CELTA Assignment - Focus on the Learner
Name:
Assignment: Focus on the Learner
Word count: 1006
PART 1
The students attending the pre-intermediate course are mostly Czech nationals (except one Polish student) and are in their early thirties to sixties.
They all have a good level of motivation and their reasons for learning English include personal development, relocating to an English speaking country, obtaining a better job, travelling, teaching English at a higher level, and communicating with native speakers or family members living abroad.
Most of them have learnt the language at school and/or university for at least 4 years (often with long breaks) and were taught by teachers who used both Czech and English in the classroom. The lessons were teacher-centred and focused on grammar, dictation and homework, leaving few opportunities for speaking practice. One student has also been attending English course offered by her employer, and also learns English independently. Two of the students are multilingual (they speak either German or French).
A number of them have attended English lessons at Akcent IH in the past, which they enjoyed because they were exposed to various accents of native speakers.
They prefer lessons where only English is spoken and are very receptive to CELTA teaching strategies. Students are happy to work in pairs or groups, though some would like to be corrected more often and feel they learn more when talking to the teacher.
They enjoy a mixture of speaking practice and grammar work, which most perceive as difficult, but easier than listening or speaking “because grammar can be learned”. They are all eager to communicate effectively with native English speakers, develop their listening skills (difficult because of accents/talking speeds) and speaking skills (fluency, improving their accents). The students also want to broaden their vocabulary and improve their writing skills.
All students are passionate about travelling, music, dancing and sports, and
Assignment: Focus on the Learner
Word count: 1006
PART 1
The students attending the pre-intermediate course are mostly Czech nationals (except one Polish student) and are in their early thirties to sixties.
They all have a good level of motivation and their reasons for learning English include personal development, relocating to an English speaking country, obtaining a better job, travelling, teaching English at a higher level, and communicating with native speakers or family members living abroad.
Most of them have learnt the language at school and/or university for at least 4 years (often with long breaks) and were taught by teachers who used both Czech and English in the classroom. The lessons were teacher-centred and focused on grammar, dictation and homework, leaving few opportunities for speaking practice. One student has also been attending English course offered by her employer, and also learns English independently. Two of the students are multilingual (they speak either German or French).
A number of them have attended English lessons at Akcent IH in the past, which they enjoyed because they were exposed to various accents of native speakers.
They prefer lessons where only English is spoken and are very receptive to CELTA teaching strategies. Students are happy to work in pairs or groups, though some would like to be corrected more often and feel they learn more when talking to the teacher.
They enjoy a mixture of speaking practice and grammar work, which most perceive as difficult, but easier than listening or speaking “because grammar can be learned”. They are all eager to communicate effectively with native English speakers, develop their listening skills (difficult because of accents/talking speeds) and speaking skills (fluency, improving their accents). The students also want to broaden their vocabulary and improve their writing skills.
All students are passionate about travelling, music, dancing and sports, and
Bibliography: Millin, S. (2011, June 18) - Pronunciation problems for Czech speakers of English Retrieved from http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/pronunciation-problems-for-czech-speakers-of-english/