Moderation History A.

Erickson

Module Open Ended Answer Moderator Comments

3 Q: Say you are presenting a lesson about the present perfect progressive tense, please
formulate 1 main aim and 2 subsidiary aims.

1 - When teaching the present perfect progressive tense the main aim would be skill based and 1 - You have excellent and well-
grammatical. Skill based because it is important for the students to be able to clearly explained points in terms of your
understand the tense when reading or hearing it as well as being able to properly speak or selection of a main aim and a
write it and grammatical because understanding and using this tense is primarily a grammar subsidiary aim. One important
issue. For a beginning level class who was not familiar with this tense I would state the main point to remember when
aim as by the end of this lesson students will be able to identify the present perfect formulating aims in your lesson is
progressive tense from a piece of text and correctly demonstrate its use in writing. Assuming that they should be from the
the students are already familiar with the present continuous tense I would build off of that point of view of the students to
and move them forward into present perfect progressive. I would focus primarily on the ensure that it is student-centered.
grammar and necessary use of this particular tense. I would also build this lesson plan off of The subsidiary aims should
the present continuous tenses lesson plan, which they should already be familiar with. I would ultimately feed the main aim of
also stress the point of always remembering that the suffix-ing; always denotes a continuous the lesson, allowing the students
tense which would help them understand the subject matter of the sentence even if they to understand 'why' they are
could not correctly identify which form of continuous it was. doing what they are doing.

The subsidiary aims would be students will correctly identify the present perfect progressive
tense in a listening assignment and students will correctly identify when a present progressive
tense is misused;. Though these two aims are important in overall language learning it is less
important for them to be able to pick out minor errors orally than it is for them to be able to
properly form the structure of the tense. The real meat and importance of this lesson plan is in
the grammar and usage of the tense. These subsidiary aims could be pushed back to another
date if explaining the initial use of the grammar took too long. The subsidiary aims could easily
be used in a review session sometime later in the course.
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Q: What makes a good lesson plan?

2 - Achievable goals are important because it is a necessity to set realistic standards for both 2 - This is a very extensive answer.
the students and yourself. It is paramount to understand both the language level of the class I really liked that you focused on
and what they hope to achieve. Teen aged students are not going to have the same goals as the student aspect and
business professionals when it comes to learning a language so a teacher must first try and applicability in planning your
figure out what the student wants. Because learning a language is such a massive undertaking, lesson. It is true that teen-aged
creating manageable goals for each lesson plans helps break down this huge challenge into students will have very different
much simpler steps. goals and expectations from
businessmen and the like, and
Flexibility is also key. Every class and every student is different and there is no one single that we should, therefore, take
concrete way to create a lesson. There are so many factors in teaching that it is impossible to that into consideration. Lesson
prepare for all of them every single lesson. If you are making rigid and unbending plans that plans should also be laid out in a
have ever single step mapped out you are going to suffer when things dont go as you clear and organised manner so
expected. Students can be unmotivated or uninterested some days, or perhaps students are that a teacher can refer to it with
sick and group work that you had planned won't work. Flexibility means knowing what ease in a lesson. Similarly, a plan
activities or exercises can be added, dropped, or changed without your lesson plan completely should be detailed enough that if
falling apart due to the change. another teacher were to cover
your lesson for whatever reason,
Insuring your lesson plan has real-life applications is also important. While every grammar they would be able to on the basis
point is technically necessary for the English language, you have to realize that not all of them of your plan.
will have everyday practical applications. It is important to build your lesson plan around the
idea that your students will someday need to use this lesson in real life. It is always a good idea
to attach real life scenarios into your daily activities. Students will be much more inclined to
remember a set of vocabulary or grammar points if you can show them a common situation in
their lives where it will benefit them.
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6 Q: Explain the function of the word smoking in each of these sentences: a. Smoking is bad
for your health. b. She is smoking a cigarette.

1 - In sentence A. the verb smoking is a gerund. A gerund appears to be a noun but actually 1 - You are spot on with your
functions as a verb within the context of the sentence. Gerunds always end in -ing. Though answer, Adam. Excellent job on
they can look exactly the same a gerund functions differently from a noun in the way that it extending your explanation to
functions in a sentence. Looking at the example sentence Running is good for your health we include infinitives and the danger
have the gerund running functioning as a noun because the action of running is actually the of misusing them. It shows you
subject of the sentence. If you used the same word running in the sentence I am running to have in-depth knowledge about
the store it ceases to be a gerund and is now used in the present continuous function. Running the topic and that you have
is now the action that I am taking, and I am the subject of the sentence. clearly grasped what the module
is about.
In sentence B. smoking is no longer a gerund and is now simply a present continuous verb.
Instead of being an action which is being referred to smoking is simply the action that she is
taking. It is a small but important detail whether the -ing on a verb is talking about an action
the subject is taking or if the action itself is the subject of the sentence.

