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CELTA Course Handbook

Teacher Training Department

Via Roccaromana 6, 95124 Catania * Tel: +39 095 715 2243 Fax: +39 095 320033 * www.gigact.com * [email protected]

Course Handbook

Full-time course

Dates & Days Mon 5 Nov – Fri 30 Nov, 2012




Section 6: Assignments

• Assignments Schedule

• Assignment 1 – Language-related Tasks

• Assignment 2 – Focus on the Learner

• Assignment 3 – Skills Development

• Assignment 4 – Lessons from the Classroom




Assignments Schedule The assignments are designed to help you consolidate what has been presented through input sessions, observations and TP planning and feedback. You are expected to use your notes, as well as drawing on your own background reading and use of reference materials. Through these assignment tasks you will demonstrate your understanding of the principles underlying current practice, your ability to reflect on your own teaching and that of others, sensitivity to the learners and their needs, and your knowledge of language systems (grammatical / lexical; phonological / orthographic). Part of your professionalism as a teacher is reflected in your ability to meet deadlines: extensions will therefore only be granted in extreme situations. Please note that assignments submitted after a deadline may also be subject to a ‘fail’ grade: in cases of illness etc you must inform the tutor before the deadline expires and a revised submission date must be set. Likewise, please note that you are required to submit all four assignments for assessment and may not choose not to submit one. Each assignment constitutes evidence an essential component of your performance on the course, which will be externally scrutinised by the assessor towards the end of the course. The due dates for assignments are as follows:

Assignment title Due on

Assignment 1 Language related Tasks Mon 12 Nov 2012

Assignment 2 Focus on the Learner Fri 16 Nov 2012

Assignment 3 Skills related Tasks Fri 23 Nov 2012

Assignment 4 Lessons from the Classroom Tue 27 Nov 2012

Assignments 2-4 are 750 to 1,000 words in length. You should not exceed the upper limit as you could be asked to re-submit. Show your word count on each assignment. If you are asked to resubmit your first attempt at an assignment, it is not a fail, but a second chance to meet all of the criteria. These criteria are clearly stated at the beginning of each assignment and on the feedback sheet you will be given. Assignments are internally assessed and externally moderated. A selection of assignments is double marked by a second tutor. Weak assignments are also double marked. If you are asked to resubmit an assignment or you fail an assignment, you may be sure that your assignment was marked and discussed by at least 2 tutors. You will be given opportunities to ask for clarification on the demands of each task. These opportunities will be brief. It is important that you read the outline of each assignment thoroughly before the date set aside for clarification. Remember that there are only two final grades for assignments: ‘Pass’, or ‘Fail’, but notice that one criteria is common to all assignments – that of clarity and accuracy of your own language. Good luck with your four assignments!




Assignment 1: Language Awareness

Date due: Pass Grade: 70% Complete the tasks fully. Follow the examples where given. This assignment should be handwritten directly on the pages that follow. Do not retype. Cambridge Criteria for marking Candidates can demonstrate their learning by:

a. analysing language correctly for teaching purposes b. correctly using terminology relating to form, meaning and phonology when analysing

language c. accessing reference materials and referencing information they have learned about

language to an appropriate source d. using written language that is clear accurate and appropriate to the task

N.B. You need to use reference/grammar books and dictionaries when doing this assignment. Please reference accordingly as per criterion c above. Write below the titles, authors, dates of publication and publishers:

Possible pitfalls that might lead to a resubmission:

1. Using inappropriate concept checking questions (look at notes from input session). 2. Not being specific enough when analysing the form of the grammar. 3. Not fully answering the questions on form and phonology when analysing lexis. 4. Not providing a bibliography.

NAME: I guarantee that this is my own work: SIGNATURE/DATE:

Scores: A B C D E F G TOTAL

Re-do




Part A (each correct answer 0.5 marks) Read the extract below. Look at the underlined words and match them to the parts of speech

given on the next page. The first word has been done for you.

