Isaac Eyi Ngulube, Ph.D

Isaac Eyi Ngulube, Ph.D . .

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Learn English Son: A Practical Approach .to the English Language

Isaac Eyi Ngulube, Ph.D Department of English Language & Linguistics The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 GLP

Learn Engli sh Son: .4 practical Appmach to the English Language

Learn English Son: A Practical Approach to the English Language . -::;./L .

© 2015 Isaac Eyi Ngulube

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN :978-978-5 30-65-2-1

Published in Nigeria by

UP ULAMBA PUBLISHERS (Since 1982) #67 Rumuola Road P.O. Box 3667, Port Harcourt Nigeria.

Printed in Nigeria by SHAREX GLOBAL SERVICES +234(0)805 5313 007

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Learn English Son: A practicai Approach to the English Language

Dedication

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To

Salome, Mercy and Celestina

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Learn Engli sh Son: A practical Approach to the English Lang uage

Table of Contents Dedication 111 Acknowledgements xvii Preface

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Chapter 1: Study Skills and Methods 1. 1. Time and academic load 1 1.1 Developing personal timetable 2 1.2. Study methods 3 1.2. Listening skills 3 1.2.l What is listening? 3 1.2.2The unique features of listening4 1.2.3Model of listening 5 1.2.3.1 Communication theory of listening 5 1.2.3.2 Information processing model 5 1.2.3.3 Social/contextual model 5 1.2.3.4 Situated actions model 6 1.2.4Types of listening 6 1.2.4.1 One-way listening 6 1.2.4.2 Two-way listening 7 1.2.4.3 Attitudinal listening 7 1.2.4.4 Informational listening 7 1.2.4.5 Appreciative listening7 1.2.4.6 Critical/ analytic listening 7 1.2.5 Processes of listening 7 1.2.5.1 Bottom-up processing 8 1.2.5.2 Top-down processingB 1.2.6Listening skills 9 1.2.6.1 Micro-skill clusters in listening comprehens ion 1.2.7Listening strategies 11 1.2.7.1 Cognitive 11 1.2.7.2 Meta-cognitive 12 1.2.7.3 Social affective 12 1.3. Taking and making notes13 1.3.1 Note-taking 13 1.3.2 Preparation 13 1.3.3 Note-taking processes 14 1.3.4 Reorganization 14 1.3 .5 Note-making 15 lV

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Learn English Son: A practical Approach to the English Language

1.3.6 Reasons for taking/making note 15 1.3.7 Note taking/making skills 16 1.3.7.1 Outlining 16 18 l.3.7.2Abbreviation 1.3.7.3 Symbol 18 1.3.7.4 Diagrams and charts 19 1.3.8 Elements of note-taking/making 19 1.3.9 Conclusion 19 1.4. Reading comprehension 20 1.4.1 Elucidation of the concept r eading 21 1.4.2 Pre-reading activities 21 1.4.2.1 Determine reading purpose 21 1.4.2.2 The benefits of pre-reading activities 1.1.4.2.3 The benefits of setting reading purpose 1.4.3 Reading activities · 23 1.4.3.1 Choosing reading speed 24 1.4.3.2 Read and make note 25 1.4.3.3 Read and ask questions 25 1.4.3.4 Extraction of facts 26 .1.4.3.5 Paraphrasing 27 lA.3.6 Summarizing 27 1.4.3.7 Verbatim quotation 27 1.4.4 Post reading activities 28 1.4.5 Faulty reading habits 28 1.5. Reading as study method32 1.5.1 What to read 32 1.5.2 Reasons for reading 32 1.5.3 How to read 33 1.5.3a Scanning 33 l.5.3b Skimming 33 1.5.4 Adjusting reading speed 34 1.5.5 Text strategies 34 1.5.6 Text structure 34 34 1.5.7 Speed reading techniques 1.5.8 Reading for evaluation 36 1.5.8. l Read constructively 36 1.5.8.la Background knowledge 36 1.5.8.lb The writer's ideas 36 1.5.8.lc The writer's purpose37 v

23 23


1.5 .9 Reading critically 37 1.5.9i Assessing the writer's background 1.5.9ii Shifting facts from opinions l.5.9iii Distinguishing sentence functions 38 1.5.10 Reading creatively 1.5.lOi Looking for wider implications 1.5.lOii Integrating new ideas 38 1.5.lOiii Reading beyond the lines 1.5.11 Conclusion 39

