Assignment 3 (750-1000 words) Trainee:

LST - Language Skills-related Tasks Submitted on: 06/01/2019

Number of words: The trainee:

987 ( ) passed ( ) failed ( ) needs to resubmit it by: ____/____/____

Cambridge ESOL specifies that for this assignment, successful candidates can demonstrate their learning by:
Assessment Criteria Tutor’s Comments

1) Providing relevant information

about the group of students.

2) Finding and selecting an

appropriate text to the
specified class and providing a
rationale.

3) Designing appropriate tasks for

the development of receptive
skills and relating them to
development of such skills.

4) Designing appropriate tasks for

productive skills.

5) Evidence of background reading

and correct use of terminology
(skills and sub-skills).

6) Using written language that is

clear and accurate to this
assignment.

Final Comments:

Statement of Authorship (to be signed by the trainee)

I declare that this assignment represents my own work. I have not copied from the work of other students and I have not allowed or enabled others
to copy from my work. I confirm that this work has not been submitted elsewhere in any other form for the fulfilment of any other degree or
qualification. I also confirm I have not allowed or enabled others to copy from my work.

Trainee: Tutor 1: Tutor 2:

CELTA ONLINE Assignment 3 – Language Skills-related Tasks

Section 1: the group of learners and the text chosen

All Brazilians, native speakers of Portuguese, aged from 17 to 21, A2+ (CEFR)

Name Occupation Likes/interests Learning Needs

preferences
F Engineering Geek universe, Activities in Reading for
student books, science which she can use detailed
fiction, 80’s her imagination information.
culture, fantasy to set up a story.
fiction in general. Deals well with
kinesthetic and
logical activities
too.
H High school Japanese culture, Intra-personal Gist and detailed
student mangas, animes, intelligence. Very reading – when
imaginative. the information is
Enjoys visual not directly
activities as well. quoted. Poor
Prefers to work in fluency in
pairs or reading.
individually.
A High school Science, fantasy Logical activities Reading for
student fiction, adventure and discussions – detailed
travelling. either in a group information.
or in pairs. He is
creative, so he
likes activities in
which he can use
his imagination.

The text on appendix 1 was chosen for a group I had last semester which I know enjoyed
Harry Potter. In terms of vocabulary, the text seems challenging enough without impeding
comprehension, as long as the teacher prompts students with concept questions. The length of the
text is good enough for that group, since they are used to having texts which are usually longer and
yet, this one cannot be considered too short either.
Although it talks about a fictional character, the text is a biography, so students would have
the opportunity of both dealing with a genre that is important to their lives as well as with a topic
that they are fond of.

Lead-in

As Harmer says, one of the principles for reading is that students need to be engaged with
what they are reading (Harmer, 2010: 101), and one way of doing that is by a lead-in activity. In
addition, it gives students a glimpse of what they are going to read about, which is the starting point
for the process of reading (Harmer, 2010 :101-102).
For a lead-in activity, I would show students a picture of the character Minerva Mcgonagall
(appendix 2) and ask them what they know about her. After around at least 3 minutes of

CELTA ONLINE Assignment 3 – Language Skills-related Tasks

conversation, I would tell them to, in pairs, come up with 3 simple questions to ask to her, as if they
were going to interview her. Since they like Harry Potter universe, showing them a picture of one of
the characters would make them engaged with the topic at the same time that the “interview”
questions would make them curious about it. Once the students are done, I would write their
questions on the board.

Initial reading Task

In order to have sequencing in the lesson plan, the initial reading task for general
understanding would have to do with the lead-in activity. Students would read the text and see if
any of the questions they came up with were answered in the text. This way, students would be
reading quickly for general understanding and to check specific information. This activity would be
especially important to Henrique, who has difficulties in reading for gist. It is important to give an
easy initial task, so students get confidence in reading as the difficulty rises (Scrivener, 2005: 177).
Once they are done, they would talk to the person sitting next to them to check their answers before
correcting the activity.

Second reading task

I decided to have two activities instead of one for this group, so the difficulty would rise
more gradually in order to fit the needs of the students. Student Henrique, for example needs to be
set up a strong basis in order to be able to go from reading for gist to detailed information. Students
Fabiane and Arthur, on the other hand, are good at reading for gist, but have a hard time when it
comes to reading for detail. The first reading for detail activity aims at helping students with their
needs and preparing them for the second detailed reading activity, which is more demanding
because it demands actual text comprehension.
In pairs, students would have to put in the correct order a few events from Minerva’s life
(Appendix 3) after reading the text for the second time. Because the text is divided into two parts –
a short biography and the first heartbreak – not all events are necessarily in the order they appear in
the text. For example, after her education, she returned home one last time for summer vacations,
but this is only mentioned in the second part of the text. This sort of overlapping information makes
the activity more challenging and therefore more interesting for students.
After putting the events in order, students would be given comprehension questions
(appendix 4), so the text could be more explored - as Harmer says, one of the principles for reading
is exploring texts to the full (Harmer, 2010:10). Besides, answering questions presents advantages
to what concerns text comprehension if they are formulated by rephrasing the information from the
text instead of just quoting it in an interrogative structure. According to Ur, such questions “demand
real comprehension, and encourage an interactive, personal ‘engaging’ with the text.” (Ur, 1992:
144). These questions were designed in order to meet the needs of Fabiane and Arthur, who have
difficulties when it comes to inferring information from the text.

