LET Reviewer for English Majors

1. I.
Linguistics
1.
Scope of Linguistic Studies
1.
Phonology studies the combination of sounds into organized units of speech, the
combination of syllables and larger units.
2.
Phoneme is a distinctive, contrasted sound unit, e.g. /b/, //, /g/. It is the smallest unit of
sound of any language that causes a difference in meaning.
3.
Allophones are variants or other ways of producing a phoneme.
1.
Phonetics studies language at the level of sounds: how sounds are articulated by
the human speech mechanism.
2.
Morphology studies the patterns of forming words by combining sounds into
minimal distinctive units of meanings called morphemes.
3.
Morpheme is a short segment of language which (1) is a word or word part that has
meaning, (2) cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts without violating its meaning, (3) recurs in
different words with a relatively stable meaning.
4.
Allomorphs are morphs which belong to the same morpheme e.g., /s/, /z/, and /ez/
of the plural morpheme /s/ or /es/.
5.
Free morphemes can stand on their own as independent words, e.g., beauty in
beautifully, like in unlikely. Thus, they can occur in isolation.
6.
Bound morphemes cannot stand on their own as independent words. These
morphemes are also called as affixes.
7.
Inflectional morphemes never change the form class of the words or morphemes to
which they are attached. They show person, tense, number, case, and degree.
8.
Derivational morphemes are added to root morphemes or stems to derive new
words.
1.
Syntax deals with how words combine to form phrases, clauses, and
sentences, and studies the way phrases, clauses, and sentences are constructed.
2.
Structure of predication refers to the two components : subject and
predicate
3.
Structure of complementation has two basic elements : verbal and
complement
4.
Structure of modification includes two components : head word and
modifier
5.
Structure of coordination covers two components : equivalent
grammatical units
1.
Semantics attempts to analyze the structure of meaning in
language and deals with the level of meaning in language.
1.
Lexical ambiguity refers to the characteristic of a word that
has more than one meaning.
2.
Syntactic ambiguity refers to the characteristic of a phrase
that has more than one meaning e.g. Filipino teacher.
4.
Pragmatics deals with the contextual aspects of meaning in particular situations ; studies
how language is used in real communication.
1.
Speech act theory advances that every utterance consists of three separate acts
(1) locutionary force an act of saying something and describes what a speaker says, (2) illocutionary force

 the act of doing something and what the speaker intends to do by uttering a sentence, and (3)
perlocutionary act an act of affecting someone; the effect on the hearer of what a speaker says.
2.
Categories of illocutionary acts refers to categories proposed by John Searle to
group together closely related intentions for saying something:
Representative stating, asserting, denying, confessing, admitting, notifying, concluding, predicting, etc.
Directive requesting, ordering, forbidding, warning, advising, suggesting, insisting, recommending, etc.
Question asking, inquiring, etc.
Commissive promising, vowing, volunteering, offering, guaranteeing, pledging, betting, etc.
Expressive apologizing, thanking, congratulating, condoling, welcoming, deploring, objecting, etc.
Declaration appointing, naming, resigning, baptizing, surrendering, excommunicating, arresting, etc.
1. Discourse studies chunks of language which are bigger than a single sentence.
2. Language Views / Theories of Language
1.
The Structuralists support the idea that language can be described in terms of observable and
verifiable data as it is being used.
1.
Language is a means of communication.
2.
Language is primarily vocal
3.
Language is a system of systems.
4.
Language is arbitrary.
5.
The Transformationalists believe that language is a system of knowledge made manifest in
linguistic forms but innate and, in its most abstract form universal.
1.
Language is a mental phenomenon. It is not mechanical.
2.
Language is innate. Children acquire their first language because they have a
language acquisition device (LAD) in their brain.
3.
Language is universal: all normal children learn a mother tongue, all languages share
must share key features like sounds and rules.
4.
Language is creative and enables speakers to produce and understand sentences
they have not heard nor used before.
6.
The Functionalists advocates that language is a dynamic system through which members
of a community exchange information. It is a vehicle for the expression of functional meaning such as
expressing ones emotions, persuading people, asking and giving information, etc.
They emphasize the meaning and functions rather than the grammatical characteristics of language.
1. The Interactionists believe that language is a vehicle for establishing interpersonal relations and for
performing social transactions between individuals.
Language teaching content may be specified and organized by patterns of exchange and interaction.
1. Language Acquisition / Theories of Language Learning
1.
Behaviorist learning theory the language behavior of an individual is conditioned by sequences
of differential rewards in his/her environment.
According to Littlewood (1984), the process of habit formation includes the following :
1. Children imitate the sounds and patterns which they hear around them.
2. People recognize the childs attempts as being similar to the adult models and reinforce (reward) the sounds
by approval or some other desirable reaction.
3. In order to obtain more of these rewards, the child repeats the sounds and patterns so that these become
habits.
4. In this way t he childs verbal behavior is conditioned (shaped) until the habits coincide with adult models.
Behavioralists see three crucial elements of learning: (1) a stimulus, which serves to elicit behavior, (2) a
response triggered by the stimulus, and (3) reinforcement which serves to mark the response as being
appropriate and encourages the repetition of the response.

