Jiten Bhagat
CELTA
CELTA PRE-COURSE-TASK
JITEN BHAGAT
Task-1
1. The context, that I will be doing the CELTA course, is as a totally inexperienced person, who wants to get into the field of teaching English. I believe I will be doing the CELTA course in a multilingual environment in an open mixed gender group with students of varied abilities. It will be an all day, once a week course. I presume the participants will be from different countries and different backgrounds, some with teaching experience and some, like me, new to teaching and wanting to get into this field. I can also assume that the majority of teachers will come from an English speaking background though there could be teachers from non-English-speaking backgrounds as well. The participants will almost certainly have a wide variety of reasons for wanting to do the course. It probably will be a group with mixed abilities, as there could be different levels of education and experience within the group.
2. I still really don't know what context I will be teaching after I finish my course. I am doing the course because a formal qualification in teaching English to students of other languages is required to work in an institute, school or even to give private lessons. Teaching adults or children presents its own set of different challenges.
In Greece, if I decide to teach privately, the context would generally involve monolingual, mixed gender, classes in small groups. It is quite possible there could be one-to-one lessons as well.
As I have opted for the part time CELTA course; which runs for about five months, I hope this will give me the time needed to zero in on how and to what kind of students, I would begin my teaching career with and the necessary tools to accomplish this with.
1. I decided to teach adults primarily because most adult students are in the classroom of their own accord and are not forced, or pressured into being there. I feel they are more responsible and have a certain goal as to why they want to learn the language.
While the grasping power of a child may be greater, i think with adults there is more commitment and a greater attention span.
Adults are also more often than not, a lot more motivated than children as they have a reason for wanting to be in the class room. I believe they are they are also a lot more focused.
2. Being an adult, I feel that I can bring a lot to the table. I understand the frustrations and difficulties associated with being an adult and learning a second language as I have been in that position myself. I have been a learner myself, as a student of Greek and German, so I can see it from the learner’s perspective too. As an adult, I would also empathize a lot more with my adult learners. I also like to have fun, and am enthusiastic and friendly. I find it easy to relate to others and can easily put myself in other peoples’ situations.I know how daunting, exciting and frustrating it can be to learn a language.
3. Characteristics of adult learners:
a. Motivated, with a specific reason and goal for being in the classroom b. Have certain expectations of themselves.
c. Hopefully, more self-disciplined. d. More mature and experienced. e. Have a more serious attitude. f. Are responsible.
g. Their attention span in greater h. Generally tend to be more patient.
1. The things, I would like to find out about a group of learners who I have decided to teach, are:
a. Age range of the group. b. Mixed or similar abilities. c. Motivations or goals.
d. Abilities of the students- spoken, written and listening. e. Cultural background.
f. Educational background.
g. Is the group monolingual or multilingual? h. Size of the class.
i. Their interests and hobbies. 2. I would find out by:
a. Introducing myself at the beginning of the first class and asking students to introduce themselves and respond to those questions.
b. Try and get them to be as comfortable as possible with each other and with me, and to talk about themselves.
c. Giving the learners a questionnaire.
d. Ask the students to write a brief note about themselves.
Task-4
I think the most challenging learners would be the ones who study English because of pressure from family, employer or their peers and not because they want to learn the language. It could also be tough if the student is unsure about his/her goals. Also if the student's aim for learning English is to be able to socialize with neighbours or friends, it could be a challenge, as according to me I don’t think that is a big motivating factor.
Task-5
a. Is patient
b. Does not complicate things unnecessarily. c. Gives clear information and feedback. d. Paces lessons to match the learners. e. Inspires confidence.
Task-6
a. Structure b. Order c. A set of Rules d. Terminology e. Language f. Pattern. g. System Task-7 1. Correct
2. I’ve been to the movies last night (incorrect) I went to the movies last night (correct). 3. He often come late (incorrect)
He often comes late (correct) 4. Correct
5. Can I have a coffee black, please? (incorrect) Can I have a black coffee, please? (Correct). 6. Correct
Task-8
1. The students listen and learn from the teacher; so if the teacher makes mistakes, those are replicated by the students.