Productive skills follow-up activity

Follow-up activities are an essential part of a lesson plan because it is when they can
practice their productive skills. Because it is supposed to activate the students’ knowledge, it should
be designed in a way that students can communicate as freely as they can (Harmer, 2010:53). This
group of students is particularly creative, and they find great joy in role-play activities, so for a

CELTA ONLINE Assignment 3 – Language Skills-related Tasks

follow-up activity, each pair of students would be given the name of one of Hogwarts’ professors
and they would have to role-play an interview in which one of them would be the professor and the
other a reporter.

References

Harmer, J. (2010) How to Teach English, Pearson Education Limited.

Scrivener, J. (2005) Learning Teaching, Macmillan Education.
Ur, P. (1992) A Course in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press.

CELTA ONLINE Assignment 3 – Language Skills-related Tasks

Appendix 1

Professor Minerva McGonagall (4 October, (1935) was a half-blood witch, the only
daughter of Muggle Robert McGonagall and witch Isobel Ross. She had two younger brothers,
Malcolm and Robert Jr. Minerva was a registered Animagus who attended Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1947-1954 and was Sorted into Gryffindor House (but it took the
sorting hat 5 ½ minutes to decide if she was Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, therefore making her a
Hatstall). After her education, Minerva worked for two years at the Ministry of Magic and later
returned to Hogwarts, where she became Head of Gryffindor House, Transfiguration professor and
concurrently, at differing times, Deputy Headmistress and Headmistress of Hogwarts.
McGonagall was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix. In 1995, she opposed Dolores
Umbridge, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. She also protected the students from Alecto and
Amycus Carrow from 1997 until 1998, and as part of this resistance movement, fought in several
battles of both wars, including the Battle of the Astronomy Tower and the Battle of Hogwarts
(where she led the resistance against Lord Voldemort). She was also the one who confronted
Severus Snape right before the Battle of Hogwarts, resulting in him fleeing away from the school.
She survived the Second Wizarding War and continued her job as Headmistress, a title she still
holds as of Albus Potter's time at Hogwarts.

Early heartbreak (1954-1956)

After graduating from Hogwarts, Minerva was offered a position at the Department of
Magical Law Enforcement of the British Ministry of Magic. She returned to her family's manse to
spend one last summer with her family before moving to London.
During these months Minerva, aged eighteen, met Dougal McGregor, a local Muggle, who was the
handsome, clever, and funny son of a local farmer. Minerva fell head-over-heels in love with
McGregor. The two got to know each other, and eventually McGregor proposed to Minerva on a
ploughed field and she accepted his offer. That night, she was unable to tell her parents of her
engagement. Thinking about her future, Minerva realised that wedding a Muggle who did not know
that she was a witch would mean Minerva would follow her mother's footsteps and live unhappily
with her wand locked away, shredding all of her ambitions. Early next morning, Minerva went to
tell McGregor she had changed her mind, and could not marry him, aware that if she broke the
International Statute of Secrecy and told him why, she would lose the job at the Ministry for which
she was giving him up. She could give him no good reason for her change of heart. She left
McGregor devastated and left for London three days later.

Source: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Minerva_McGonagall

CELTA ONLINE Assignment 3 – Language Skills-related Tasks

Appendix 2

CELTA ONLINE Assignment 3 – Language Skills-related Tasks

Appendix 3

In order:

Minerva was born.

She joined Hogwarts as a student.
She graduated from Hogwarts.
She returned home to spend summer with her family.
She fell in love.
She started working on the ministry of Magic.
She started working as a professor at Hogwarts.
Minerva became the headmistress of Hogwarts.

CELTA ONLINE Assignment 3 – Language Skills-related Tasks

Appendix 4

1. Did Minerva get married to Dougal McGregor? What made her take such decision?
Answer: No, she did not, because if she did, she would lose her job and give up the world of
witches and wizards.

2. What was her first job after graduating from Hogwarts?

Answer: No. She worked at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the British
Ministry of Magic first.

3. The text mentions Snape and it says that he had to escape Hogwarts. Why did he do so?
Answer: Because Minerva confronted him before the battle of Hogwarts.

4. What was the consequence for Minerva’s mother for getting married to a muggle?
Answer: Her wand was locked away and she could no longer be a witch.

CELTA ONLINE Assignment 3 – Language Skills-related Tasks