
English Language Learners
class 9
Week 8 Assignment due Tuesday, November 7 by 4 p.m.
Class Opener: English -- What is different from other languages?
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An Experience For Your Discovery

1. Choose 3 adjectives to describe the bridge.
Write those words BEFORE you hear the podcast or the view the video.
CHOOSE a resource TO HEAR, READ OR VIEW
to answer the three questions in this class opener,
either the podcast or the TED talk, describing how language influences people's beliefs, ideas and descriptions of the world.
Reading the transcript of either resource will be helpful to understanding the points.
Hear

Read

Hear Lera Boroditsky explaining her research about language and our perceptions of the world
Podcast transcript: https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=102518565)
OR VIEW
Video
View Lera Boroditsky explaining her research about language and our perceptions of the world.
Video transcript is under the video.
2. Analyzing your 3 words--do any of these convey feminine or masculine qualities to English speakers? Explain your thinking.
3. How would you summarize or describe to a friend the ways language informs people's thinking about things in the world?
4. Hear 5:30- 6:40 of the podcast, Shakespeare Had Roses All Wrong. (podcast link)
What is happening to our brains' beliefs and perceptions seeing two different words written on the Bags of Roses experiment where both have a rose inside?
Workshop 1: Where Do English Words Come From? Who Creates Them?
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Read this information to answer the first question.
PEOPLE COIN {CREATE} new words. WE ARE ALWAYS learning words.
- Active Vocabulary: Words learned and can use in a sentence.
- Passive Vocabulary: Words recognized but not able to use in a sentence.
A Native English Speaker at age 20 has 20,000 words in Active Vocabulary.
- (40,000 in passive vocabulary)
- Learns a word a day till middle age
Growth of Native Speakers' Vocabulary is determined by reading habits between ages 4 & 15.
- Those who read a lot learn 4 new words a day.
- Those who read not much learn 1.5 new words a day.

Read

Shakespeare invented 1700 words
5. Choose & list 5 words in your ACTIVE vocabulary you would NOT have thought Shakespeare coined or used in new ways to mean what they mean today.
AND NOW SWITCH FROM SHAKESPEARE TO THE DICTIONARY!

According to the Merriam-Webster website, to be included in the dictionary, a word must “be used in a substantial number of citations that come from a wide range of publications over a considerable period of time.”
CHOOSE 3 words THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW
from the Merriam Webster dictionary chart.
6. First, write your own definition by guessing what each word MIGHT mean.
Second, write the dictionary definitions below yours.
Workshop 2: Create a Frayer Model
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WITH someone YOU ARE TUTORING, or with a friend, MAKE a Frayer Model.
Draw or use a google slide or google doc to illustrate a word, idea, concept that might help whoever you are tutoring or something you and a friend are learning.
Insert photos, background, write a comic in the model or other eye catching ways to add interest to the words.
Insert it or a photo of it into your learning log.




Big Idea Closer: English Expands Continuously
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We are ALL English Language Learners.
Everything we learn NEW has its own vocabulary that we need to know.
GOLF is a new language;
BIOLOGY is a new language;
PHYSICS is a new language;
DANCE is a new language.
Smartphone became a prominent word beginning in 1997 AND entered the dictionary:
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mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded applications.
Tutors and teachers support students to develop expanded ACTIVE vocabularies
by identifying students as language creators using language in new ways in their writing and conversations.
7. What 2 or 3 new words are you using in conversations, texts, or classes that you were NOT saying in high school?
What is the NEWEST word or phrase you have learned?
What does it mean?
WHY is it easy to incorporate into your lexicon?

