English for

Academic
Purposes
Reading & Writing
Reading text 1
Lessons from Finland
Just what did Finland do to make it an
educational envy of the world? Perhaps
the most significant novelty embraced by
Finnish authorities at the national level is
their trust in educational professionals,
particularly teachers. In Finland, there is
no teacher evaluation system. Nor is there
a demand for one. Teachers are
considered professionals who do their
best work when under their own control.
In Finland, education is a highly viewed
profession where teachers generate
quality curricula and instructional
approaches from the ground up, with
guidance and support from the upper
educational levels in government.
Not only are teachers trusted with being
professionals, but they are even trusted in
how they use their time. Neither teachers
nor students in Finland are required to be
in school except when they have classes.
And when they are in classes, they usually
teach only four hours a day. The
remaining time is used for planning and
collaborating with other teachers. And
those interactions can be done at school or
at home.
In Finland, there is cooperation among
schools. Finnish teachers have the time to
network with their workmates within their
schools and with colleagues in other
schools. In the United States, we have
schools in competition with schools
statewide and nationwide. Race to the
Top fosters a market mentality among
schools. Whoever wins the “race” gets the
“gold medal.” And to add more “sport” to
the competition, we have charter schools,
independent schools, and private schools
also vying to be the best.
Teachers in Finland live up to the trust
they have been given approaching their
vocation as nurturers of personalized and
individualized learning. All children are
unique, and teachers must accommodate
the curriculum to the varied and unique
needs of students. The national
curriculum, which is essentially a
pamphlet, provides a general overview.
However, teachers within individual
schools are responsible for generating
school-based curricula and personalized
pedagogies. They often base their
educational planning on current research
studies. In fact, educational
researcher is a role that many teachers
assume. And the flexibility of their
teaching schedules provides time for
both individual and collaborative
research efforts.
(Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2018).
Curriculum: Foundations, Principles, and
Issues (7th ed.). Essex, England: Pearson
Education.)
Reading Worksheet 1

Activity 1 Understanding a text

I. Match the terms 1-3 on the left with the best description a-c on the right.
1 topic a the most important idea that the author wants to express
2 purpose b what the text is about
3 main idea c the reason for writing the text

II. Look at the Reading text 1. Note the topic, purpose and main idea of the
text in your own words.
Topic: _____________________________________________________________________________________
Purpose: __________________________________________________________________________________
Main idea: ________________________________________________________________________________
Teacher’s Guide - Reading

Activity 1 Understanding a text

Aims:
 To help students distinguish between the topic, purpose and idea of a text
 To help students learn what not to read and contrast reading for detail and
reading for general information
Materials:
 Reading text 1
 Reading worksheet 1
Level: Intermediate / B1
Time: 20 minutes
Methodology:
 Give students Reading text 1 and Reading worksheet 1.
 Ask them to first work on their own and complete exercise 1 in the
Worksheet. Give them a time limit. When time’s up, have them compare
their answers with a partner, then give them the correct answers and
explain the terms.
 Ask them to work on their own again and skim the text. Give them a time
limit that will allow them only to skim.
 Arrange them in groups and ask them not to look at the text again. Tell them
to work together to complete exercise 2.
 When they have finished, ask them to compare their answers with students
from other groups.
 Call for answers from the groups and give feedback.
 Wrap up the activity.
Answer keys:
I 1-b ; 2-c ; 3-a
II Suggested answers:
Topic: Education in Finland
Purpose: That the readers have some notion of what forces have enabled the success
of the educational system in Finland
Main idea: Reasons behind the success of education in Finland
Reading text 2