My first sight of England was on a foggy Dec night in 1973 when I arrived on the midnight ferry from Calais. For twenty minutes, the terminal area was warm with activity as cars and lorries poured forth, customs people did their duties, and everyone made for the London road. Then abruptly all was silence and I wandered through sleeping, low-lit streets threaded with fog, just like in a Bulldog Drummond movie. It was rather wonderful having an English town all to myself. The only mildly dismaying thing was that all the hotels and guesthouses appeared to be shut up for the night. I walked as far as the rail station, thinking I’d catch a train to London, but the station, too, was dark and shuttered. I was standing wondering what to do when I noticed a grey light of television filling an upstairs window of a guesthouse across the road. Hooray, I thought, someone awake, and hastened across, planning humble apologies to the kindly owner for the lateness of my arrival and imagining a cheery conversation which included the line, ‘Oh, but I couldn’t possibly ask you to feed me at this hour. No, honestly – well, if you’re quite sure it’s no trouble, then perhaps just a roast beef sandwich and a large dill pickle with perhaps some potato salad and a bottle of beer.’ The front path was pitch dark and in my eagerness and unfamiliarity with British doorways, I tripped on a step, crashing face-first into the door and sending half a dozen empty milk bottles clattering. Almost immediately the upstairs window opened. ‘Who’s that?’ came a sharp voice. I stepped back, rubbing my nose, and peered up at a silhouette with hair curlers. ‘Hello, I’m looking for a room,’ I said. ‘We’re shut.’ ‘Oh. But what about my supper?’ ‘Try the Churchill. On the front.’ ‘On the front of what?’ I asked, but the window was already banging closed.

Acknowledgement: ‘Notes From A Small Island’, Bill Bryson




Example: Possessive determiner (first person) My

1. Adverb of degree __________________________________

2. Uncountable noun __________________________________

3. Conjunction of contrast __________________________________

4. Definite article __________________________________

5. Past simple of regular verb __________________________________

6. Adverb of manner __________________________________

7. Preposition of direction __________________________________

8. Countable noun __________________________________

9. Modal auxiliary __________________________________

10. Adjective __________________________________

/5

Part B (5 marks, each fully-correct answer 1 mark) Look at the following sentences written by a student in a pre-intermediate class. Your task: Identify and correct the mistakes in each sentence and explain why. Use language suitable for a lower level class. Example:

X Yesterday we goed to the park. X

Correction: Yesterday we went to the park. (0.5 mark)

Reason: The irregular past tense of ‘go’ is ‘went’. (0.5 mark)

1. The assistant picked up all the pieces of broken glass and put it in the rubbish bin. Correction:




Reason: 2. If I were you, I will go to the doctor. Correction: Reason: 3. He’s gone to Bali several times. Correction: Reason: 4. I’m not well. I’m having a cold. Correction: Reason: 5. I love this park. My father brought me to one last week but it wasn’t as nice as this one. Correction: Reason

/5

Part C (10 marks in all) Look at the five sentences below. They are from students’ work. In each case underline the incorrect use of vocabulary and explain to the student why it is incorrect. Make sure the correct usage is included in your answer and that your explanation is simple. Example:

Student wrote: He was the highest man I had ever seen.

Reason:

Incorrect collocation. (0.5 marks) We use tallest for people – highest would collocate with mountains or hills. (0.5 marks)

1. Student wrote: This food is very delicious. Reason:




2. Student wrote: The house was old and moist. Reason: 3. Student wrote: I’m sorry to hear that your grandmother has kicked the bucket. Reason: 4. Student wrote: Let’s proceed to the shops and buy some new things. Reason: 5. Student wrote: I can’t put on with his behaviour any longer. Reason:

/10 Part D (each correct answer 0.5 mark) 1. Mark the stress on words a-i by drawing a box above the stressed syllable. a) important b) favourable c) selection d) likely e) avocado f) liability g) television h) controversy /4 2. Write the phonemic transcription for words g-k. Remember to include the stress mark. (Each correct answer 0.5 marks).

a) gorilla / / b) moon / /

c) procedure / / d) house / /

/2




3. Underline the two main stressed words in each of B’s replies (0.5 marks each)

A: Did you use your reference books for this test? B: Not for the first section but I needed them for the second part. A: I can’t find my socks here. B: Look in the top drawer, not that one. /2

4. Underline and mark the four schwas in the sentence below. (0.5 marks each):

You’ll be glad that this is the end of the assignment. /2

/10

Part E (60 marks in total) Write your answers on separate sheets and staple them to the assignment. Your task - For each sentence below:

1. Describe the context (situation) through which you could teach the language item. The context

must be specific to the language item and generate the use of the target language i.e. your

context must lead the students to speak using the particular tense/structure. The context must

generate lots of examples of the TL, not just the sentence you are analyzing. (3 marks)

2. Name/Identify the target language. (1 marks)

3. Isolate the elements of meaning of the target language. (3 marks)

4. Identify any problems students will have with the meaning of the target language (3 marks)

5. Write at least 3 concept checking questions for the target structure and include the expected

answers from the students. Detail any other methods you could use to check the meaning,

including timelines, graphs or visuals. (8 marks)

6. Describe the form of the target language. (1 marks)

7. Write the sentence in phonemic script. (1 mark) These are the three sentences to be analyzed.

1. He looked exhausted because he’d been studying all night. /20

2. I’m used to getting up at half past six in the morning. /20

3. They might go to the party. /20

/60




Below is a completed answer for a grammar structure.