2. Teachers need to be able to explain grammar clearly and in as simple a manner as possible.
3. A teacher should be able to give clear examples.
4. Should be able to answer questions and clarify doubts on grammar.
Task-9
1. Pronoun
2. Indefinite article 3. Conjunction 4. Adverb
5. Adjective 6. Model verb 7. Pronoun 8. Preposition 9. Verb 10. Noun Task-10 1. Lexical 2. Lexical 3. Auxiliary 4. Auxiliary 5. Auxiliary 6. Lexical Task-11 1. Lexical 2. Auxiliary 3. Auxiliary 4. Lexical 5. Lexical 6. Lexical 7. Auxiliary 8. Lexical Task-12 1. Advice 2. Permission 3. Logical deduction 4. Ability 5. Possibility Task-13
1. Past tense form 2. –ing form
3. 3rd person-present simple tense
4. Base form
Task-14
1. Hear heard heard irregular 2. Do did did irregular 3. Help helped helped regular 4. Think thought thought irregular 5. Take took taken irregular 6. Steal stole stolen irregular 7. Go went gone irregular 8. Drink drank drunk irregular 9. Arrive arrived arrived regular
Task-15 1. Past, continuous 2. Modal ,perfect 3. Present perfect 4. Past continuous 5. Past simple 6. Future continuous Task-16 1. Present continuous 2. Past simple 3. Present simple 4. Past perfect 5. Present simple 6. Future perfect
7. Past simple/ past continuous 8. Present perfect continuous
Task-17 1. Past time 2. Future time 3. Past/present 4. Past/present 5. Past/present Task-18
1. Am, is, are
2. –ing form of the verb
Task-19
1. Future time
2. Past/present time 3. Past time
Task-20
In all the given sentences, a present simple form of the verb should be used, as opposed to the continuous (-ing) form of the verbs used in the sentences.
Task-21
With a dictionary, you can:
a. Look up the meaning of words b. Pronunciations of words
c. Find the synonym or antonym of a word d. Check the spelling of a word
e. Check the spelling of a word
Task-22
1. He’s the tallest person in the family.
High is used with mountains, buildings etc. 2. I’m feeling a little tired.
Enervated is too formal.
3. The ideas in it are original and intelligent/well explained. Pretentious conveys a negative meaning.
4. Her grandfather gave her a loving tap/pat/touch on her face. A slap is not associated with loving.
5. Every day I like to go running/walking/rowing after work.
Task-23
1. Adverb/adjective – strikingly handsome 2. Verb/noun – made/bed , did/housework 3. Adverb/adjective – absolutely fabulous 4. Verb/preposition –depend/on
5. Adverb/adjective –highly emotional 6. Adjective/noun – vicious circle.
Task-24 1. 1-b 2. 2-c 3. 3-a Task-25 1. 1-b 2. 2-c 3. 3-a Task-26 1. Their 2. South 3. Language 4. Peaceful 5. Young 6. Call 7. Search 8. Equation 9. Sugar Task-27
1. Guarantee 2. Cavalry 3. Mechanisation 4. Language 5. Retreat 6. Speculative 7. Success 8. Balance 9. Identify 10. Articulate Task-28 1 a. Photograph b. Photography c. Photographer d. Photographic
All these words belong to the same word family. Non-native speakers can get confused with the fact that the stress points shift in the same word family.
2
a. To record/ a record b. To increase/ an increase c. To present/ a present d. To import/ an import
In words of 2 syllables, where the verb and the noun are written in the same way, the verbs have the stress on the last syllable and the nouns on the first syllable.
Task-29 1. Mother 2. Forget 3. Announce 4. Tonight
5. Notable 6. Mention 7. Patrol 8. Indicative
Task-30
- BBC news website – scanned through - My emails – scanned through
- Specific emails – read in detail - Grammar book – in detail
- Browsed through my face book page -- scanning
Task-31
1. Intensive reading 2. Skim/gist reading 3. Reading to infer
4. Scan and then intensive reading.
Task-32
- Time consuming
- Continuous use of bi-lingual dictionaries prevents the person from getting the meaning of the word from context
- It also prevents the reader from thinking in the language he is learning
Task-33
- The listeners might find the accent or the pronunciation of the speaker difficult to understand.
- They might find the speed at which the speaker speaks too fast. - They can’t go back to something that they have missed.
