ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
AND ITS
UNIT VI
DIDACTICS
II
Ciclo Lectivo: 2013
Tutora: Carina Mariela Luc
INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE FORMACIÓN DOCENTE
¨LENGUAS VIVAS DE BARILOCHE¨
Unit VI
Lesson 17
Aims:







Reflect on how the brain works
Analyse and use topic vocabulary
Analyse the use and produce hypothetical ideas
Compare and contrast different ways of assessing intelligence
Develop critical thinking on current issues
Develop and practise reading skills
Express opinions in written as well as in oral form
Tuning in
Questions for thought and reflection
In this unit we will discuss how the brain works to solve problems and
different ways of assessing intelligence.
Problems are usually solved with the help of logic. Consider the following
problems and try to solve them logically and as quickly as possible.
Problems
a) In this series, which number comes next?
18 12
15 10
12
8
?
b) Continue this series of letters
BAD CEF DIG
FOH
?
c) 20 men can dig 40 holes in 60 days, so 10 men can dig 20 holes in how
many days?
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d) Someone had stolen the last chocolate cake. The three suspects were
Paul, Ben, and Sam. They each made a statement:
Paul: Ben stole the cake.
Ben: That is true!
Sam: I didn´t take it!
As it happened, at least one of them told the truth and at least one of
them lied. So, who in fact stole the cake?
Were you able to solve any of these problems? If you were, you surely
are intelligent!
The analysis of how the mind can find a solution to these problems can
give us an insight on how it works. So, let us analyse the answers:
Answers to the problems
a) The numbers that follow the series are 9 and 6. Reason: 18-12= 6
15-10=5
12-8=4
9-6=3 // Look at the two series this other
way: 18 15
12
9 and
12
10
8
6
b) GUJ.
Explanation: Deal with the letters in each series individually. First, take
the first letter of each series (B C D F), the consonant that follows in
the alphabet is G, so that should be the first letter of the following
series. Now take the second letter of each series (A E I O), the missing
vowel to complete the group is U, so that is the missing letter. Finally,
the third letter in each series (D F G H) is alphabetically organized
(not including vowels), so the third letter missing in the last series
should be J.
c) In 60 days.
Explanation: you are given half the men to make half the holes, so they
should take the same amount of time.
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d) Paul stole the cake.
Explanation: Sam is the one who told the truth, so he did not take it.
Paul and Ben lied, so Ben did not take it.
Conclusion
All the problems above were solved by means of ‘logical’ thinking.
However, there is another kind of thinking that may be used to solve
problems called ‘lateral’ thinking.
Let us look at the following activity to find out a little more about this topic
and how the mind works.
Reading comprehension (part 1)
a. Pre-reading activity
Before reading the text, try to answer the following questions:
 What is the difference between ‘logical’ thinking and ‘lateral’
thinking?
 Had you ever heard or read about these two different ways of
thinking before?
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English gives the following
definition:
lateral thinking: ..(n) a way of thinking in which you use your
imagination to make connections between things that are not normally
thought of together.
Try to relate this definition with the problems above.
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b. Reading
Read the beginning of an interview with Edward de Bono, a man who has
done much to try and develop the skills of thinking and problem solving.
He is widely considered as the leading authority in the world in the field of
creative thinking and the direct teaching of thinking as a skill. He has
written 62 books with translations into 37 languages.
He is particularly interested in ‘lateral’ (as opposed to ‘logical’) thinking and
tells a story to illustrate the difference.
Interviewer: Usually we think in a straightforward, perhaps we
could call it vertical way, using a certain amount of logic. Lateral
thinking is a different way of thinking according to Dr de Bono,
perhaps demonstrated well by one of his stories.
De Bono: The story is of three worms who go for a walk and
there´s Mummy Worm, Daddy Worm, and Baby Worm. They come
to a mound of sand and each worm goes through the mound of
sand and when they come out the Baby Worm looks back and
says, ‘Oh, that´s strange, there´s only two holes.’
Now you can tell that to people and they sit around wondering
and they say ‘Well aren´t worms hermaphrodites or maybe they
went through the same holes…’ and all sorts of things.
c. Comprehension questions
a) Read the introduction and the first part of de Bono´s story about
the worms and try to think of as many reasons as you can as to why
there are only two holes.
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The answer to a) is that Baby Worm couldn’t count.
After getting to know de Bono´s answer to the problem, answer the
following questions:
 What does he try to explain by means of this story and the solution
to the problem described in it?
 What kind of thinking do most people use to solve this kind of
problems according to the answers de Bono says they usually give?