I’m seeing the doctor tomorrow at 2:00. 1. CONTEXT - Bill and John want to get together sometime this week for a game of tennis. They have

their appointment books out and are trying to find a day and time that suits them both. They ask

and answer questions like: “What about Monday?” “No, sorry, I’m meeting my brother. What are

you doing Friday?” “Oh, I’m getting my haircut. How about tomorrow?” etc. Notice that the

context generates lots of examples of the present continuous for future arrangements, not

just “I’m seeing the doctor.”

2. TARGET LANGUAGE - Present continuous (for future arrangements).

3. ELEMENTS OF MEANING - The action takes place in the future.

The doctor knows about it.

I made the appointment in the past.

I arranged the action before now.

4. IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMS SS MAY HAVE WITH TL –

- Ss may think it is an action in progress (present continuous for actions happening now or

around now)

- Ss may not understand that the plan was arranged previously between people

- Ss may why ‘will’ is not used

5. CONCEPT CHECKING QUESTIONS - Does the action take place in the past, present or future?

Future

How do you know (it is in the future)? Because the time reference and CONTEXT is included.

Does the doctor know about the appointment? Yes

Is it in my diary? Yes

When did I make the appointment? In the past

Is the action something I arranged before now? Yes

Past Now Future (Bill & John

are speaking)

________X____________________X_____________________X_________ Called doctor 2pm tomorrow

Made appointment I’m seeing the doctor.

6. DESCRIPTION OF FORM –

Subject + verb “to be” in the present simple +verb with ‘ing’ +time marker.

7. PHONEMIC SCRIPT - /aɪmˈsiːjɪŋðəˈdɒktərtəˈmɒrəʊwəˈtuː/




Part F (each correct answer 0.5 marks) Match the sentences on the left with the sentences on the right, according to both their form and use. An example has been done for you

1. James is going to sell his car.

2. Are you cold? I’ll turn down the

air conditioning.

3. I’ve been to India.

4. I can’t swim.

5. Look out! You’re going to fall into that hole.

6. I’ve lived in Singapore for two

years.

7. I’m having dinner with Sue tomorrow.

8. You can go to the cinema tonight.

9. You’ll marry a rich man one day.

10. My brother is trying to change his

job.

11. If you do that again, I’ll hit you.

A. I’ve liked Abba since I was ten.

B. Are you buying the tickets next

week?

C. You can’t see that boy again!

D. My parents are going to get divorced.

E. Pasta? No, I think I’ll have a

steak.

F. I’m reading Jane Eyre at the moment.

G. Julia can help you with your

project.

H. Unless I hear from you soon, I’ll cancel the reservation for dinner.

I. Have you ever eaten sushi?

J. I’m going to be sick if I eat any

more chocolate.

K. It will be sunny tomorrow.

1. – ______ 2. – E 3. – ______ 4. – ______ 5. – ______ 6. – ______ 7. – ______ 8. – ______ 9. – ______ 10. – ______ 11. – ______

/5




Part G (each correct answer 0.5 marks) Now look at Column 1 again. Match the sentences on the left to the descriptions of their form and use on the right. An example has been done for you.

1. James is going to sell his car.

2. Are you cold? I’ll turn down the air conditioning.

3. I’ve been to India.

4. I can’t swim.

5. Look out! You’re going to fall into

that hole.

6. I’ve lived in Singapore for two years.

7. I’m having dinner with Sue

tomorrow.

8. You can go to the cinema tonight.

9. You’ll marry a rich man one day.

10. My brother is trying to change his job.

11. If you do that again, I’ll hit you.

A. ‘going to’ to describe a prediction based on present evidence.

B. Present continuous to describe an action

happening around now.

C. ‘will’ + bare infinitive to describe a spontaneous decision.

D. Present continuous to describe a future

arrangement.

E. ‘can’/’can’t’ to describe permission / prohibition.

F. ‘will’+ bare infinitive to describe a

prediction.

G. ‘going to’ to describe a plan or intention.

H. ‘can’/’can’t’ to describe ability / lack of ability.

I. Present perfect to describe a past

experience.

J. First conditional to describe a threat / warning.

K. Present perfect to describe an action in

the past that has continued up to the present.

