FOR SCRIBD

MODULE ONE: GATHERING AND PROCESSING INFORMATION

GENERAL TOPICS

• RESEARCH
• NOTETAKING
• SUMMARY

SPECIFIC TOPICS

 Methods of data collection or data collection methods

 Strengths and weaknesses of each method
 Contexts for choosing each method or tool or instrument
 Definition of terms; Primary and Secondary Sources, reliability, validity,
authority, fact, opinion, bias, data collection method vs data collection
instrument, data vs information
 How and why there is a need for verification or authenticity
 What makes a piece or person authentic
 Writer’s main point or purpose
 Strategies and language techniques employed/used by the writer
 Types of writing: expository, descriptive, argumentative, narrative
 Study and summary skills
 Commenting on the reliability of information and evaluation of sources making
mention to dates, writer’s qualification/experience, where the information was
first published etc.

MODULE 2: LANGUAGE AND COMMUNITY

GENERAL TOPICS

• LANGUAGE
• CREOLE; DIALECT
• REGISTERS
• TECHNOLOGY

SPECIFIC TOPICS

 Define and Differentiate between a language and language

 Describe the characteristics of language
 Purpose of language
 Functions or roles of language in society re Identity marker, political role, social,
ethical and psychological
 Define dialect
 Concept of Creole history in the West Indian context (influence of colonisers,
slaves, plantation society etc)
 Characteristics or features of Creole languages e.g Using the word ‘dem’ to
signify plural (De boys an dem playin in de yard)
  Differences between Creole and Standard English
 Challenges faced by Creole speakers to learn Std English
 Points on the Creole Continuum ( Define and explain Acrolect, Mesolect and
Basilect)
 Registers re what are the factors responsible for a person’s choice of register,
dialect?
 Attitudes to language and impact of these attitudes eg for regional integration,
create sense of marginalization and alienation
 Technological advances and its impact on communication re computer,
internet, cell phones, communication gadgets

MODULE 3: SPEAKING AND WRITING

GENERAL TOPICS

• COMMUNICATION
• COMMUNICATION CONTEXTS
• TYPES OF WRITING
• SPEECH
• COMMUNICATION AIDS

MODULE 3: SPEAKING AND WRITING

SPECIFIC TOPICS FROM THE GENERAL TOPICS

 Define and describe the process of communication

 Contexts of communication (intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, mass
communication etc)
 Forms of communication (verbal, non-verbal)
 Communicative behaviors (non verbal and verbal)
 Advertisements
 Audio Visuals
 Elements of speech (content, style, delivery(tone, rate, volume, pitch, ) vocalics,
proxemics, gestures and facial expression, movements

On completing your syllabus you should be able to give detailed information

on the following:

• Communication Process re conceptualisation, encode/ing, selection of

channels, decode/ing, interpretation, feedback
• Registers re Casual/informal, formal/academic, intimate, consultative,
frozen/static
• Dialect and Dialectal variations
• Creole Continuum re Acrolect (closest to the Standard), Mesolect (closer to
Acrolect) and Basilect (mostly dialect/Creole)
• Functions/purposes of language ( communicate, entertain, rituals,
questioning, directing
• Features of Creole (any territory) re Vocabulary and Grammar
• Creole Languages of the Caribbean today and their lexical base language
 • Attitudes to language re Creoles and Standard
• How these attitudes influence choice of language in an interactive setting:
audience, message, purpose, occasion, gender and age
• Sources re how do you get information from sources (what questions should
you ask)
• Possible findings from research
• Reasons why findings can be inappropriate or why one should not use
findings to make general conclusions
• Features of Verbal and non-verbal communication
• Facilitators and barriers to communication
• Speech and speech delivery (what makes a good speech/speaker or what
makes a boring speech/speaker)
• Suitability of data collection methods re weaknesses and strengths
• Factors that influence choice of medium or channel
• Technology and its impact (positive/negative) on communication re
internet/facebook/instant messaging/e-mail on your communicative skills
and spelling skills

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR MODULE TWO ESSAYS

• Different ways people use language

• Social factors responsible for atmosphere re tense or relaxed in an interaction

• How will a video presentation enhance the scenario

• How would film effectively capture the communicative behaviours in the

scenarios

• Dialectal variations used in the passage i.e Creole and Standard of the language

• Attitudes to English (Std English) and Creole

• How a televised presentation will enhance the piece?

