Celta Pre-Course Task

CELTA
Pre-course Task Section

Learners and Teachers, and the Teaching and Learning Context Task
Lessons in groups, multilingual groups, open groups, full time or part-time courses, learners with little or no previous formal education, mixed or similar ability groups, mixed-gender groups, large or smaller classes, day or evening classes, teachers with English-speaking or non-English-speaking background.
In any of the aforementioned in the pre-course task sheet contexts.

Task 2 1.
The main reason that I decided to teach adults is that adults have made a conscious decision to learn a new language and they are not forced, compared to young learners, to do so. Thus they really want to learn the new language, whatever their motivation or personal reasons are, and they are determined to do their best. My previous experience of teaching to adults. My previous experience of learning as an adult (university studies). Awareness that each individual has his/her own learning style. Adult learners are self-disciplined, motivated, and determined to do their best. They also have their own learning style as well as the experience they bring with them from previous learning. Finally, they have their own specific goals and reasons for learning.
Task 3 1.
I would want to find out the reason they want to learn English (their motivation), their language level, as well as their interests and hobbies. By asking them or giving them a questionnaire that I had prepared to fill out.
Task 4
I believe that the most challenging learners would be the ones that their motivations for learning English involve gaining access to employment, studying and researching in English, passing public exams in an English-speaking country, living in an English-speaking country, career, status, or job prospects and gaining citizenship.
Task 5
I think that learners most often rate in the top five the following qualities:

has a sense of humor
is patient
gives clear information and feedback inspires confidence/is enthusiastic and inspires enthusiasm
paces lessons to match the learner’s

Section 2: Language Analysis and Awareness
Time reference: present (emphasize the idea of hypothesis)
Time reference: present (state)
Task 18
The auxiliary verb that is used to create the Present Progressive is the verb “be” (am, is, are). The form of the lexical verb is the base form of the lexical verb plus the suffixing (lexical verb + -ing).
Task 19
Dialogue 1: future arrangement.
Dialogue 2: annoying action that happens very often.
Dialogue 3: although it is past, the present progressive is used as if the action is happening around the time of speaking (as part of a narration of a story).
Task 20
The verbs in the examples are all (or have the meaning of) Stative Verbs. These verbs are not used in the continuous/progressive form because they describe states, not actions. So, all the examples are not correct.
Task 21
Dictionaries can provide us with a lot of useful information such as:

Pronunciation
Stressing
Word Class
Regular or Irregular Verbs
Countable or Uncountable nouns
Examples of how the word is used in a sentence (context)
Derivatives

Task 22
In the first sentence, the error is the word “highest”. We do not use “high” to describe people, animals, or plants. So, the word “highest” must be replaced with the word “tallest”. In the second sentence, the error is the word “enervated”. The register of the word “enervated” is highly elevated (formal) and cannot be used in an every-day, casual talk as the one in the example. Instead, a more informal word such as “tired” should be used. In the third sentence, the error is the word “pretentious”. The word “pretentious” has a negative connotation, so, it should not be used when we want to praise someone. Instead, a more positive word such as “impressive” should be used. In the fourth sentence, the error is the word “slap”. The word “slap” is not used in the correct context. It has a negative meaning so it cannot be used with the word “loving”. It should be replaced with the word “touch”. In the fifth sentence, the error is the word “footing”. The semantic meaning is wrong. It should be replaced with any of the words: “walking”, “jogging”, “running”.
Task 23

Not only was he nice, but he was also strikingly handsome. (Adverb – Adjective Collocation)
After he got up, he made his bed (Verb – Noun Collocation) and did some housework. (Verb – Noun Collocation)
It was absolutely fabulous! (Adverb – Adjective Collocation)
They both really depend on each other. (Verb – Preposition Collocation)
Their farewell at the airport was highly emotional. (Adverb – Adjective Collocation)
She was caught in a vicious circle. (Adjective – Noun Collocation)

Task 24
1. Stress

B. giving emphasis to one syllable

2. Phoneme

C. an individual sound

3. Intonation

A. the music of our voices

Task 25

1.? B.
2.? C.
3.? A.