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PEER FEEDBACK

It has been suggested that peer assessment is
not costly in terms of teachers’ time.
However, some authors (e.g., Falchikov,
2001) caution that there might be no saving
of time in the short to medium term, since
establishing good quality peer assessment
requires time for organization, training and
monitoring. Of course, time might be saved
in the longer term. If peer assessment
continues to be supplementary to teacher
feedback rather than a substitution for it,
then no time saving is likely. However, peer
assessment can lead teachers to scrutinize assessment, for which peer assessments
and clarify assessment objectives and could drift toward leniency.
purposes, criteria, and grading scales.
Additionally, there are likely to be Both assessors and assessees can experience
metacognitive benefits for teachers as well initial anxiety about the peer assessment
as learners. process. Giving positive feedback first will
reduce assessee anxiety and improve
Any group can suffer from negative social subsequent acceptance of negative feedback.
processes, such as social loafing (failing to In addition, students should be told that peer
participate), free rider effects (having the assessment involves students directly in
work of others accepted as one’s own), learning, and should promote a sense of
diffusion of responsibility, and interaction ownership, personal responsibility, and
disabilities (Salomon & Globerson, 1989). motivation. Teachers can also point out that
Social processes can influence and peer assessment can increase variety and
contaminate the reliability and validity of interest, activity and interactivity,
peer assessments. Peer assessments can be identification and bonding, self-confidence,
partly determined by friendship bonds, and empathy with others for assessors,
enmity, other power processes, group assessees, or both.
popularity of individuals, perception of
(Topping, K. J., (2010). Peers as a Source of
criticism as socially uncomfortable or
Formative Assessment. In H. L. Andrade & G. J.
rejecting and inviting reciprocation, or
Cizek (Eds.), Handbook of Formative Assessment
collusion to submit average scores leading to (pp. 61-74). New York: Routledge.)
lack of differentiation. Social influences
could be particularly strong with high stakes
Reading Worksheet 2

Activity 2 Predicting the content of a text

Read the title and decide which three of the items a-d you would expect the
text to include.
a A definition or explanation of peer feedback
b Information about the pros of peer feedback
c Information about the cons of peer feedback
d Strategies of using peer feedback effectively
Teacher’s Guide – Reading

Activity 2 Predicting the content of a text

Aims: To train students to make predictions and guesses about a text
Materials:
 Reading text 2
 Reading worksheet 2
Level: Intermediate / B1
Time: 20 minutes
Methodology:
 Give students Reading text 2 and Reading worksheet 2.
 Ask them to work on their own and complete exercise 1 in the worksheet.
Give them a time limit and when time’s up, tell them to compare their
choices with another students.
 Ask them to work on their own again and skim the text. Give them a time
limit that will allow them only to skim.
 Tell them to check if their predictions in exercise 1 were correct.
 Ask them to mark/highlight the parts of the text that are related to the items
in exercise 1. Give them a time limit.
 When time’s up, call for answers from some students then give feedback.
 Wrap up the activity.
Answer keys: b-c-d
b (… However, peer assessment can lead teachers to scrutinize and clarify assessment
objectives and purposes, criteria, and grading scales. Additionally, there are likely to
be metacognitive benefits for teachers as well as learners.)
c (… Social influences could be particularly strong with high stakes assessment, for
which peer assessments could drift toward leniency.)
d (… In addition, students should be told that peer assessment involves students
directly in learning, and should promote a sense of ownership, personal responsibility,
and motivation. Teachers can also point out that peer assessment can increase
variety and interest, activity and interactivity, identification and bonding, self-
confidence, and empathy with others for assessors, assessees, or both.)
Reading text 3
A TEACHING PORTFOLIO
Teachers we have worked with find that
a portfolio serves a number of purposes.
First, it provides a demonstration of
how a teacher approaches his or her
work and presents evidence of the
teacher’s thinking, creativity,
resourcefulness, and effectiveness. The
portfolio can thus be submitted to a
supervisor or manager as evidence of
the standard of the teacher’s
performance.
Second, a portfolio serves as a source of
review and reflection. The process of
compiling the portfolio prompts the
teacher to engage in a comprehensive
self-assessment of different aspects of
his or her work. By reviewing the
portfolio (in consultation with a
colleague or supervisor, if necessary),
the teacher can make decisions about
priorities and goals and areas for future
development or improvement.
Third, a portfolio can promote
collaboration with other teachers. For
example, it can become part of the
process of peer coaching (see Chapter
10); the peer reviews and discusses the
portfolio and uses it to give feedback
about the teacher’s work. A particularly
useful type of portfolio is one that is part
of a team-teaching collaboration in
which two teachers create a joint
portfolio to accompany a class they both
teach.
Two metaphors, the mirror and the map,
summarize some of the benefits of
assembling a teaching portfolio.
 Mirror. The mirror metaphor captures
the reflective nature of a portfolio as it
allows the teacher to view himself or
herself over time. The portfolio
contains samples of the teacher’s work
that illustrate a range of teaching skills
and activities. It is usually created with
a particular audience and purpose in
mind. The focus is thus outward,
toward other people, such as a
colleague or supervisors. This
influences the kinds of things that are
included in the portfolio. The portfolio
as mirror allows a teacher to reflect on
his or her achievements as a teacher.
 Map. The map metaphor captures the
idea of creating a plan and setting
goals. After reviewing the evidence
collected over time, the teacher can set
immediate and longer-term goals.
This is a process of review and self-
assessment and deciding where one
has arrived in one’s development as a
teacher and where one would like to go
next. In this sense, the portfolio is like
a map.
(Richards, J., & Farrell, T. (2005). Professional
development for language teachers: Strategies for
teacher learning. New York: Cambridge University
Press.)
Reading Worksheet 3