1. Cognitive learning theory. Noam Chomsky believes that all normal human beings have an inborn
biological internal mechanism that makes language learning possible.
Cognitivists / innatists mentalists account of second language acquisition include hypothesis testing, a
process of formulating rules and testing the same with competent speakers of the target language.
1. Krashens Monitor Model (1981).This is the most comprehensive theory in second language acquisition. It
consists of five central hypotheses.
1.

The acquisition / learning hypothesis claims that there are two ways of developing competence

in L2:
Acquisition the subconscious process that results from informal, natural communication between people where
language is a means, not a focus nor an end in itself.
Learning the conscious process of knowing about language and being able to talk about it, that occurs in a more
formal situation where the properties of a language are taught
1. The natural order hypothesis suggests that grammatical structures are acquired in a predictable order for
both children and adults _ certain grammatical structures are acquired before others, irrespective of the
language being learned.
2. The monitor hypothesis claims that conscious learning of grammatical rules has an extremely limited
function in language performance: as a monitor or editor that checks output.
3. The input hypothesis. Krashen proposes that when learners are exposed to grammatical features a little
beyond their current level those features are acquired.
4. The affective filter hypothesis. Filter consists of attitude to language, motivation, self-confidence and
anxiety. Learners with a low affective filter seek and receive more input, interact with confidence, and are
more receptive to the input they are exposed to.
Teachers must continuously deliver at a level understandable by learners
Teaching must prepare the learners for real life communication situations
Teachers must ensure that learners do not become anxious or defensive in language learning.
Formal grammar teaching is of limited value because it contributes to learning rather than acquisition
1. Language Teaching Implications
1.
Language theories provide some basis for a particular teaching method or approach.
Structuralism / behaviorism has produced the audiolingual method (ALM), oral approach / situational
language teaching, bottom-up text processing, controlled-to-free writing.
1. The cognitive learning theory results to the cognitive approach that puts language analysis before language
use and instruction by the teacher, before the students practice forms.
Learning as a thinking process gives birth to cognitive-based and schema-enhancing strategies such as
Directed Reading Thinking Activity, Story Grammar, Think-Aloud, etc.
1. The functional view of language introduced methods which are learner-centered, allowing learners to work in
pairs or groups in information gap tasks and problem-solving activities where such communication strategies
as information sharing, negotiation of meaning, and interaction are used.
These communication-based methods include the Communicative Language Teaching / Communicative
Approach, Notional-Functional Approach, Natural Approach
1. Cognitive affective has given rise to a holistic approach to language learning or whole person learning. It
also includes the humanistic approach, allowing learners vocabulary for expressing, sharing and
understanding ones feelings, values, and needs.
The humanistic techniques cover Community Language Learning.
1. II.