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Chapter 2: What is language? 41 2. Definitions of language 41 2.1 Functions of language 43 2.2 Properties of language 43 2.3 .Basic language concepts 47 2.3.1 Mother tongue 48 2.3 .2 Native language 49 2.3.3 First language 49 2.3.4 Primary language 50 2.3.5 Foreign language 50 2.3 .6 Second language 50 2.3.7 Li and Lz distinctions 52 2.3 .8 Local language 54 2.3.9 Regional language 54 2.3.10 Standard language 54 2.3.11 Non -standard 55 2.3 .12 Official language 55 2.3.13 National language 55 2.3.14 Lingua franca 56 2.3.15 Language of wider communication 57 2.3.16 Transnational language 2.3.17 International language 57 2.3 .18 World language 58 2.3.19 Classical language 58 2.3.20 Modern language 58 2.3.21 Classical language 58 2.3.22 Vernacular 59 Chapter 3: Origin and history of English 61 3.1 The origin and history of English Vl

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62 3 .1.1 Britain·before the English 62 3.1.2 The arrival of the English 62 3.1.3 The English in Britain 3.1.4 The Scandinavians become English 65 3.2 The Golden age of Old English 67 3.2 .l Dialects bf Old English 67 3.3 The emergence of the Nigerian nation 67 3.3.1 Contact 69 .3.4 The development of English 72 3.4.1 The earliest incursion (1400-1842) 72 3.4.2 The missionary era (1843-1914) 72 3.4.3 Independence and experimentation (1915-1990) 74 3.5 The English language in a global context 75 3.5.1 Factors responsible for the global spread of English 75 3.5.2 Status of the English language in Nigeria 78 Chapter 4: Oracy Skills 79 4.1 The Generative theory 81 4.2 Acoustics of speech sounds 83 4.3 Auditory processes of speech sounds 4.4 Articulation ofspeech sounds 85 4.4.l Airstream mechanism 86 4.4.2 The organs of speech 87 4.4.3 The speech chain 88 4.4.3.1 The speech mechanism 89 4.4.3.2 The lungs 89 4.4.3.3 The larynx and vocal folds 90 4.5 Place of articulation of speech sounds 4.5.1 Labial 91 4.5 .2 Dental 91 92 . 4.5.3 Alveola r 92 4.5.4 Palato-alveolar 4.5.5 Palatal 92 92 4.5.6 Velar 4.5 .7 Uvular 93 4.5.8 Glottal 93 93 4.5.9 Pharyngeal 4.6. Manner of articulation 94 94 4.6.1 Plosives (or stops) .. Vil

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Learn English Son: A practical Approach ro the English Language

4.6.2 Fricatives 103 4.6.3 Affricates 113 4.6.4 Semivowels (or approximants) 115 4.6.5 Nasals 117 4.6.6 Liquids 120 4.6.7 Flap and tap 125 4.6.8 Trill 125 4.7 The quality of speech sounds 126 4.8 Mode ofphonation 127 4.9 Phonemes 129 4.9.l Allophones 131 4.10 Sound classes 133 134 4.11 Cardinal vowels 4.11.1 Vowels 135 4.11.2 Basic parameters for describing vowels 4.11.3 English vowels 136 4.11.3.1 English short vowe1s136 4.11.3.2 English long vowels 143 147 4.11.3.3 Diphthongs ___ !.11.3.4 Triphthongs 14? 4.11.3.5 Tense and lax vowels-~ 159 4.12 Transcription 165 4.12. 1 Phonemic transcription 165 4.12. 2 Phonetic transcription 165 4.12. 3 A guide to phonetic transcription 166 4.13. The syllable 167 4.13. 1 Syllable division 169 4.13. 2 Functions of the syllable 170 4.13. 3 The nature of the syllable 170 4.13. 4 The structure of the syllable 171 4.14 Prosodicity 173 173 4.14. 1 Pitch and loudness 4.14. 2 Stress 173 4.14. 3 Prominence 175 4.14. 3.1 Pitch change 175 4.14. 3. 2 Loudness 176 176 4.14. 3.3 Quantity and quality 4.14. 3.4 Degree of prominence 176 4.14. 4 Word stress pattern 177 Vlll

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177 4.14. 4.1 Roots 177 4.14. 4.2 Verbs 4.14. 4:..3 Adjectives 178 178 4.14. 4.4 Nouns 178 4.14. 4.5 Suffixes 4.14. 4.5.1 Stress-neutral suffixes 179 4.14. 4.5.2 Stress-attracting 179 4.14. 4.5 3 Stress-fixing suffixes 179 4.14. 4.6 Prefixes 180 4.14. 4.7 Compounds 180 4.14. 4.7.1 Principal types of compounds 182 4.14. 4.7.2 Compounds functioning as adjective and verbs 183 4.14. 5. English Intonation 184 4.14. 5.1 What is intonation? 185 4.14. 5.2 The importance of intonation 186 4.14. 5.3 How to improve your awareness of intonation 186 4.14. 5.4 How to help yourself 186 4.14. 5.4.1 Awareness raising 186 4.14. 5.4.2 Intonation and grammar 187 4.14. 5.4.3 Intonation, meaning and speaker's attitude 187 4.14. 5.4.4 Intonation and discourse 188 4.14. 5.5 Major intonation tunes in English 189 4.14. 5 .6 English intonation and Nigeria speakers of English 194 4.15 Phonological processes 194 4.15.1 Assimilation 195 4.15.2 Consonant change 197 4.15.3 Consonants assimilates vowel features 198 4.15.4 Vowels assimilates consonant features 200 4.15 .5 Consonant assimilates consonant features 200 200 4.15 .6 Vowel assimilates vowel features