Task-34
- Listened to the news—scan listening
- Two strangers sitting in front of me on the bus discussing the upcoming elections and the state of the economy in Greece-casual/attentive listening
- Listened to some good music—appreciative listening
- On the phone with the taxes department regarding a problem with my papers—intensive listening
Task-35
1. Intensive listening/ listening to infer meaning 2. Skim/gist listening
3. Intensive listening 4. Intensive listening 5. Listen to infer meaning 6. Scan listening/ skim listening
Task-36
Grammar is important, but the student also needs to make a conscious effort to speak at every given chance as only by speaking will he be able to put into practice what he has learnt and get his pronunciation right. Most students learning the English language in a foreign country also don’t get enough opportunities to practice speaking.
Task-37
1. No- the learner is not able to describe what he wants 2. Yes- conveyed the meaning correctly
4. No- here the question is how long have you already been in New Zealand? You can’t really make out if the answer is about the past or the future.
Task-38 1. Transactional 2. Transactional 3. Interactional 4. Interactional 5. Transactional 6. Interactional Task-39
1. It will make them feel more confident about their language. 2. Their communication will improve
3. They can practice what they have learned
Task-40 1. Spoken 2. Written 3. Spoken 4. Spoken 5. Written 6. Spoken 7. Spoken 8. Written 9. Written 10. Written 11. Written 12. Spoken Task-41
Threw and through as well as caught and court have the same pronunciation. So the learner could gotten confused.
2. Brother, lives, Sweden. Sometimes learners forget to use vowels. 3. However hard I try, it never works.
Punctuation is wrong
4. First of all, he invited me to sit down. After that, he offered me a coffee. I was very surprised by his politeness.—punctuation mistakes.
Task-42
1. Sample a.
Punctuation, spelling, few words used wrongly (‘I remember you’ should be I think of you or I am thinking of you). No paragraphing.
Sample b
Punctuation, spelling, wrong use of capital letters, no paragraphing.
2. Bring a written text full of punctuation errors and get it corrected by the learners. Get them involved in writing letters, writing about themselves.
Certain writing activities like how to get to point b from point a.
Task-43
1. Personal aim
2. Interaction pattern/ procedure 3. Lesson aims 4. Procedure 5. Anticipated problems 6. Stage aim Task-44 1. 1-f 2. 2-g 3. 3-b 4. 4-e 5. 5-i 6. 6-h 7. 7-d
8. 8-a
Task-45
1. Write down or copy down would have been better suited here. Jot is slang and I don’t think new learners would understand what jot means.
2. This is too long and confusing an instruction to give a new learner. Look at the question and answer it would suffice.
3. The question is too long. The teacher needs to divide the question into different tasks. Read the text on page 4 and answer the first three questions
Compare the answers with your partner Write a short summary of the story Discuss this with your partner.
4. Look at the question at the end of the page or the last question on the page and answer it. This would be simpler.
Task-46
1. Listening to other student’s mistakes will prevent you from making more mistakes and it could explain some things that never occurred to you.
The student can also strengthen his learning by correcting those mistakes. 2. The learners will start depending on the teacher for translations all the time.
Sometimes the meanings of words can be got out of context.
3. In the beginning, I would ask the student to work with another student. As the classes progress, I would include certain activities which make the two students interact with each other, not directly but in a group at first and slowly start building a rapport between the two students. Also as the classes progress we could talk about how different cultures and people are different, we could bring about a little compassion, respect and mutual toleration to the lessons.
4. I will put this question forward to the class and if they all agree, then fine.
If not I would choose a topic they all agree on and probably write it on the board and ask for inputs from all the students.
The students playing the role of assistants will stand behind desks. The rest of the students wanting information will move from desk to desk.
Students could have a form prepared for them to fill out regarding the courses they would like to opt for.
Pictures and computers could be used
Task-48
1. Slim/thin
Slim is a desirable quality. Thin is considered a negative quality.
We could show the students contrasting pictures of someone who is slim and attractive and someone who is really skinny
2. Wink/blink
Winking is making a sign to someone by quickly closing and opening one eye. Blinking, on the other hand, is an involuntary function of the body where both eyes close and open.
The teacher could wink and point out that that was a wink and likewise blink and show the students.
3. I used to get up early/ I am used to getting up early
‘I used to get up early’ is something in the past, I don’t do it now.
‘I am used to getting up early’ is something that I do presently, in my daily life. Show a picture of a kid and say that it was me as a child and explain that as a kid I woke up early.
