2.3.4. Comparing and contrasting

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Del curso dictado por Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

English for Teaching Purposes

172 calificaciones

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

English for Teaching Purposes

172 calificaciones

Thinking about teaching your university subject in English but it’s not the Language you normally use? Then, English for teaching purposes is the course for you. A course on English and teaching methodology that aims to help university lecturers do their teaching in English, in line with university internationalisation policies. The course structure is the same for all learners and there are opportunities for them to link up with colleagues from universities all over the world who share the same discipline and discourse community, to ask questions and exchange ideas. This MOOC targets lecturers who wish to begin using English in their teaching. A priori, this means university lecturers from countries where English is not the L1 or a widely-used language (Romance language-speaking countries, for example), though in fact the course is open to teachers from all educational stages who want to teach through English, following the principles of EMI (English Medium Instruction). On completing the course, you should be able to do the following. a) Teach a university subject in English, having gained the necessary confidence and skills. b) Integrate all aspects of CLIL (methodological, pedagogical, strategic, attitudinal, motivational, linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic) to put together their own English-medium course on their particular subject. c) Describe the characteristics of the university lecture discourse genre (planning, agents, channels, phases, dynamics, and current flexibility of the genre). d) Understand and perform the basic linguistic macro-functions within English teaching discourse. e) Understand and perform, using the appropriate linguistic exponents (vocabulary, structures, and phraseology), the main micro-functions in English teaching discourse: metalinguistic, informative, evaluative, inductive, and social. f) Consolidate their oral expression and interaction skills, and their grammar and vocabulary, at English levels C1 and C2 as defined by the Council of Europe. English for Teaching Purposes is a course provided by the Language Service at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).

De la lección

Unit 2. Functions related to delivering courses through English (1)

Functions related to discourse structure: beginning and ending a class, concluding. Functions related to clarifying concepts for the students: giving examples, classifying, comparing and contrasting, defining.

2. Second week introduction2:06

2.1. Which text models does a teacher's oral discourse make use of?5:04

2.1.1. Exposition and argumentation14:13

2.2. How can I structure oral discourse?5:13

2.2.1. Introducing courses and classes7:05

2.2.2. Closing a class3:51

2.2.3. Concluding13:22

2.3. How can I clarify concepts for my students?3:30

2.3.1. Giving examples11:09

2.3.2. Classifying9:04

2.3.3. Definitions10:09

2.3.4. Comparing and contrasting9:28

Conoce a los instructores

Silvia Solá Viñals
Teacher
Servei de Llengües
Jose Ygoa-Bayer
Teacher
Servei de Llengües
Ian James
Teacher
Servei de Llengües

[MUSIC]

English for Teaching Purposes.

Comparing and Contrasting.

>> [MUSIC]

When we need to put things into perspective,

we use comparison and contrast.

[MUSIC]

Comparison and contrast enable us to evaluate the differences and

similarities between people, things, events, phenomena.

There is no comparison we often feel.

As long as we can measure, appreciate, count, or

dimension something, we can compare it to something else.

Let's start by taking a look at the easiest comparative structure,

at least grammatically speaking.

Let's see what we say when we mean that two things are the same.

Well, one decent option in this case is to skip the whole comparative structure and

use the expression the same as, X is the same as Y.

And now, a comparative structure that I'm sure you have seen in

your English books since the beginning of time.

This structure is like an adjective or an adverb,

sandwiched between adverb as and adverb as, pretty easy.

X is as counterproductive as Y.

You should solve Q as imaginatively as you solved R.

If you wish to compare the quantities of something you might be measuring,

you just sandwich a noun between the adverbs.

But add an extra layer, much or many.

X can produce as much waste as Y.

X has as many advantages as Y.

In the first example the word waste is uncountable, so

we add much between the first adverb and the noun.

In the second example we add many because advantage is a countable noun.

In fact, we use its plural form.

Making the sentences negative is interesting and elegant.

Instead of using a sentence as ambiguous and

pointless as, X is different from Y in size and price,

you can build a much more interesting X is not as expensive and large as Y.

But if you want to make this sandwiched comparatives even more interesting,

try using words that add some variation to the degree as to

which what is being compared is the same.

X is nearly as useful as Y.

Make it even more interesting.

Make this one negative, and you will increase the difference.

X is not nearly as useful as Y.

Other expressions you can use to add interest and

meaning to this comparative are almost,

approximately, nearly, essentially, exactly.

The traditional complete structure of a comparative statement should have

the following elements.

Item X, a comparative short

word than item Y, or.

Item X more long word

than and item Y.

X is smarter than Y.

X is more elegant than Y.

Let's make these statements more interesting by

adding qualifying words to intensify the comparison.

Slightly, considerably, clearly,

definitely, and far.

Sometimes you'll want to express that something doubles,

triplicates the quality of something else.

X is twice more surprising than Y.

What if we decide to focus our attention on the inferiority of one of those items?

In that case, adjectives and adverbs will be preceded by less.

Do question three first.

It's less complicated.

We can also use this kind of comparative using full structures,

as in X is less ambivalent than Y.

We are now going to watch Georgette Iyun

from the School of Education of the UAB, use this comparative structure.

Or for example,

if our students are sharing the same laptop in mean group, it's also better.

Why? Why do you

think it's better to share the laptop, instead of use [COUGH] three or

four laptops in the same group, why do you think?

>> To interact.

>> To interact, and to avoid, the use of

Facebook or social, social networks and so on.

Because if they are using the same computer, it's may, maybe less [LAUGH].

>> Tempting.

>> tempting.

Exactly.

Thank you.

Now that we know how to make simple comparatives more interesting,

we can do things like expressing the two items varying at the same time.

To do that, we use two comparatives headed by the slower.

The X goes, the easier it is to follow it.

The more interesting X gets, the less interested Y is.

We'll watch Georgetta

again using the combination of comparatives just mentioned.

And, here we have some ideas or how to improve the work, the group work.

What they propose.

For example, they propose that the more intentional you

are the better student group will function.

Which means that for example we have to provide students or with all the resources

and teach them how to improve their work in group.

They have to know how to do it.

They have to have some roles and responsibilities.

And we have to provide them the resources in order to achieve this.

>> Superlatives are great in that they compare one

item to the rest of their kind.

What you do need to remember is

that superlatives require the use of article the.

X is the most capable student in the team.

X is the shortest path to Mordor.

The good news is that their structure is simple.

I'm sure after applying these few tricks, your comparatives will flow gracefully and

you will feel more self confident when using them in class.

See you next time.

[MUSIC]

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