Celta Assignment 1
Selma Pasanbegovic
Assignment 1 – Focus on the Learner
Task a: Learner’s Background
For the purpose of this assignment I chose Feruza, an Eritrean high school graduate. She was born and raised in Eritrea and came to live in Jeddah only five years ago. She studied English in an elementary school in Eritrea and continued studying it in an Eritrean International High School. She is not happy at all with what she has learnt during those years. She explained that during her elementary school years her teachers heavily focused on writing while neglecting speaking. When she continued her learning process here in Jeddah, her high school teachers focused only on speaking but not at the level she was expecting.
After completing high school her learning was interrupted and there was little or no opportunity to read or speak in English. Currently, she is attending an intermediate level English course which allows her to connect with other learners of the English language.
Feruza says that learning English is her number one priority in life. Because, as she says: “English is an international language. If you speak English well you don’t want to learn other languages…”. She has also indicated that she needs to learn English in order to gain employment. One of her dreams is to study abroad, but her financial situation is preventing her from doing so. As she says: “Saudi universities and colleges are free only for Saudis and for others very expensive”.
Feruza’s desire to learn English is fueled by outside factors such as the wish to live and study abroad. According to Jeremy Harmer (Harmer 2001:51) extrinsic motivation is “caused by any number of outside factors, for example, the need to pass an exam, the hope of financial reward, or the possibility of future travel.” Feruza believes that without a sound knowledge of English her desires have little or no chance of materializing.
As a learner, Feruza is a shy and quiet girl. During class she never engages in any
Assignment 1 – Focus on the Learner
Task a: Learner’s Background
For the purpose of this assignment I chose Feruza, an Eritrean high school graduate. She was born and raised in Eritrea and came to live in Jeddah only five years ago. She studied English in an elementary school in Eritrea and continued studying it in an Eritrean International High School. She is not happy at all with what she has learnt during those years. She explained that during her elementary school years her teachers heavily focused on writing while neglecting speaking. When she continued her learning process here in Jeddah, her high school teachers focused only on speaking but not at the level she was expecting.
After completing high school her learning was interrupted and there was little or no opportunity to read or speak in English. Currently, she is attending an intermediate level English course which allows her to connect with other learners of the English language.
Feruza says that learning English is her number one priority in life. Because, as she says: “English is an international language. If you speak English well you don’t want to learn other languages…”. She has also indicated that she needs to learn English in order to gain employment. One of her dreams is to study abroad, but her financial situation is preventing her from doing so. As she says: “Saudi universities and colleges are free only for Saudis and for others very expensive”.
Feruza’s desire to learn English is fueled by outside factors such as the wish to live and study abroad. According to Jeremy Harmer (Harmer 2001:51) extrinsic motivation is “caused by any number of outside factors, for example, the need to pass an exam, the hope of financial reward, or the possibility of future travel.” Feruza believes that without a sound knowledge of English her desires have little or no chance of materializing.
As a learner, Feruza is a shy and quiet girl. During class she never engages in any