LINGIII0

Here are the links to my readers that are to be used for the assignment – 

 

lower level – http://issuu.com/macmillanmarketing/docs/9781420262421?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed

 

higher level – http://issuu.com/macmillanmarketing/docs/9781420206425?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed

 

Instructions for Case Study:

Analysis of Readers in graded reading schemes

Word length: 1,500 words

Assignment Overview

The purpose of this assignment is for you to use the skills that you have developed for analysing English grammatical structure, to demonstrate an understanding of some of the factors involved in grading reading books which are part of a structured reading scheme.

You will need to choose two books from a structured reading scheme.

One of the books that you choose must be for beginning readers and one book must be aimed at more advanced readers. It is not possible for us to state exact levels, as different series use different grading schemes. The main point is that one book will contain very basic grammatical structures and the other will be a lot more complex. As a guide, the book for beginning readers should ideally contain one phrase or simple sentence, associated with one illustration, per page. The book for more advanced readers should contain at least two paragraphs per page.

Question

Analyse the language used in the books and evaluate which features of the lower level book make it suited to beginning readers and which features of the higher level book make it suited to more advanced readers. Evaluation of the more advanced book will also involve some discussion of the features of this level book that make it beyond the level of beginning readers. Your discussion must include the following points (not necessarily in this order):

(i) For the lower level book, typically each page will include a simple sentence and the same structure will be repeated on most pages of the book, with minor variations. Present a full analysis of the basic sentence structure. i.e. What is the structure of the clause? What phrases are incorporated and what is the structure of each phrase? Then summarise the way in which this structure is varied on each of the pages. (Please include the full text typed up as an appendix.)

(ii) For the higher level book, we do not want you to analyse every sentence in the book(!) Choose five sentences from the higher level book which have a fairly complex structure, containing multiple clauses. You will have plenty of sentences to choose from, so choose sentences which are complex, yet which you feel that you are reasonably confident to analyse. Analyse each of your chosen sentences and explain which aspects of the structure make them more complex. (Make sure that you include the example sentences that you have chosen.) You will highlight such points as:

• Is the head of a noun phrase modified by several modifiers, in particular prepositional phrases and/ or relative clauses?

• Does the sentence incorporate the passive voice?

• Are the perfect and/ or progressive aspect used, involving one or more auxiliaries in the verb group?

• What adverbial elements are there in the sentences: sentence-level adverbs, phrase-level

adverbs, prepositional phrases, adverbial clauses?

• Does the word order differ in any way from ‘standard’ English word order?

(iii) How does the language used in the books support literacy and language development in children at the target reading level? How have the creators of the reading series carefully included grammatical elements that support and develop the reader’s level

(iv) Your discussion should include some reference to the vocabulary used in the books. For example:

• Is a particular spelling rule a focus of some of the key words included?

• Are the words of the lower level books carefully chosen so as to only include words which follow the most regular sound-letter correspondences?

• Are words belonging to a particular part of speech category a focus?

• Does the book intentionally include various derivations of the same root word? e.g. disabled, disability; organise, organisation.

Answer Format

The required format is an essay style discussion and analysis of your data.

Please note that lab report format is not the appropriate format.

Please note that examples from the Readers within your essay and any appendices are NOT included in the word limit.

Referencing style

You may choose any standard referencing system that you are familiar with. You may use only one referencing system and all references must conform to that system. Following the heading ‘References’, you must state which referencing system you are using. Any referencing system selected must involve page numbers.

Your discussion should contain a minimum of four references.