Activity 3 Understanding the main ideas in a long text

I. Identify the two aspects of creating a teaching portfolio that are mentioned
in the text.
1 _____________________________________
2 _____________________________________

II. Complete the notes using information from the text.

Teaching portfolio: 2 aspects

Aspect 1: (a) __________
i Demonstration of teacher’s approach
 Evidence of (b) __________ __________
ii Review and (c) __________
 Self-assessment
 Areas for future development
iii (d) __________
 Peer coaching
 Team teaching
Aspect 2: (e) __________
i Mirror: Teachers can reflect on their own (f) __________.
ii Map: Teachers can set (g) __________ for themselves, both in the near
future and in the long run.
Teacher’s Guide - Reading

Activity 3 Understanding the main ideas in a long text

Aims:
To train students to skim through long texts
Materials:
 Reading text 3
 Reading worksheet 3
Level: Intermediate / B1
Time: 20 minutes
Methodology:
 Give students Reading text 3 and Reading worksheet 3.
 Ask them to work on their own and skim the text. Give them a time limit
that will allow them only to skim.
 Call for answers for exercise 1 from the class and give feedback.
 Ask students to work on their own again and do exercise 2. Give them a
time limit; when time’s up, have them compare their answers with each
other.
 Call for answers from some students, then give feedback.
 Wrap up the activity.
Answer keys:
I Purposes and benefits of a teaching portfolio
II a-Purposes ; b-performance standard ; c-reflection ; d-collaboration ; e-
Benefits ; f-achievements ; g-goals
Writing Worksheet 1

Activity 1
Identifying and discussing the key features of a summary

I. Read the summary below of Reading text 3 and evaluate it using the “4Cs”
criteria.
A teaching portfolio can serve as evidence of the teacher’s work while also
doubling as a basis for self-assessment. As such, it facilitates the reflective
process in which teachers look at their own achievements and set further goals
for themselves. A portfolio can also help with collaborative teaching practices.

The “4Cs” criteria

An effective summary is
Complete: It includes all the main ideas, but not supporting details or examples.
Concise: It is as brief as possible, and shorter than the original text.
Clear: It is easy to understand.
Creative: It uses some key terms from the text, but mainly uses the summary
writer’s own language.

II. Identify the weaknesses and possible areas for improvement in the
summary. Discuss how to improve these areas.
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Teacher’s Guide - Writing