• Factors that may have led the speaker to choose a particular language re Std
Eng or Creole or to mix his or her languages

• Implications for wider acceptability of a chosen Creole language arising from the
writer’s use of the same language

• Relation between the writer’s use/choice of language and the context/situation

in which it’s being used

• Appropriateness of narrator’s language

• Whether a person’s language is motivated by linguistic (phonological, semantic,

syntactic rules etc) and or non linguistic factors (thinking that accent is speaking
the language etc)

• How a person can interpret another’s non-verbal gestures (correctly or

incorrectly)
 • How discomfort/attitudes can be displayed by a video presentation

• A person’s possible motivation for achieving a good command of the Standard

language (to appear educated, well read, having a higher status etc)

• Possible reasons why a person would not choose Standard English ( proud of
Creole or dialect, sees Creole as a language, learning Std English is challenging
etc)

ANALYTICAL PIECE (350 WORDS!!!)

WHAT ARE COMMUNICATIVE BEHAVIOURS? HOW TO IDENTIFY THEM IN

MODULE TWO PASSAGES?

COMMUNICATIVE BEHAVIOURS refer to the impressions that others receive from

listening to the speaker. The speaker can be either sending these impressions both
consciously and unconsciously. There are always communicative behaviours in a
person’s work…written or oral

HOW TO WRITE IN COMMUNICATIVE BEHAVIOURS IN MY REFLECTIVES?

• In the volume, rate, tone and pitch of one’s speech (Vocalics)

• In the way a person utilizes space (proxemics)

• Artefacts …use of objects to send a message

• Body Movements re posture, gesture, eye contact, facial expressions

communicate a behaviour

• Attitude towards time sends a message (chronemics)

WHAT ARE DIALECTAL VARIATIONS? HOW TO IDENTIFY /NAME THEM?

Dialectal variations refer to spoken and written differences in the use of language
within a speech community.

Dialectal variations spoken in the Caribbean are Creole (Acrolect, Mesolect and
Basilect)

Speakers can code-switch …moving between these varieties as the need arises.

Acrolect is the variety that is considered the closest to the Standard English language
or high styled. Mostly used in formal situations e.g religious rituals

Mesolect is usually the most widely spoken version of a language.

Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation is from 1977:

"Speakers in a post-creole community are triply pressured:
to avoid the basilect, to acquire the acrolect, and to vary the mesolect."
Basilect is considered the least prestigious variety that is mostly spoken by persons in
the rural communities

When commenting on the dialectal variations in a passage one can also refer to
varieties of Englishes such as Foreign Eng, Radio and Television Eng, Euridite Eng etc

WHAT ATTITUDES TO LANGUAGE CAN PERSONS HAVE BASED ON PERCEPTION?

HOW TO NAME THESE ATTITUDES?

• Attitudes such as pride if one feels that one’s choice is superior, anger towards
the next person, shame if one feels that one’s choice is inferior, feeling the need
to justify one’s choice

• Perceptions of Standard English allows a person access into international

circle

• Upward mobility

• Perceived as educated

• Belonging to the upper class

• Having money/status

• Sophistication

• Superiority/dignified

• Level of seriousness

• Well travelled

• Well read

• Living in urban areas

• Pride

• confidence

Creole and by extension dialect is perceived as

• Localised

• Stigmatised /inferior

• Uneducated/backward

• Living in country areas/rural

• Low status jobs

 • For comedy

• Language of the slaves

• Poor people

• Lower class

• Shame

• Anger

• Contempt

• Ridicule

LANGUAGE REGISTERS

This refers to a person’s choice of register in any given situation after considering
factors such as the audience, the content or subject matter, the medium and the
writer’s attitude.

One’s register can be formal, informal, consultative, frozen and intimate.