TKT: KALUnit 1: Types of meaning

The TKT:KAL exam consists of one module of 80 questions.

You have 1 hour and 20 minutes to complete the test

The test is designed to test your understanding of the different systems of English and linguistic problems faced by language learners

The TKT: KAL Exam

Part 1: Lexis

Part 2: Phonology

Part 3: Grammar

Part 4: Discourse

The Four Parts of the TKT: KAL Exam:

1: Matching

2: Multiple Choice

3: Find the odd one out

Task Types in TKT:KAL

TKT: KALPART 1: LEXIS

Unit 1: Types of meaning

Gain/Revise your knowledge of the different types of meanings that items of lexis can have and the terms used to describe them

Complete a TKT:KAL exam style question to practice this knowledge

Learning outcomes:

What is Lexis?

Lexis is: Vocabulary!

The CONTEXT or situation they are used in

What FUNCTION they perform

Who is using them

What affects the meaning of items of lexis?

Exercise 1: What are the meanings of the underlined words in the sentences below?

1: Shall we sit at the table? 2: I’m trying to give up chocolate. 3: I’m going to take my books to school.

4: He’s really skinny. I think he may be ill.

5: This film is so boring!

Denotation and Connotation

‘a flat surface, usually supported by four legs, used for putting things on’ (Cambridge advanced learner’s dictionary: third edition)

Dictionary meanings: DENOTATION (or literal meaning)

The literal meaning can also refer to the original meaning or basic meaning of a word or group of words

Table:

I’m trying to give up chocolate.

Give up: Is an example of a MULTIWORD VERB (a phrasal verb) [a verb +adverb/preposition]

Why is it difficult to understand?

Sometimes it is important to look at words in combination when understanding their meaning

Sometimes Denotation is difficult to understand:

He’s really Skinny. I think he may be ill.

What is the Denotation of the word Skinny?

Do we usually us it with a positive or negative meaning?

Skinny: Has a Negative CONNOTATION

Word sets usually have a neutral, positive or negative connotation

Connotation:

Is the denotation or connotation of these underlined words different from their denotation or connotation in exercise1?

1: In business reports, it’s common to use tables and graphs

2: I gave up ice-cream last year and feel so much healthier

3: I usually take the bus to work 4: He’s as skinny as he was when he was 16. He

looks great.

Exercise 2:

Is the meaning of take the same in this sentence?

Take the bus = a COLLOCATION

The words take and bus regularly go together and the meaning of take cannot be separated from bus

Verbs that lose their meaning like this are called DELIXICALISED VERBS

I usuallt take the bus to work

What do these sets of words mean? I could eat a horse They received floods of letters He can swim like a fish

These sets of words have a meaning which is non-literal or imaginative

We say that they have a FIGURATIVE meaning

Look at the underlined words in the sentences below and complete the table. The first one has been done for you

Why do the speakers here use this kind of figurative language?

Exercise 3:

Words/Sets of Words

Literal Meaning Figurative Meaning

1. I ate so much I thought I was going to burst

Explode like a balloon

I felt extremely full

2. She has the voice of an angel.

3. He has such a sunny smile.

4. We were baking. The weather was so hot

Words/Sets of Words

Literal Meaning Figurative Meaning

1. I ate so much I thought I was going to burst

Explode like a balloon

I felt extremely full

2. She has the voice of an angel.

A voice like an angel’s voice

She speaks or sings beautifully

3. He has such a sunny smile.

A smile like the sun

A happy, positive, attractive smile

4. We were baking. The weather was so hot

Cooking in the oven, like bread.

Extremely hot.

What name do we give some figurative phrases

such as these?

IDIOMS!!

Exercise 4:◦ Look at the dictionary entry for the word drill

drill /dril/ noun [C]

1. a tool or machine which makes holes

◦ Now look at drill in the sentence below. Is it the same as the meaning above?

When I teach I like to drill my students by getting them to repeat words two or three times, so they can practise and remember the pronunciation

Register

In this case drill has changed its meaning because it is being used by a particular person

The set of words used by particular groups of people is called REGISTER

This can mean, as with drill that a word can change its meaning or a different word is used instead of a more common one.

REGISTER and STYLE (how the information is conveyed) also refer to the kinds of words used in a particular kind of text

E.g- a letter of complaint or a relaxed chat at a party

The different contexts/types of text will require using different types of words e;g:

FORMAL INFORMAL (OR COLLOQUIAL)

Register can also refer to…

Any questions?Lets try some activities…

Look at the underlined items of lexis in the table below and make notes about the meaning and register of each one:

Follow up activity 1:

Item of Lexis FigurativeMeaning?

Register

1. Last Sunday was boiling hot.

2. I would appreciate it if you could…

3. Overwork can lead to serious fatigue.

4. So, how’s it going?

5. See you soon. Tons of love, Anne.

Item of Lexis Figurative Meaning?

Register

1. Last Sunday was boiling hot.

Yes. Here it means very, very hot.

Informal with this meaning.

2. I would appreciate it if you could…

No. Formal.

3. Overwork can lead to serious fatigue.

No. Used by people in the medical profession

4. So, how’s it going? No – but going doesn’t have a literal meaning

Informal.

5. See you soon. Tons of love, Anne.

Yes. Here tons means lots NOT a weight.

Informal.

Follow up Activity 2: Look at the underlined items of lexis in the

sentences below. How does their meaning change from sentence a) to sentence b) ?

1. a) Could you pick up that pen for me? b) If you’ve got the car could you pick me up?

2. a) I had chips for my dinner b) How many chips are in a computer?

3. a) I went to the cinema last Saturday b) I nearly went mad trying to do my homework