4.15.7 Elisions 4.15.7.1 Aphaeresis 4.15.7.2 Apocope 4.15.7.3 Syncope 4.15.8 Contractions 4.15 .8.1 Coalescence 4.15.9 Linking 4.15 .9.1 Juncture 4.15.9.2 Liaison

201 201 201 202 202 202 203 203 203

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4.15.10 Epenthesis 204 4.15.11 Lenition' 206 4.15.12 Metathesis 206 4. 16 Features 209 4.16.1 Acoustic features 210 4.16.2 Articulatory features 211 4.16.3 Perceptual features 212 4.16.4 Distinctive features 212 4.17 Phonological rule notation 217 4.17 .1 Rule interaction and ordering 222 4.17.2 Functionality 224 4.17 .3 Devices in rule notation 227

Chapter 5: The word 231 5.1 Morpheme232 5.2 Word structure 232 5.3 Bases 233 5.4 Problematic cases 234 5.5 English word formation processes 234 5.6 Improving your vocabulary 244 5.6.1 What is a word? 244 5.6.2 What vocabulary should be learned? 5.6.3 How should vocabulary be learned? 5.6.3.1 Meaning-focused input 247 5.6.3.2 Meaning-focused output 248 5.6.3.3 Deliberate vocabulary learning 249 5.6.4 Developing fluency with vocabulary 5.6.5 Strategies for vocabulary development 5.6.5.1 Guessing from context 250 5.6.5.2 Using word cards and parts 250 S.6.5.3 Dictionary use 250 5.6.6 Vocabulary size and language proficiency 5.6.7 Diction - choice of words 252 5.7 Word classes 254 5.7.1 What is grammar? 254 5.7.2 Closed-system items 256 5.7.30pen-system items 257 5.8 The noun 257 5.9 The pronoun 273 x

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Learn;Engli sh Son: A p ractical Approach to th e English Languag e

5.10 Verb forms 280 . 5.10.1 The verb 283 5.10.2 Primary ,auxiliary 284 5.10.3 Modal vJ rbs 284 5.10.4 Finite verbs 296 5.10.5 Mood 298 5.10.6 Transitivity 299 5.10.7 Reciprocal verbs 300 5.10.8 Linking verbs 300 5.10.9 Phrasal verbs 301 5.10.10 Collocation 303 · 5.10.11 Idioms 304 5.10.12 Object304 5.10 13 Voice 306 5.11 Tense 308 5.12 Aspect 309 5.12.l The perfect aspect 309 5.12.2 Tense and aspect 310 5.12.3 Present tense 310 5.12.4 Future time 315 5.12.5 Past time 320 5.12 .6 Tense subordination or sequence 5.12.7 Indirect speech 327 5.12.8 Past subordination 331 5.12.9 Future subordination 331 5.13 The verbal 333 5.14 adverbs 335 5.15 Adjectives 335 5.16 The article 340 5 .17 Prepositions 342 5.18 Conjunctions 340 2115.19 Interjections 340 5.20 Determfii:ers 346 5.21 Modifiers347 5.21. Dangling modifiers 347 ~

Chapter 6: Sentence Elements 6.1 Phrases 361 6.1.1 Noun phrase 361

361

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Learn English Son: Apractir:al Approach

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6.1.2 Verb phrase 362 6.1.3 Prepositional phrase 362 6.2 Clauses 362 6.2.1 Noun clause 3 62 6.2 .2 Adjective clause 363 6.2.3 Adverbial clause363 6.2.3.1 Types of adverbial clauses 364 6.2.4 Relative clause 364 6.3 Subject-verb agreement 366 6.3.1 Verb forms involved in subject verb agreement 366 6.3.2 Intervening words 367 6.3.3 Each, Every 367 6.3 .4 Subjects joined by 'and' 368 6.3.S Subjects joined by 'or'/ 'nor' 369 6.3.6 Collective noun as subject 370 6.3.7 Subject following verb 371 6.3.8 Predicate noun 371 6.3 .9 Nouns ending in -s 372 6.3.10 Relative pronoun as subject 372 6.3.11 residual cases 373 6.4 Tag questions 373 6.4.1 How to use tag questions 374 6.5 The sentence 374 6.5.1 Recognizing sentences 375 6.5.2 The positions of the subject and predicate in the senten ce 376 6.5.3 Forms of the subject 376 6.5.4 Forms of the predicate 377 6.5.S Types of sentences 378 6.5 .6 Functions of sentence 379 6.5.7 Basic sentence patterns 380