1. – ______ 2. – C 3. – ______ 4. – ______ 5. – ______ 6. – ______ 7. – ______ 8. – ______ 9. – ______ 10. – ______ 11. – ______

/5




Assignment Two: Focus on the Learner Date due:

The wordage for this assignment is 1,000 words.

Cambridge Criteria for marking Candidates can demonstrate their learning by: a. showing awareness of how a learner’s background, previous learning experience and learning style can

affect learning b. identifying the learner’s language/skills needs c. correctly using terminology relating to the description of language systems and language skills d. selecting appropriate material and/or resources to aid the learner’s language development e. providing a rationale for using specific activities with a learner f. finding, selecting and referencing information from one or more sources using written language that is

clear, accurate and appropriate to the task (CELTA Syllabus and Assessment Guidelines) Recommended books for this assignment (please make sure that you make CLEAR reference to at least one source in the assignment and that this/these correspond(s) to the one(s) you list in the bibliography at the end of your assignment): • "Learning Teaching", Jim Scrivener, Macmillan Heinemann; • "The Practice of English Language Teaching", Jeremy Harmer, Longman; • "How to Teach English", Jeremy Harmer, Longman. • "Grammar for English Language Teachers", Martin Parrott, CUP; • "Practical English Usage", Michael Swan, OUP; • "How English Works", Michael Swan and Catherine Walter, OUP; • "Essential Grammar in Use", Raymond Murphy, CUP. • "English Grammar in Use", Raymond Murphy, CUP; • “Learner English”, M. Swan and B. Smith, CUP. In this assignment, you are to focus on one student, analyse her / his strengths and weaknesses and, based on this information, select activities to help your student improve in the areas you have chosen to focus on. Some common pitfalls that can lead to a resubmission

1. Not covering all the areas required. 2. Being too general in any of the parts of the assignment. 3. Listing areas for language development without giving sufficient examples from your observation of

specific students during TP. 4. Focussing on linguistic problems that aren’t appropriate to the level of the TP group. 5. Describing activities in Part 3 which don’t address the areas for development outlined in Part 2. 6. Not providing a clear rationale for the selection of these activities – remember to include reference

to the students’ preferred learning styles here. 7. Failing to attach referenced copies of the activities to the assignment. 9. Creating your own practice activities which aren’t based on a piece of published material in any way. 10. Going over the word limit by more than 100 words.




Key input sessions to help you with this assignment

1. ‘Focus on the learner – setting Assignment 1’ 2. ‘Learning to Learn’ 3. ‘Controlled and freer practice activities’ 4. Assignment 1 5. The sessions on language analysis and phonology might also be useful depending on the linguistic

problems you identify. A. Procedure

1. Choose your student: During the first few days of Teaching Practice, choose a student from your TP class who you are interested in analysing. You should each choose a different student (so as not to put too great a strain on an individual’s time). Try to collect a sample of their written work from the first five days of the course. The writing that students may have produced on TP day 1 will be useful here.

2. Observe your student: Watch him/her carefully during lessons and make notes in the following areas: • How often does the student speak to the teacher, and to other students? • Comment on body language. Does the student look relaxed, nervous, uncomfortable, etc? • How well does he/she follow instructions? What would help him/her understand better? • Does the student seem willing to participate fully in activities? • What types of learning activities seem to suit him/her best? (i.e. what appear to be his/her learning

style(s) or preferences?) • Monitor him/her during pair/group work – note good language, errors, things they have problems with,

areas they avoid, strategies they use when they don’t understand something or when they are not understood. (You could refer to these notes during the interview.)

3. Interview your student: In the first three weeks of TP, use the attached questionnaire to conduct a 10 to15 minute interview with your chosen student. This will be a follow up of the interview the students conducted with each other on day 1 teaching practice. You should take notes of the interview for subsequent analysis. B. The contents of the assignment: • Part 1: Background (200 words): using the information gained from your interview and your

observations, write an account of the learner, their context (background and language learning experiences), and his/her aptitude in the classroom.

• Part 2: Strengths and weaknesses (400-500 words):

a. Comment on the learner’s performance in language systems (grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation). Mention areas of successful language use and list 3 different examples of errors in language (one for grammar, one for vocabulary and one for pronunciation). You can refer to either spoken language or written language. Analyse and rationalise the mistakes the student made as in the table below. In the section on “why the student made the mistake”, you can refer to your knowledge of the student’s L1 and you must, where possible, refer back to their personal profile, including such areas as their previous learning experience. Note: Please attach a copy of the learner’s written text if you are focusing on his/her writing. If you are focusing on speaking, please give a context to indicate what the learner is talking about. (See below).




