CELTA ASSIGNMENT 1: Focus on the learner

Christopher Parkin. e: christoferparkin@gmail.com

Background and Learning Style
Mauro is an Italian from Bergamo, Italy, and has one brother. He began learning nglish in
!""# at High $chool, then studied Photography and %raphic &esign. He 'orked in shop
retailing in Italy and $pain, mo(ing to the )* recently 'here he has recommenced his study
of nglish. +he primary moti(e for studying nglish is in order to get a ,ob in the )* retail
sector for 'hich he has pre(ious e-perience and strong commitment . he is applying for ,obs
at the moment.
&uring the inter(ie' Mauro stated, 'ithout prompting, that he liked to 'atch films 'ith
subtitles as a learning method and that he also likes to read. +his 'ould indicate that he is
primarily a (isual learner and this is supported by his responses to the /uestionnaire
01ppendi- #, M Conner, #223.!"#!, 4hat5s 6our 7earning $tyle89. He finds grammar most
problematic and I suggested he re(ie's the appropriate sections in Practical nglish )sage
0M $'an, !""2, :)P9 'ith particular regard to the present tenses; and also to look at the
BBC 7earning nglish 'ebsite, concentrating on the grammatical sections 'hich also pro(ide
te-ts. He seems confident and outgoing and 'ould like to find nglish friends 'ith 'hom to
socialise but has found that cultural differences are a problem and finds the nglish
some'hat 5cold5. I suggested that he perse(ere in finding nglish friends as this is probably
the best 'ay to impro(e his nglish. I feel his confident and ad(enturous nature should help
him here. 1lso, that there are se(eral (ideos on the BBC learning 'ebsite 'hich co(er
aspects of the retailing industry 'hich he 'ould find helpful for topical information on retail
issues and instructi(e for his ,ob searches.
Learners needs
Comments made belo' are 'ith reference to the $elf 1ssessment %rid in 1ppendi- # 'hich
'as completed by Mauro.
Pronunciation
I broadly agree 'ith Mauro5s assessment and he is a'are that this needs impro(ement. He is
susceptible to se(eral of the mistakes common to Italian speakers 0M $'an, !""#, pp <=.<<9
and a particular e-ample is detailed belo'.
%rammar
+he 'eakest area for this student. $e(eral of his tense constructions need attention but the
fact that he is a'are of his shortcomings in this area 'ill facilitate his impro(ement and
application.
>ocabulary
Mauro5s (ocabulary 'as /uite good and he is (ery ambitious in this area . he is currently
reading +he tymologicon. He is a'are of the importance of a good (ocabulary for both
understanding and comprehension of nglish and is strongly moti(ated to impro(e in this
respect.
$kills and other problems.
Mauro speaks confidently and 'as generally able to understand and respond to the inter(ie'
/uestions. He likes to read and his 'riting style is reasonable if a little long 'inded at times
01ppendi- !9.
Linguistic !ro"le#s $ % e&a#!les
%rammatical
Problem: Mauro drops the 5to5 'hen the infiniti(e form is re/uired after certain (erbs, e.g. ?I
prefer read?.
$uggestion: refer to Practical nglish )sage by Michael $'an, :)P, pp !@<.!@3; complete
)nit @#, ssential %rammar in )se by Aaymond Murphy, C)P, pp ##".### 0see attached9.
Aationale: in con(ersation 'ith Mauro I felt he 'as often una'are that he 'as dropping the
5to5 and that reading (erbs 'here it is commonly used and doing appropriate e-ercises 'ould
help his a'areness.
%rammatical
Problem: he often dropped the 5s5 in the third person singular of the present simple, e.g. ?he
li(e in Bergamo?.
$uggestion: re(ie' present tenses in Practical nglish )sage by Michael $'an, :)P, p ==2
in order to master construction. &o )nit @ in ssential %rammar in )se by Aaymond Murphy,
C)P, pp #3.#2.
Aationale: though a difficult error to cure 0M $'an, !""#, p<29 I feel that a re(ie' of the rules
regarding tense construction 'ould be beneficial; and also from different sources in order to
pro(ide some repetition of the rele(ant rules. $ome e-ercises 'ould ser(e to reinforce his
learning, increase a'areness and lead to impro(ement.
Pronunciation
Problem: Mauro failed to pronounce the 5h5 in hotel.
$uggestion: ha(e a look at )nit =# in $hip or $heep by 1nn Baker, *lett rnst B$chulbuch, pp
#=3.#=2. +ake care to read and follo' the instructions 0pp (.(i9 in order to get the ma-imum
benefit from the e-ercises.
Aationale: the phoneme BhB does not ha(e an Italian e/ui(alent 0M $'an, !""#, p<C9 so I
think plenty of practice, both listening and (ocalising, should help to impro(e the student5s
ability to produce this sound and make him more a'are of it5s importance for good
pronunciation.
>ocabulary
Problem: Mauro confused the use of 5make5 and 5do5, e.g. ?I make some sport?.
$uggestion: re(ie' section #2 in nglish >ocabulary in )se by $tuart Aedman, C)P, pp =!.
=D. 1lso ha(e a look at englishe-ercises.org and do the e-ercises on 5make5 and 5do5. I 'ould
also suggest that he signs up for the E'ord of the dayF from dictionary.com. +his also has an
audio for the 'ord as 'ell as conte-tual /uotes.
Aationale: I think Mauro needs to read about the different uses of these t'o (erbs to get a
better feel for their appropriate use. I think that by seeing as many e-amples as possible that
he should impro(e. 1nd to get plenty of practice using them in the right conte-t.
A''EN(I) 1
Inter*ie+ ,uestions
#. +ell me about your family8
!. 4hat are your hobbies and interests8
D. 4hat are your strengths and 'eaknesses as a learner of nglish8
=. +ell me about your early education. 4hat engaged you8 4hat did you not like8
@. &escribe the best holiday you e(er took8
C. +ell me about the 'orst day of your life. 4hy 'as it so bad8
<. 4hat do you plan to do ne-t 'eekend8
3. +ell me 'hat plans you ha(e for your career.
2. If you 'on the uro millions, ho' 'ould you spend it8
Sel- Assess#ent grid
1
Got %ood Gearly
good
enough
%ood Important Got
Important
Aeading -
4riting -
$peaking -
7istening -
%rammar -
>ocabulary -
Pronunciation -
.hats your learning style/
0
1 B C
# -
! -
D -
= -
@ -
C -
< -
3 -
2 -
#" -
## -
#! -
+:+17 >isual 039 1uditory 0D9 +actileB*inesthetic 0#9
1
CELTA, 2014, CELTA Assignments Manual, ISE Hove.
2
Marcia Conner, 199!2012, "#at$s %our Learning St&le',
#tt()**marciaconner.com*assess*learningst&le*.
BIBLI1G2A'34
#. C7+1, !"#=, C7+1 1ssignments Manual, I$ Ho(e.
!. Marcia Conner, #22D.!"#!, 4hat5s 6our 7earning $tyle8,
http:BBmarciaconner.comBassessBlearningstyle
D. Michael $'an, !""2, Practical nglish )sage, :-ford )ni(ersity Press.
=. Aaymond Murphy, #223, ssential %rammar in )se, Cambridge )ni(ersity Press.
@. Michael $'an, !""#, 7earner nglish, Cambridge )ni(ersity Press.
C. 1nn Baker, !""<, $hip or $heep, *lett rnst B$chulbuch.
<. $tuart Aedman, #22<, nglish >ocabulary in )se, Cambridge )ni(ersity Press.