Chapter 7: Varieties of English 385 7 .1 Educational and social standing 385 7.2 Varieties acco rding to subject matter 7.3 Varieties according to medium 7.4 Varieties according to attitude 387 7.5 Regional variation388 7.5 .1 British English vs . American English 7.5.2 Bisparity between BrE and AmE .. Xll

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385 386

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Learn Engli sh Son: A p raclical Approach to the English La11guage

7.5.3 Grammatical differences between BrE and AmE 7.5 .3.1 Differences in verb usage 390 7.5.3.2 Differences in pronoun usage 391 7.5.3.3 Differences in prepositional usage 391 7.5.3.4 Differences in article usage 392 7.5.3.5 Differences in vocabulary usage 393 7.5.3.6 Spelling differences between BrE and AmE 396 7.6 Nigerian English 397 7.6.1 Features of Nigerian English 401 7.6.2 The effect of English on indigenous languages 420 7.6.3 Origin of Pidgins and Creoles 423 7.6.3.1 Pidgins424 7.6.3.2 Creoles425 7.6.3.3 Attitudes 427 7.6.3.4 Code-switching 427 7.6.3.5 Mechanics of code-switching 428 7.6.3.6 Code-switching and language interference 429 7.6.3.7 Code-switching or code-mixing 431 7.6.3.8 Attitudes to code switching 431 7.7 Diglossia 432 7. 7 .1 Attitudes in a diglossic situation 433 7.7.2 Relating diglossia to bilingualism 433 7.7.3 The broader sense of diglossia 434 7.7.4 Changes in a diglossic situation401 7.8 Polyglossia 435 436 7.9 Bilingualism 7.10 The literary use of English in Nigeria 439

Chapter 8: Writing skills 443 8.1 What is composition? 443 8.2 Writing skills 444 8.3 Stages in composition writing 8.3 .1 Pre-writing 444 8.3.2 Writing the draft 454 8.3.3 Re-writing stage455 8.4 Structuring the essay 456 8.4.1 Introduction 456 8.4.2 Body 456 8.4.3 End 457 Xlll

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Learn Engli sh Son: A p ractical Appmach to the English Lang uage

8.4.4 Essay Plan 8.5 Report writing

460 461

Chapter 9: Structuring the paragraph 465 9.1 What is a paragraph? . 465 9.2 What is a topic sentence? 465 9.2.2 Patterns of paragrap h development 467 9.3 Forms of writing 472 9.3.1 Description 473 9.3.2 Exposition 475 9.3.3 Narration 476 9.3.4 Argument 476 9.4 Writing summary 477 9.4.1 What is summary writing? 477 9.5 The mechanics of writing 479 9.5.1 What is punctuation? 480 9.5.2 Why punctuate? 480 9.6 The mechanics of word 487 9.6.1 Use pangram 487 9.6.2 The majuscule 488 9.6.2.1 Proper nouns 488 9.6.2.2 Proper adjectives 488 9.6.3 The minuscule 489 9.6.3a Diacritical marks 489 9.6.3b Strict observation of the number of letters in a word 489 9 .6.3c Strict observation of the ordering of letters within a word 489 9.6.3d Orthographic demands 490 9.6.3e Combating the spelling demons/imps490 9.6.3f Mastery of the original double letters 491 9.6.3g To split vs not to split words 491 9.7 Spelling 492 9.7.1 Consistency in spelling 492 9 .7.2 Word division 493 9 .7.3 Handling English plurals 493 9.7.4 Using foreign words 493 Chapter 10: Letter writing 495 10 Personal letters 495 10.1 Approaches to personal letters 495 XlV

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Learn Engli sh Son: A p ractical Approach

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the English Language

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----- -10 .2 The format of a personal letter 497 10 .2.1 The address 497 10.2 2 The salutation 497 10.2 .3 The body of the letter 498 10. 3 The subscription 499 10. 4 Addressing the envelo pe 499 10.5 Official letters 500 10.5.1 Forms of the business letter 10.5.2 Name and address of the receiver 10.5.3 Salutation 501 10.5.4 The title of the letter 501 10.5 5 The body of the letter 502 10.5.6 The subscription 502 ,C____.- -

