms like LOL (What do

they mean?)He is worried that the language will end up

littered with emoticons and ever changing abbreviations.

Exhausted! How woz day?

Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channelling

ProsCons

How it’s used and what it shows

Negative attitudes

Positive attitudes

Writing it up…

Tuesday 22nd November – Getting the grades.

To understand the mark scheme and apply it to a model answer and one of our own.

Re-cap on attitudesCome up with three attitudes against textingCome up with three attitudes for texting

Example analysisB replies to A’s question “hows u?” with the response “gud thanx, u?” Firstly, B uses a non-standard

feature, not using a capital letter. This is slightly quicker and easier than using a capital letter as she doesn’t need to press the shift key. It is also very informal. Whilst texting as communication is often less formal than other forms of writing, this is so informal that it suggests A and B are good friends with each other. Secondly, both “gud” and “thanx” are spelt phonetically, which could be seen as something done for brevity, as both words have one less letter than usual and again, it suggests informality.

However, this kind of phonetic spelling is fashionable among teenagers (age suggested by “History coursework”,) and this may be an example of B adapting her language because of her age and fashion, probably unconsciously. Additionally, phonetic features such as this can be seen as an attempt to represent the sounds of natural speech in order to make the conversation seem more like a real conversation. As a multi-modal text, the conversation shares features with both written and spoken texts, and this phonological spelling may be an attempt, probably unconsciously again, to make the conversation seem closer to speech.

Finally, the non Standard spelling is mildly subversive: this type of language may be used so heavily by teenagers because it is almost a form of rebellion. It rejects Standard English, and teenagers may be taking the opportunity to rebel in a new way at an age when rebellion is so attractive to them. It is a way of rejecting the habits of adults. A and B and many teenagers might see the use of such features as fun and a way of expressing themselves. However, other people see it as a threat to the language and literacy. They believe a generation is growing up unable to spell correctly because of SMS messages and the internet. Alternatively they may think that as with speech, Non Standard forms suggest that a person is uneducated or of a low class. This seems over the top and unfair to say the least! In fact, there are other people, such as David Crystal, who believe that texting is a rich and new version of language, which can exist independently.

Let’s hear some of yoursBand 3 (D/E) Candidates demonstrate9 – 12 marks exploration of how they and others use and adapt spoken language for

specific purposes exploration of features found in some spoken language data exploration of some issues arising from public attitudes to spoken

language varieties.

Band 4 (B/C) Candidates demonstrate13 – 16 marks

confident explanation and analysis of how they and others use and adapt spoken language for specific purposes

confident analysis and reflection on features found in some spoken language data

confident analysis of some issues arising from public attitudes to spoken language varieties.

Band 5 (A/A*)

Candidates demonstrate17 – 20 marks

perceptive analysis and evaluation of aspects of how they and others use and adapt spoken language for specific purposes

sustained and sophisticated interpretations of key features found in spoken language data.

sophisticated analysis and evaluation of key issues arising from public attitudes to spoken language varieties.

Soz, forgot, give me 20.

Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channelling

ProsCons


Positive attitudes

Negative attitudes



language varieties.





Band 5 (A/A*)





Danny ShaneMitchell F

Ryan M

Mr. Gibb’s desk

Josh Ashley M

Hugo Daniel C-SCarl Ellis James Alan

Ryan C RossSir Denholm Adam Shaun

BrettAyoad

e Chris

Nicholas

Jordan

Mitchell J

Lewis

DennonAshle

y B

Wednesday 23rd November – Practising with a grade in mind

To write up our own piece of analysis focusing on features, attitudes and use of text language.

What is the question?The answer is emoticons.The answer is back channelling.The answer is quicker.The answer is destroying the English

language.The answer is impacting on people’s written

English.The answer is you can switch between

texting and normal Standard English.The answer is Initialisms.