Task 26

There
South
Language
Peaceful
Young
Call
Search
Equation
Sugar

Task 27

Guarantee
Cavalry
Mechanization
Language
Retreat
Speculative
Success
Balance
Identity
Articulate

Task 28

Photograph, photography, photographer, photographic Non-native speakers may experience problems with this “word family” because the stress changes syllable depending on the word and so the meaning of the word changes.
To record / a record to present /a present to increase /an increase to import /an import. The verbs are stressed on the last syllable while the nouns are stressed on the first syllable.

Task 29
Mother forget to announce tonight notable mention patrol indicative
Section 3: Language Skills: Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing
A. READING
Task 30
Bus timetable: Read for specific information (bus stoppings)? Scan Reading. Literature book: Intensive/detailed reading.
Reading to infer. Newspaper: I read some articles to get the overall idea of the text (skim/gist reading) while some other articles that seemed more interesting I read them in detail (intensive/detailed reading).
Task 31

An academic article we need to read for an essay we are writing. Reading to infer / Intensive/detailed reading
A telephone directory. Scan reading
The editorial of a newspaper on a topic we really care about a lot of intensive/detailed reading
An advertisement for a job that might be suitable. Skim/gist reading

Task 32
When people read in a language that is not their native they don’t feel confident and are afraid that they might miss a lot of important information if they don’t understand every single word in a text. The problem with this way of reading is first of all that it is tiring and time-consuming. Secondly, they don’t read in context but they just read words, so, the reading process and concentration are constantly interrupted since the urge of finding the unknown word overcomes the need to understanding the text as a whole. It is also known that in a learning process there must be at least two unknown words every two sentences. Learners must try to understand the meaning of the unknown words from the context and use bilingual dictionaries only when the meaning of the unknown word is not obvious from the context.
B. LISTENING
Task 33
Non-native speakers might find listening more challenging than reading because:

They have problems with different accents, speech rhythm, and the fast pace of native speakers’ talking
They try to understand every single word
They get left behind trying to work out what a previous word meant
They don’t know important or keywords
They don’t recognize the words they know
They are distracted by background noise

Task 34

I was on a bus listening to two people talking about their flatmate. At first, I tuned in and out of the conversation because it was funny but then I ignored it altogether.
I listened to a talk show on TV. It was Stephen Fry’s show and because he is one of my favorite comedians I listened intensively.
 I listened to a weather forecast. I wanted to find out what the weather would be like in London. I didn’t pay attention to most of it, I just concentrated and listened intensively when the London weather came up.

Task 35

A lecture for a course you are taking at university. Intensive Listening.
A sales pitch for a computer that doesn’t really interest you. However, you are at work and you can’t just walk out. ? Skim/gist Listening.
Announcements at a train station when you are waiting to hear the time of the next train to your destination. ?Scan Listening.
Instructions from your boss for a new task that is critical for your job. ? Intensive Listening
An interview with someone who is famous and whose political opinion you would like to find out about. ? Listening to infer meaning
A radio program on a topic that is mildly interesting for you. ? Skim/gist Listening.

C. SPEAKING
Task 36
I believe that this happens because learners are not exposed to an English-speaking environment. They only speak English at their foreign language schools and the rest of the time they speak on all occasions in their mother tongue. The more exposed learners are to the foreign language “input”, the more likely they are to produce the foreign language “output”.
Task 37

Could I please have a…? The student has not managed to communicate successfully.
Come to my house tonight?  The student has managed to communicate successfully.
Yesterday a good time. Next week we see, no?  The student has managed to communicate successfully.
A: How long have you been in New Zealand?
B: I stay here for 5 weeks. ? The student has not managed to communicate successfully.

Task 38

You ask a colleague if s/he would mind helping you with something. ? Transactional
You offer to collect your neighbor’s mail while s/he is away on holiday. ? Transactional
Your comment on the weather on an acquaintance at a bus stop. ? Interactional
You visit a friend and spend time admiring and talking about his/her garden. ? Interactional
You participate in a university group tutorial that is useful for an essay you are writing. ? Transactional
You go out with your boss and other colleagues for a drink and a chat after work. ? Interactional

Task 39
Speaking fluency practice could help learners’ language development. People should practice what they have learned and not be afraid of making mistakes because mistakes are an integral part of the learning process. Learning language items from other participants. Students learn through making mistakes.

