Assignment 1 Language related task 750-1000 words

Task
This assignment involves analysing language. On the next page is a
typical text that you might use in class. Look at the items in the grids on the
following pages (also underlined and in bold within the text) and, for all 3
grammar structures and all 3 lexical items:
Analyse the meaning (in this context), form and pronunciation of the
item;
Identify any problems students may have with meaning, form and
pronunciation and provide realistic solutions;
State which references you have used to help you in your analysis.

Cambridge ESOL specifies that for this assignment successful candidates can
demonstrate their learning by:
analysing language correctly for teaching purposes
correctly using terminology relating to form, meaning and pronunciation
when analysing language
accessing reference materials and referencing information they have
learned about language to an appropriate source
using written language that is clear, accurate and appropriate to the task
To meet these evaluation criteria, it is necessary to:
state the meaning, form and pronunciation of your target language
anticipate realistic problems your students might have
offer realistic solutions to these problems (this may include
deciding not to deal with this problem in this lesson though you will
need to justify this)
list the reference books you have used to research the
language

Berlin, 14th July

Dear Ian,
It was great to hear from you. Im sorry I havent written sooner, but my mother hasnt been
very well, so Ive been looking after her. Shes a lot better now.
I was so pleased to hear about your promotion. You deserve it youve worked so hard at
that job. Well Done! I wish you were here so we could go out and celebrate.
Actually, Ive got some good news too Ive got a new job! You know I was fed up with my
old one. Well, one day I was looking through the ads in my local paper when I saw a job
for an English school administrator. As you know, Ive been looking for a job where I could
use my English. So I applied for the job and got it. Im really enjoying it and Ive already
learnt loads of new things. I have to answer the phone, send out information and deal with
any problems students have. Actually, if I hadnt got the job, Id have gone to live with my
brother in England.
By the way, have you heard about Anna and Giorgio? Theyve called off the wedding. Ive
no idea why, but Giorgios gone back to Italy and Annas refusing to talk to anyone about it.
I feel sorry for her parents theyve sent out all the invitations and now theyve got to tell
everyone that the weddings cancelled. How embarrassing! Well, I suppose its better that
theyve split up now rather than after the wedding!
Apart from that, everythings fine here in Berlin. Dont forget that youre always welcome to
come and stay Id love to see you but not in August Im going on holiday to Spain
then. Ill send you a postcard!
Anyway, I must go now. Write soon and tell me how you are.
Lots of love, Pia
PS Guess what! Ive finally passed my driving test.

Bold = lexical items

Underlined and bold = grammar structures

Name:
Grammar
I was looking through the ads in my local paper
when I saw a job for
Meaning:
One short past action happened in the middle of
another longer past action

Form:

Simple past

Past continuous
Sub + verb+ed/irregular form + Sub + was/were +
verb+ing

Pron:

Language Analysis Assignment

Anticipated Problems

Students may mix up durative and

instant actions

Set up a context through a

situation/dialogue and emphasize the
length of each action
Use ccq to check their understanding
- What was I doing first?
- What happened then?
- Which action is longer?
- Did I continue to look through ads?

Students may struggle with

spelling changes in the present
participle and past forms
Students may use an infinitive
rather than present participle form
Students might still muddle up
which pronouns take which forms
of the verb to be
Students are likely to
mispronounce the /ed/ as a
separate syllable for all verbs
Learners might inadvertently
pronounce the g in the ing form,
saying /-g/ instead of /-/

If I hadnt got the job, Id have gone to live with

my brother
Meaning: An unreal, untrue, imagined or
impossible past situation and its unreal results

Possible solutions

Everyday use of mixed

conditionals (e.g If Id taken his

advice, I wouldnt be in this mess
now) might confuse students

To design controlled and freer practice

so as to get them to work with verbs
that undergo spelling changes

Elicit which verbs end in voiced &

voiceless sounds and board them
Drill the three different groups of verbs
(/d/, /t/ and /d/) and board them

Revise and drill

Ccq for functional concept

-

Did I get the job?

Did I live with my brother?
Is it real or imaginary?

Form: Third conditional

if + past perfect, ...would + have + past participle
CONDITIONAL PERFECT

Pron:

Mistakes might arise from difficulty Provide students with chances to

of memorising past participle
forms

Grammatically incorrect everyday

speech (e.g If Id have known, I
would have postponed the
authorisation BBC News,
March 10th, 2010; If you would
have persisted, you would have
gotten through it Greys
Anatomy)

Raise awareness about colloquial

English varieties

Contractions might be challenging Drill and board them, emphasising the

for students to pronounce
Id have gone is usually
pronounced as
rather than

Ive finally passed my driving test

Meaning: Past action which took place at an
unspecified time and has an influence on the
present

practice the new content with various

irregular verbs

and

sounds

Students might employ such tense Ccq focusing on key ideas of

with a past time expression (e.g
Ive been to Edinburg last week)
Students may be unfamiliar with
how such tense implies
connection between the present
and the past (I lost my pen. Did
you see it?)

grammatical meaning
- Did it happen in the present or in the
past?
- Do we know when it happened?
- Do I have a drivers license now?
Draw a timeline:

Draw stds attention to how the present

perfect establishes a temporal link to
the present by setting a situation and
asking ccq:
- Ive lost my keys. I cant find them.

