Major: English
"English Major! Ito ang specialization para sa aspiring secondary English teachers. Literature, Linguistics, at Language Teaching ang mga pangunahing domain. Ready ka na ba magdissect ng mga literary masterpieces at mag-analyze ng language structures? Let's go, future English teacher!"
1. World Literature 🌍📚
British Literature
| Period | Authors/Works | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Old English (450-1066) | Beowulf (anonymous) | Epic poetry, alliteration, kennings |
| Middle English (1066-1500) | Chaucer - Canterbury Tales | Frame narrative, satire, vernacular |
| Elizabethan (1558-1603) | Shakespeare, Marlowe, Spenser | Sonnets, blank verse, drama |
| Romantic (1798-1837) | Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, Byron | Nature, emotion, imagination, individualism |
| Victorian (1837-1901) | Dickens, Tennyson, Browning, Bronte sisters | Social criticism, realism, morality |
American Literature
Colonial Period (1607-1765)
Puritans: Jonathan Edwards, Anne Bradstreet. Religious themes, plain style.
Transcendentalism (1830-1860)
Emerson (Self-Reliance), Thoreau (Walden). Individualism, nature, intuition.
Realism (1860-1914)
Mark Twain (Huckleberry Finn), Henry James. Everyday life, regional dialects.
Harlem Renaissance (1920s)
Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston. African-American culture and identity.
Asian Literature
Chinese Literature:
Confucius (Analects), Li Bai & Du Fu (Tang Dynasty poetry), Dream of the Red Chamber
Japanese Literature:
Tale of Genji (Murasaki Shikibu), Matsuo Basho (Haiku), Haruki Murakami
Indian Literature:
Ramayana & Mahabharata (epics), Rabindranath Tagore (Gitanjali - Nobel Prize)
2. Philippine Literature 🇵🇭
| Period | Key Works/Authors | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Colonial | Riddles (Bugtong), Proverbs (Salawikain), Epics (Biag ni Lam-ang, Hinilawod) | Oral tradition, mythology, animism |
| Spanish Period | Florante at Laura (Balagtas), Noli Me Tangere/El Fili (Rizal) | Awit, Corrido, Social commentary |
| American Period | A Child of Sorrow (Rotor), Dead Stars (Paz Marquez Benitez) | English language, short stories, realism |
| Japanese Occupation | Haiku, Tanaga. Literature in Filipino encouraged | Nationalism, resistance themes |
| Contemporary | Nick Joaquin, F. Sionil Jose, Lualhati Bautista | National identity, social issues, modernism |
📌 National Artists in Literature:
Jose Garcia Villa, Nick Joaquin, F. Sionil Jose, Virgilio Almario, Bienvenido Lumbera, Cirilo Bautista
3. Literary Criticism & Theory 🔍
Formalism/New Criticism
Focus on the TEXT ITSELF - structure, imagery, symbolism, form. "Close reading" technique.
Q: "What literary devices are used?"
Marxist Criticism
Focus on CLASS STRUGGLE, economic systems, power relations between rich and poor.
Q: "How does the text reflect class conflict?"
Feminist Criticism
Focus on GENDER roles, portrayal of women, patriarchal structures in literature.
Q: "How are women represented in the text?"
Psychoanalytic Criticism
Based on Freud - id, ego, superego. Unconscious desires, symbolism in dreams.
Q: "What unconscious motives drive characters?"
Reader-Response
Meaning is created by the READER's interpretation and experience with the text.
Q: "What does the text mean to you?"
Post-Colonial
Effects of COLONIZATION on literature and culture. Identity, resistance, hybridity.
Q: "How does colonialism shape the narrative?"
Structuralism
Focus on underlying STRUCTURES and systems (binary oppositions, narrative codes).
Q: "What patterns and structures govern the text?"
Deconstruction
Questions fixed meanings. Texts have multiple, contradictory interpretations.
Q: "What contradictions exist in the text?"
4. Linguistics 🗣️
Branches of Linguistics
| Branch | Focus | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Phonetics | Physical sounds (articulation, acoustic, auditory) | IPA symbols: /p/, /b/, /θ/ |
| Phonology | Sound patterns and systems in language | Phonemes: /p/ vs /b/ (minimal pairs: "pat" vs "bat") |
| Morphology | Word structure and formation | un-happi-ness (3 morphemes), prefixes, suffixes |
| Syntax | Sentence structure and rules | S-V-O order, phrase structure rules |
| Semantics | Meaning of words and sentences | Synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, polysemy |
| Pragmatics | Meaning in context (implied, intended) | "Can you pass the salt?" = Request, not question |
🔤 Morpheme Types
- Free Morpheme: Can stand alone (book, play, happy)
- Bound Morpheme: Must attach (-ed, -ing, un-, pre-)
- Derivational: Changes meaning/class (happy → unhappy)
- Inflectional: Grammatical function (walk → walks, walked)
🔊 Phonological Processes
- Assimilation: Sounds become similar (in+possible → impossible)
- Elision: Sound deletion (camera → "cam-ra")
- Metathesis: Sound reorder (ask → "aks")
- Epenthesis: Sound addition (athlete → "ath-a-lete")
5. Language Acquisition Theories 🧒📚
Behaviorist Theory (Skinner)
Language is learned through IMITATION, reinforcement, and habit formation.