Literature

2. Goals of Teaching Literature

1.
Develop and/or extend literary competence. Jonathan Culler defines literary competence as the
ability to internalize the grammar of literature which would permit a reader to convert linguistic sequences
into literary structures and meaning.
2.
Develop and/or enhance learners imagination and creativity.
3.
Develop students character and emotional maturity.
4.
Develop creative thinking.
5.
Develop literary appreciation and refine ones reading taste.
1. Methods in Teaching Literature
1.
Lecture Methods : formal, informal, straight recitation
2.
Discussion Methods : pair work, buzz group, group work
3.
Public Speaking Methods : memorizing, interpretive reading (Readers Theater, Chamber Theater),
debate, panel forum
4.
Audio-Visual Methods : using slides, transparencies, film, vcd, dvd,
5.
Project Methods : scrapbook making, exhibit/diorama, dramatization, literary map, time line,
video/audio scriptwriting
6.
Field Research Methods : field trip, author interview
7.
Creative Writing Methods : journal writing, closure writing, team writing, writing workshop
2. Some Strategies and Techniques in Teaching Literature
1.
Show and Tell and Blurb Writing using the title and cover design
2.
Movie Poster and Movie Trailer transforming a literary piece into film
3.
Writing Chapter Zero / Epilogue writing a prequel or sequel
4.
Mock Author Interview assigning a student to play the role of the author
5.
Biographical Montage compiling authentic materials about the author
6.
Graphic Representations using sketching or other visual representations
7.
Sculpting making a tableau or montage
8.
Creative Conversation, Speech Balloons, or Thought Bubbles supplying dialogues
9.
Worksheets completing grids or writing responses
10.
Transforms translating or turning a piece into another genre
1. Literary Criticism involves the reading, interpretation and commentary of a specific text or texts which
have been designated as literature. Literary criticism is the application of a literary theory to specific texts.
Literary theory identifies what makes literary language literary and the function of literary text in social and
cultural terms.
1.
Classical Literary Theory literature is an imitation of life.
1.
Mimesis (Plato) literature is an imitation of life.
2.
Dulce et utile (Horace) function of literature is to entertain or to teach/instruct
3.
Sublime (Longinus) style may be low, middle, high, or sublime
4.
Catharsis (Aristotle) purgation of negative emotions of fear and pity
5.
Historical Biographical and Moral Philosophical Approaches
a. A literary work is a reflection of its authors life and times or the life and times of the characters in the work.
b. It emphasizes that literature functions to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues.
1. Romantic Theory. William Wordsworth articulated it in his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads as literature which
should
a. have a subject matter that is ordinary and commonplace
b. use simple language, even aspiring to the language of prose