Activity 1
Identifying and discussing the key features of a summary

Aims:
 To help students learn the criteria of a summary
 To train students to evaluate a summary
Materials:
 Reading text 3
 Writing worksheet 1
Level: Intermediate / B1
Time: 20 minutes
Methodology:
 Give students Writing worksheet 1.
 Ask them to skim through Reading text 3 again. Give them a time limit that
will allow them only to skim.
 Arrange them in groups and ask them to evaluate if the summary in exercise
1 is complete, concise, clear, and creative. Call for opinions from some
groups.
 Ask the class to organize the opinions into points about weaknesses of the
summary. Conduct a discussion on how to improve these points, reminding
them of the “4Cs” criteria.
 Summarize the discussed ideas and wrap up the activity when time is up.
Suggested answers:
1. The summary is nearly complete as it includes almost all the main ideas of
the original text, but leaves out supporting details or examples, although it fails
to distinguish between the purposes and benefits of a teaching portfolio as the
original text does.
The summary is concise as it has brevity and a shorter length than that of the
original text.
The summary is clear, but the order of main ideas is different from that of the
original text.
The summary is written using the writer’s own language, with little recycling
of key terms.
2. Students’ own answers.
Writing Worksheet 2 – Page 1

Activity 2 Writing the summary of a paragraph

I. Read the paragraph and the summary that follows. Identify the parts of the
original paragraph that are included in the summary.

Action Research
Action research (AR) is part of a broad movement that has been going on in education
generally for some time. It is related to the ideas of ‘reflective practice’ and ‘the
teacher as researcher’. AR involves taking a self-reflective, critical, and systematic
approach to exploring your own teaching contexts. By critical, I don’t mean being
negative and derogatory about the way you teach but taking a questioning and
‘problematising’ stance towards your teaching. My term, problematising, doesn’t
imply looking at your teaching as if it is ineffective and full of problems. Rather, it
means taking an area you feel could be done better, subjecting it to questioning, and
then developing new ideas and alternatives. So, in AR, a teacher becomes an
‘investigator’ or ‘explorer’ of his or her personal teaching context, while at the same
time being one of the participants in it.
(Burns, A. (2010). Doing action research in English language teaching: A guide for practitioners. New
York: Routledge.)

Summary - Action Research

Action research (AR) refers to teacher-conducted research which critically

investigates a teaching issue or problem and resolves it by adopting a course of
action.

Original Text Summary

Writing Worksheet 2 – Page 2

II. Read the paragraph below and write notes on the main ideas. Use your
notes to write a summary of the paragraph.
Placement Tests
Placement tests, as their name suggests, are intended to provide information that will
help to place students at the stage (or in the part) of the teaching programme most
appropriate to their abilities. Typically, they are used to assign students to classes at
different levels. Placement tests can be bought, but this is to be recommended only
when the institution concerned is sure that the test being considered suits its
particular teaching programme. No one placement test will work for every institution,
and the initial assumption about any test that is commercially available must be that
it will not work well. One possible exception is placement tests designed for use by
language schools, where the similarity of popular text books used in them means that
the schools’ teaching programmes also tend to resemble each other.
(Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for language teachers (2th ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge
University Press.)

Note-taking
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Summary
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Writing Worksheet 2 – Page 3

III. Compare your summary with another group’s. Use the table below to
evaluate your work.

Your group’s The other group’s

Criteria
summary summary

Complete
(Does it include the main
idea from the original text
but not the supporting
ideas and examples?)

Concise
(Is it significantly shorter
than the original text?)

Clear
(Is it easy to understand?)

Creative
(Does the writer use their
own language?)
Teacher’s Guide - Writing

Activity 2 Writing the summary of a paragraph

Aims:
 To provide students with model summaries of paragraphs
 To help students practice writing a summary of a paragraph
Materials: Writing worksheet 2
Level: Intermediate / B1
Time: 40 minutes
Methodology:
 Give students Writing worksheet 2.
 Ask students to read the paragraph and summary in exercise 1. Allow
some time for the reading.
 Ask them to work in pairs and complete exercise 1.
 Call for answers from some pairs and give feedback.
 Arrange students in groups and give them some time to complete exercise
2. Make sure the number of groups is even.
 Call for some groups to provide their answers. Ask them to identify which
parts of the original paragraph are included in their notes.
 Ask the groups to write a summary of the paragraph using their notes.
Give them some time to finish their work.
 Ask every two groups to compare their work with each other. Remind
them to fill in the table in exercise 3 with their comments.
 Call for report from some groups, including the summary and the filled-in
table.
 Give feedback and wrap up the activity.
Suggested answers:
I The comparison chart is as followed
Original Text Summary
‘the teacher as researcher’; a teacher becomes an teacher-conducted
‘investigator’ or ‘explorer’ research which critically
a self-reflective, critical, and systematic approach investigates
to exploring your own teaching contexts
a teaching issue or problem
taking an area you feel could be done better,
resolves it by adopting a
subjecting it to questioning
developing new ideas and alternatives course of action.

