A substitution table is used while teaching structures of English.[1][2] Substitution tables were invented by Harold E. Palmer,[3] who defines substitution as "the process by which any authentic sentence may be multiplied indefinitely by substituting for any of its words or word-groups others of the same grammatical family and within certain semantic limits".[4]

Procedure for preparation

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Language components to be taught must be used in a grammatically correct model sentence. Simple structures or language components must be the ones taught in initial stages, with only one item covered at a time. A word, phrase, idiom, or vocabulary item may be used as a tool. The words of a model sentence are substituted for by other words. The substitution words are of the same grammatical family in which the model sentence is drawn. The components (structure/words) must be simple so that the pupil can easily understand them.

Types of Substitution tables

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  • Simple Substitution Table
  • Compound Substitution Table
  • Grammatical Substitution Table
  • Perfect Substitution Table
  • Imperfect Substitution table

References

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  1. ^ "Substitution Tables". The Bell Foundation. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  2. ^ George, H. V. (1965). "The Substitution Table". ELT Journal. XX (1): 41–48. doi:10.1093/elt/XX.1.41. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  3. ^ Lemieux, Claude P. (1964). "Harold E. Palmer's Contribution to the Oral Method of Teaching Foreign Languages". The Slavic and East European Journal. 8 (3): 320–326. doi:10.2307/304223. ISSN 0037-6752. JSTOR 304223. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  4. ^ Palmer, Harold E. (1916). Colloquial English: Part I. 100 Substitution Tables. Heffer. p. iii. Retrieved 3 November 2024. Substitution may be described as the process by which any authentic sentence may be multiplied indefinitely by substituting for any of its words or word-groups others of the same grammatical family and within certain semantic limits.