500 501

Chapter 11: Meaning 511 11 Semantics as part of a grammar 512 11.1 varieties of meaning 513 11.1.1 Lexical and structural meaning 514 11.2 Categorematic and syncategorematic expressions 11.3 The nature of meaning 517 11.3.1 Semantic relations involving words 518 11.3.2 Semantic relations involving sentences 528 11.4 Dimensions of meaning 529 11.5 Componential analysis 534 11.5.1 Semantic components 536 11.5.2 The notational system in componential analysis 11.6 Mentalist theories of meaning 537 11.7 The use theory of meaning 537 11.8 The goals of semantic theory 538 11.9 The conceptual system 539 11.9.1 Fuzzy concepts539 11.9.2 Graded membership 540 11.9.3 Metaphor 541 11.10 The lexicon 547 11.10.1 The lexicalization of concepts 547 11.10.2 The grammaticalization of concepts 549 11.10.3 Syntax and sentence interpretation 550 11.10.4 Other factors in sentence interpretation xv

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Learn English Son: A practical Approach tr; the English Language

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Chapter 12: Research and Documentation 12 Selecting a topic 578 12.1 Making the topic specific 578 12.2 Making sure you can conduct the research 12.3 The background of your study 577 12.4 The thesis statement 579 12.5 Abstract 579 12.6 Literature review 581 12.6.l What is review of literature? 582 12.6.2 Stages in the review of literature 582 12.6.3 Sources of data582 12.6.4 Types of literature to be reviewed .. 12.6.5 Organization of reviewed literature 12.6.6 The appraisal of reviewed literature 587 12.7 The hypotheses 588 12.7.1 The declarative hypotheses 588 12.7.2 The null hypotheses 588 12.8 Research methods 589 12.8.1 Population and sample 589 12.8.2 Research design 590 12.8.3 Experimental design 590 12.8.4 Ex-post facto design 590 12.8.5 Correlational design 591 12.S.6 Survey design 591 12.8.7The case-study design 591 12.8.7.1 Attacking the research problem 592 12.8.7.2 Steps to problem analysis 593 12.8.7.3 The report 594 12.9 Instruments 595 12.9.1 Interview 596 · 12.9.2 The questionnaire 597 12.9.3 Observation techniques 599 12.10 Plagiarism 600 12.11Documentation601 12.11.1 MLA style guide 601 12.11.2 APA style guide 601 References 615 Index 623 XVI

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Acknowledgements

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A work of this magnitude will not be completed without contributions from a number of persons. The first on the list i? Prof. B.B. Fakae, the Vice Chancellor of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, who employed me to teach the Use of English. It is my contact with the freshmen that spur me into writing this momentous book. The second person on the list is Dr. Enu-Obari Ekakaa of the Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics, who recommended me to the Vice Chancellor. I would like to thank Prof. A. 0. I Gabriel, the Director of Institute of Foundation Studies, who has been most encouraging. She constantly nudges me on to write a book that will meet the needs of my students who ~ut across various faculties and departments. I thank Prof. Nkein Okoh for thinking through many issues of content and organization with me and for extensive comments on the writing and examples; Prof. Sunday Lale is the best editor that I know, he is someone who understands the issues and has such a grasp of the English language in all its ramifications. Some aspects of this research were initiated while I was a Senior Lecturer at the Department of English Studies at the University of Port Harcourt. I would like to thank the professors then present for extensive conversations, in particular Oyemaechi Udumukwu. Daniel Ogum, Polycarp Anyanwu, Nwanhunanya Chiyere, Malara Ogundipe; doctors Obari Gamba, Michael A. Nwala, Stephen Anurudu, Umeh Ngwoke, Omera Okeke Nneka, Chinaka Psalms and Margaret Nutsukpo. At the new 'monastery', as usual, everyone has been wonderful; I would like to single out Dr. C.N. Ogbujah, 0 Jason Osai and Dr. Bobo Agava for special thanks. I like to acknowledge my children, who really bore the brunt of neglect while I was developing this course book: Ngulube Eyi Ngulube, Willie Eyi Ngulube, Tekarah Eyi Ngulube, Nsisaobari Eyi Ngulube, Nyemeka Eyi Ngulube, and Joshua Eyi Ngulube. Finally, my wife, Comfort Eyi Ngulube, has worked with me at every step of the revision, and of her I can gratefully say: She is my dearest friend and most perceptive critic, who assists in innumerable and valuable ways .

