CELTA-June 2013

Assignment 3: Skills-Related
Part1: Justification of material choice
For this Skills-related assignment, my choice of authentic reading material is Few Places
with Better Stories. from Asian Geographic magazine (no 78 issue 1/2011, pages 30 and
35). As this magazine is widely read and it is also a popular TV channel, the students will be
able to relate to it easily. I decided to use this article as I think it is appropriate for English
Language learners at the Intermediate level. The article deals with photography which can be
a hobby or passion for many adult learners and hence they can identify with the author. It is
also biographical, as the author narrates his experiences, thus the reader can bond with the
narrator. This topic has a universal appeal and is not culturally biased. The article also has
contemporary relevance as the author blends photography with nature, as the world is
desperate to conserve it. One test for useful reading might be to check how far tasks reflect
real life uses of the same text. If a text is used in class in ways that are reasonably similar to
real life, it is likely that the task will be effective (Learning Teaching, Third edition 2011,
Jims Scrivener, Macmillan)
But, most of all, this entire article is perfect for a reading activity, as the topic enables great
discussions/productive skill extensions.
Part 2: Receptive skill task design
Lead In:
I think a good starting point for this lesson would be playing a clip of underwater life from
National Geographic archive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSlFsbrUz2Q

Students are familiar with underwater life and the clip will help to set the context and
situation. Students could first discuss with partners how they feel about the underwater
photography. After eliciting some opinions and feelings, ask some additional, personalised
questions like:
Have you seen underwater world at Sentosa?
Would you like be an underwater photographer?
Would you like to go on an underwater expedition with the National Geographic team?
Teacher elicits responses to set the context further.

Gayatri Krishnan

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Although there are plenty of new vocabulary items in the article, I think students would not
have any significant difficulties in grasping the overall meaning of the text. I agree with
Jeremy Harmer with reference to pre-teaching: by giving them some or all those words we
deny them (a chance to practice tackling authentic texts) (Harmer -203). In my perspective,
students learn new words with reference to context which will enable them to grasp the word
well. In this article, I would pre-teach key vocabulary, such as:

photo-journalist
decade
motivate
to fall in love

I would convey the meaning for the above words with the help of visuals, and CCQs. The rest
of the vocabulary issues (which does not impede the set tasks) can be dealt with matching
words with meaning or synonyms at the pre-reading stage.
I would use this article to practise skim reading. Though the article is lengthy, the first
paragraph throws enough insight about the author. This enables a gist reading.
The gist reading task 30 seconds: Appendix B
I would remind the students that gist reading is a skill that requires quick reading and ability
to choose important information. Skimming=Reading quickly for gist of a passage. A typical
skimming task would be a general question from the teacher... (Learning Teaching, Third
edition 2011, Jims Scrivener, Macmillan)
Feedback: 1minute
A lesson without feedback is teaching that proceeds forward without reference to what
impact this is having on the learner... (Learning Teaching, Third edition 2011, Jims
Scrivener, Macmillan)
For specific reading task or scanning skill, I would use a simple set of questions- 5 minutes
(reading and answering): Appendix B. You probably want tasks that encourage students to
search for specific small sections of text which they can read more carefully to find a required
piece of information..Students doing this will be reading the material in a similar way to
how people might read it in everyday life. (Learning Teaching, Third edition 2011, Jims
Scrivener, Macmillan)
For both the scan and skim reading activities, student would do a pair check of their answers
before the teacher does feedback.
The teacher flashes the answers for the gist reading on the screen (OHP) and for the scanning
task, individual students could volunteer to discuss the answers. At this stage the teacher can
feedback on how the students located the answers (sequence of information in the paragraphs,
lead words, context etc).
Gayatri Krishnan

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 A common scanning activity is searching for information.Although scanning is involved

with finding individual points from the text.the way the reader finds the information
involves some degree of processing of the overall shape and structure of the text
(Learning Teaching, Third edition 2011, Jims Scrivener, Macmillan)

Part 3: Productive skill task design

I would use a writing task for productive skill. As the students have read about underwater
life, I would set a guided task to write about the topic:
Your thoughts and feelings of underwater world
(Students are expected to write five sentences)

Photos and pictures of marine life will be pasted around the classroom. Each
picture/photo will carry a description/key words.
Students will do a gallery walk, with a pen and a paper, to note the details and
description they would like to use.
They will return to their seats to write five sentences about underwater life and their
feeling/sentiments.
This task is for 15 minutes
At the end of the task, the writing from students will be pasted on the white board and
the students can read each others and vote for the best.

Writing involves a different kind of mental process. There is more time to think, to reflect,
to prepare, to rehearse, to make mistakes and to find alternative and better solutions ...
(Learning Teaching, Third edition 2011, Jims Scrivener, Macmillan).
I would like to use writing activity because The need for longer formal written work seems
to have lessened over the years, and this is reflected in many classrooms where writing
activities are perhaps less often found than those for other skills ... (Learning Teaching,
Third edition 2011, Jims Scrivener, Macmillan).

Part 4:

A copy of the authentic task- appendix A

Gayatri Krishnan

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The tasks you have designed- appendix B

The answers to the task- appendix C

Appendix B
The gist reading task 30 seconds:
Answer the following questions with a yes or no.
a) Is this passage about a photographer?
b) Is this passage about underwater life?
c) Is this passage about a school teacher?

1) Para 1: When did the author fall in love with the sea?
2) Para 1: Why did the author become an underwater photographer and a photojournalist?
3) Para 1: What brings greatest joy to the author?
4) Para 2: According to the author, is the ocean dying?
5) Para 3: What motivates the author most?
6.) Para 4: Did the author swim with underwater animals?

Appendix C

Gayatri Krishnan

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Answers key
Gist activity (skimming)
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No
Specific reading (scanning)
1. as a child
2. He loved telling stories with pictures.
3. Photographs of nature.
4. Yes
5. The story
6. Yes

Bibliography:
Gayatri Krishnan

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Learning Teaching, Third Edition, Jim Scrivener, Macmillan, 2011

Harmer,J.The Practise of English Language Teaching, 3rd Edition, Longman, 2001

Gayatri Krishnan

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