 What does ‘lateral’ thinking refer to?
De Bono is trying to explain what ‘lateral’ thinking implies as opposed to
‘logical’ thinking. Most people think in terms of giving logical answers to
the problem, such as they went through the same holes.
However, the solution to this problem was not logical, thus we should
have resorted to ‘lateral’ thinking to find the answer since we had to use
our imagination to make connections between ideas that are not
normally thought of together.
We analyzed the ways in which the worms could have made fewer holes
than expected in that situation; however, the main clue resided on the
reliability of the information given as part of the problem.
The world needs lateral thinkers, people who can bring a fresh approach
to current problems in all walks of life. We need people who can
develop imaginative new solutions!
FORUM 6.1
Would you like to test how good you are at lateral thinking? Read the
following puzzles and share your answers in the forum from 25th to
29th August. You must also explain how you reached your conclusions.
Your tutor will provide the right answers when the forum is closed.
Remember each puzzle has a perfectly good explanation. As you
approach the puzzles, it is best to ask yourself broad questions to
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establish what is really happening in the situation. When one line of
questioning leads nowhere, you need to approach the problem from a
fresh direction -that is what lateral thinking is all about!
PUZZLE A
A police officer was sitting on his motorcycle at a red traffic
light when two passengers in a sports car drove by him at 50
mph. He did not chase them or try to apprehend them. Why
not?
PUZZLE B
A man leaves hospital and begins to walk home. On his journey he
passes a phone box which begins to ring. Instead of answering it
he punches the air and runs all the way home cheering. Why?
Reading comprehension (part 2)
You are going to read an interview with Tony Buzan, who has written
several books on the brain and how to use it more effectively. Buzan
was born in London and received double honors in psychology, English,
mathematics and the General Sciences from the University of British
Columbia in 1964. He is probably best known for his book, Use Your Head,
his promotion of mnemonic systems and his Mind Mapping techniques.
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1. Pre-reading activity
Before reading the text below, try to say whether the following
statements are True (T) or False (F) and check how much you know
about the workings of the brain.
a) The brain of a young child is more receptive than that of an adult.
b) If the brain is regularly used and stimulated we can continue to learn the
older we get.
c) If you don’t challenge your brain for as long as twenty years you will
never be able to use it properly again.
d) The only permanent cause of brain deterioration is disease or physical
damage.
e) People who are good with their hands are not usually very brainy.
f) The human brain has increased in size over the years.
g) Very soon the human brain will be so large that our bodies will become
top-heavy.
h) Scientists believe that if human beings live permanently in the
weightlessness of space, the human form will change.
2. Reading comprehension
Read the extracts below from an interview with Tony
Buzan and:
a) Check your answers to the pre-reading activity with
the key at the end of the unit. Remember to account for
your answers by using information from the text.
b) Think of the questions he might have been asked
before giving the answers you will find in each extract.
Check your answers with the suggested ones at the end
of the unit.
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Professor Rosenweig has stated that the brain can take in ten new bits of
information every second for an entire lifetime and still be not more than
half full. That information is a little mind-bending in itself. The abilities of
the brain and what the job of the brain is are discussed in a book called The
Evolving Brain by Tony Buzan and Terence Dixon. Tony Buzan has been
Director of Learning Methods Group. These are some extracts from an
interview he was made for LBC.*
*This interview was broadcast on LBC (London Broadcasting Company) radio and adapted from
its publication in Headway Advanced old edition O.U.P.
Extract 1
Historically, we tend to absorb more information when we are young, more
new information and then because we have learned and graduated from
school or college or whatever we have been studying, we tend to assume
that we do not need to take in much more. What actually happens in term
of the brain´s potential is that if the brain is used properly, we can continue
to learn more and more and more the older we get. Consequently, it has
also been assumed that the brain can reach the stage where it is more
difficult to absorb new information because the brain is older. This can
happen if the brain has not been used for a long time. That is, if you have
not learnt any new languages, you have not read much, have not
stimulated it much, have not asked many questions and have not tried to
get many answers for over twenty years. If you just use the information you
have in a kind of automatic way for many years and then you suddenly
decide to start working out a problem or learn something new, the brain
goes into shock for a little while because it literally has not been used to it.
But if you continue to stimulate it, it will start to get better. So the only
situations in which brains normally get worse are really the kind of major
disease or physical damage or simply non-use.
