Written Assignment One

FOCUS ON THE LEARNER

Part 1: Background
Name: Sofia
Age: 22
Russian Job: architect

Nationality: Russian

Mother Tongue:

Current Level: Low Pre-Intermediate

Educational/Professional/Cultural Background: Sofias experience of learning
English can be generally described as on and off starting from school and moving
on to university where she took a course of English for specific purposes (English for
architects). Since then till the course with CELTA trainees she has had no oral
practice in using the language. She has never learnt any other foreign language
before.
Motivation for Studying English: Sofia named both intrinsic and extrinsic
motivating factors for learning English, she states the main reason as her job. She
also needs English for communicating while travelling and understanding English
songs and books. Outside of regular English classes, Sofia tries to read English
glossy magazines and adapted fiction.
Preferred Learning Style: Sofia is more of a visual and kinaesthetic style, she
enjoys visual activities a lot and they really help her understanding and serve as a
guide during the lesson, she tends to take down a lot of notes. She is fond of group
and pair interaction and prefers this to individual work and report to the teacher.
She values peer check and correction and she would rather ask her group mate to
clarify an issue than turn directly to the teacher for help.
Language areas/skills the learner thinks she needs to improve: Sofia thinks
she needs a major focus on grammar, oral fluency and listening as she wants both
to sound literate and natural and understand native speakers well. She has put it as
I need speak with no problem and understand.

Part 2: Establishing Strengths and Weaknesses

Communicative Ability: The level of fluency is really low. When building a
sentence Sofia struggles for a word she needs, it often leads to the choice of
an inappropriate one for the context (e.g. orange cat instead of red cat).
Moreover, she tends to build up a sequence of words rather than a sentence
omitting linking verbs, prepositions, articles, particles etc. (e.g. It difficult
name, meaning Its difficult to name). However, it doesnt much prevent
the communication, for both the teacher and her peers understand well what
is meant. In fact, they often help her out with the necessary word to use. Its
also important to notice that when being misunderstood or dealing with not
understanding she rarely switches to the mother tongue, trying to explain
herself by paraphrasing, gestures and mimics or asking to repeat or explain
something once again.

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?)

This place is safety (This

place is safe)
His grow one meter fifty
(His height is one meter
fifty)
I go to magazine (I go
shopping)

I think, thank you // is

pronounced as /f/
Question
//
is
pronounced as //
I
like
(pause)
paint
(pause) oil
I
finish
(pause)

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.

Learner has difficulties in oral

fluency, thats why the pattern of
speech is not natural (every word is
stressed and there are long pauses
between words)

Part 2: Identifying Areas of Language development

Grammar task

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)

As this activity can be quite time-consuming I would use it as a setting context

for the target language. The following one, for example, can be used in
introducing either the vocabulary topic of crimes or the grammar pattern of
Passive Voice. (the windows are closed, the doors are locked, Romeo and Julia
were killed etc.)

(Images by Jamie Keddie, p.17)

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

(Vocabulary in Use Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate by Stuart Redman, p.9)

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

Word count: 1058

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 /

hurt / the / seriously / in / accident. / Many

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/

Choose the correct word for each blank

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.

full / I had / a / I feel / lunch. / very / because / heavy

3.

My grandmother / during / was captured / the Japanese / by / the

war.

4.

colourful / pretty. / The / flowers

hurt / the / seriously / in / accident.

/ Many people

/ make / the garden / look

5.

you / Disneyland? / enjoy / trip / to / Did / your

6.

showed / do / He / me / how / yesterday. / to / that

7.

every / Olympics / held / once / The / years. / four / are

8.

their / rode / instead / driving. / of / They / bikes

9.

eat. / a / of / everything / Make / you / list / that

10. the / in / the world. / is / animal / blue / largest / whale / The

Task 2 http://www.egeacademy.com/blog/exercises/word-formation-pre-intermediate/

WORD FORMATION ( PRE-INTERMEDIATE )

Choose the correct word for each blank

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.