The sender uses an interesting blend of standard and non standard English: “Soz, forgot, give me 20.”The abbreviation of sorry to “Soz” is very informal and is actually used by young people in their everyday speech. The writer of the text is clearly comfortable enough to speak to the recipient of the message in a relaxed way. The fact that Soz is slipping into informal spoken language from texting would be viewed by some as a bad thing. People like John Humpreys think that text language is sloppy and that our language may become an ever changing tide of abbreviations. However, other people would argue that “Soz” would never creep into formal English as it is clearly informal. In addition, the use of Standard English capital letters, commas and full stops suggest that actually this user of text language knows the full grammatical rules of English. When they do leave out words and compress the language (words like I’ve and minutes are clearly missed out for speed) they are doing so consciously in order to suit the message that they are sending. They seem to write in a strange mixture of Standard and Non standard English and this may probably indicate someone who is well educated, but understands the value of texting relatively briefly.Overall, the abbreviations and compressed language are informal in nature, show that the sender has saved valuable time and keystrokes and seem to convey a relaxed tone, which indicates friendship with the recipient.

Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channelling


Attitudes

Features

Your text here

Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channelling

ProsCons


Positive attitudes

Negative attitudes

Writing yours up…

The person uses…On one hand, this…On the other hand…This may be used to …However…This may be…Some people argue that…Alternatively, other people think…


Attitudes

Features

Thursday 24th November – Feedback on grades and analysing

different people’s texts

To get some grade feedback on yesterday’s writing and analyse three more texts in detail, making annotations.



language varieties.





Band 5 (A/A*)





Cheers 4 the day owt sis da food n dat cake wo wel nyc. Am glad we watched that instead it woz good want it u get home ok? x

Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channelling

ProsCons


Positive attitudes

Negative attitudes

From a brother

Colloquialisms related to northern area, e.g want it, wo wel nyc

omissionphonetic spellinglower casenumerical homophones

Friday 25th November – More texts

To look at a wide range of texts exploring how and why they were sent.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15863830

Cheers 4 the day owt sis da food n dat cake wo wel nyc. Am glad we watched that instead it woz good want it u get home ok? x

In case you haven’t checked yr e-mail, the office door code has changed to 023056. Susan

Congrats on ur engagement, thats fab news! U should have popped in 2 c us when in wales. lol grandad and me :-X

What is this text about?

Who sent this text? (E.g. age, sex, their job,

place they live..)

Give reasons for choosing who sent this text, you must name at least 2

features in your reasons.

Yer probly driving but on the off chancer r u anywhere near Lufbra? The weans r about ready 4 bed.. YD

Hi sorry I missed your call home now x

What is this text about?

Who sent this text? (E.g. age, sex, their job,

place they live..)

Give reasons for choosing who sent this text, you must name at least 2

features in your reasons.

Tuesday 6th December - Practice analysis

To practice writing about one more text and collect data for your controlled assessment.


Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channellingProsCons

Why it has been written like this?

Positive attitudes Negative attitudes

From a workmate


The person uses…On one hand, this…On the other hand…This may be used to …However…This may be…Some people argue that…Alternatively, other people think…


Attitudes

Features

Band 3 (D/E) Candidates demonstrate9 – 12 marks exploration of how they and others

use and adapt spoken language for specific purposes

exploration of features found in some spoken language data.

exploration of some issues arising from public attitudes to spoken language varieties.

Band 4 (B/C) Candidates demonstrate13 – 16 marks confident explanation and analysis of

how they and others use and adapt spoken language for specific purposes



Band 5 (A/A*) Candidates demonstrate17 – 20 marks perceptive analysis and evaluation of

aspects of how they and others use and adapt spoken language for specific purposes




Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channellingProsCons

Why it has been written like this?

Positive attitudes Negative attitudes

From a workmate

Explore four different text messages analysing how they have been written and the potential attitudes people may have regarding them.

No talking – three strikesRemember to include an introduction about texting

generally.GCSE assessment – GCSE marks!Remember to use the PEE paragraph structure Remember to analyse how the text has been written,

why it has been written like that and what attitudes people may have about it (good and bad).

Go into as much detail as possible.Talk about the features used as well and why!

On a separate sheet of paperI want you to find four different types of text

on your phone.One might be from your mumOne might be from a close friendOne might be a family member other than

your MumOne might be from a friend who isn’t as

close.They should all be quite different in the way

that they are written.

