Nationality: Russian
Mother Tongue:
Skills:
Receptive (listening): Sofia is good at listening for gist. However, listening
for details and specific information is a problem area, even if the recording is
played twice. She sometimes misinterprets the teachers words and more
often than not asks to repeat the task. Relying only on her words I can add
that its also hard for her to understand radio presenters and films, TV
programmes, people on the phone etc, i.e. outside the classroom
environment listening is also a mine field. This obviously is concerned with
the inability to perceive connected speech.
Productive (writing): Sofia is certainly a better writer than speaker. When
having more time to concentrate on the task, she manages the language
really well. Her sentences are short, but well-structured, her choice of words
becomes more accurate, she has some difficulties with spelling though. (e.g.
We tolk each ather short storys about ourself.)
Error type
Grammar
Word
order,
omitting
structural
words
Lexis
Wrong part of
speech,
false
friends
Phonology
Pronunciation,
sentence stress
Example
I many paid (I am paid a
lot)
It difficult learn words
(Its difficult to learn
words)
You
participation
concerts? (Do you take
parts in concerts?)
Possible reason
Learner has little time to think over
a certain utterance. Learner has a
lack in language exposure. Learner
has interference of L1
Since Russian expresses basic
grammatical
relations
trough
inflections, word order in Russian
sentence is rather more free than in
English (Swan, p.155)
Learner has little awareness of the
English word-building and thus may
not differentiate between English
parts of speech or the errors are
part
of
learners
interlanguage...own version of the
second language which they speak
as they learn. (Spratt, p. 62)
Learner has L1 interference
Learner has L1 interference as the
interdental // is not found in her
mother tongue. Cluster /s/ + / /
may also represent a difficulty for a
Russian student as in the mother
tongue the same cluster is probably
a case of assimilation and // will be
pronounced as //, like in the word
schitat
study(pause)... mmm...a
year mmm....a year last.
Rationale
Dictation
To help the learner become more accurate in building up sentences I would try
dictogloss or running dictation. It would involve Sofia into cooperative
atmosphere, which is really important for her and will enable her to reproduce
the accurate language of a pre-intermediate text purposefully. It will also help
her develop listening and spelling skills.
(Dictogloss
/Running
Dictation)
http://youtu.be/D
bjiMnMx_qk
(video by Jo
Gakonga)
Vocabulary Task
Rationale
Controlled
practice
To help the learner practise vocabulary in an appropriate context and raise her
awareness of English word-building I would try different sorts of drilling
exercises in the books created for this purposes. Such books usually visualize a
lot, it will suit Sofia as she is a visual learner and shell memorize the context
via the picture or association.
(Drilling
vocabulary
through
exercises)
Such tasks can fit into a lesson as a presentation or review vocabulary stage.
They will include all the 3 stages of any task individual, pair check, feedback.
Example
Bibliography
Swan & Smith, Learner English, Cambridge University Press 2001
Spratt, Pulverness, Williams, The TKT Course, Cambridge University Press 2011
Keddie, Images, Oxford University Press 2009
Redman, Vocabulary in Use Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate, Cambridge University Press
1997
http://youtu.be/DbjiMnMx_qk video by Jo Gakonga Using Dictation
Part 2: Identifying
resubmission
Areas
of
Language
development,
Grammar task
Rationale
Unscramble
sentences (to
improve word
order)
To help the learner become more accurate in building up sentences I would try a
drilling exercise of this type. (unscramble sentences)
Ex. were /
people
http://busyteacher.org/classroom_activities-grammar/word_orderworksheets/page/2/
To adjust the task to Sofias learning style (visual and kinesthetic)
I would change the format of this exercise into a maze. The idea
is to connect the words in the correct order with a line. Only words
that share a side may be connected. To make the exercise easier,
I will capitalize the first word. Such tasks can fit into a lesson as a
controlled practice of TL (in the example, its Passive Voice) or review before a
progress test. They will include all the 3 stages of any task individual, pair
check, and feedback.
http://busyteacher.org/3687-how-to-teach-word-order.html
Ex.
were
Many people
accident
seriously
hurt
in
the
Vocabulary Task
Rationale
Word formation
exercises
To help the learner practise vocabulary in an appropriate context and raise her
awareness of English word-building I would try different sorts of drilling
exercises on word formation. If these are individual classes, I would probably
make Sofia use the internet and do the exercise online to visualize it and to give
more autonomy on checking.
Such tasks can fit into a lesson as a review vocabulary stage. They will include
all the 3 stages of any task individual, pair check, feedback.
Example (see below)
http://www.egeacademy.com/blog/exercises/word-formation-pre-intermediate/
1.
comfort / comfortable / uncomfortable / comfortably /
discomfort
a) A lot of small cars are not built for __________.
b) They were very __________ when they lived in a small apartment.
c) I love this hotel, it is very _________ to stay here.
d) You can sit very __________ in this car.
Task 1 http://busyteacher.org/classroom_activities-grammar/word_orderworksheets/page/2/
Word Order
Rearrange the words to make a complete sentence. Begin each sentence
with a capital letter and end it with a full stop or a question mark.
1.
were /
2.
3.
4.
/ Many people
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Task 2 http://www.egeacademy.com/blog/exercises/word-formation-pre-intermediate/
1.
comfort / comfortable / uncomfortable / comfortably / discomfort
a) A lot of small cars are not built for __________.
b) They were very __________ when they lived in a small apartment.
c) I love this hotel, it is very _________ to stay here.
d) You can sit very __________ in this car.
2.
politics / political / politically / policy
a) I disagree with many of my fathers __________ ideas.
b) Alex is interested in __________.
c) __________, he tends to be rather conservative.
3.
possibility / possible / impossible / possibly / impossibility
a) Theres no __________ for her to pass the final exam.
b) Im really sorry, it is not __________ for me to help you now.
c) __________ my friends will come to visit me next Saturday.
d) My neighbours gave a part last night and it was __________for me to sleep because of the noise.
4.
grows / growth / growing / grew
a) Solar energy is a __________ industry.
b) The __________ of solar energy will increase in the next few years.
c) If the solar energy ___________, people may not have to depend so much on oil for energy.