Tips for working on Language – Mary Poppins chapter 1

Here is my printer-friendly version of chapter 1 + the same but with my underlinings and highlights.

• marypoppins_01 (4 Word pages) – numbered pages and numbered paragraphs so we can find things fast!
• marypoppins_01_LW (4 Word pages)

Use literature to learn what it can teach you! Remember that through our work with books, we need to use the 4 skills (reading, listening, writing, speaking). By reading we learn about language (grammar and storytelling) and also to write!

Narratives

Notice transitions. Transitions take us from one point to another. Beginnings of paragraphs often have them. Trace the map! It’s amazing. List your examples in your UL list for this. Here are some of mine: …

Compare. In essays and articles we can focus on topic sentences. These are the sentences that at the beginning of a paragraph present the topic that will be developed.

In narratives you can also notice modifiers, not only adjectives but notice those, of course (e.g. …). And noun phrases (…) and prepositional phrases (…) and relative clauses (…), particularly with ending prepositions! — remember some omit the relative link/pronoun! (…)
Notice the “adjectives of verbs” (allow me this teaching license!!!) which are adverbs, because there are lots of verbs of saying, looking, doing or verbs of movement modified by adverbs of manner (e.g. continued/said uncertainly, gazed curiously, kiss them absentmindedly)! Please, list your examples in your UL list for this.

Your command in the use of tenses and modals will also improve if you pay attention to tenses and modals as you read. Consider examples to help you get your tenses right in your narratives. Practice your pronunciation of the –ed ending too, as you go. Notice when we use the past continuous and the past perfect, too. Some examples of mine: …

For all your language work…

Find examples in context, and your own examples in context, for the words you look it. It’s not helpful to create lists of words in isolation with their translation. Actually, how can you choose a translation if you haven’t read the definition of the word in English first? See my point? Lists of translated words don’t help you learn to use the item, and oftentimes they don’t develop your understanding of the meaning as well as a definition in English. Consider English-speaking dictionaries are descriptivist and therefore always include examples of the use of words. They’re very helpful! Chuck your English-Spanish dictionary NOW! (demented laughter).

Last, two more How-to points: in your lists of Useful Language you can create sections. Sections around grouped language items, and also a section for UL which can help you overcome fossilized mistakes (in connection to your List of Mistakes) you might make (e.g. p.3, l. 46, I don’t want IT! – because I always forget the object!), so you can work on overcoming them for good! Via Oral Drilling, too. Consequently, you should not forget to do oral work as you work on Language.

Apart from the ideas I shared about sections, you can also include: expressions, the world of verbs and/or very importantly, structures (syntactic structures), like …