What the student said ( or wrote): What is wrong? Why did the student make the mistake?

(Speaking about a friend’s experience) “He have been to Paris”. Wrong form of the auxiliary, should be “has”. Since only the third person is not formed with “have”, the student has over-applied the rule.

b. Comment on the learner’s performance in all four skills (reading, listening, speaking and

writing), particularly their ability to communicate. Give specific examples of strengths and/or weaknesses. Please analyse the piece of written work your student wrote on day 1 and attach the corrected sample indicating your:

‐ role as a reader (Did you understand it? Does it fulfil its communicative purpose?) ‐ role as a writing skills teacher (genre, paragraphing, punctuation, style, etc.) ‐ your role as a language expert (language use problems - grammar, vocabulary, functions)

• Part 3: Helping the Learner (300-400 words): From the problems outlined in Part 2, choose the most significant language systems problem and the most significant skills problem. Then describe a specific activity that would provide the student with practice in each of the TWO problem areas. At least one of the activities you choose should be taken from published supplementary material – please attach photocopies of the activities, paying due regard to copyright. Explain why you think each activity would be useful or interesting for your student and so meet their needs. The chosen activities can be class-based or for personal study. Whichever way you decide to use them, you need to be aware of the fact that an activity by itself will not help the learner. Consider for example a learner who has problems with prepositions and you decide to give them a page form Murphy’s Essential English Grammar which focuses on the use of prepositions and which the learner will have to fill in. By itself this activity will not help the learner much. You need to make sure that you include a clear description of how YOU intend to use this activity to help the learner with their problem and the type of input/support you will give the student during the process.

For example:

Language systems: Anna has problems choosing when to use present perfect and when to use past simple. I would use a gap-fill activity, where they have to choose between past simple and present perfect to help her practise this (see attached example from ......). I would also draw her attention to correct usage in written and spoken texts, so she can get a feel for this distinction in natural English. I would do this by asking her, e.g., “Why does the speaker use present perfect in the first sentence, but past simple later on?” Anna is particularly interested in news stories so I would use these to highlight natural use. Skills: ….. Anna has problems with fluency when speaking. She is constantly worried about being accurate so she hesitates a lot and her speech is rather stilted. To help her become more fluent, I would ask her to play a board game with her peers in which each player has to speak about a certain topic for 1 minute in order to win a point. (See attached work sheet showing the board game). This type of game would encourage Anna to ……




You should arrange your assignment as follows: Part 1: Background: Part 2: Strengths and Weaknesses: • Description of strong areas of language use. • 3 different examples of errors in language and analysis (one for grammar, one for vocabulary and one

for pron.): Grammar Language Problem

1

What the student said (or wrote): What is wrong? Why did the student make the mistake?

Vocab Language Problem

2


Pron Language Problem (include

phonemics) 3


• Learner’s performance in skills work: (Comment on reading, listening, speaking and writing). Part 3: Helping the Learner: • Language focus: ****. Problem: ****. Activity: ****. • Skills: ****. Problem: ****. Activity: ****. Notes to Help with this Assignment In the past, some trainees have had to resubmit this assignment because they did not read the rubric carefully. The notes below should help you to avoid certain pitfalls. Section B of the Assignment When describing the student’s 3 language errors in Section B Part 2, make sure that they are 3 different errors (One for grammar, one for vocabulary and one for pronunciation). For example, you cannot have 2 errors that focus on misuse of the past simple. The errors should come from different sentences produced by the student. Don’t take all your errors from one sentence only. Please note that the activities you describe in Section B Part 3 should refer directly to the problems you have outlined in Section B Part 2: one activity for a language systems error mentioned in Section B Part 2 and one activity for a skills problem mentioned in Section B Part 2. In each case, make sure you

• describe an activity that would help your learner in each of these areas • say why you think these activities are suitable • acknowledge the source(s) • include (a) photocopy/ies of the activity/ies




When choosing an activity to help with a skills problem (reading, listening, speaking, writing), make sure you don’t describe an activity that practises a specific language point. The activity must be skills-based, not language-based. We recommend that you set out your assignment using the framework given above. This

should help you to stay on track and keep to the word limit.

Student Questionnaire

1. Name

2. Nationality

3. Age

4. Job

5. Interests

6. Reasons for learning English?

7. Previous English language learning experience (and other languages, if appropriate); how were you taught and what did you enjoy or not about the process?