c. make use of the imagination

d. convey a primal, simple, uncomplicated feeling
e. present similitude in dissimilitude (similarities in differences)
1. New Criticism believes that literature is an organic unity. To use this theory, one proceeds by looking into
the following : the persona, the addressee, the situation (where and when), what the persona says, the
central metaphor (tenor and vehicle), the central irony, the multiple meaning of words.
2. Psychoanalytical Theory applies Freudian psychoanalytic ideas to literature.
a. It looks into the characters or authors motivations, drives, fears, desires.
b. It believes that creative writing is like dreaming it disguises what cannot be confronted directly the critic must
decode what is disguised.
1. Mythological / Archetypal Approach is based on Carl Jungs theory of collective unconscious.
a. Repeated or dominant images or patterns of human experience are identified in the text.
b. It also uses Northrop Fryes assertion that literature consists of variations on a great mythic theme that contains
the following : (1) the garden : the creation of life in paradise, (2) alienation : displacement or banishment from
paradise, (3) journey : a time of trial and tribulation, (4) epiphany : a self-discovery as a result of struggle, (4) rebirth /
resurrection : a return to paradise.
1. Structuralist Literary Theory comes from the linguistic theory of Ferdinand de Saussure which
recognizes language as a system or structure. To Vladimir Propp and Tzvetan Todorov , structuralism should
identify the general principles of literary structure and not to provide interpretations of individual texts. Three
dimensions in individual literary texts :
a. the text as a particular system or structure in itself (naturalization of a text)
b. texts are unavoidably influenced by other texts (intertextuality)
c. the text is related to the culture as a whole (binary oppositions)
1. Deconstruction interrogates our common practices in reading and exposes the gaps, incoherences, the
contradictions in a discourse and how the text undermine itself or how a text contradicts itself.
Deconstruction draws much from the works of Jacques Derrida. The process involves
a. identifying the oppositions in the text
b. determining which member is favored/privileged and looking for evidence that contradicts it
c. exposing the texts indeterminancy
1. Russian Formalism led by Viktor Shklovsky aims to establish a science of literature and discover the
literariness of a text by highlighting the devices and technical elements used by the author. These elements
should include :
2. baring the device e.g. distorting time in various ways foreshortening, skipping, expanding, transposing,
reversing, flashback, flashforward, etc.
3. defamiliarization this means making strange and using fresh ways of describing things
4. retardation of the narrative the technique of delaying and protracting actions by using digressions,
displacements, extended descriptions, etc.
5. naturalization refers to how we endlessly become inventive in finding ways of making sense of the most
random or chaotic utterances or discourse.
6. carnivalization Mikhail Bakhtin used this term to describe the shaping effect of carnival on literary texts.
The festivities associated with the carnival are collective and popular; hierarchies are turned on their heads
(fools become wise; kings become beggars); opposites are mingled (fact and fantasy, heaven and hell); the
sacred is profaned; the rigid or serious is subverted, mocked or loosened.
1.
Marxist Literary Theory. It aims to explain literature relation to society that literature can only be
properly understood within a larger framework of social reality. Marxist literary critics would like to look at the
structure of history and society and then investigate whether the literary work reflects or distorts this

structure. They insist that literature has a social dimension it exists in time and space, in history and
society. Moreover, writers are constantly formed by their social contexts and social class.
2.
Feminist Criticism. Branching out from Marxism, it is a political discourse; a critical and theoretical
practice committed to the struggle against patriarchy and sexism.
a. Feminism asks why women played a subordinate role to men in society.
It studies the male-dominated canon to understand how men have used culture to further their domination of
women.
b. It studies literature by women for how it addresses or expresses the particularity of womens life and experience.
Feminist critics insist that womens experience is different from mens.
1. 12. Postcolonial Criticism. Postcolonialism refers to the independence enjoyed by Third World countries
after the decline of colonial rule by imperialist powers. The many concerns of postcolonial criticism includes
the following :
a. attempt to resurrect their national culture and to combat the misconceptions about their culture
b. dramatize the colonial experience and their response to it
c. escape from the implicit body of assumptions to which the language of the colonizing power, English, was
attached.
d. study diasporic texts outside the usual Western genres, especially works by aboriginal authors, marginalized
ethnicities, immigrants, and refugees.
e. analyze nationality, ethnicity, and politics with poststructuralist ideas of identity and indeterminacy, and hybrid
constructions (Homi K. Bhaba)
1. 13. Post Modern Literary Theory. Postmodern refers to the culture of advanced capitalist societies, which
has undergone a profound shift in the structure of feeling. Postmodern texts have the following features :
a. fragmentation
g. intertextuality
b. discontinuity
h. decentering
c. indeterminacy
i. dislocation
d. plurality
j. ludism
e. metafictionality
k. parody
f. heterogeneity
l. pastiche