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Learn English Son: A p ractical Approach to the English La11guage

Preface

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Learn English Son is designed to be comprehensive without being cumbersome. It seeks, in all areas, to be exact, clear and succinct. It is a practical grammar book covering all the rules of English grammar and writing styles - punctuation, sentence structure, correct word usage and a guide to adapting your writing style to different formats and assignments for classroom and business use. It is conceived as a reference material for the Use of English in Rivers State University of Science and Technology, and for English Language and Linguistics students of other Universities. Learn English Son proceeds systematically from fundamentals of study skills and methods to analysis of English words and sentences. It attempts to give the potential writer an expe.r_t command of the fundamentals of good writing and the basic skills required for effective writing. It further attempts to examine the principles that underlie good written English and to suggest the best metnods by which students may write good English. It provides advice and instruction on verbal logic, clarity of expression, emphasis, consistency of style, and how to structure paragraphs and essays. It concludes with recommendation on handling the larger elements such as the paragraph and the whole of the composition. The Modern Languages Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) styles of documenting research papers have been added, along with instructions on using the Library and Internet for research. Learn English Son may be studied as a course, proceeding from the simple to the more complex. Students may practice each principle in turn and be assured of their progress by using the exercises. The book has many idiosyncrasies due to the author being a non-native speaker, having taught English and Linguistics in Nigeria, Britain, and the United States. I have kept in mind the persistent need of writers for compact, ready reference work. Consequently, the diversified contents are clearly demarked and are readily identifiable to facilitate the finding of specific . princip les or answers to particular problems of composition.

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STUDY SKILLS AND METHODS kill is a 'habit formed and developed into practical ability through conscious, deliberate and persistent effort' (Anke Nutsukpo, 2011, p. 26) In other words, skill is a habit practiced into practical ability. The university encourages students to imbibe positive habits or skills and use them to achieve academic success, and the pursuit of future self-fulfillment. If a skill is well developed it becomes a tool and a ·m ethod. Fox et al. (2001) cited in Nutsikpo (2011, p. 26) explains that skill is 'a way or manner of doing; an orderly system or arrangement.' In this chapter, I will focus on 'time management' (its systematic organization against study load) and study facilities and resources.

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1. Time and academic load A common saying has it that time is an essential commodity, especially in the university system. Time need to be well organised and utilized very effectively for maximum success. We have 168 hours in a week and an undergraduate has an amount of study load to carry. There is the need for careful balancing of time and workload for good success. First divide your time into official time, personal time and private time. Official time comprises time spent at lectures, practicals, seminars, the time spent in the library, time spent on public lectures, study tours and visits, games and sports, student union activities, clubs and societies. Personal time is the time spent on private study, worship, personal health care, entertainment and reading for pleasure. Private time is the time spent exclusively on preps and all serious academic work such as reading, assignments, preparation for tests, term and seminar papers. Private time according to Nutsukpo (2011) 'is the 168 hours of the week minus all time spent on all other activities in the course of the week.' Study load refers to 'all serious

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Learn Enghsh Son: A Prawwl Approach lU 1he English language

academic activities of the week and it is on this that private time should be maximally spent for optimum dividend.' Your private time is best and optimally used through developing a personal timetable, note that a personal timetable is different from an official timetable. Your personal time should be devoted to your academic load. 1.1 Developing personal timetable There are a number of things that should be considered before developing your personal timetable. Nutsukpo (2011) advices that students must add up the time spent on other activities and sleep and take it away from your 168 hours a week. Put down on paper, the number of courses for the semester, the number of practicals, assess each course in terms of levels of difficulty, share your available time among the prescribed courses but ensure to allocate more time to the difficult courses, this implies less time left for the easier/more manageable courses. Decide when your day begins and ends. According to him the next step is to draw up a timetable frame with the days of the week and time neatly allocated on it (see the sample below). Cross out slots for official activitie~ - lectures, tutorials, practicals, routine duties, etc. Whatever time is left constitutes your private/study time slots. Fill - t.he private study slots with activities such as revision, private reading, assignments, etc. for each course. Have your personal private timetable typed and keep photocopies. TIME

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Study Skills and Methods

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1.2 Study methods Study methods are strategies which if effectively applied will bring about success in academic career, and they include: comprehensic;m (listening and reading), note taking and note making, summarizing, discussion with a lecturer or in study groups, assessment and evaluation, test, term paper, and examination, projects - individually and in group. I will take up all these in different sections of this book. 2. Listening Skills One of the most neglected language skills in the university system in Nigerian is listening; everybody assumes that thi~ skill is innate and therefore every new-intake knows how to listen. My experience in the Nigerian classroom indicates otherwise. The new and even the returning students have no clue on how to listen and the micro-skills that enables one to listen properly. Here, I plan to explain systematically what is listening? Secondly, I follow this up with the unique features of listening, after which I outline and discuss the various models of listening. Thirdly, I examine types of listening and the processes of listening. A number of listening skil1s have been proffered in most learned journals of the world; I examine these skills and see how applicable they are to the Nigerian classroom situation. And finally I concentrate on listening strategies. I hope the treatment adopted here will help improve the quality of lecture delivery and understanding on the part of the undergraduate and graduate students alike. 2.1. What is listening? 'Listening involves making sense of spoken language through using visual input, relevant prior knowledge and the context in which we are listening.' (Tony Lynch and David Mendelsohn, 2010, p. 180) These experts suggest that listening is better conceived as a series of related processes, which involves recognition of sounds uttered by the speaker, · perception of intonation patterns indicating information focus, interpretation of the relevance of what is said to the current topic, etc. (180). It is suggested that listening is hindered by such condition as poor acoustic or an