8. Areas you most need to practise (e.g. listening, speaking, writing, reading, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation)?

9. Anything you would particularly like to learn in the lessons?

10. What do you think is the best way to learn English (learning style?)? How can your teacher help you with this (your definition of a “good teacher”)?

11. Other …




Assignment Three: Skills-Related

Date due:

The wordage for this assignment is 1000 words. The tasks (and the authentic material) themselves should not be included in the number of words Cambridge Criteria for marking: Candidates can demonstrate their learning by:

a. correctly using terminology that relates to skills and sub-skills b. relating task design to skills development c. finding, selecting and referencing information from one or more sources using written language that

is clear, accurate and appropriate to the task (CELTA Syllabus and Assessment Guidelines)

This assignment aims to develop your ability to exploit texts for primarily receptive (listening and reading) and, secondarily, productive (speaking and writing) skills work. For this assignment you will need to read: • your notes from the input sessions on:

o Lesson Planning - Skills Focus o Developing Reading Skills and Listening Skills o Using Authentic Text

• the chapters on reading, listening, writing and speaking skills in:

Harmer, J. (1998) How to Teach English Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Harmer, J. (2001 3rd Edition) The Practice of English Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Please make sure that you make CLEAR reference to at least two sources in the assignment and that this/these correspond(s) to the one(s) you list in the bibliography at the end of your assignment. Two sources means two authors who will most probably have said something about different areas in the assignment. Please DO NOT add one single reference in the whole assignment as this means you will have to resubmit it. Recommended reading: • Farrell, T.S.C. (2002) Planning Lessons for a Reading Class Singapore: SEAMEO RELC • Grellet, F. (1981) Developing Reading Skills Cambridge: Cambridge University Press • Nuttall, C. (1996) Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language: Macmillan • Riddell, D. (2001) Teaching English as a Foreign Language London: Hodder Education • Rost, M. (1994) Introducing Listening London: Penguin • Ur, P. (1984) Teaching Listening Comprehension Cambridge: Cambridge University Press • White, G. (1998) Listening Oxford: Oxford University Press




Some common pitfalls that can lead to a resubmission

1. Not grading the tasks to suit the level of the learners. 2. Cutting up the text, removing headings or ‘tippexing’ out difficult words. Any of these immediately

makes the text unauthentic. 3. Not including the answers you would expect students to give to your reading tasks. 4. Creating productive skills tasks that don’t relate sufficiently to the content of the selected

reading/listening text. 5. Not grading the productive skills tasks to suit the level of the learners. 6. A lack of procedural detail when focussing on the productive skills tasks. 7. Not mentioning your background reading in the assignment – remember that you should have a

minimum of one reference relating to the design of a receptive skill task and one reference relating to the design of a productive skills task.

8. Failing to provide a bibliography or attach the authentic text. Key input sessions to help you with this assignment

a. ‘Developing students’ receptive skills’.

b. ‘Exploiting authentic texts’.

c. ‘Developing students’ speaking skills’.

d. ‘Developing students’ writing skills’.

A top tip from your tutors Avoid spending days looking for your authentic text! Make a decision on a text reasonably quickly (and then stick to it!). Spend the majority of your time thinking about how you can exploit your selected text really effectively and designing the necessary tasks.

Your Task Find a piece of authentic material that is appropriate for use with your first TP group in terms of their needs, interests and levels of ability. This can be a written text or a spoken text. It is possible to adapt the original material, by selecting only a section of a newspaper article. However, to ensure the material is still authentic you may not re-write the actual text in order to adjust it to the students’ level. Neither should you remove words or sentences. You must run your text by your tutor before starting the assignment. Criteria to choose a text:

1. Content – make sure your students would find it interesting, they can relate to it or it is appropriate to the class. A totally alien text will determine the level of difficulty and interest. Also, make sure that it is culturally appropriate!

2. Structures – make sure the grammar in the text is not beyond the students’ level i.e. if you are choosing a text for an elementary group, a text full of relative clauses, complex structures and variety of tenses will clearly not be suitable. Likewise, if you’re choosing a text for an intermediate group, it should not be so easy that they are not challenged.

3. Vocabulary – make sure the text does not contain too many words or words which are difficult to teach i.e. abstract concepts, uncommon items or words which they would not need at that level, etc. Remember that when pre teaching vocabulary you need to select those words which students will need to be able to carry out the tasks, not just random vocabulary from the text.