1. III.
Linguistic Approaches to Reading
2. Bloomfield Approach Leonard Bloomfield and Clarence Barnhart advocate that the child should be
acquainted with the letters of the alphabet at the very start. The child should begin with capital letters and
then go to small letters.
3. Fries Approach Charles Fries basic concept : Learning to read in ones native language is learning to
shift, to transfer, from auditory signs for the language signals which the child has already learned to visual or
graphic signs for the same signals for language perception. The aim is to develop high-speed recognition
responses to English spelling patterns.
4. C. Eclectic Approach
1.
Reading as interest development of the recreational reading habit; the major approach is
personalized or individualized reading.
2.
2. Reading as language process
Language Experience Approach a strategy which views reading as an extension of speaking :
thinking/experiencing, talking, writing, reading.
Psycholinguistic Approach view reading as an interaction of thought and language, a process of
combining psychology and linguistics. This approach advances that reading, like listening, is a receptive

process, used to understand a written message, that readers reconstruct the authors meaning in their own
words.
1. Reading as culture focuses on the relation between dialect differences and the written message as well
as on ones cultural heritage. It makes instruction relevant to the pupils cultural background.
2. Reading as a learned process emphasizes on controlled development of skills in a structured sequence
progressing from simple to complex
The Basal Textbook Approach follows this general format : scope-and-sequence or flow chart for all an
overall view of skills; kindergarten readiness workbooks; first grade, second grade and above skillbooks;
teachers guides and assessment tests. The standard basal text lesson follows these steps:
(a) background or motivation
(b) vocal development
(c) purposeful or guided silent reading
(d) discussion
(e) purposeful rereading
(f) skill instruction in word recognition, comprehension skill with the use of workbooks
(g) enrichment activities
The Linguistic Approach look at reading as recognizing and interpreting graphic symbols representing
spoken sounds which have meaning. It stresses sound-symbol regularity and systematic exposure to
frequently used sounding patterns.
The Phonics Approach believes that the English spelling system is essentially regular in its
correspondence between letters and speech sounds and that letter sounds can be blended together to form
words. For second language learners short phonics drills on crucial sounds like f, v, j, sh, th, z, a and the
schwa are needed.
Programmed Instruction includes step-by-step learning, learning, immediate feedback, regular and
constant review and individual progress through materials.
The Skills Monitoring Approach reading is analyzed in terms of skills arranged in hierarchies. This
approach entails
(1) a scope and sequence chart of reading skills
(2) a battery of tests for preassessment of reading abilities
(3) based on test results, instruction to adjust to pupils interest, abilities, and needs
(4) a continuous assessment using both formative and summative tests
(5) a corrective or remedial measures
(6) an adequate and challenging enrichment activities for the bright pupils.
1.
2.
1.

1.

IV.
Stage and Speech Arts
Level / Context of Speech Communication
Intrapersonal involves only oneself.
Internal discourse like thinking, analysis, contemplation, meditation
Solo vocal communication like thinking aloud, soliloquies
Solo written communication not intended for others like diaries, or personal journals
Interpersonal involves an exchange between sender and receiver of a message. It may be direct (face-toface) or indirect (via telephone, e-mail, teleconference)
Dyadic communication ; two people talking
Group communication ; study group, committee meetings
Public communication ; scholarly lectures, political campaigns
1. B. The Speech Arts
1.
Different types of public speech according to purpose

 Informative to present facts, knowledge, information

Persuasive to reinforce or modify the audiences beliefs
Occasional or entertaining to amuse the audience
1. How the speech is delivered
Impromptu speech delivered with little or no preparation
Extemporaneous speech delivered with some prepared structure such as notes or outlines
Memorized speech reciting speech from memory
Manuscript speaking reading the speech word-for-word from its written form or the manuscript
1. Types of oral interpretation
a. Solo interpretation
Story telling oral sharing of a personal or traditional story; it may be illustrative (using drawings) or
creative / dramatic (using gestures and creative movements) for entertaining or educating
Interpretative / interpretive reading also called dramatic reading, oral reading, or reading aloud by using
the elements of voice and diction to convey meaning and mood
Declamation recitation of a poem from memory and is marked by strong feelings
Monologue interpretative oral performance of prose or poetry in which the interpreter plays a role
b. Group interpretation
Reading concert also known as Readers Theatre- oral reading activity with speakers presenting literature
in a dramatic form
Chamber Theater theatrical approach to performing narrative literature
Speech Choir also choral reading, choric interpretation, vocal orchestration ensemble reading technique
where a group of readers recite as one in coordinated voices and related interpretation : (1) reading in
unison several voices sound like one instrument, (2) solo and chorus soloists recite lines and chorus
recites refrains, (3) responsive reading lines are recited alternately by solo or chorus
1.
2.
1.