3

l _l·;. rn English Son: .4 Prar·1in 1i ApjJrocu:h tu the F:nglish l.anguage

fact that they have only one chance to process the linguistic input in a very short time', although, in some circumstances, the listener might have the rear privilege--m:.-~-- requesting the speaker to repeat or rephrase but this chance is often few and far in between. Rubin (1994), Brown (1995a), Lynch (1998) and Buck (2001, p. 149-151) identified two main areas of difficulty in listening, which they designate as input charactedstics and task characteristics. The input characteristics include su ch major areas of language, which encompasses speech rate, unfamiliar accent, number of speakers, similarity of voices, use of less frequent vocabulary, grammatical complexity, embedded ideas units and complex pronoun reference. The second key area is that of explicitness, which include implicit ideas and lack of redundancy. The third chief area is one of organization, which include events narrated out of natural time order, examples preceding the point they illustrate. The fourth area is content, which include unfamiliar topics, number of things and people referred to, unclear indication of the relative importance of protagonists in the text, shifting relationships between protagonists and abstract content. The fifth is context; this involves lack of visual or other supports. The task tend to be more difficult when they require processing more details, integration of information from different parts of the text, recall of gist (for example, writing a summary) rather than exact content, separation of fact from opinion, recall of non-central or irrelevant details and a delayed response, rather than an immediate one. In the past listening is conceived as a passive process but more recently listening is viewed as an active process. Good listeners are therefore as active as good speakers. Lynch and Mendelsohn (2010) posit that active listening is an interpretive process,· exact decoding of the message. If this is true, the inherent variation in listener's comprehension of what they hear, and of the importance of context and non-linguistic variables in this interpretation become vital. 2.2. The unique features of listening There are four features that are idiosyncratic to listening; the first is that listening 'is usually ephemeral, one-shot nature'. The second is 'th'e presence of rich prosodic features such as stress, intonation, rhythm, loudness and duration, which are absent from the written language.' The third is 'the presence of characteristics of natural fast speech, such as assimilation, which makes it markedly different from written language', for instance: [gammt] instead of /gAvanmant/. Fourthly, 'the frequent need to process and respond almost immediately.' (Lynch and Mendelsohn, 2010, p. 180) 4

Study Skills and Methods

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2. 3. Model of listening Research in this area ha~ produced theories or models of comprehension, reflecting contemporary knowledge in the field (Lynch and Mendelsohn (2010, p. 181). There are four models of listening currently in vogue. 2. 3.1 Communication theory of listening This theory was propounded by Shannon and Weaver (1949) and called 'the mathematical theory of communication.' The goal is to make telecommunication system more efficient, it really does not have impHcit findings for listening and comprehension, but it1sfrom this rh.eory thatsuch terms like 'transmission', 'signal', 'reception' and 'noise' that are vital to the listening and comprehension processes are derived. The second concern of this theory is with 'intelligibility' and 'perception' and the result is used to evaluate 'equipment' and 'listeners' (Licklider and Miller, 1951, p. 1040). Even if the original goal is not to enhance human listening and comprehension, the theory has stimulated thinking about the ways in which comprehension could not be characterized in terms of straightforward reception of a message (Lynch and Mendelsohn 2010, p. 181). 2.3.2 Information processing model This theory focuses on comprehension model, and it is influenced by 'research in computing and artificial intelligence' (Lynch and, Mendelsohn, 2010). The following concepts are vital to this theory: 'the concept of input', 'processing and output', 'with humans seen as limited processors' in the sense that they can only pay attention to one task at a time. In Anderson's (1985) information processing models uses words ~uch as 'perception', 'parsing' and 'utilization', while Brown (1995a) uses the words 'identity', 'search' and 'file and use'. What is obvious from these experts is that they both imply stages of understanding. It is presently recognized that listeners achieve real-time processing by using parallel distributed processing. This, according to Lynch and Mendelsohn (2010), entails integrating information from various sources simultaneously, and working 'bottom up' (looking for clues in linguistic input) and 'top-down' (activating background knowledge and exploiting context). 2. 3.3 Social/Contextual model This theory of listening recognizes 'human' and 'comprehension' as key factors in processing information. Comprehension is seen as 'a cognitive process ... that unites the social and the individual' (Ohta, 2000, p. 54). In comparison to the already