Form: Present perfect

verb in
subject + has/have + past participle

Learners might find memorising

Pron:

past participle forms of a plethora

of irregular verbs difficult
Third person irregular has

When did I lose my keys?

Do I have the now?

Introduce new verbs little by little and

elicit past participle from students

whenever boarding them
Elicit and board third person form

Students may say the full form

Emphasize contracted forms are more

instead of the contracted one

Some students might not have
fully mastered the different ways
or pronouncing the /-ed/ sound

common in spoken language

Drill and board /av/

Recycle /-ed/ sounds by eliciting them

from students

Reference books used:

Michael Swan Practical English Usage, 2005
A Concise Grammar for English Language Teachers (ELT) Tony Penston, 2005
Grammar and Vocabulary for Cambridge Advanced and Proficiency Richard Side, 2002
English Phonetics and Phonology Peter Roach

Lexis
promotion
Anticipated Problems
Possible solutions
Meaning:
Students might rely on their mother Ccq might help clarify its meaning:
elevation to a higher position or rank at
tongue and trip up on false
- Does he have a job?
work
cognates (Portuguese and German
- Is he dedicated?
speakers, for instance, might
- Does he deserve a better
employ it to mean sales and
position?
phD, respectively)
Form:
Learners might not be familiar with Draw stds attention to such verbs
noun
which verbs promotion collocates
during controlled practice feedback
with (recommend sb for, win, get,
gain)

Pron:

fed up
Meaning:
annoyed or tired of a situation that
youve stood for too long

Form:
adjective, informal
Pron:

Call off
Meaning:
to cancel

The fact its got three unstressed

Point out that the word has three

schwa sounds might be

troublesome
The last syllable might be tricky.
French speakers, for instance,
might say /sj/ rather than /()n/

identical sounds and drill them

Elicit stressed syllable from
students and then board the word
outlining the /()n/ sound

Possible confusion with the lexical

Concept checking questions:

verb feed

Collocation mistakes: students

might use the wrong preposition
(at/by instead of with/of)
Stress falls on the preposition

Possible confusion with the lexical

Form:
phrasal verb

Pron:

verb call
Students might try to break the
phrasal verb into bits and analyse
call and off separately
Weaker students might try to
conjugate the preposition rather
than the verb
Word order
Linking sounds might prove
challenging for weaker students,
especially depending on direct
object placement: He called it off

Was he satisfied with his old

job?
- Did he want a new one?
- How long did he feel that way?
Draw stds attention to such
prepositions during controlled
practice feedback
Provide a model and elicit stress
from students
Board it, spelling out the
pronunciation of up:

When boarding the item, stress

that it is to be regarded as a single
semantic unit

As said above
Emphasize that both combinations
are correct: call sth off or call off
sth
Elicit stress and board it, making
sure to link the sounds with an
arrow:

Reference books used:

The TKT Course University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations, 2005
Macmillan Dictionary
Cambridge Dictionaries Online
Oxford Online Collocation Dictionary (available at http://oxforddictionary.so8848.com/)

Language analysis Assignment

Example:
Grammar:
Ive been looking after her.
Meaning:

Anticipated Problems

To express an event/action that

started at a non-specific time in the
past and is still true now.

Pron:

/avbnlk/
Form:
Present perfect continuous
Have/has + been + verb + ing
Lexis:
celebrate
Meaning:
To enjoy an event or success in a
social way.

This tense is not often found in

other languages or its used in
a different way.
Sts may use the pres perf simp
as it can express the same
concept but with a more
permanent meaning. This is
more temporary.
Contractions (I have/has)
Weak been
Third person irregular has
Question & neg formation
Strong have in short positive
answer.

Anticipated Problems

Possible confusion with fame

as this is a false friend

Possible solutions
Concept check thoroughly:
When did I start looking after
her? In the past
Is exactly when important? No
Do I look after her now? Yes
Is the action finished? No
Will I always look after her?
Probably not

Drill & highlight on board

As above
Revise & drill
Elicit & board third person form
Elicit & board Q and neg forms
Elicit and check against the
contracted form.

Possible solutions
Concept check:

Does he/she want to tell friends

about this? Yes
Does he/she want to go to a pub
or bar to do this? Yes/ probably

Pron:

/selbret/

Stress
Weak form schwa in 2nd
syllable

Drill & board

As above & highlight with schwa
on board.

Form:
a verb

Word order

Elicit & highlight to celebrate

something.

Books consulted:
Michael Swan Practical English Usage
Oxford WordPower Dictionary