Lesson 1

In the first, introductory, lesson I presented prepositions - the word class or part of speech - as a problem for learners of English (or any other language). We looked briefly at the kind and quality of information about prepositions that is provided by dictionaries and grammar reference works. The idea was to show that these resources are not adequate. I also tried to introduce prepositions not as a grammatical category but as a linguistic means of encoding the way we perceive relations between entities in the world, in particular the asymmetrical relation between Figure and Ground (Landmark). Finally, we looked at how certain meanings, or submeanings, of prepositions can be derived from a primary, basic meaning. All of this is representated in the PP presentation in the Resources folder. For next week, students should read Chapter 1 of Lindstromberg's English Prepositions Explained and answer Questions to Chap. 1. Both are in the Resources folder.

Lesson 2

In the second lesson we went over the answers to Questions to Chap 1 in pairs and small groups. Many students sought an answer to the publishing information for Metaphors We Live By on the internet. The purpose of the question was to get you to discover the bibliography at the back of the book. Please take a look and see how many names you recognize. We then went on to do an exercise on prepositions from a textbook (Cassell's Students's English Grammar). The exercise tests students' knowledge of opposites, such as up/down, in/out. Since opposites share common features, the question arises: Which features are shared and which distinct? This question leads in the direction of identifying the distinctive semantic features of the two words. When you have tried this on your own, check out a reliable dictionary or two to see how lexicographers tackle the problem

For next week, read chapter two and do the relative exercises.

Lesson 3 

In the third lesson we went over the homework in pairs. We then went through a worksheet on the the prespostion ON in an attempt to determine the nuamces of the usages of the prepositition. For week four students should answer the questions to the Chap. 3.

Lesson 4

We began by (with?) going over the homework. We then moved on to consider some pedagogical implications and applications of the cognitive approach to prepostiions and metaphor. We focused in particular on the "burden metaphor" and went through a lesson plan based on the Macmillan Dictionary for Advanced Learners entry on "responsibility" (see Resources folder). For the next lesson students should answer the questions to Chap 4.

Lesson 5

We went through the homework in pairs. We spoke briefly about ways to present  phrasal verbs to learners, in particular ways of identify and present central sematic features of particles in phrasal verb combinations. We looked at a few poorly scanned page from Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Plus (2005), which in the study section seeks to graphically show basic and derived usages of particles. This approach can be compared with that of the Oxford Phrasal Verb Dictionary, which simply lists the different meanings. Finally, we looked at the BYU BNC site, which provides a free online interface to the British National Corpus. We attempted to compare this with the Leeds Collection of English Corpora, but the site was down. It seems to be working again.

For the next lesson, please do the exercises to Chap 9 (on 'above' and 'over'). On 6 Nov there will be a short quiz on Chap 18. Students should also begin looking at Chap 21 on abstract notions expressed by prepositions. You should also download the file "Term paper (rev)" (slightly revised version) and read through it.

Lesson 6

Students went over ther answers to Chap 9.

Lesson 7

Quiz on Chap 18

Lesson 8

Feedback on problems emerging from Chap 9 and 18. Students begin discussing their corpus data with other students. Next week, continuation on corpus data, practice exaplining analytical criteria.