Some of the mistakes (the most important ones) must be monitored by the teacher and given as later feedback. These mistakes should be initially corrected by the learners themselves and then by the teacher when/if needed.
The more students practice, the more fluent they get.
The more students practice and learn how to use new communication strategies, the better they can communicate and express their ideas.
Through speaking fluency practice students use grammar rules and new vocabulary.

D. WRITING
Task 40

Includes gestures and facial expressions to back up the message. (S)
Uses punctuation to make the content easier to understand. (W)
Includes hesitation devices and fillers such as “yeah”, “umm”, “ah”, etc. (S)
The communicator usually gets immediate feedback from the person they are communicating with. (S)
Is usually pre-prepared, although e-mail and text messages often are not. (W)
Uses pauses, stress, and intonation to show where ideas begin and end. (S)
Is spontaneous and planning usually takes place in the moment of communicating. (S)
Suggests that meaning is static in the communication, although open to interpretation.
The communicator may never find out what the person he is communicating with thinks of his message. (W)
Includes headlines, different type sizes, and colors to enhance the content. (W)
Is usually smooth-flowing. (W)
1Involves negotiation of meaning between the communicator and the person they are communicating with. (S)

Task 41

She through the ball hard so it hurt when I court it.  Spelling errors because of similar-sounding words (threw – through). She threw the ball hard so it hurt when I caught it. My brother lives in Sweden.
The student has omitted the vowels. S/He has written the words as s/he hears them. Confusion about vowel sounds (maybe missing in L1). My brother lives in Sweden.
However, hard I try it never works. Wrong punctuation. The student confused, however (adverb of manner) with, however (conjunction/linker).  However hard I try, it never works.
First of all he invited me to sit down after that he offered me a coffee I was very surprised by his politeness? Lack of punctuation and use of capital letters. First of all, he invited me to sit down. After that, he offered me a coffee. I was very surprised by his politeness.

Task 42

The learners face difficulties such as: write from left to right, punctuation, capital-small letters, writing on the line, paragraphing.
I would organize writing workshops once a week for learners with writing difficulties, where we would concentrate on the practical issues of writing, such as spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, etc, as well as on the creative part of writing. There would also be time for learners to receive responses to their writing from the teacher and their classmates.

Section 4: Planning and Resources
A. Planning and Preparation
Task 43

a. I’d like to smile more and create a better rapport today. Personal aim.
b. Students _ Students in pairs. Interaction pattern.
c. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to use a range of adjectives to describe someone’s personality.  Lesson aims/learning outcomes.
d. The teacher hands out text and gives a different set of questions to each group. Procedure.
e. Some students may find the pronunciation of several words quite difficult. I must make sure I use a lot of repetition. Anticipated problems and solutions
f. To get students interested in the topic of the listening text. Stage aim.

Task 44
Resource Can be used for

f.
g.
b.
e.
i.
h.
d.
c.
a.

Section 5: Developing Teaching Skills and Professionalism
A. Developing Teaching Skills
Task 45

Jot that down.  I believe that the difficulty occurred from the word “jot”. It is a word that may be unknown or confusing. “Write that/it down” would be more appropriate.
I wonder if you’d mind just looking at question number 4 and then if you could just answer it.  Too “wordy”. Classroom language when giving instructions must be simple and accurate. “Look at question number 4 and answer it” or “Answer question number 4” would be more appropriate.
I’d like you to read the text on page 4 and answer the first three, then compare your answers with the persons next to you. After that, write a short summary of the story and discuss this with your partner. Too complicated and confusing. Learners must have had great difficulty in remembering what they had to do.

