Concerned with the study of lexical changes, this unit for grade 9 is intended to develop the student's understanding of several specific ways in which the meanings of words change, of the interpersonal relationships and the social values which cause such change, and of general concepts related to language change. Discussion questions, lectures,…

This introduction to the historical study of language is designed to give ninth-grade students contact with the methods of historical linguistics in a relatively limited area--the study of the lexicon. The unit begins with a consideration of recent changes in the lexicon, especially those due to technological advances which have caused the use of…

Despite claims to the contrary, the English language program has improved dramatically over the past 20 years. The traditional program's drill/memorization approach was ineffectual, incomplete, shallow, and uninteresting. Today, however, the study of language involves looking at all of its aspects, sounds, words, and symbols. Instead of throwing…

AN OUTLINE OF THE NEED FOR AND USES OF LEXICOGRAPHY AND A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, PART 1, WERE COMBINED IN THIS CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR NINTH-GRADE STUDENTS. THE FIRST SECTION, THE OUTLINE ON LEXICOGRAPHY, GAVE A BRIEF HISTORY OF DICTIONARY COMPILATION AND DESCRIBED THE NEED FOR DICTIONARIES AND THEIR USES. WAYS WERE SUGGESTED FOR STUDENTS…

This book describes for parents the effects that recent developments in language study have had on the English curriculum. The discussion covers (1) literacy (language development in small children, spelling, reading, writing, and bilingualism); (2) grammar (structural linguistics, transformational grammar, and the new textbooks); (3) usage…

Designed for secondary school English teachers who want to help their students develop enthusiasm for words, their histories, and the way language structures words to produce meaning, this paper offers suggestions for a program of study employing dictionary projects and personal experience. The paper describes making a class dictionary of teen…