A teacher must be careful to differentiate between an infinitive and a gerund. In the sentence
we forgot to see the movie the infinitive to see is used. This sentence could be otherwise said
We were going to see the movie but we forgot what time it started and therefore did not get
around to seeing it. Now if you changed the infinitive to a gerund and said We forgot seeing
the movie the meaning has changed drastically. In this case we actually did see the movie but
at some point had forgotten we had seen it.
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Q: Dissect and differentiate these sentences: a. I can play the guitar. b. I could play the
guitar when I was younger.

2 - Sentence A. is written in the present simple tense. The subject I is referring to the speaker. 2 - Excellent answer overall. Great
It uses the modal verb can to denote the ability to do so, in this case referring to the ability to effort on extensively dissecting
play (transitive verb) the guitar (common noun). The definite article the is used to show the the first sentence. You just need
ability to play a specific instrument (the guitar), meaning not just a specific single guitar but all to be careful not to over-read or
varieties of guitar. With this use of the modal can we are not talking about the conditional over-analyse the question. For
form as expressed in the sentence I can go to the park today if it doesnt rain, which is instance, no particular attention
hypothetical. This version of the modal is used exclusively to show an ability or action that can was needed on the phrase "the
be actively and repeatedly be performed by the speaker regardless of the situation at hand. guitar" because the focus of this
item is the modal, but it just
Sentence B. is written in the past simple form. In this case the modal could is used to denote a shows that you have a discerning
past ability. It is used in this sentence as the past tense form of can/cant. It retains the same eye of dissecting sentences.
subject I as in the first sentence. However, it is now referring to an action, again play, that had
been done in the past. It could mean that the subject no longer has this ability or it could mean
that he/she is simply stating that they have had the ability for a long time. When I was younger
is used to show that the action was taken during some time in the past, though it is not a
specific measured amount of time, simply a point in the past.

Both sentences share the basic action of playing the guitar, yet the difference in tenses on the
modal verb are the main difference. The tense of the main verb, play, is never actually changed
because the act of changing the modal can to could changes the tense of the sentence from
present to past.
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8 Q: Explain how you go about drilling as a strategy in teaching pronunciation.

1 - Drilling is a very important function in teaching pronunciation. It allows for the students to 1 - Hi Adam, you've manage to
both hear the correct pronunciation as well as practice in a group environment. grasp the concept of drilling in
general. It is true that it is
You should always start by first demonstrating the pronunciation you are practicing. It is useful important to begin first by drilling
to have a visual aid such as a chalkboard or whiteboard. You can also use gestures if those the whole class collectively as this
aren't available. When practicing certain syllables or words it can be helpful to write the words has the benefit of giving students
on the blackboard, capitalizing the sections that should be enunciated. If you are using confidence in numbers.
gestures you can also float your hand in the air in front of you, raising and lowering it to show
where the intonation should fall.

After you have demonstrated proper pronunciation you can move on to having the students
practice. It is always a good idea to start by having the entire class speak together. This is
useful because students will oftentimes be less self-conscious about their performance when
they are sheltered in the voices of their peers. Knowing that you won't single them out for
mistakes is crucial when beginning practices.

After you have repeated the words several times you can move on to doing group or individual
work. If your students are strong you can call out individuals to check their progress, or you
can set them up into smaller groups to help them check their own progress. If you have weaker
or shy students who make mistakes you can use the abilities of stronger students to help them
understand their mistakes.
This can also be a good opportunity to help reinforce specific grammatical or vocabulary
practices. It is always a good idea to link lessons together. Suppose your students are having
trouble remembering pronouns, this can be a good chance to bring those up. Pointing to
individual students in class and saying "HE is sitting", "SHE is sitting", "WE are sitting" can be an
excellent way to review a previous lesson while implementing new material.
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Q: Expand further on the following phrases: Intonation can serve as grammatical function.
Intonation can change the meaning significantly.

