Event
HomeHurt your Brain
Sunday, July 20th, 2008, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Speaker: Jack Curran, Colin Skeates
Jack Curran: 'Detailed Reading' has been the subject of several publications by David Rose and James Martin of Sydney University. They have taken Vygotsky's 'scaffolding' to a higher level and introduced a new important element 'elaboration'. In the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics they are using whole texts - top-down approach with the emphasis on meaning. They have achieved excellent results in EFL and ESL and I am particularly impressed with their work with Aboriginal children in remote parts of Australia. In my presentation I will use a recent text on Martin Luther King from 'Mainichi Weekly' that I have worked with in several classes.
Colin Skeates: "An extremely important aspect of a functional grammar is the way information is structured in communication." (Bloor and Bloor, 2004:64) The focus of this presentation is to demonstrate how one system of analysis, information structure, can be used in the classroom. For language learners, having a metacognitive understanding of information structure provides a framework to see how given and new information in a clause build to form meaning. With an understanding of this system of analysis, learners can then apply this powerful tool of analysis to other areas of communication to better understand how information is conveyed in English. Though the focus of the activities used in the presentation will be drawn from a first/second year university writing lessons, most of the activities can be used in a variety of teaching contexts.
About the Location: We're meeting at the exit of JR Machida Station from 1:00 pm. There will be somebody waiting there until 1:30 the latest. In the event that you are lost or show up later than the above times contact Colin at 090-6040-4140.
Organization: Yokohama Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Yokohama JALT)
Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 1000 yen
Venue: meet at Machida JR Exit for guidance to actual location
Location: Machida City, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan
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