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Extract 2
It seems in fact that out brain is responsible for virtually the whole lot! I
mean anything you can think of that human beings do, the brain is
responsible for every piece of classical music that has ever been written; it is
responsible for all the buildings all around the world; it is responsible for
every creative thought; it is responsible for the way in which everybody
moves. People used to say, for example, that the artist or the person who
was good with his hands somehow wasn´t brainy, but what is it that´s
moving the hands? What is it that´s creating that, for example, sculpture
out there in space? It´s the brain which is using those hands to recreate
outside of itself an image that it has got inside.
Extract 3
The brain has been increasing in size over the last little while. That is partly
because of the obvious improvement in many of the diets. What it has been
improved in though, is its ability to use the different parts of itself and its
awareness of itself and really, in terms of evolution, the brain has only just
started. It´s a very, very new development, the human brain. Evolution has
been going on for perhaps some twenty billion years and yet Homo sapiens
has only been around for one and a half million, I mean it´s almost nothing.
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Extract 4
First of all, at the moment, we don´t need to have a bigger brain. We have
got a massive capacity in there that we are not even using but if we could
perhaps imagine a time when we are using the brain generally to its full
extent, there´s a large possibility that it will begin to expand. That may
happen in space. There have been a lot of interesting researches done. In
this case the weight becomes less important and the various parts of the
body will obviously change because it won´t need the bones as it used to,
because it´ll be in a fundamentally weightless environment, perhaps, and,
in that case, it may be that the brain will just continue to expand and
expand. And it has been hypothesized that if some humans do leave the
planet and they live permanently in space and breed and breed and breed
and breed, that within a very few generations the creature in space will be
very different from us, and may well have a much larger basic brain
capacity.
FORUM 6.2
Choose one of the extracts above and write a short comment on it (no
more than 50 words)
Share your comments in the forum from 3rd to 7th September.
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ASSIGNMENT 6.1
Read the following statement by Tony Buzan:
“A truly intelligent person is not one who can simply spout words
and numbers; it is someone who can react ‘intelligently’ to all the
opportunities, simulations and problems provided by the environment.
Real intelligence means engaging your brain with every aspect of life –
you play sport with your brain; you relate to others brain-to-brain...”
― Tony Buzan, The Power Of Social Intelligence
Record an audiofile stating your opinions on the statement above. Also,
explain how this statement can be related to the issue of language teaching
and learning.
Length: 4-5 minutes
Deadline: 4th September
3. Focus on vocabulary 1: brain and mind
a) Look up the words mind and brain in a dictionary. There are
many entries for these words; can you find the basic differences in
meaning? You must use your selective language skills!
b) Now analyse the following terms and work out the difference between
them. Check your assumptions using a dictionary.
a) mindless/ brainless
b) brainwave/ brainwashing
c) to have something on the brain/ to have something on one’s
mind.
d) to have an excellent brain/ to have a good mind to
e) To have a brainstorm/ mind-blowing/ to be out of one’s mind
f) To rack one’s brains/ to pick someone’s brains
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g) To be in two minds about something/ to have a mind of one’s
one
c) In the following sentences replace the words in italics with a word or
expression from exercise b) making any necessary changes to fit the
context. Then check with the key at the end of the unit.
1) I´ve just had a brilliant idea!
2) She´s so clever that everyone in the class asks her for ideas.
3) We really aren’t sure whether we should buy that house or not. It’s
big and beautiful but it needs so much doing to it.
4) You must be mad to give up such a well-paid job.
5) I’ve thought and thought about it and I still can’t remember where I
put it.
6) We looped the loop and nosedived towards the ground – it was the
most amazing experience. And I don’t even like flying!
5. Focus on vocabulary 2: multi-word verbs
Compound nouns, consisting of a verb and a particle, are one of
the fastest growing areas of vocabulary in English. Sometimes
their meaning is related to the corresponding multi-word verb,
and sometimes not.
Examples:
The company’s output increased by ten per cent. (output =
production)
He put out his cigarette in an ashtray. (put out = extinguish)
Sometimes the words are written as one word (Eg: output), and
sometimes they are hyphenated (Eg: walk-out).
Sometimes the particle comes first (Eg: bypass), and sometimes
the verb comes first (Eg: take-over), but the stress is almost
always on the first word.
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Practice
Let us now do the exercise below (taken from Headway
Advanced O.U.P, page 122) and complete the sentences with a
compound noun formed from the particle which heads each
group, and a verb from the words in the box. After doing the task
check with the key at the end of the unit.
black
cover
draw
hand
shake
break
cry
fall
look
stand
come
cut
flash
set
tip
The particle may come before or after the verb.
back
a. Your plan has many advantages, but unfortunately there is one major……
…………. . It would be far too expensive.
b. Government……………………in the medical profession have caused
severe staffing problems in many hospitals.
c. Her hopes of winning a gold medal suffered a serious …………………
when she was injured at the beginning of the season.
d. It is only towards the end of the film that we learn the hero’s motives
through several ……………………….to his childhood.