5

Learn Engli sh Son: A Praclical Approach

10

!he English Language

discussed two models, this theory sees human as participants in and creators of meaning and meaning is achieved through interactional space between us and not just inside our individual heads (Sperber and Wilson 1995, p. 61). Context is assigned a primary role by writers adopting the social-constructive view of language (van Lier, 1996, 2000). Lier argues against the use of such computing metaphors as 'input' and 'output' on the grounds that they undermined the active participation of the successful listener in interaction. 2. 3.4 Situated action model Barsalou (1999), an evolutionary psychologist, argues that humans spend time trying to understand in order to do things (situated action) rather than to achieve information in memory. He claims that language evolved from the need to control the actions of others in activities such as hunting, gathering and simple industry. 'The foundational properties of human language today reflect those evolutionary pressur es then. Formal education and science have occurred much too recently to have had such impact.' (Barsalou, 1999, p. 66) Proponents of this model do not rule out the need for comprehension, but place emphasis on interactions. Linguists agree that these four comprehension models are complementary rather than mutually exclusive. As we investigate the full range of listening tasks, we find that the different elements required for successful listening are best explained by a combination of the comprehension models available. 2. 4. Types of listening Lynch and Mendelsohn (2010) identify two ways of listening: one-way listening and two-way listening ('reciprocal' or 'interactional') listening. They argue further that these two types intersect with two principal functions of language: 'transactional' and 'interactional' (Brown and Yule 1983). Transaction as they conceived it focuses on 'the transfer of information', while the sole function of interaction is the maintenance of social relations. This writer suggests four other types of listening, using two combined factors to determine these types of listening. The purpose of listening determines the degree of attention, and both purpose and degree of attention determine types of listening-attitudinal listening, informational listening, appreciative listening and critical/analytical listening. 2. 4.1 One-way listening Listening was formerly linked with the transactional function of language, and this informed while listening practice was taught almost exclusively using monologue 6

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Study Skills and Meth ods

(Lynch and Mendelsohn, 2010). One-way transactional listening is crucial especially in academic activity such as lectures - 'it is listen ing in order to learn.' This is because pedagogic discourse has certain well-defined characteristics such as 'density of cognitive content'; 'a tendency towards de-contextualization'; and 'the need to do something with what has been heard, such as take notes on the content'. Another area were one-way listening is paramount is in watching a film or television or listening to the radio . These media exposes the listener to varieties of styles; from the more formal and prepared (such as a newsreader's script) to the more informal and spontaneous (such as a sports commentary). 2.4.2 Two-way listening In spite of the fact that most of our everyday listening occurs in two-way interactions, research studies and pedagogic publications advocate one-way, non-reciprocal listening. (Brown and Yule 1983, Brown 1995b, Lynch 1995, 1997 and Yule 1997) Two-way listening is called 'listening and speaking' (Oprandy, 1994) because it involves dialogue or discussion, where different features come into play. Lynch and Mendelsohn (2010, p. 183) posit that the listener's involvement, or potential involvement, in a speaking role brings costs as well as benefits: the costs include the requirement to respond appropriately, the time pressure in processing what is being said, and the risk of misinterpreting the interlocutor; the communicative benefits include the opportunity to get doubts cleared up straight away and problems resolved. Bell (1984) proposes four listeners' roles in his framework. Of course, these roles are culture sensitive, and represent norms rather than rules. Participant: Someone who is being spoken to and has the same speaking rights as others present. Addressee: Someone who is being spoken to but has limited rights to speak Auditor: Someone who is being spoken to but is not expected to respond Over hearer: Someone who is not being spoken to and has no right to speak 2. 4.3 Attitudinal listening Our attitude and environment affects the way we listen. The environment is the place where listening is taking place, is it noisy or quiet, comfortable or uncomfortable, these will affect the level of efficiency in listening. The individual is even more important than the environment, the listener must be aware of the importance of paying attention while listening, he must know why he is listening and must discriminate between hearing and understanding (Lynch and Mendelsohn, 2010). 7

Learn En gli sh Son: A Practiced Approach lo the English L1111g11age

The listener has to process what he has heard in order to make meaning out of it. The listener must respond using nods, smiles, and other gestures to indicate that understanding is taking place. The listener should know that inattention cannot be concealed as it manifests in frequent body movement, rustling of paper, etc. A biased listener often runs blank, and this calls for open-mindedness in listening, all these are attit udinal problems that generate attitudinal listening. 2. 4.4 Informational listening Experts are of the view that what we do on a daily basis is to listen for information, whether it is corniB-g-from-a-l-e-c-tur-e in the classroom, the announcement made at the depar ture or arrival halls of an airport, the message of the town crier