Explain to them that I have to be at my workplace by 7 in the morning every day, so I need to wake up early every day.
4. Nervous/upset
Nervous is when someone is anxious or worried about something or someone.
Upset is when someone is unhappy, angry, disappointed or worried about someone or something.
I could give an example saying that before an exam or a job interview, I get nervous and if I don’t pass the exam of get the job that situation makes me upset.
4 weeks ago refers to the past
4 weeks before is also in the past but the point of reference is another event in the past. So it is before a past event.
We could draw a time graph to illustrate the above. Different pronunciation.
6. I do it is a present simple action I’ll do it is future action
We can explain that ‘I do it’ is three words, while ‘I’ll do it’ actually consists of four words. The I’ll is I + will.
7. Read is present tense and the ea sounds like an i
Read is past tense where the pronunciation is more like ‘red.' We could also make use of the phonetic alphabet.
8. Put and putt.
Show them the different pronunciation by pronouncing it for them and also show them the different phonemes.
9. Record(noun)
The stress is on the first syllable. Record (verb)
The stress is on the second syllable.
10. Live(verb) / live(something happening now)
Live is a present verb and there is not a lot of stress on the i.
Live (something happening now) on the other hand has a lot more stress on the ‘I’ and is pronounced like an ‘ai’.
Show them the different pronunciation by pronouncing it for them and also show them the different phonemes
Task-49
1.
Reading
None of the students read the whole passage. Only parts of it were read by each student. The students probably did not get the meaning of the text as they were more
focused on the pronunciation of words, so they missed the meaning of most of what was read.
The teacher could also have marked out the difficult words in the passage and explained them before the reading began.
More time could have been given for the students to read the text individually, and then the above exercise could have begun.
2.
Speaking
The teacher gave the topic and the discussion began immediately.
Probably the topic should have been given earlier so that the learners would have had time to prepare something to speak about or even to have had a discussion amongst themselves before speaking out in the class.
The teacher could also use the board asking each student their views on living in the city and separating the positive and negative ones. These could then be used to expand upon and get all the students more involved.
Task-50
Confidentiality
Teachers need to know that the private affairs of students or institutions cannot be talked about or brought out into the open.
They need to be trustworthy.
Setting standards
Teachers need to set high professional and personal standards. High standards lead to both discipline and consistency.
Punctuality
All teachers need to be punctual. If the teachers are not punctual, that attitude will seep into the students as well. Being punctual also gives the teacher enough time so they don’t have to rush with their lessons.
Course planning/ review
Course planning for teachers is important. They need to plan their whole week’s lessons in advance. It is like a map for the teacher on what needs to be taught and how to do it effectively.
A review is also equally important as it tells the teacher where he as well as the students stand after the weeks lessons. If something was lacking, then adjustments and improvements can be made in the following week’s course plan.
Record keeping
Record keeping is important as it gives an idea of how the student is
progressing in the classroom. Proper records kept throughout the course help both the teachers and the students. It helps them keep track of each other's progress and if the teaching methods are working.
Assessment
Assessment is a constant process, which the teachers have to do to see if the student is progressing in his lessons or not. Assessments are a way in which the teacher can measure the students skills like writing, listening and hearing.
Curriculum development
This is important for both the teachers and the students to develop. It increases their knowledge base.
Pastoral care
It is important to create a nurturing and supportive setting for the students. Teachers should be able to empathize with the students.
Team work
It is an important part of any working environment. This applies to both teachers and students. It makes the classes more enjoyable and increases the chances of success in the classroom.
Relationship with students
It is important that the students and the teachers develop a good, healthy and friendly relationship. Students become more trustful of their teachers and are not hesitant about asking something.
Cultural awareness
Students from different cultural backgrounds may have different learning styles. Teachers need to aware of the cultural diversities in their students and act accordingly.
Self-development
Teachers always need to be developing themselves in order to become better teachers and to be able to adapt to the ever changing dimensions of society. This also helps to provide a better learning system for the students.
School/college policies and rules
Teachers have to comply with the requirements and policies of the institution that has hired them. This is all professionalism and responsibility.
I think any teacher would be happy to be a member of a professional teaching body. This will help the teacher to keep up with the latest trends and teaching methods.
Teacher training programs are an important step towards developing teachers worldwide. It gives the teachers the confidence and the resources needed to become a great teacher and helps them to enjoy teaching.