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out
e. The meeting was long and stormy, and the ……………………..was the
resignation of the director.
f. I was knocked on the head in the accident, and I had a …………………..
that lasted about ten minutes. I don’t remember anything that happened.
g. There was a public ……………………..when it was discovered that the
government had been selling arms to the rebels.
h. ‘You don’t need to take notes,’ said the teacher. ‘I’ve got a ………………
to give you with all the information. ‘
i. He always used to be a miserable sort of person, but after his illness,
when he nearly died, his whole……………………..on life changed and he
began to appreciate what it had to offer.
down
j. He had a promising career, but gambling was his ……………………… In a few
years he had lost every penny he owned.
k. The earthquake caused a complete …………………….of communication in
the country, which greatly hampered rescue operations.
up
l. When the new director was appointed, there was a complete……………...
of the whole organization as he tried to streamline our operations.
m. The government tried to hide the facts of the awful mistake they had
made, but their……………………. didn’t work, and gradually all the details of
the disaster came out.
n. The school always has two teachers on……………………..to step in
should anyone be ill or late.
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off
o. The criminal that the police had been looking for since May was
arrested at a house near Glasgow following an anonymous ………………………
from a member of the public.
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Extra practice
Work on Units 93, 94, 95 from English
Vocabulary in Use Advanced by McCarthy and O'Dell.
4. Focus on language: Hypothesizing
a) Sometimes sentences contain the Simple Past form, but they do not
always refer to real past time.
For example, in the following sentences the past form of the verb win does
not imply that the action has been performed in the past, but it expresses a
hypothetical situation (imagine what would happen/ you would do if you
won the lottery). This is actually the past subjunctive.
Suppose you won the lottery.
I wish I won the lottery!
However, notice the difference in the following example where the past
form of the verb have refers to the real, factual past.
It´s an hour since we had a break. (We actually had a break an hour
ago).
b) Sometimes sentences contain the Past Perfect form, but they do not
always refer to real past-in-the-past or remote past.
(Remember : if we compare structures with the Spanish language, the
English past perfect form……had gone/ had seen, etc……. corresponds
to the Spanish form:…había ido/ había visto, etc.)
Let us look at some sentences that contain the Past Perfect but do not refer
to the remote past
For example, in the following sentence the past perfect form of the
verb say (hadn´t said) does not imply that the action had been performed
in the remote past, but it expresses a hypothetical situation
I wish you hadn´t said that. It was cruel.
This is actually a subjunctive form of the verb: You are expressing regret
about something that was already said.
Another example in which regret is expressed:
I wish I hadn’t married him. But you married him many years ago, and you
are expressing regret that you married this person.
However, in the following example the past perfect form of the verb see
(had seen) refers to a remote past action:
I knew I had seen her somewhere before. (I had actually seen her before)
Practice 1
Study the situation and write sentences expressing regret.
e.g.
I dyed my hair red and it looks awful.
I wish I had dyed it brown.
1. I didn’t say hello because I didn’t see you.
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I wish……………...................................……………………
2. I didn’t know he was so sick.
I wish ………………….............................................…………….
3. We couldn’t help her because we didn’t have the money.
We wish ……………………………......................……………………
4. Now he’s in prison because he killed his wife
Now he wishes………………………....................………………..
5. She was not in court.
I wish……………………………………........….................…………
c) Let us now have a look at the Present Subjunctive.
The Present Subjunctive is formed with the base form of the verb (infinitive
without to). It is used in ‘ that clauses’ after verbs, adjectives, or nouns
that express necessity, plan, or intention for the future. Notice that the
subjunctive is the same whether the main verb of the sentence is in the
present or past.
Eg:
They suggested / suggest that we accept the proposal.
(We think that in this case it is useful to compare structures)
 Spanish: Sugirieron que aceptáramos.
 English: They suggested (that) we accept.
(You can use should in the that clause.)
Eg:
They suggested that we should accept the proposal.
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Practice 2
Now do the exercises from Headway Advanced on page 122-123
which are transcribed below.
Making hypotheses
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1.