II Students’ own answers.

III Students’ own answers.
Content and
Language
Integrated
Learning
Geography
Worksheet 1 - Student A

Worksheet 1 - Student B
Teacher’s Guide

Activity 1 ASEAN countries and their capitals

Aims:
 To provide students with knowledge about the names of ASEAN countries
and their capitals
 To develop students’ map reading skills
Materials: Worksheet 1
Level: Intermediate / B1
Time: 10 minutes
Methodology:
 Ask students if they know how many countries there are in ASEAN. Lead in
to the activity.
 Divide students into pairs.
 Give each student in the same pair a different version of worksheet 1 (One
student gets worksheet 1A, and the other gets worksheet 1B).
 Explain that the worksheet illustrates the map of the ASEAN region with 10
countries and their capitals.
 Ask students work on their own worksheet first, labelling the 10 ASEAN
countries with their respective capitals in 5 minutes.
 After 5 minutes, students compare their answers with their partners’ to see
how accurately they labelled the map
 Guide students to look at the larger map on the board.
 Ask a pair to label the map on the board.
 Give feedback and wap up the activity
Answers:
Brunei - Bandar Seri Begawan
Cambodia - Phnom Penh
Indonesia - Jakarta
Laos - Vientiane
Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur
Myanmar - Naypyidaw
The Philippines - Manila
Singapore - Singapore
Thailand - Bangkok
Vietnam - Hanoi
Worksheet 2

Fact File

Features Singapore Thailand ______________

Capital

Population

Main
religion(s)

Language(s)

Climate

Currency

Public
transport

Economy
Worksheet 3 – Student A

Singapore
Though physically small, Singapore is an
economic giant. Because of its efficient and
determined government, Singapore has grown
rapidly since independence and has become
one of the world's most prosperous countries
that excel in trade and tourism. Just recently,
Singapore was ranked second out of 140
economies in the World Economic Forum
Global Competitiveness Index.

The capital city of Singapore, also called Singapore, covers about a third of the area of the main island.
In Singapore, there is no need for a car. The bus and the mass rapid transit systems are excellent, and
walking is also good way to explore the city. Located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore's
tropical climate welcomes both leisure and business travellers year round. Since the city is only 60
miles (100k) from the equator, the tropical temperatures do not vary much. Rainfall is fairly evenly
distributed through the year. No matter when you choose to visit, warm weather will be abundantly
available.

Singapore has a population of about 5 million. Despite its small size, Singapore is seen as a multi-racial
country with the largest group is Chinese who made up of 75% of the population. The rest of the
population of Singapore is made up of Malay (14%), Indians (9%) and Eurasians (2%). Although the
National language is Malay, English is still used in Singapore as a language of administration. Most of
the people in Singapore speak fluent English, and at times, you will hear some Singlish mixed into their
daily conversations.

Worksheet 3 – Student B

Thailand
Thailand is the geographical heart of South-
East Asia with Bangkok as its capital. Over
the last four decades, Thailand has made
remarkable progress in social and economic
development, moving from a low-income
country to an upper-income country in less
than a generation.

Thailand can be an extremely hot and soggy

place. Its tropical climate is divided into
three seasons: cool in November to February, hot in March to May, and rainy in June to October.

Today Thailand has a population of 54 million people, the vast majority of whom are of Thai ethnicity.
Significant minorities of Chinese, Malay, Khmer, Mons, and various hill tribes also reside in Thailand.
Buddhism is the dominant religion in Thailand, and the main language in Thailand is Thai, although
Lao, Chinese, Malay and English are also spoken by significant numbers of people.