Part 1: Justification of material choice (150 words approx.) Justify your choice of material, stating what it is and why you think it is appropriate for the group. Make reference to your group and your background reading on skills. Use quotation marks and acknowledge the source when quoting from published work. Part 2: Receptive skill task design (425 words approx.) Start by designing tasks that focus on receptive skills work (i.e. listening or reading):

• Describe tasks that give the students practice in two distinct and appropriate sub-skills (e.g. skimming and picking out specific information, skimming for details).

• Say how you would use each task in class (e.g. set-up of activity, any vocabulary that needs pre-teaching (or not depending on the level or your approach; time limits, feedback)

• With explicit reference to your background reading on skills, say why the tasks are useful for the specified students.

Part 3: Productive skill task design (425 words approx.) Next, design a task that focuses on one productive skill (speaking or writing). This must not be a language-based activity.

• Describe a task that gives the students practice in this skill. • Say how you would use the task in class (e.g. set-up of activity, time limits, feedback). • With explicit reference to your background reading on skills, say why the task is useful for the

specified students, and how it exploits or relates to the authentic material you chose. Part 4: Appendices: (not included in word count) Please attach, as appendices

• a copy of the authentic material • the tasks you have designed • the answers to the tasks.

Part 5: Bibliography and References (not included in word count) Include a list of all the works you have referred to in preparing for your assignment. Remember that this does not mean adding hundreds of books at the end of the assignment, but only those you read and REFER TO/CITE in the main text. Make sure that you include at least 2 different references in text! A Framework to help you with Assignment Three Note that you will be describing a skills lesson, not a language lesson. You can think of the lesson as being 90 minutes long, (45 min for the receptive part and 45 min for the productive part). Below is a bare framework to help you to set out your assignment logically. Part 1: Justification of material choice (150 words approx) Example: I have chosen a _____________ text on the subject of __________________. I have chosen this text because_________________________ (Think about the interests, needs and level of your group). __________ states that “__________________________________.” (Give source of quotation e.g. Grellet (1981)).




Part 2: Receptive skill task design (425 words approx) This must describe receptive tasks (i.e. reading or listening). Example: Lead-in ____ mins: I would lead into the lesson by ________________ ________. This would help to ______________________________________________________. Pre-teaching Vocabulary ____ mins: I would pre-teach the key lexical items _________________________ by ______________________________________________________. _________ notes that “pre-teaching vocabulary ______________________.” (Give source) Gist task ____ mins: I would set the following gist task. ______________________________________________________________________. ____ mins: I would give the students ___ mins to read the text, ____ mins to pair and share their answers and then get WC feedback ( ____mins). ________ states that “gist tasks _________________________________.” (Give source) I believe that this gist task would be useful to the students because it would help them to _________________________________________. (Continue in this way with another relevant receptive task – remember you STILL need to give sources). Part 3: Productive skill task design (425 words approx) Think about how the text lends itself naturally to a Productive Skills activity (Speaking or Writing) and describe how you would further exploit the text with a speaking or writing activity on the same theme. For example, if you chose a listening text on job interviews for the receptive skills, then this would naturally lead into EITHER speaking (role-playing a job interview) OR writing (writing your application letter for a job). This must describe the staging of the different activities you will use to help the ss develop the skills you have chosen (i.e. speaking or writing – not language). Again, describe in detail the staging of this part of the lesson. Be specific about how you would achieve this. For instance, using the example above a brief outline for the role-play (speaking) would be: 1. Ss would be allocated roles, 2. Need time to prepare their roles with info on cards (interviewer/interviewee), 3. Rehearsal time with partners, 4. Execution of role-play, 5. Feedback on content and language. Please add SUFFICIENT DETAIL and REFERENCES as appropriate. Example: I have chosen a _________________ (speaking or writing) task in the form of a ____________________ (a debate, role-play, writing a CV or email, etc). I think this task would be useful to my students because ___________________. The task relates to the authentic material I have used above because _______________________.




_________ notes that “______________________________________” (Give source) (Continue in this way for all stages building up to the production – remember you STILL need to give sources). Refer to materials from your input sessions on Developing Speaking and Writing Skills. NB: the activities will develop from receptive skills work to thematically related productive skills work. Ensure that you pay as much attention to the staging of the later productive phases as the receptive ones. Also, the only language work you refer to should concern key lexis you will need to teach at some point in the lesson. Remember Skills not Language Assignment.

Part 4 Appendices

• Authentic text • Tasks you have designed i.e. worksheets, supplementary materials etc. • Answers to the above tasks

Part 5 Bibliography and References e.g. Grellet, F. (1981) Developing Reading Skills: Cambridge University Press Your sources must also be referred to in the main body of the assignment e.g. Grellet (1981).