The following sentences all contain verbs in the Simple Past, but they do
not always refer to real past time. Read each example carefully and decide
which refer to the real past and which to the Subjunctive.
a. Suppose the brain grew too heavy for the human body to support!
b. He would wave whenever he walked past the house.
c. I couldn’t swim until I was fourteen.
d. If I could afford it, I’d buy it.
e. It’s an hour since we had a break.
f. Isn’t it time you had a holiday?
g. Did you fall in love at first sight?
h. I’d rather you didn’t tell anyone about this.
i. He behaves as if he owned the place.
j. If only he weren’t so rude!
k. I wish you didn’t have to go
l. You didn’t say if you had to go.
2.
The following sentences all contain verbs in the Past Perfect, but they do
not always refer to the real remote past (or past in the past).
Read each example carefully and decide which refer to the real past in the
past or remote past and which express a regret.
a. I wish you hadn’t said that it was very cruel.
b. I knew I’d seen her somewhere before.
c. Had I realized how upset she was, I would have apologized.
d. Suppose the atom bomb had never been invented! Just think!
e. She said I hadn’t told her the truth.
f. I would rather you had told the truth.
g. You look as if you’d seen a ghost!
h. He looked as if he he’d had a good time.
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STUDY TIP
Notice that the use of the subjunctive is characteristic of certain structures:
 After wish
 After I´d rather someone
 After If only
 In the If-clause of conditional sentences
 After as if/ though
 In that clauses after verbs (suppose/ suggest/ demand), adjectives
(it´s important that), or nouns (the proposal was that)
Practice 3
Finish the following sentences so that you convey the same
meaning as the one above. Then check with key.
a. It’s such a pity; I can never remember people’s names.
I wish………………………………………….
b. I prefer you not to use my car.
I’d rather you…………………………………
c. He didn’t invite you to his party, perhaps he doesn’t want to do so.
If he………………………………………………………
d. I haven’t got enough money!
If only I ……………………………………………
e. Why don’t you phone them?
I suggest you……………………………………….
f. He says he must pay his debt.
He demands that he…………………………………
g. It would be a good idea to check the old files.
The lawyer suggested that we………………….
ASSIGNMENT 6.2
Story-telling
 Look at the cartoon and decide on a title to suit the story.
 Decide on names for the characters.
 Imagine any events before, during and after what is depicted in the
cartoon and tell the story.
 Try to incorporate as naturally as possible some of the following
expressions and structures: wish; if only; would rather; it´s about
time; conditional sentences; structures which take the subjunctive,
linking words and topic vocabulary.
 Be as creative as possible!
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21
Wordcount: 320 - 350
Deadline: 14th September
This is the end of Unit 6. Evaluate your
performance throughout the unit by reflecting
on your performance.
Complete the following sentences:
In this unit...
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I learned .......................................................................
I understood the following very well .........................................
...............................................................................................
I am having difficulty with ...................................... because .....
...............................................................................................
My plan for dealing with the difficulty I am having is .................
...............................................................................................
What I liked most about this unit is ........................................
The most frustrating thing about this unit is ...........................
Make sure you have submitted all your mandatory assignments
for correction.
KEY TO UNIT 6
Reading comprehension
a) a) F b) T c) F
d) T
e) F f) T
g) F h) T
b) Extract 1: Is our belief that the brain of a young child is more receptive
than that of an adult true?
Does your brain reach the stage where it is more difficult to absorb new
information because the brain is older?
Extract 2: What are the things that the brain is responsible for that we
don´t generally associate with it
Extract 3: Has the brain increased in size?
Extract 4: May the brain evolve to the stage where the head could
become considerably larger to house this larger brain?
Focus on vocabulary 1: brain and mind
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
brainwave
picks her mind.
are in two minds about.
out of your mind.
racked my brain
mind-blowing
Focus on vocabulary 2: multi-word verbs
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
drawback
cutbacks
setback
flashbacks
outcome
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f. blackout
g. handout
h. outcry
i. outlook
j. downfall
k. breakdown
l. shakeup
m. cover-up
n. standby
o. tip-off
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Practice 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
……I had said hello
……I had known
……we had had …….
……he hadn’t killed……
…….she had been in court
Practice 2. 1
a. Subjunctive (S)
b. real past (P)
c. P
d. S
e. P
f. S
g. P
h. S
i. S
j. S
k. S
l. P
Practice 2. 2
a. S
b. P
c. S
d. S
e. P
f. S
g. S
h. S
Practice 3
a……I could remember……
b……didn’t use my car
c……wanted to invite……..he would do…
d……had………….
e……phone/phoned/should phone………
f…….pay……
g……check/checked/should check…….
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