1.

V.
Structure of English
Sentences. Every sentence must have both a subject and a verb.
Three kinds of sentences
A declarative sentence states a fact, e.g., Connie loves Rommel.
An interrogative sentence asks a question, e.g., Does Connie love Rommel?
An exclamatory sentence registers an exclamation, e.g., Like, I mean, you know, like wow!
Three basic structures
A simple sentence makes one self-standing assertion, i.e., has one main clause, e.g., Connie loves
Rommel.
A compound sentence makes two or more self-standing assertions, i.e., has two main clauses, e.g.,
Connie loves Rommel and Rommel enjoys it.
A complex sentence makes one self-standing assertion and one or more dependent assertions,
subordinate clauses, dependent on the main clause, e.g., Connie who has been desiring Rommel these
twelve years, loves him, and Rommel, whats more, still enjoys it.

1. Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses

A restrictive clause modifies directly, and so restricts the meaning of the antecedent it refers back to, e.g.,
This is the girl that started all the fun. One specific girl is intended. The relative clause is not set off by a
comma.
A nonrestrictive clause, though still a dependent clause, does not directly modify its antecedent and is set
off by commas. These girls, who came from Iloilo, are all sweet and charming.
1. Appositives. An appositive is an amplifying word or phrase placed next to the term it refers to and set off by
commas, e.g., Henry VIII, a glutton for punishment, had six wives.

1. Basic Sentence Patterns (based on syntax)

1.
Parataxis Phrases or clauses arranged independently, in a coordinate construction, and often
without connectives, e.g., I came, I saw, I conquered.
2.
Hypotaxis Phrases or clauses arranged in a dependent, subordinate relationship, e.g., I came,
and after I came and looked around a bit, I decided, well, why not, and so conquered.

1. Asyndeton Connectives are committed between words, phrases, or clauses, e.g., Ive been stressed,
destressed, beat down, beat up, held down, held up, conditioned, reconditioned.
2. Polysendeton Connectives are always supplied between words, phrases, or clauses, as when Milton talks
about Satan pursuing his way, And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies.
3. Periodic Sentence is a long sentence with a number of elements, usually balanced or antithetical,
standing in a clear syntactical relationship to each other. Usually it suspends the conclusion of the sense
until the end of the sentence, and so is sometimes called asuspended syntax.
4. Loose Sentence a sentence whose elements are loosely related to one another, follow in no particularly
antithetical climactic order, and do not suspend its grammatical completion until the close. A sentence so
loose as to verge on incoherence is often called a run-onsentence.
5. Isocolon the Greek word means, literally, syntactic units of equal length, and it is used in English to
describe the repetition of phrases of equal length and corresponding structure, e.g., Harry, now I do not
speak to thee in drink but in tears, not in pleasure but in passion, not in words only, but in woes also.
6. Chiasmus is the basic pattern of antithetical inversion, the AB:BA pattern. The best example is probably
from John F. Kennedys first inaugural address: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can
do for your country.
7. Anaphora begins a series of phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word. Churchills exhortation in
1940: We have become the sole champion now in arms to defend the world cause. We shall do our best to
be worthy of this high honor. We shall defend our island home, and with the British Empire we shall fight on
unconquerable until the curse of Hitler is lifted from the brows of mankind. We are sure that in the end all will
come right.