Once you have your data sheet checked…You need to make notes on them in your

book:Your notes should focus on:What features are used and whyWhat attitudes people may have about the

way that the text is writtenAnything else you find interesting

Hi sorry I missed your call home now x

Yer probly driving but on the off chancer r u anywhere near Lufbra? The weans r about ready 4 bed.. YD



The person uses…On one hand, this…On the other hand…This may be used to …However…This may be…Some people argue that…Alternatively, other

people think…

Uses standard punctuation- commas, apostrophe

Only one case of omissionFormal- work related


Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channelling

ProsCons


Positive attitudes

Negative attitudes

From a grandparent

Use of punctuation although not consistentemoticonphonetic representation- simple examplesMake note of the fact that ‘lol’ means lots of

love in this case

Writing yours up…The person uses…On one hand, this…On the other hand…This may be used to …However…This may be…Some people argue that…Alternatively, other people think…


Attitudes

Features

Band 3 (D/E) Candidates demonstrate9 – 12 marks exploration of how they and others

use and adapt spoken language for specific purposes

exploration of features found in some spoken language data.

exploration of some issues arising from public attitudes to spoken language varieties.

Band 4 (B/C) Candidates demonstrate13 – 16 marks confident explanation and analysis of

how they and others use and adapt spoken language for specific purposes



Band 5 (A/A*) Candidates demonstrate17 – 20 marks perceptive analysis and evaluation of

aspects of how they and others use and adapt spoken language for specific purposes



AQA said: “In responding to the first data set the candidate confidently identifies, names and comments on a range of features. (B4) The focus is always on the task title and although it may seem a little like a list in the way features are identified, there is some confident explanation (B4), for example of the use of 'x'.”

What do you think makes the comments on ‘x’ “confident”?

Thursday 8th December - PlanningTo complete our planning grid and write a

model introduction.

Tick English Language Unit 3Centre name is The Harefield AcademyCandidate’s full name is your nameTask title is: Explore four different text

messages analysing how they have been written and the potential attitudes people may have regarding them.

Sign where it says Candidate signaturePut today’s date 8/12/11 where it says date

PlanningYou have ten minutes to copy up your text

messages and any notes onto the back of the planning sheet. Focus on how they have been written and why they have been written like that.

You must write down the key features (emoticons etc…)

You must write down some notes about attitudes to texting.

Intro: Explore four different text messages analysing how they have been written and the potential attitudes people may have regarding them. What is texting? How texting is used, by how many people? What are some of the key features of texting?What arguments are made by both sides

about texting?What are some of the key features of texting?How is texting having an impact on people

and the world?

A: Exhausted! How woz day?B: Pretty good. U?A: OK. We had meeting after school, went

on 4 ages. Got some marking to do, haven’t got the energy.

B: Oh dear! xxA: I can see you’re busy. Will text later.B: xx Initialisms

Emoticons


Phonetic spelling

Abbreviations

Compressed language

Non-standard

Back-channelling


Age The pastimes and leisure activities that people take part in will affect

language use.

Gender Who, where and why a person is talking to someone else will affect language use.

Hobbies Where a person is from (geographically) will affect language use as well as accent

Ethnicity The job or career that a person does will affect language use.

Deviance The social, educational and economic position that people are born into / live

in will affect language use.

occupation Any ‘less savoury’ activities that an individual is involved in will affect language use e.g. Bumping people off or doing porridge

Region A person’s ethnic background (for example, British Asian) will affect language use.

Social class How old or young a person is will affect language use.

context Whether you are male or female will affect language use.

In your book, write down examples of words and phrases which may be used due to each of the factors belowAge e.g. tracks, records, choons, musicGenderHobbiesEthnicityDevianceoccupationRegionSocial classcontext

Accommodation theoryWho proposed this idea? Howard Giles

What is it? Giles proposed that when speakers seek approval in a social situation they are likely to (consciously or unconsciously) change their speech so that it is similar to their listener. However, if the speaker wants to disassociate him / herself from the speaker, they may change their speech to show that they are different.

Task: In pairs, try to think of situations at school, real or invented, which could be explained by this theory.

Read the example text

Which features can you find?

How many different spoken language features can you identify using the correct terminology?

The exam board said: “The candidate's notes do not seem particularly brief. The concern, however, might be that they are not very useful because of the considerable amount of technical terminology that covers the page. The candidate's response, at about 1400 words, is significantly longer than is suggested in the specification and while there is no penalty for this, it may be worth discussing whether the length of the response works in the candidate's interest, and whether the large amount of detail in the notes is a contributory factor to this length.”

Why does the examiner think the notes were unhelpful?

What should you put on an effective notes page?

Education

Controlled assessment