Resources for Additional Learning
NOT part of the assignment
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More New Words Added to the Dictionary in 2021
BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
Deplatform (breaking the rules and being kicked off a social media platform
Hygge (a cosy and comfortable setting or atmosphere)
Long-hauler (long-term effects from COVID or other serious illness)
Technology Words from teacher Frank Baker who has students research words related to technology
- Here are some other media literacy words and phrases you might have your students research, chosen from my collected weekly entriesfor 2021:
Metaverse: “a virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.”
Prebunking: “the process (most frequently seen in politics) of debunking lies, tactics, or sources before they strike.”
Participatory Disinformation: the process through which disinformation is spread through groups, technology and people – a process that has been supercharged by the advent of social media.
Attention treadmill– The practice of media companies to use algorithms that give users “more of the same,” narrowing their awareness of diverse news and points of view.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri agreed with Harris that the business model of social media companies is built on bringing users back for more. “It’s an attention treadmill, it’s an addiction economy,” Hawley said. “They designed it this way, addiction is the design,” he added.(CBS News, 4/27/21)
Availability bias– Availability bias leads people to make false assumptions by assuming that if they hear something stated often enough, it must be true. For example:
- Frequently reported news stories are often mistaken for being regular occurrences.
- Misleading statements become more convincing the more often they are repeated.
- Commonly associated ideas begin to look like they are connected. (Neuromarketing Glossary – see examples)
Dark advertising– “Dark marketing is communicating & showing sponsored ads through various discreet channels where the consumer & the potential customer gets the message but cannot actually see the company & the advertiser.”
Wired magazine’s Jargon Watchsays it is ““Discreetly sponsored online and real-world ads intended to reach the targeted audiences that would ordinarily shun corporate shilling.” (Source)
Related:Dark Social– “The term was coined to describe the traffic of online content sharing through private channels such as messaging apps (think WhatsApp), instant messaging (like Facebook Messenger), private email, and text messaging.” Though not easily tracked, it constitutes 80+% of social sharing. (Source)
Facetuning– Using an app to remove blemishes, improve complexions and perform other manipulations on facial photos, including selfies. Sometimes seen as undermining self and body confidence, particularly in younger users. Also see catfishing. (Source)
Finfluencer– A “finfluencer,” or finance influencer, is an influencer that shares financial information and expertise. Popular on TikTok.
“They offer Gen Z and Millennials financial advice in snackable, light-hearted formats and are becoming an increasingly popular source of financial information on social media.” (Source)
Greenwashing– Greenwashing (also called “green sheen”) “is a form of marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization’s products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly.” (Source)
“Volkswagen released an ad campaign to debunk the fact that diesel was bad and that it used a technology where it emitted fewer pollutants. Later, the truth was revealed that Volkswagen rigged 11 million of its diesel cars with “defeat devices,” or technology designed to cheat emissions tests and that the vehicles emitted pollutants at levels up to 40 times the U.S. limit.” (Source)
Nano-Influencer– “Nano-influencers are your everyday social media users, with anywhere from 100 to 10,000 followers. They aren’t professional “influencers” in any way – and the majority of their posts feature typical content like photos of their family, friends, cat videos, and memes.”
“Unlike traditional influencers who are paid by brands to influence their followers and curate a specific aesthetic, nano-influencers typically receive little to no pay, and instead receive free product or services in exchange for posting on their social media platform. (B)ecause nano-influencers aren’t in the business of regularly recommending products…when they do post about a product or service, it often comes across as more authentic or genuine.” (Source)
Subvertising– “Subvertising is the practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements.
“A well-produced ‘subvert’ mimics the look and feel of the targeted ad, promoting the classic ‘double-take’ as viewers suddenly realize they have been duped. Subverts create cognitive dissonance, with the apparent aim of cutting through the ‘hype and glitz of our mediated reality’ to reveal a ‘deeper truth within’.” (Source)
Toyetic– Toyetic is a term referring to the suitability of a media property, such as a cartoon or movie, for merchandising tie-in lines of licensed toys, games and novelties. Notable earlier examples include Star Wars and Transformers. (Source)
Twindemic– “Twindemic is a term used during the COVID-19 pandemic, referring to the possibility of a severe flu season happening alongside….” producing rare cases of Flurona. (Source)
Woke washing– “Woke-washing is a term used to define practices in business that provide the appearance of social consciousness without any of the substance. A woke-washed business could theoretically promote the opposite of racial equality within its walls while championing causes of social justice to the outside world.” (Source) Compare to greenwashing.
Zombie claim– A false claim refuted by research that crops up repeatedly in social media. ‘However many times you rebut them, these zombie claims refuse to die.’” The alledged stolen 2020 election is one example. Another:
“The Washington Post’s ‘Fact Checker’ argued that the current and future gulf between the number of Navy ships and the missions assigned to the U.S.’s sea services is a zombie claim.” (Source)
Hamilton Cast Read Along of "The Storyteller's Candle/La Velita de los Cuentos" in Spanish (with English close captions)
Link here for state and national results: What Language Does Your State Speak?
What languages do we speak and hear in the U.S.?

- Most commonly spoken language in the United States and in Massachusetts other than English?
- Most commonly spoken language in the United States and in Massachusetts other than Spanish or English?
- Most commonly spoken language Native American language in the United States and in Massachusetts?
- Most commonly spoken language Scandinavian language in the United States and in Massachusetts?
- Most commonly spoken Indo-Aryan language in the United States and in Massachusetts?
- Most commonly spoken African language in the United States and in Massachusetts?
Link here for state and national results: What Language Does Your State Speak?
Words from Native American Languages
Wopanaak Language Reclamation Project
Fun with words
raccoon |
Powhattan language |
Virginia |
chocolate |
Nahuatl language |
Central Mexico |
toboggan |
Malisset |
Canada |
caucus |
Algonguin
(from caucauasu meaning counselor, elder advisor)
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New England |
kayak |
Inuit |
Canada, Alaska, Greenland |
bayou |
Choctaw |
Louisiana |
Sasquatch |
Hackomelem |
Pacific Northwest |
woodchuck |
Algonguin
(Narragansett peoples)
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Rhode Island |
Indians Loaned Their Words to English. Now They Want Their Languages Back, New England Historical Society
Online Tools for Interactive Vocabulary Learning |
Dictionaries
Younger Students' Resources
Older Students' Resources
Thesaurus and Grammar Checkers
Math and Science Resources
Where Do English Words Come From? Who Creates Them?
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Loan Words come to English from everywhere. We speak them not knowing their origins.
A.
alligator
canyon
rodeo
stampede
mosquito
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B.
chandelier
garage
attorney
fee
inherit
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C.
dinosaur
center
photo
amazon
geography
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D.
chipmunk
woodchuck
moose
quahog
squash
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E.
algebra
admiral
jar
coffee
cotton
giraffe
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F.
ballerina
volcano
piano
balcony
umbrella
gondola
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G.
kindergarten
melancholy
pretzel
blitz
wanderlust
neanderthal
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H.
origami
tycoon
futon
emoji
tsunami
rickshaw
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Hella
tmi
word salad
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1O0YxM3BcdiyhbgVKqFEKKo-YR9kjV2vE8jnt0cYvfqc/edit?ts=5f8b1b65#slide=id.ga3cb4cdba1_0_19
How long are you interested in trying to understand this language?
View
John Cleese Explains the Brain

After experiencing how John Cleese explains the brain, what have you learned about understanding ideas in a new language if you don't speak or understand the language?
If you recognize John Cleese as a famous actor and writer in MONTY PYTHON, the British comedy group, you will experience viewing this video differently from someone who does not recognize John Cleese and does not know he IS CREATING a language AS HE IS SPEAKING.
How do you think the two experiences would be viewed differently by the two groups?
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