ORAL PRACTICE 1

The Catcher in the Rye (2)

Choose one picture that represents either an important moment in the novel/character/theme and justify your choice using evidence from the novel.

The Catcher in the Rye (3)

Use the STEP INSIDE strategy:

1) What can this person or thing see, observe or notice?
2) What might the person or thing know, understand, hold true or believe?
3) What might the person or thing care deeply about?
4) What might the person or thing worry about or question?

2) Comment on the title of the novel.

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE (1)

Watch the trailer for the movie The Catcher in The Rye and create the script of the trailer. Use your knowledge of the novel in order to do so.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVEwfJ4s8kc

ATL: Creative thinking skills!

• Taking risks
• Using old ideas in new ways and combining parts in new ways.
• Applying existing knowledge to generate new ideas.
• Creating original work as a means of personal expression.

LANGUAGE AS A WAY OF KNOWING

Ways of knowing

The TOK course identifies eight specific ways of knowing (WOKs). They are:

• language
• sense perception
• emotion
• reason
• imagination
• faith
• intuition
• memory.

Language

How does language shape knowledge? Does the importance of language in an area of knowledge ground it in a particular culture? How are metaphors used in the construction of knowledge?

Language can refer to the mental faculty which allows people to learn and use complex communication systems, or it can refer to those systems themselves. Language consists of a system of signs with agreed or conventional meanings combined according to a set of rules for the purposes of communication, formulation of ideas, storage of knowledge or as a medium of thought. The term “signs” can be interpreted very broadly to include letters, symbols, sounds, gestures, images and even objects. Language is a crucial part of our daily lives, but is also filled with potential problem areas, for example, ambiguity, sarcasm, irony and translation issues.

Language plays an important role in communicating knowledge. However, some see language as having an even more central role, arguing that language doesn’t just describe our experiences of the world but in fact actually structures those experiences. In the section on the knowledge framework there is a discussion about whether certain types of knowledge are actually constituted by language—the idea that language is part and parcel of the knowledge claim itself and not merely a description of something that exists independently of language. The view that facts about the world might be determined by the language is called linguistic determinism.

Love is a Fallacy

In most of the statements heard, spoken, read or written, facts are blended with values. How can an examination of language distinguish the subjective and ideological biases as well as values that statements may contain? Why might such an examination be desirable?

Let's Explore Fallacies: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_81fz6kUJI

13´30

TOK LINKS WITH LANGUAGE B

What follows are some questions that could be used to investigate the link between the four ways of knowing (reason, emotion, perception and language) and additional language acquisition.

• Do we know and learn our first language(s) in the same way as we learn additional languages?

• When we learn an additional language, do we learn more than “just” vocabulary and grammar?

• The concept of intercultural understanding means the ability to demonstrate an understanding of cultural diversity and/or similarity between the target culture(s) and one’s own. To what extent is this definition true?

• “Those who know nothing of an additional language know nothing of their own” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, playwright, poet, novelist, dramatist, 1749–1832). By learning another culture are we able to enrich our own?

• We can learn grammar intuitively, without conscious thought, or formally, by stating rules. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach? Are these the same for learning in other areas of the curriculum?

• To what extent does membership of a group (a cultural group, a gender group or another group) affect how we come to linguistic knowledge? Are there factors to consider between individuals within a group and between groups?

• To what extent does the learning environment (the physical setting) have an impact on the way an additional language is acquired?

• If you were to learn a language from a textbook only, how would this differ from learning through interaction only?

• Do you understand the world differently when you learn another language? How (for example, time, humour, leisure)?

• How is perception encoded differently in different languages (for example, colour, orientation)? What does this tell us about the relationships between perception, culture, reality and truth?

• How are values encoded differently in different languages (for example, family, friendship, authority)?

• When, if ever, is it possible to make a perfect translation from one language into another? What might “perfect” mean in this context?

• What is the relationship between language and thought? Do you think differently in different languages? If so, does it make a practical or discernible difference to how you interpret the world?

• If mathematics is a language, it is clearly different from natural languages. In your experience, do we learn the two differently? What does your answer tell us about the nature of mathematical and linguistic knowledge?

PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions are short words (on, in, to) that usually stand in front of nouns (sometimes also in front of gerund verbs). (GERUND VERBS ARE VERBS IN THE -ING FOR:"PLAYING/ LAUGHING/ STUDYING")

Even advanced learners of English find prepositions difficult, as a 1:1 translation is usually not possible. One preposition in your native language might have several translations depending on the situation.

There are hardly any rules as to when to use which preposition. 

The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:

Prepositions – Time

English	Usage	Example
on	days of the week	on Monday
in	months / seasons time of day year after a certain period of time(when?)	in August / in winter in the morning in 2006 in an hour
at	for night for weekend a certain point of time (when?)	at night at the weekend at half past nine
since	from a certain point of time (past till now)	since 1980
for	over a certain period of time (past till now)	for 2 years
ago	a certain time in the past	2 years ago
before	earlier than a certain point of time	before 2004
to	telling the time	ten to six (5:50)
past	telling the time	ten past six (6:10)
to / till / until	marking the beginning and end of a period of time	from Monday to/till Friday
till / until	in the sense of how long something is going to last	He is on holiday until Friday.
by	in the sense of at the latest up to a certain time	I will be back by 6 o’clock. By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.

Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)

English	Usage	Example
in	room, building, street, town, country book, paper etc. car, taxi picture, world	in the kitchen, in London in the book in the car, in a taxi in the picture, in the world
at	meaning next to, by an object for table for events place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work)	at the door, at the station at the table at a concert, at the party at the cinema, at school, at work
on	attached for a place with a river being on a surface for a certain side (left, right) for a floor in a house for public transport for television, radio	the picture on the wall London lies on the Thames. on the table on the left on the first floor on the bus, on a plane on TV, on the radio
by, next to, beside	left or right of somebody or something	Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.
under	on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else	the bag is under the table
below	lower than something else but above ground	the fish are below the surface
over	covered by something else meaning more than getting to the other side (alsoacross) overcoming an obstacle	put a jacket over your shirt over 16 years of age walk over the bridge climb over the wall
above	higher than something else, but not directly over it	a path above the lake
across	getting to the other side (alsoover) getting to the other side	walk across the bridge swim across the lake
through	something with limits on top, bottom and the sides	drive through the tunnel
to	movement to person or building movement to a place or country for bed	go to the cinema go to London / Ireland go to bed
into	enter a room / a building	go into the kitchen / the house
towards	movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it)	go 5 steps towards the house
onto	movement to the top of something	jump onto the table
from	in the sense of where from	a flower from the garden

Other important Prepositions

English	Usage	Example
from	who gave it	a present from Jane
of	who/what does it belong to what does it show	a page of the book the picture of a palace
by	who made it	a book by Mark Twain
on	walking or riding on horseback entering a public transport vehicle	on foot, on horseback get on the bus
in	entering a car  / Taxi	get in the car
off	leaving a public transport vehicle	get off the train
out of	leaving a car  / Taxi	get out of the taxi
by	rise or fall of something travelling (other than walking or horseriding)	prices have risen by 10 percent by car, by bus
at	for age	she learned Russian at 45
about	for topics, meaning what about	we were talking about you

Exercises on Prepositions: 

For exercises, go to this website: 

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/prepositions