ritten Assignment 1 – Focus on the Learner

NAME SUBMISSION DATE WORD COUNT

Candidates are reminded of the Centre’s policy on plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as submitting as one’s own work, irrespective
of intent to deceive, that which derives in part or in its entirety from the work of others without due acknowledgement. It is both
poor scholarship and a breach of academic integrity.

I CONFIRM THAT THIS SUBMISSION IS ALL MY OWN WORK.

SIGNED: DATE:

Reserved for the tutor

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA (CELTA Syllabus and Assessment Guidelines - Fifth Edition)
st
1 submission 2nd submission

can show awareness of how a learner’s/learners’ background(s), previous learning experience and learning
preferences affect learning (Section A and C)

can identify the learner’s (s’) language/skills needs (Sections A and B)

can correctly use terminology relating to the description of language systems and/or language skills (Sections,
A, B and C)
can select appropriate material and/or resources to aid the learner’s/learners’ language and/or skills
development (Sections B and C)
can provide a rationale for using specific activities with a learner/learners
(Section C)
can find, select and reference information from one or more sources using written language that is clear,
accurate and appropriate to the task (Sections A, B, and C)

FIRST SUBMISSION Result PASS RE-SUBMISSION

Tutor comments:

Signed: Date: Double mark:

SECOND SUBMISSION Result PASS FAIL

Tutor comments:

Signed: Date: Double mark:

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 Referencing
Your assignments need to be written in clear, accurate and academic English with appropriate in text referencing. You should use
mainly indirect quotes, meaning that you paraphrased the text. If specific quotes are used, they should be referenced using
author(s)’ surname(s), year of publication and page numbers quoted, e.g. (Richards 2001:98). Page numbers are not required if
indirect quotes are used. E.g. Richards (2001).

The bibliography should be presented in alphabetical order of author’s surname. Year of publication, city and publisher should be
included. This should be presented after the assignment and before the appendices, and should only include publications referred
to in the text itself.

Referencing should follow a recognised format throughout the assignment.

Here are examples of references according to the APA Publication Manual, (6th ed., 2009); for more information see
www.apastyle.org or visit https://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm for additional examples.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bamboozle

*(n.d.) = no date available

Please note that the bibliography and appendices are not included in the word count

Plagiarism
Please note that plagiarism includes:

 copying another’s language or ideas as if they were your own;

 unauthorised collusion;
 quoting directly without making it clear by standard referencing and the use of quotation marks and/or layout (indented
paragraphs, for example) that you are doing so;
 using text downloaded from the internet without referencing the source conventionally;
 closely paraphrasing a text;
 submitting work which has been undertaken wholly or in part by someone else.

Instructions
Section A (250 words approximately)

 write a profile of your group. Use the information gathered on day one to help.
 please share info. with others in your TP group but do the writing alone.
 you can mention students by name, especially if it’s useful to explain who the exceptions are.

Section B (350 words approximately)

 provide example weaknesses in your students’ language use – two grammar errors, two pronunciation errors and one
lexis error.
 again, this should be specific quotes of things they have said/written.
 remember to focus on useful errors for the level, and language points which can be usefully practised in class e.g. 3rd
person sing. ‘s’ is not challenging for intermediate students.

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Section C (300 words approximately)

 provide exercise focusing on one of the pronunciation errors from section B.

 provide exercise focusing on one of the grammar errors from section B.
 consider adapting material to suit students’ reasons for learning (a work context?) and/or their classroom preferences
(Kinesthetic? Visual?). Refer here to section A.
 you could use CELTA RESOURCES folder to find activities.

The length of the assignment must be between 750 and 1000 words. Any submission exceeding the word limit is an
automatic resubmission. Appendices are NOT INCLUDED in the word count.

Please write in continuous prose throughout.

Recommendations
Section A

 answer all the questions and avoid omitting information (e.g. level, ages, interests, etc.).

Section B

 GRAMMAR - select examples of grammar errors that match the level of ability of the learners. Consult the table of
contents of the course book used by your learners to identify grammar structures typical at that level of proficiency.
Consult appropriate reference books (e.g., Learner English, Swan) to validate problems caused by L1
interference;
 PRONUNCIATION – select 2-3 examples for each pronunciation error. This will validate / corroborate the error.
Make sure you use standard IPA to exemplify the phonology.
 LEXIS – use errors related to meaning, appropriacy, register, word class, word form, collocation, connotation, etc.
Avoid using a misspelled word as a lexical error.

Section C

 Choose ONE of the pronunciation errors from Section B that you would like to help learners with.
 Choose one practice activity to help learners improve their use of this pronunciation point.
 Do the same for the grammar error.
 The activities can come from the TP coursebook, the resource pack and/or other coursebooks in “CELTA
RESOURCES” folder. Alternatively, find some resources online. One activity can be self-developed but at least one
must be from a published source (it can be a website or a book).
 Make sure that the activities match the nature of the error (i.e. spoken or written). Make sure that the activities deal with
the error directly (i.e. the focus of the activity must match the error). Make sure the activities include practice of the
specific error made by the learner(s) (e.g. the learner said ‘I have buyed a new computer’ > the activity should also
provide practice of the past participle of the verb “to buy’).
 When adapting published material, make sure new lists of words / sentence (i.e. those which you intend learners
to focus on and practice) are submitted together with the original activity.
 Don’t forget to include the activities as appendices.

Reference books
For typical errors made by learners
 Grammar for English Language Teachers by Martin Parrott. Published by Cambridge University Press.
 Learner English – A teacher’s guide to interference and other problems by Michael Swan and Bernard Smith. Published
by Cambridge University Press.
 The Handbook of Asian Englishes by Kingsley Bolton, Werner Botha, and Andy Kirkpatrick. Published by Wiley Blackwell.

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 SECTION A - Learner Backgrounds

Find out from the rest of your TP group the information everyone has collected about the students, and using this
information write a summary of the group in the boxes below.

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 SECTION B - Learner Weaknesses

Observe the students carefully during TP and note down two specific examples of their weaknesses in grammar and
pronunciation, and one for lexis. You can refer to either spoken language or written language (but specify which).
Simply complete the boxes below. N.B. You can choose the same areas of weakness as your peers, but the analysis
should be your own.

GRAMMAR ERROR 1

GRAMMAR ERROR 2
PRONUNCIATION ERROR 1

PRONUNCIATION ERROR 2

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LEXIS ERROR

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 SECTION C – Helping the Learners

Look again at the grammar and pronunciation problems identified above.

1. Select one specific activity which will help the learners with one grammar area and one pronunciation area. You
can select activities either from your course book, from a book of supplementary materials in the CELTA library,
or design your own activity. However, at least one of the activities you choose should be taken from published
resource material that is not the coursebook.
2. Attach photocopies of the activities in the appendices, paying due regard to copyright.
3. Complete the boxes below to justify the above.

Helping the Learners Helping the

LearnerH

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 Bibliography

Appendix 1 – Pronunciation

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Appendix 2 – Grammar

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