Idea — Schema theory (Bartlett) holds that we interpret new information through existing mental frameworks. A learner with rich background knowledge outperforms one with more vocabulary but no schema. Example — Cricket fans decode a…
Idea — Pre-teach only the words that block comprehension of the task, not every unknown word. Over-pre-teaching removes the productive struggle that builds incidental vocabulary. Example — For a gist task on climate change, pre-teach…
Idea — Skimming means reading quickly for overall meaning — not every word. Readers use titles, headings, first and last sentences, and key words to build a mental outline. Example — Before buying a book,…
Idea — Scanning means moving quickly over a text to locate specific information — a date, a name, a price — without reading everything. It is purposeful speed, not careless reading. Example — Finding a…
Idea — A gist task asks one broad question answered by the whole text. Its purpose is to give listening a reason before the detail work begins — not to test memory. Example — “What…
Idea — Bottom-up processing starts with the signal — letters, phonemes, words — and builds up to meaning. It is essential when context is unclear or vocabulary is unknown. Example — Learners decoding a medical…
Idea — Top-down processing means using background knowledge, context, and expectation to interpret a text before analysing individual words. The brain predicts before it decodes. Example — When you see a menu, you already know…
Idea — Receptive skills — listening and reading — involve taking language in, not producing it. Learners receive far more than they produce, so these skills build the base for everything else. Example — A…
Idea — Month 7 covered speaking (accuracy vs fluency, drilling, monitoring, feedback) and writing (process, genre, peer correction, journals). Core principle: production needs preparation and a communicative purpose. Example — Speaking: model → controlled →…
Idea — Immediate error correction interrupts fluency and can inhibit risk-taking. Delayed correction collects errors during the task and addresses them after. Match the type to the aim. Example — Accuracy task: correct immediately. Fluency…