Celta Assignment 1: Focus on the Leaner
Christopher Clayton
CELTA Assignment 1
ISE Language LTD
Centre No. 56108
Assignment 1: Focus on the learner
Background
For this assignment I chose Fernando; a 25 year old Spanish male from Seville. Fernando is an upper intermediate student, and is currently preparing to undertake his First Certificate examination.
Fernando has been living in England for 6 months, since he graduated from university in Spain last year. He has been learning English since he was 11, but has only recently become his primary academic focus.
Fernando is currently unemployed, so I assumed his reasons for learning English would be to advance his career prospects. Whilst he did say that hopefully a proficient grasp of English would enhance and broaden his vocational opportunities; Fernando seemed far more enthused about learning English when discussing the social benefits, opportunities for travel, and watching American films. So I suspect Fernando’s desire to learn English is primarily intrinsic.
In class Fernando loves to speak as often as possible. He is incredibly inquisitive, and is clearly attempting to accrue as much knowledge as he can. Observing Fernando in class I would suggest that he is an auditory learner, responding best to an engagement with the subject, and being able to listen and converse. Fernando can often become restless when undertaking a controlled written exercise, occasionally resorting to chatting to a friend. This has resulted in Fernando having excellent fluency with spoken English and good vocabulary, he is a pleasure to talk to. Adversely, his written English appears to have suffered and he struggles with aspects of grammar, including verb forms, and misuse of articles and prepositions, which on occasion can present itself in Fernando’s spoken English, which I would not necessarily expect from a student of his ability.
I would encourage Fernando to try and read more to enable him to come into contact with written English more
CELTA Assignment 1
ISE Language LTD
Centre No. 56108
Assignment 1: Focus on the learner
Background
For this assignment I chose Fernando; a 25 year old Spanish male from Seville. Fernando is an upper intermediate student, and is currently preparing to undertake his First Certificate examination.
Fernando has been living in England for 6 months, since he graduated from university in Spain last year. He has been learning English since he was 11, but has only recently become his primary academic focus.
Fernando is currently unemployed, so I assumed his reasons for learning English would be to advance his career prospects. Whilst he did say that hopefully a proficient grasp of English would enhance and broaden his vocational opportunities; Fernando seemed far more enthused about learning English when discussing the social benefits, opportunities for travel, and watching American films. So I suspect Fernando’s desire to learn English is primarily intrinsic.
In class Fernando loves to speak as often as possible. He is incredibly inquisitive, and is clearly attempting to accrue as much knowledge as he can. Observing Fernando in class I would suggest that he is an auditory learner, responding best to an engagement with the subject, and being able to listen and converse. Fernando can often become restless when undertaking a controlled written exercise, occasionally resorting to chatting to a friend. This has resulted in Fernando having excellent fluency with spoken English and good vocabulary, he is a pleasure to talk to. Adversely, his written English appears to have suffered and he struggles with aspects of grammar, including verb forms, and misuse of articles and prepositions, which on occasion can present itself in Fernando’s spoken English, which I would not necessarily expect from a student of his ability.
I would encourage Fernando to try and read more to enable him to come into contact with written English more
Bibliography: [1] Murphy, R, 2004, English Grammar in Use, Third Edition (Cambridge University Press) [2] Swan M, Smith B, 2001, Learner English: A Teacher’s Guide to Interference and Other Problems Vol.1 (Cambridge University Press) [3] Walker E, Elsworth, S, 2000, Grammar Practise for Intermediate Students New Edition (Longman) [4] Baker, A, 2006, Ship or Sheep? An Intermediate Pronunciation Course, Third Edition (Cambridge University Press) [5] McCarthy, M, O’Dell, F, 1999, English Vocabulary in Use: Upper Intermediate and Advanced (Cambridge University Press)