Written Assignment Three: Language Skills Related Task

Include this page with your assignment when you submit it.

Name: Le Thuy Van Word Count: 810 words

Checklist:
 why you chose the text  materials attached
 rationale behind tasks  reference to reading sources

This is wholly my own work. I understand that plagiarism may result in a range
of penalties, from loss of marks to disqualification from the CELTA award and a
ban on re-entry of up to three years.

Signature: Le Thuy Van Date: 29 September 2021

Pass Resubmit:
Pass on resubmission: Fail:
Resubmission Requirements:
Assessment criteria: Successful Overall Tutor Comments:
candidates can demonstrate their
learning by:
- correctly using terminology
that relates to language skills
and sub-skills
- relating task design to language
skills development
- finding, selecting and
referencing information from
one or more sources, using
written language that is clear,
accurate and appropriate to
the task.

Tutor’s signature: Double Marked: Yes/No

Date: Tutor’s signature:

Word count 750 – 1000 words.

Assessment Criteria for Language Skills Related Tasks Assignment

a) correctly using terminology that relates to language skills and sub-skills
b) relating task design to language skills development
c) finding, selecting and referencing information from one or more sources using
written language that is clear, accurate and appropriate to the task

Assignment Rubric:

Select one of the pieces of authentic material provided, to be taught with one of
the groups of students you have taught on the course so far.
PART ONE:
1. Explain WHY you have selected this material for these particular learners.
You must specify the level of Ss. Supply the text as Appendix A.
PART TWO:
1. Identify the 1st reading sub-skill that students will develop using this text
(e.g. gist or specific information).
2. Use quoted references from your methodology reference book or other
named source to talk about why this is an important sub-skill to develop in
class.
3. Design a task that accurately develops this sub-skill. This must be an actual
task that you could give your learners. Supply the task and an answer key
as Appendix B.
4. Explain how your task design and how your task set-up helps learners
develop this sub-skill. For example: “This is a gist task because it requires Ss
to….”; “By setting the task in this way, learners are required to…”.
PART THREE:
1. Identify the 2nd reading sub-skill that students will develop using this text
(e.g. specific information or detailed comprehension). This sub-skill must be
different to the sub-skill chosen in part two.
2. Use quoted references from your methodology reference book or other
named source to talk about why this sub-skill is important to do in class.
3. Design a task that accurately develops this sub-skill. This must be an actual
task that you could give your learners. Supply the task and answer key as
Appendix C.
4. Explain how your task design and how your task set-up helps learners
develop this sub-skill. For example: “This is a detailed comprehension task
because it requires Ss to….”; “By setting the task in this way, learners are
required to…”.

PART FOUR:
1. Identify one productive skill (speaking or writing) that learners will develop
in the communicative follow-up task [a post-reading task that allows
learners to respond to the text].
2. Use quoted references from your methodology reference book or other
named source to talk about why this skill is important to focus on in a
post-reading task.
3. Design one task that develops this productive skill and that requires
learners to respond to the text. Attach this task as Appendix D.
 4. Explain how the design and purpose of the task helps learners develop this
skill. For example: “This task develops oral fluency because it requires Ss
to….”; “By setting the task in this way, learners are required to…”.
NOTES:
*Do not design a language practice task in part four. Keep the assignment focused
on skills development throughout.

Edit your work

Check/ tick when complete:
 Spell and grammar check your assignment
 Include a copy of the text with the assignment
 Include each activity you have designed and answer keys if applicable
 Be sure that you have cited the literature. See the recommended sources
below.
 Word count: assignment should be between 750 – 1000 words
 Have a colleague proofread your assignment before you submit it

Suggested Reading on the Subject:

Learning Teaching, Jim Scrivener (Macmillan)
The Practice of English Language Teaching, Jeremy Harmer (Longman)
How to Teach English, Jeremy Harmer (Longman)

Assignment:
PART ONE:

I. Text chosen: “Thailand Travel Brochure”.

II. Students’ Level: Elementary.
III. Reasons for choosing this text for elementary learners:
1. In terms of students’ interest:
Travel is one of the most common interests among people around the world, and
Thailand is a popular tourist destination. This will capture students’ attention and
prompt them to keep reading.
2. In terms of students’ level:
a. Language: the language used in the text is overall familiar and accessible to
elementary learners. For example:
- Grammar: The text uses mostly the present simple tense; short simple sentences
or compound sentences with “and”.
- Vocabulary: The text uses familiar vocabulary, such as places (Thailand, Bangkok,
beach, sea, etc.); holiday activities (party, relaxing, reading, scuba diving, etc.);
familiar descriptive adjectives (small, great, fantastic, exciting, etc.)
However, not all of the vocabulary is known to them. There are words and
phrases that may be new such as descriptive adjectives (spectacular, stunning,
superb, etc.) which students can learn and benefit from.
b. Structure: The text is clearly organized.
c. Topic: The topic is familiar to elementary students: holiday and travel.
d. Other reasons:
- The content is factual (Thailand’s tourist destinations).
- There is a title to each paragraph, and photos to illustrate that support students’
reading.