Child says "mama" → Parent smiles → Behavior reinforced
Nativist/Innatist Theory (Chomsky)
Humans have an innate LAD (Language Acquisition Device). Universal Grammar is hardwired.
Children can produce sentences they've never heard → proves innate grammar knowledge
Interactionist Theory (Vygotsky, Bruner)
Language develops through SOCIAL INTERACTION. LASS (Language Acquisition Support System).
Scaffolding: Adult support helps child reach higher language levels (ZPD)
Cognitive Theory (Piaget)
Language development follows COGNITIVE development. Thought comes before language.
Child must understand concept of "permanence" before using words correctly
📌 Krashen's Monitor Model (Second Language Acquisition):
- Acquisition-Learning: Acquisition (natural) vs Learning (formal)
- Monitor: Learned knowledge monitors/edits acquired output
- Natural Order: Grammatical structures acquired in predictable order
- Input: i+1 (comprehensible input slightly above current level)
- Affective Filter: Low anxiety = better acquisition
6. English Grammar & Composition ✍️
Parts of Speech
Noun
person, place, thing, idea
Pronoun
replaces noun (he, she, it)
Verb
action/state of being
Adjective
modifies noun
Adverb
modifies verb/adj/adv
Preposition
shows relationship (in, on, at)
Conjunction
connects (and, but, or)
Interjection
emotion (Oh! Wow!)
📝 Sentence Types
- Simple: 1 independent clause
- Compound: 2+ independent clauses (FANBOYS)
- Complex: 1 independent + 1+ dependent
- Compound-Complex: 2+ independent + 1+ dependent
📝 Sentence Functions
- Declarative: Statement (.)
- Interrogative: Question (?)
- Imperative: Command (.!)
- Exclamatory: Strong emotion (!)
🚫 Common Grammar Errors:
- Subject-Verb Agreement: "The group of students IS" (not are)
- Pronoun-Antecedent: "Everyone should bring HIS/HER book" (not their)
- Dangling Modifier: "Walking to school, the rain started" (who's walking?)
- Run-on/Comma Splice: Use period, semicolon, or conjunction
7. Teaching English Methodologies 👩🏫
| Method | Key Features | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar-Translation | Translation, memorization, grammar rules | Reading, Writing |
| Direct Method | No translation, target language only | Listening, Speaking |
| Audio-Lingual | Drills, repetition, pattern practice | Speaking (habit formation) |
| Communicative (CLT) | Real communication, meaningful tasks | Communicative competence |
| Task-Based (TBLT) | Complete meaningful tasks | Language as tool for tasks |
| Total Physical Response | Physical movement to commands | Listening (kinesthetic) |
📖 The Four Macro Skills:
Listening
Receptive/Oral
Speaking
Productive/Oral
Reading
Receptive/Written
Writing
Productive/Written
📋 Practice Questions
1. Which literary criticism focuses on class struggle and economic systems?
Show Answer
Marxist Criticism - analyzes literature through the lens of socioeconomic class conflict.
2. "Un-happi-ness" contains how many morphemes?
Show Answer
Three morphemes: un- (prefix) + happy (root) + -ness (suffix)
3. According to Chomsky, what is LAD?
Show Answer
Language Acquisition Device - an innate biological capacity for language that humans are born with.
4. Which period of British Literature is associated with Wordsworth and Coleridge?
Show Answer
Romantic Period (1798-1837) - characterized by emphasis on nature, emotion, and imagination.
5. In Krashen's Monitor Model, what does "i+1" mean?
Show Answer
Comprehensible input that is slightly above the learner's current level (i = current competence, +1 = next level).
🎯 Exam Strategy Tips
📚 Literature
Know the PERIODS and their KEY AUTHORS. Shakespeare = Elizabethan, Wordsworth = Romantic. Associate authors with their famous works.
🔍 Literary Criticism
Match the FOCUS: Formalism = text, Marxism = class, Feminist = gender, Psychoanalytic = unconscious mind.
🗣️ Linguistics
Remember: Phonetics = sounds, Phonology = sound patterns, Morphology = words, Syntax = sentences, Semantics = meaning, Pragmatics = context.
🧒 Language Acquisition
Skinner = Behaviorist (imitation), Chomsky = Nativist (LAD), Vygotsky = Social (interaction). Know who proposed what!
🇵🇭 Philippine Literature
Know the NATIONAL ARTISTS: Nick Joaquin, F. Sionil Jose, Virgilio Almario. Match period to characteristics.
👩🏫 Teaching Methods
CLT = Communicative Language Teaching (real communication). TPR = Total Physical Response (movement). Know which method for which skill!
English Major = Literature + Linguistics + Pedagogy. Balance your review! 📖🗣️👩🏫
Test Your Knowledge! 🧠
Ready ka na ba? Take the practice quiz for Major: English to reinforce what you just learned.
Start Practice Quiz 📝