2 - Intonation is an important part of the English language because where and when you place 2- Good elaboration on how
intonation can dramatically alter the assumed or actual meaning of the sentence. We'll look at intonation can change the
the example sentence of "I never said the car was mine". An intonation on the word "I" meaning of a sentence
changes the meaning of the sentence so that the speaker is stressing the fact that it was significantly. However, you did
someone else who claimed the speaker owned the car. Think of it as the speaker saying "*I* not quite elaborate too much on
never said I owned the car, John told you I did". the statement, "Intonation can
Placing intonation on the word "never" makes it seem as though the speaker is defensive serve as grammatical function."
about his perceived ownership of the car. In this sentence the speaker is saying "Hey, don't
accuse me of owning this car because I didn't say that".
Intonation on the word "said" adds an implication on the part of the speaker that the listener
believes he owns the car and he did not correct them. If John pulls up in a brand new
Mercedes and offers you a ride you would likely assume the car is his because he is currently in
possession of it. When you ask John when he bought it he might respond "I never *said* the
car was mine".
If the speaker places intonation on the word "mine" it achieves a similar effect. The listener
may assume the car belongs to the speaker based on circumstances, such as him washing or
driving it, but with this intonation he is careful to let the listener know that, "This is John's car, I
was just washing it, I never said it was mine".
Intonation can also be used to show intention or interest. Short responses such as "Yeah" or
"Go ahead" are usually flat. Disbelief can be shown with a rising intonation as in 'What are you
*doing*?" as supposed to the casual question about what someone is doing with no
intonation.
High rising intonations are typically used with a question. "Where are they *going*?" shows a
high level of interest in where "they" are going, and is used to illicit a response from the
listener.
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10 Q: Why is there a rising trend in EFL to focus on functions?

1 - The rising trend in EFL focus on functions can be attributed to several factors. 1 - These are great points, Adam. I
commend you for the example
First off is the increasing use of English as the international business language means that is you used to illustrate the point.
has an increasing importance in the work place. Typically EFL has been taught mostly with the This 'shift' has risen primarily as
idea that you should build with form and grammar as the base and then move on from that. an opposition to the traditional
However, this is not particularly useful in the regards that when learning a language for a approach of focusing on
business environment it is necessary to understand exactly how and when this language grammatical structures which
should be used and not just how the language is formed. pays little attention to what
language is actually used for, but
Second is that as teaching English as a foreign language becomes an ever more popular market both grammar and function, along
and academic field we learn more about the methods by which teaching is effective. Only with vocabulary, are all equally
decades ago many educated people believed that the best way to teach language was simply important aspects in the learning
by rote memorization. Though that is still used today there are hundreds of new teaching of a language.
styles and methods that are proving to be effective modes of teaching language. As we learn
more about the science of language and the art of teaching we must continue to adapt our
teaching methods, and this is true with the rise of functions within languages.

There are many subtle differences in what you can say in a language and the actual
connotation of what it means. This is especially noticeable when we are trying to be polite or
asking questions. This was especially prevalent in Mongolian language where there are two
types of commands. One is the typical command which would translate to "Give me that". The
other is what I was told is more polite and would be "May I please have that?". For a long time
I used the latter and assumed it was more formal, but only later did I learn that the form I was
using actually served the function more akin to a parent commanding a child than a friend
asking for a favor. This is an excellent example of why function of the language is just as
important as grammar and vocabulary.
Module Open Ended Answer Moderator Comments
Q: Explain the statement, The fact is that while without grammar very little can be
conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed by Wilkins.

2 - Grammar and vocabulary are the cornerstones of language. A combination of grammar and 2 - "On the other hand, no
vocabulary allow us to properly express the nuances of the language. However, of the two amount of grammatical
vocabulary is much more important as without it you can express literally nothing. Vocabulary knowledge can be used to talk to
words are the basic building blocks of sentences. Verbs and Nouns and adjectives are typically someone if you have no
the most important part of any sentence, with grammar forming the more complex vocabulary." Absolutely correct.
differences.

If I say "We movie see", you have a vague idea of what I am saying. You understand the two of
us will watch a film. The grammatical component is missing, though. The first problem is the
tense. This could mean that we have seen a movie, we are currently watching a movie, or we
have plans to see a movie sometime in the future. If someone said this to you it would be
difficult to be sure what they were saying because of the lack of grammar, but the general idea
is conveyed.

