HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2

FACULTY OF ENGLISH

MID-TERM ASSIGNMENT
INTRODUCTION INTO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

Students: Nguyễn Thị Trang

Vũ Minh Phương Uyên
Class: ELT 301.1.47 spa.3_LT

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 Topic 1
Task 1:
English is an obligatory language that is taught in Vietnamese schools, and
some parents let their children study English at an early age, so that they can be good
at English in the future. The needs of those learning English are quite diverse in
general: learning for passion, being forced, and dealing with the test.
They will be taught with a focus on vocabulary and grammar to serve the test
rather than develop skills for communicating fluently when learning English at
school . To balance four skills and knowledge in class,I will ask pairs of students to
make sentences with a new grammar structure, then ask and answer each other.
This learner is 8-years-old so she is in the group " young learners". She cannot
grasp the metalanguage I use to describe and explain linguistic concepts (H. Douglas
Brown). So instead of explaining the definition of "weather," I will use specific images
of "rainy," "sunny,"... Giving pictures related to the vocabulary I am teaching will help
her easily imagine it.
She needs to have all five senses stimulated (H. Douglas Brown).Since my learner
tends to prefer activities that require movement rather than sitting still, I will use
physical activities as she can easily take in knowledge through these activities.
She is in many ways much more fragile than adults (H. Douglas Brown).
This characteristic makes her easily lose motivation if I criticize her. So I will be more
patient as she is easily vulnerable. I will make positive comments whenever possible.
This learner is less willing to acquire languages that do not bring her
immediate rewards (H. Douglas Brown), so I will attempt to put the language in the
real context that will help her comprehend the true purpose of English learning.
Her learning styles are: visual, kinesthetic, and individual. To begin with
"visual" learning styles, according to the saying "A picture is worth more than a
thousand words", for most learners, the visual sense is crucial. Besides that, she learns
best through seeing (Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, and Melanie Williams) and
remembering best what she sees: pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films
(Richard M. Felder, 1988).
Thanks to visuals, she can recieve ideas that are hard to explain in words.
Moreover, when my learner learns by looking at pictures, maps, diagrams,... It inspires

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her to enjoy learning and enhances her understanding of my lessons. However, this
learning style can make her get bored with subjects that are difficult to describe with
pictures or objects.
With her visual learning style, if I talk to her and write words on the board, that
lesson will be boring and she will not concentrate on my speech. However, using
highlights and diagrams, I can stimulate her to focus on keywords. Next, I will let her
learn via flashcards as they are the aid of spaced repetition. When learning vocabulary,
combining images, she can retain that word in specific contexts.
When it comes to her kinesthetic learning style, this learner learns best
through using the body; she needs to move and learn through experience (Mary
Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams). She loves reciting the information and
quizzing herself while pacing in the room. That helps her focus on what she is
learning, and it's a great way to make connections with information about what she is
reading.
Due to the above characteristics, I will organize a game called "hide and seek." I will
write words and sentences on pieces of paper and hide them around the room. When
she finds a piece of paper, she must read it before searching for the next one. Besides,
she can concentrate for shorter periods (Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie
Williams), so sometimes I will let her take breaks in a lesson.
"Individual" is a method in which this learner learns best through working
alone. This learner will find their strengths and weaknesses through education and can
learn flexibility in speed, space and time. However, her motivation can be difficult to
maintain as sometimes she will feel heavy due to the amount of work to be done alone.
From those characteristics, I will create activities that encourage her to automatically
think. Furthermore, the instructor allows her to actively ask questions while presenting
her ideas.
She has intrinsic motivation because she enjoys English songs, cartoons, and
animals, so she can easily absorb the vocabulary learned in English songs and
cartoons. They will also serve as motivation for her to learn more English. Her
listening and speaking abilities will also be improved. However, her writing skills will
be limited as she doesn't have much practice in writing. So I would show her a short
video about animals, then require her to write the names of the animals in the video.

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She has a kinesthetic learning style, so I'll stick pictures of animals on the board and
then give her new words about them. And ask her to run to the board and paste the
new word in the correct place. Besides, she is an individual learner, so I will require
her: Make a mind map of animals, including their English and Vietnamese meanings.

Task 2:
To have a learning process effectively, the learners need to focus on the
following 3 processes: acquisition, interaction, and focus on form. “Acquisition is
the process of gradually learning something or gaining something
(https://dictionary.cambridge.org/vi/dictionary/English/acquisition).Thanks to
acquisition, when we hear and read lots of vocabulary and grammar we can gain
knowledge.
"Interaction is when two or more people or things communicate with each
other"(https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/interaction).Through
interaction, we can express ourselves and make our meanings clear to other people and
understand them. And "focus on form" is when the learners pay attention to how a
word is pronounced or written, to its form and meaning, and how one grammar topic
(present simple tense) is formed and used. It helps them be able to combine vocabulary
with grammar efficiently on the test and in communicating.
Learning strategies are learning processes consciously chosen by the learners.
The right strategy can identify what they need to learn and their goals. Regarding
vocabulary, I recommend the method of learning vocabulary (topic: environment)
with interval repetition. First, the learners study vocabulary like "climate change" and
"air pollution",... for 30 minutes to pick them up (acquisition). Then, they use these
words to practice speaking with their partner (interaction). For example,
A: What causes climate change in the world?
B: From my knowledge, it is caused by air pollution.
In the next 30 minutes, they will review again and concentrate on how these words are
pronounced or written. Moreover,they need to know the kinds of words they are, their
synonyms, and their opposite words so that when we write a paragraph, they can apply
these words sensibly. Then, the learners will continue with words the next day, the
following week, and next month.

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It is suggested that reading the newspaper is a good way to learn new words... For
example, read newspapers on the topic "Environment," such as: "News of resources
and the environment." It is an acquisition, as from those articles, there will be words
that are repeated, and the learners will remember the word longer, knowing in what
context it is used.
It is said that without grammar, the listener will easily misunderstand the
opponent's meaning, so grammar is a vital topic that needs specific learning
strategies.For example, after learning the structure and function of the simple tense,
students must complete homework in various forms, such as giving the correct form of
words in the simple present tense or writing a paragraph about daily habits using that
grammar. This will help them remember and gain knowledge of the usage, function,
and signs of the present simple (acquisition). Besides, focusing on form is crucial, the
student has to explain why this sentence uses "is"in this sentence.

References
1. LEARNING STYLES AND STRATEGIES(Richard M. Felder, 1988)
2. (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/vi/dictionary/English/acquisition).
3. (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/interaction).
4. Teaching by Principles,An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy Second
Edition(H. Douglas Brown).
5. The TKT Course(Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, and Melanie Williams).