PART TWO:

First reading sub-skill: Reading for specific information. It is important to develop

this sub-skill because it’s helpful for students when in real life they often need to
scan for the information they’re in search of, such as a phone number in a
directory, or the broadcast time of their favourite TV show on a schedule.
According to Hammer (1998), “Students need to be able to scan the text for
particular bits of information they are searching for. They do not need to read
every word and line.”

The task that I set helps learners develop their scanning sub skill, because it
requires students to quickly locate specific details such as numbers and names in
order to answer the questions. For example, in question 1 “Which place has the
best scuba diving in the Gulf of Thailand?” students need to locate the name “Gulf
of Thailand”, or in question 4 “Which place has more than 200 islands”, students
need to detect the number “200” in order to find the answer. Besides, I also set a
short time limit so as that the students will not try to read every single word.

PART THREE:
Second reading sub-skill: Reading for detailed comprehension, which is to
“extract the maximum details” from a text. (Thornbury, 2006) This is a practical
and beneficial skill which students need to make use of in many real life
circumstances, for instance, when they read a manual to learn how to operate a
device, or when they find a topic of interest and want to read carefully to take in
as much information about it as possible. In class, a reading for detailed
comprehension task “is clearly useful as a demanding way of testing
comprehension, and is useful for studying the fine shades of meaning a writer
conveys.” (Scrivener, 2005)

The task that I set helps learners to foster their reading for detailed
comprehension sub-skill because it requires them to read carefully and
understand the information in greater depth. Otherwise, they won’t be able to
give the answers. For example, with statement number 3 “Koh Samui Island is the
largest island in Thailand.”, students need to read in detail and pay close attention
to recognize the difference between “the largest island” (what the statement
says) and “the THIRD largest island” (what the text actually says), in order to make
a correct decision (False). Plus, I’ll give them a longer and ample amount of time
to finish the task (6 minutes).

PART FOUR:
Learners will develop their speaking skill in a communicative follow-up task. This
skill is important to focus on in a post-reading task because “students should be
encouraged to respond to the content of a reading text. They should be allowed
to express their feelings about the topic, thus provoking personal engagement
with it and the language.” (Hammer, 1998)

The task that I’ve designed will help learners to develop oral fluency in the
context of “Holiday & Travel”, because it prepares them for a practical situation
when they need to make and discuss a plan for their travel holiday. Therefore,
students will be more ready if they find themselves in a similar situation outside
the classroom. They will also gain a sense of genuine and natural English
communication, how it actually takes place in real life. What’s more, students will
get to make use of the knowledge they’ve learned from the text (names of travel
destinations, vocabulary describing places and holiday activities) while expressing
their opinions about it (the place they want to go to, and why). This will make the
whole lesson more memorable and meaningful.

REFERENCES:
1. How to Teach English (first edition) (page 69 & 70) by Jeremy Harmer -
published by Longman in 1998
2. An A-Z of ELT (first edition) (page 191) by Scott Thornbury – published by
Macmillan Publishers Ltd in 2006
3. Learning Teaching (second edition) (page 186) by Jim Scrivener – published by
Macmillan Publishers Ltd in 2005

APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B
Reading Task 1: This is a Thailand travel brochure. Read quickly and answer
these questions. Write your answers next to the questions. You have 3
minutes.
1. Which place has the best scuba diving in the Gulf of Thailand?
2. What is the total area of Koh Samui island?
3. Where does the Full Moon Party take place?
4. Which place has more than 200 islands?

Answer key:
1. Koh Tao Island
2. 247 km2
3. Koh Phangan Island
4. Krabi

APPENDIX C
 Reading Task 2:
Read the brochure carefully and decide whether these sentences are TRUE or
FALSE. Write your answers next to the questions.
Underline the information in the brochure that helps you answer.
You have 6 minutes.
1. Koh Tao is a huge island.
2. Koh Tao offers great food at good price.
3. Koh Samui Island is the largest island in Thailand.
4. Some people only come to Phuket for Koh Phi Phi Island.
5. There are nice places to stay in Phuket.
6. There are no wild animals in Krabi.

Answer Key:
1. False (paragraph 1, line 3 “conveniently small”)
2. True (paragraph 1, line 4 “truly great cuisine at reasonable prices”)
3. False (paragraph 2, line 2-3 “the third largest island in Thailand”)
4. True (paragraph 4, line 3-4 “For some, it’s the only reason to touch down in
Phuket)
5. True (paragraph 5, line 5 “great value accommodation”)
6. False (paragraph 6, last two lines “exotic wildlife”)

APPENDIX D
Communicative follow-up task (Speaking)

Choose 1 from 6 Thailand travel destinations in the brochure to spend your next
holiday in. Then make a holiday plan about:

- Where you want to go

- Why you want to go there

- Who you want to go with

- What you want to do there

Write your ideas on a piece of paper. You have 3 minutes.

Now get in pairs and share your plan with your partners. (6 minutes)