On the other hand, no amount of grammatical knowledge can be used to talk to someone if
you have no vocabulary. Even if you had complete and flawless knowledge of every element of
the grammatical structure of a language you would be completely unable to convey even the
most basic meaning to someone in another language. Knowing tenses and when to use
gerunds and noun declension means nothing if you don't know the word for "chicken" when
you're standing in line at a busy restaurant trying to order dinner for yourself.

Both grammar and vocabulary are necessary for a true understanding of language. They are
necessarily intertwined within the system of a language simply because that is the way
language functions. It is unfeasible to consider trying to teach one without the other. However,
of the two, it is much more useful to learn a large amount of vocabulary in order to be able to
converse in a foreign language.
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13 Q: Describe a game which a teacher can use to improve the vocabulary usage of her
students.

1 - When I was teaching English as a foreign language for the Peace Corps in Outer Mongolia 1 - This is an excellent example,
one of my favorite games to help increase vocabulary was Taboo. In Taboo students are Adam. Thank you for sharing your
grouped, usually into groups of 4-6 students. For each round of Taboo the group had to real life experience out in the
nominate one student to be the speaker and the rest were listeners. The group had to have a actual classroom. Although Taboo
different speaker every round. There would be a set time limit, usually 3-5 minutes. The was not mentioned in the
speaker would stand up in front of their group, and beside the speaker would be a bag full of module, it does sound like a very
vocabulary words written on a piece of paper. interesting game and definitely
helps in the development of the
For less experienced learners we would tell them ahead of time what the categories of words students' vocabulary skills. Your
would be. Things like "Animals", "Food", "Buildings", and "Technology". Once the round was experience can attest to that.
started the speaker would draw a piece of paper from the bag. The goal of the game was to
get the listeners to correctly guess the word she had drawn without using the word itself. The
speaker could also only speak in the language they were learning.

So the speaker chooses "cat" from the bag. She cannot say "cat", but she can say "animal",
"fur", "small". The listeners then have to try and guess the as many words as possible in the
time limit. Each team would have several rounds and at the end of the game the team with the
most total points won. This is a very fun game for learners of all levels. Not only does it help
build vocabulary through guessing the words in the bag, it also requires the use of extended
vocabulary by using words to describe the word written down. It utilizes both listening and
speaking because the speaker must be able to conjure words to describe the object while
listeners must understand those words and put the ideas together to form the written word.
It is also a very fast-paced, high energy game with lots of loud speaking and excitement. Even
shy students have fun because there is no penalty for wrong guessing and they don't feel
stressed by their peers because everyone is shouting out answers together.
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Q: Describe briefly why is it valuable to incorporate games on the lessons prepared by a

teacher.

2 - Incorporating games into a lesson plan is, in my opinion, one of the most valuable tools that 2 - You are absolutely correct in
an educator can have. No matter the age or skill level of a class, games are useful and fun. Not saying that games are useful and
only do they help shake up the tedium of learning the same thing day in and day out, they also fun regardless of how old a
add an element of competition and reward to the classroom. student is. They make learning
Language can be an especially frustrating thing to teach because, especially in a situation easier and encourage all students
where you are teaching students who will not have the opportunity to exercise their to participate more.
knowledge in their daily lives. It can be hard to keep the drive and ambition to learn a new
language when you don't have the opportunity to reap rewards from it regularly. Whether it
be young schoolchildren or adult businessmen it is difficult to motivate yourself to continue
your education when it seems like the reward for hard work is so far away. Bringing games in
the classroom can help bring a level of satisfaction to all that hard work. Though high test
marks and praise from a teacher are nice, it is so much more exciting to get to display your
knowledge and ability in a competitive setting.
Games also allow for a relief from the stress that many students feel regarding their grades.
Quizzes and tests help you display your knowledge as a student, but they also carry with them
a great deal of importance. While failing a test can have serious implications for your
continued education, losing a game has no long lasting negative benefits, whereas winning one
gives students an instant boos in their morale. Games are also valuable to an educator because
they allow for a lot of flexibility in lesson plans. So often students pick up language points
quicker than expected, or fail to grasp areas you planned for taking only a short time. Games
can help bridge both these gaps. If students pick up language quickly, that extra ten minutes
you have in class can be perfect for a fun game to help review and earlier lesson plan. On the
other side, if students are having trouble with something a fun game can help ease the tension
and give a good opportunity to practice that target language in a fun way.