Transportation in Thailand can be very chaotic and varied. Motorbikes and bicycles are the main mode
of transport in rural areas and are generally used for short distances, while bus transportation
dominates in Bangkok and is preferred for long distances. If tourists are keen to do a bit of shopping,
the Thai Baht is the everyday currency used to purchase goods and services in this beautiful tropical
country.
Teacher’s Guide

Activity 2 Fact File

Aims:
 To provide students with knowledge about the human geography of
Singapore and Thailand
 To develop students’ note-taking skills and skills of reading for details
Materials:
 Worksheet 2
 Worksheet 3
Level: Intermediate / B1
Time: 20 minutes
Methodology:
 Give students Worksheet 2.
 Ask students to first work individually, thinking about what they have
already known of the countries in the first two colum.
 Randomly distribute Worksheet 3 to the students so that half the class have
version 3A – Singapore and half the class have 3B - Thailand.
 Ask students to read the texts they receive and complete the respective
column on their own in 5 minutes.
 After 5 minutes, ask students to stand up, go around the class and find
someone who has the other text to exchange information.
 Students go around the class to share their information.
 Ask some students to report the information in their fact files.
 Give feedback and wap up the activity.
Answers:
Worksheet 4

A. Match the words in column I to their definitions in column II

I II
1 prosperous a the business of buying and selling
2 trade goods or services

3 peninsula b uncommon and outstanding

4 remarkable c without any order or organisation

5 soggy d unpleasantly wet

6 reside e a portion of land nearly surrounded by

water and connected with a larger
7 chaotic body
f live or have a home
g rich and successful

B. Fill in the blanks using the correct words from the box
prosperous trade peninsula remarkable
soggy reside chaotic
1 The country's in manufactured goods has expanded in the last
ten years.
2 Since the 1990s, interest in the history of South Korean, especially the ancient
period, has increased significantly as the country has become more .
3 It remains how quickly Indonesia established itself as the
largest economy in Southeast Asia.
4 Traffic in Ho Chi Minh city is usually during rush hours.
5 Recently, there has been an increase in the number of foreign citizens who
choose to permanently in the Philippines.
6 The island nation of Singapore at the southern tip of the Malay has
been a center of business for at least 1,700 years.
7 It is forecast that a weather pattern is back for the local area over
the next seven to ten days.
Teacher’s Guide

Activity 3 Vocabulary

Aims: To provide students with vocabulary to talk about the human geography
of a country
Materials:
 Worksheet 3
 Worksheet 4
Level: Intermediate / B1
Time: 10 minutes
Methodology:
 Give students both versions of Worksheet 3 and Worksheet 4.
 Ask students to look at exercise A and match the words in column I to their
definitions in column II. Remind them that the words are taken from the
texts about Singapore and Thailand.
 Ask some students to provide the answers.
 Give feedback.
 Ask students to look at exercise B and fill the gaps in the sentences with the
correct words from the box.
 Ask some students to provide the answers.
 Give feedback and wrap up the activity.
Answers:
A 1g ; 2a ; 3e ; 4b ; 5d ; 6f ; 7c
B 1 trade ; 2 prosperous ; 3 remarkable ; 4 chaotic ; 5 reside ; 6 peninsula ; 7 soggy
Teacher’s Guide

Activity 4 Mini Project

Aims:
 To increase students’ knowledge of the human geography of the countries
of their choices
 To help students use the learned vocabulary to talk about the human
geography of the countries of their choices
 To develop students’ skills of writing about the human geography of a
country.
Materials:
 Worksheet 2
Level: Intermediate / B1
Time: 40 minutes
Methodology:
 Divide students in to groups of 5-6 people.
 Ask students to work in groups, choose a country they like and plan a similar
fact file for that country using the table in Worksheet 2. Students should
have access to the Internet.
 Ask students to then write a short text about that country using their fact
files. Students can decorate their texts to their liking.
 After the groups have finished writing their introductory texts, tell them to
stick their pieces of writing on a board, which can be used to decorate the
classroom.
 Class members read and vote for the best piece of writing during the
following week.