NB Make sure you see section 7 in the handbook before you prepare your bibliography. You are

required to follow standard referencing conventions.




Assignment Four: Lessons From The Classroom

Date due: The wordage for this assignment is 1000 words.

Part A – 800 words of continuous prose Part B – 200 words in bullet points

Cambridge Criteria for marking Candidates can demonstrate their learning by:

a. noting their own teaching strengths and weaknesses in different situations in light of feedback from learners, teachers and teacher educators

b. identifying which ELT areas of knowledge and skills they need further development in c. describing in a specific way how they might develop their ELT knowledge and skills beyond the course d. using written language that is clear, accurate and appropriate to the task

Your data: To write this assignment you will need to use:

• the notes that you took while observing your peers teaching; • the observation tasks you did when observing the experienced teachers; • your Teaching Practice Log; • your First Thoughts sheets; • your tutors’ written and oral feedback on your teaching; • notes from relevant input sessions

The task: Part 1 (800 words to be in continuous prose)

• Based on your observations of peers and experienced teachers, and your own teaching on this course, write an account of your experience of teaching. What have you gained from the process? Discuss the value of observation and feedback.

• Analyse what you consider being significant events and try to assess their value to you from a teaching/learning perspective. What action have you taken in response to your peers/tutors feedback?

• Reflect on your lessons and assess the strengths and weaknesses in your teaching. Also, consider things from the students’ perspective.

Part 2 (200 words in bullet points)

• Draw up an action plan for how you can develop your ELT knowledge and skills beyond the course, especially, but not only, in relation to your classroom teaching practice e.g. attending conferences, workshops, seminars, doing other courses, etc. Be as specific as possible and avoid saying: ‘I will attend a conference’. Say when, which one(s), etc.

• State why and how you plan to improve in the areas identified.




Organisation: You can use the following outline and headings.

Part 1

1. What I have learnt from the observation of my peers and the experienced teachers (include specific

examples mentioning the weeks or TP days, when the examples occurred)

2. What I have learnt from my own teaching practice experience (include specific examples mentioning the weeks or TP days, when the examples occurred)

3. What I have gained from the training/learning experience (support your points with examples):

4. My strengths:

5. My weaknesses: Part 2

My action plan:

What I want to work on

Why I want to work on it How I’m going to work on it

E.g. 1. concept

questions

• I can’t be sure students

have understood • I lose time in my lessons

• Consult grammar books to

check I understand the language point

• Include the prepared concept questions (and answers) in my plan

• Check the clarity and effectiveness of the questions with my peers

2.

3.

4.

(You are not limited to 4 points. Be very specific.)

Some common pitfalls that can lead to a resubmission

1. Not providing clear evidence from an appropriate source when describing your strengths and areas for development as a teacher.

2. Outlining a strength and then saying that the same area is a priority for development. 3. Not referring to the necessary number of peers or experienced DVD/teachers.




4. The areas in the action plan don’t relate to a sufficient number of areas for development outlined earlier in the assignment.

5. The action plan lacks detail or is unrealistic. 6. Not providing a bibliography where appropriate. 7. Only referring to evidence from your first few TPs. This assignment is set in week 1 so you know

what you need to be looking for during all your observations. However, please don’t try to get this assignment finished during the first 2 weeks of the course!

A top tip from your tutors Having identified your areas for future development (see criterion b above), think about what you’ve seen during your observations of peers and experienced teachers that could help you (see criteria c and d above).

EXAMPLE OF CONTENT FOR YOUR ACTION PLAN

Remember this content should go in BULLET POINT FORMAT. One of the things I have already identified that I will need to work on is my board work. This relates to Cambridge criteria, 2d providing accurate and appropriate models of oral and written language in the classroom. I will endeavour to pay attention to my spelling and punctuation when I write on the board and consider asking my students to help me spot any spelling mistakes I have made! For a few weeks after I have finished my CELTA course, I will pre-plan board work, particularly if I have a complicated language lesson ahead. In this way I hope to improve the organisation and presentation of my board work. I will also try to use black and blue for main board work and reserve lighter colours for highlighting important information such as phonemic script, linking, stress etc. I hope to work for a school which offers ongoing training sessions and professional development. I think this is really important to further my training. I would particularly like to know more about using technology in the EFL classroom, as well as how to teach exam classes. If these training opportunities are not available I will look for training opportunities elsewhere. I will also try to attend annual EFL conferences to keep myself updated and I will consider subscribing to a professional journal such as The Modern English Teacher.

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