The instructions should be given one by one:
Step 1: “Read the text on page 4 and answer the first three questions” (wait until they finish).
Step 2: “Now compare your answers with the persons next to you” (wait until they finish).
Step 3: “Write a short summary of the story”, (wait until they finish).
Step 4: “Now, discuss the story/summary with your partner”.
Look at the question at the bottom of the page and think about an answer. Should the learners just “think” about the answer or actually answer the question?
Task 46

“I don’t want to work in a group because I will only learn mistakes from other students. Group work is very important when you are learning a foreign language. You are using all the things you have learned throughout the lesson and you are forced to speak in the language you are learning, even if you make mistakes. Mistakes are very important. We all make mistakes and we learn through them. The important thing is to be able to identify your mistakes or your classmates’ mistakes and correct them. How are you going to learn if you don’t make mistakes, identify mistakes, be exposed to group work, and cooperate in language learning?
“I wish you could translate more words into my language. I wish I could translate more words into your language too. But since I don’t speak your language you can look up the words you don’t know in the dictionary.
“Please don’t ask me to work with that student. I don’t like people from her country. ” That’s not a nice thing to say. There are good and bad people from every county in the world. You should not judge people by their race or their color or their cultural background. You should only judge people by the content of their character. Go talk to her, try to get to know her better and you may find that you sympathize with her and have some things in common. If you don’t like her character, that’s another thing. We don’t have to like all the people we meet. But at least you would have made an effort to cooperate with her and that’s really important because we are working as a group here, we have to help each other and work with each other.
“Could we just talk in class and not use any books? ” Of course we will talk in class and we will discuss lots of important and interesting things, but books are equally important. Books give us guidance on what we will learn, provide you with vocabulary and grammar rules, and allow you to review at home. Without books learning would be impossible.

Task 47
First of all the students must have eye-contact, so, half of the chairs should be in front of the desks (for the students that want to ask information) and the rest should be behind the desks (for the students that play the role of the assistants). This way the arrangement of the chairs and desks would be just like in a real-life situation. Then each student that plays the role of the assistant will be given a photocopy with information about the computer courses, prices, hours, and times and each of the students that want to ask information will be given a photocopy with a different character and his/her needs. Both will have a pad where they can write down anything that will help them agree on a transaction. Additionally, the “assistants” will have a “form” where they will fill in their “clients” personal details if they agree on a transaction. Problems that I could anticipate: Some students may come to an agreement and finish the gap role play too soon.
Task 48
Different Meanings

Slim/Thin? Slim means well-figured while thin means not fat. I would also use flashcards or any other visual effects possible like photos from the internet or magazines.
To wink/ To blink? I would mime winking and blinking. I would also use any other videos found on the internet with people blinking and winking.
I used to get up early / I am used to getting up early.  I used to get up early refers to the past, a habit I had, and don’t have anymore. Now, I don’t get up early but as a child, I used to get up early to go to school. I am used to getting up early refers to the present. I have the habit of getting up early. I wake up early every day to go to work so, I am used to getting up early.
Nervous/upset. Nervous means are anxious about something. Upset means sad. e. g. Crossing the street against traffic makes me nervous.

Task 49
Reading
I believe that in this activity the pre-reading activity was missing. The teacher merely explained that the text was about looking after the environment and then asked the students to read it out loud. I would add a pre-reading activity. Firstly, I would write all the unknown words on the board or I would make a list with any unknown words, hand it out to the students and briefly study all these words together. Then, I would ask them some questions about looking out the environment (what can we do, what do they do, what society/government should do) and then I would hand out the text and proceed to the rest of the activity.  Speaking Again the pre-speaking activity was missing. The students were not given any ideas beforehand in order to be able to discuss the topic. So, I would add a pre-speaking activity. I would write the topic on the board and then separate the board in half with a marker and on the one half I would write “prons” and on the other half I would write “cons”. Then I would ask my students to tell me the “prons” and the “cons” of living in the city and I would write them down for all to see. Alternately, I could bring them a photocopy with all the “pros” and “cons” of “living in the city”, hand it out to them, ask them to study it for a minute and proceed to the rest of the activity.
Task 50
I believe that all of the qualities mentioned in the pre-course task sheet are really important to form a teacher’s professionalism. Teachers work as role models for learners no matter their age, so every single detail matters. On the other hand, I heartily believe that teachers should not be “homogenized” and lose themselves in this uniformity that is promoted. They have to be authentic and reflective.