- •Linguistic Education and Intercultural Communication
- •1 Look at the images above and say what you know about these organizations and their role in promoting foreign language learning and teaching policy.
- •2 Generate ideas on the following issues.
- •1 Read the following excerpt from Jeremy Harmer’s book ‘How to Teach English’ and say what the difference between acquisition and learning is.
- •What is ‘Plurilingualism’?
- •2 Decide if the statements are True or False:
- •3 Scan the text again and give the suitable words and phrases to match the following definitions.
- •Plurilingualism/Multilingualism in Various Countries
- •Vocabulary
- •1 Read the excerpt from the article and note down the key words that best fit each space, there is an example at the beginning. Definition of Culture Learning
- •2 Word formation: Read the other extract from the article and using the word given, form a word that fits in the space in the same line. Dynamic View of Culture
- •3 Read the following passage and take notes on the main points of the reading passage.
- •A Round-table discussion
- •Introduction
- •Summary
- •Critique
- •1 Study the excerpt from the report of the British Commission on languages and complete the gaps with suitable language forms. Refer to the information on ‘Expressions with Future Meaning’.
- •1 Expressions with Future Meaning
- •2 Paraphrase the sentence using the word given.
- •3 Study the excerpt and complete the gaps with suitable language forms. Refer to the information on ‘Modifying Comparisons’
- •2 Modifying Comparisons
- •4 Read the sentences and choose the correct word or phrase:
- •3 Watch the part of Stephen Krashen’s lecture ‘Fundamentals of Language Acquisition and Bilingual Education’ at
- •3 Express your opinion on the following questions.
- •1 Conduct a survey.
- •2 Discuss the following questions.
- •2 Read the text again and create a comparative chart of the text, outlining the following:
- •3 Write an analytical overview of the text (in about 1000 words), focusing on the following:
- •1 Skim the text and name two issues that the author describes and compares.
- •2 Study the text again and prepare a comparative analysis of the following aspects:
- •3 Identify the italicized words in the excerpt and explain their meaning, illustrate it with examples.
- •4 Match the following words and their definitions.
- •5 Read the following sentences and fill in the gaps with suitable words.
- •1 Study the examples and choose the suitable language forms. Refer to the information on ‘Gradable and Ungradable Adjectives’
- •2 Choose the word or phrase which does not fit the sentence.
- •3 Talk about foreign language teacher preparation, using gradable and ungradable adjectives.
- •1 Read the questions and express your opinion.
- •1 If you had to continue writing the article, what would you tell about language teacher preparation in the period between the 2000s and the present period?
- •2 Analyze the main peculiarities of the issues under consideration and produce a scheme (a table, or an association map, etc.) to support your answer.
- •Foreign Language Teacher Preparation in Different Countries
- •3 Process:
- •4 Which four of the following are mentioned by the writer of the text?
- •Vocabulary
- •2 Read the following sentences and fill in the gaps with suitable words.
- •1 Comment on the following information. To what extent do you think the situation described in the text is relevant for the Republic of Kazakhstan?
- •2 Analyze the possible downsides of learning a language, rank them in order of their significance, then offer the solution for each one.
- •Vocabulary
- •1 Read the passage about General Certificate of Secondary Education in the United Kingdom and fill in the gaps with missing words. There is an example at the beginning (0).
- •Learning Styles (free) Intro.Mov
- •2 Match each sentence with the correct ending, a-g, below.
- •Vocabulary
- •1 Find out the meaning of the following words (consult the dictionary if necessary).
- •2 Read the following sentences and fill in the gaps with suitable words; there may be one or two words missing.
- •3 Give your opinion on the ideas of the text, compare the situation to the one in the Republic of Kazakhstan; use the words and phrases indicated.
- •1 Study the news excerpt from ‘Economist’ and paraphrase the information presented, using the ‘Impersonal Passive Structures’. Refer to the tips if necessary.
- •Impersonal Passive Structures
- •2 Read the sentences and choose the correct structure.
- •3 Write a passage about languages taught at school in the Republic of Kazakhstan, using at least eight examples of impersonal passive structures.
- •Video watching
- •2 Create a press-release of the Education Secretary’s speech/front page of a newspaper about modern languages education in the United Kingdom (or the Republic of Kazakhstan, the usa, etc.).
- •1 Discuss the following issues.
- •2 Read the text and find the answers to these questions. Language Education in the us
- •3 Choose the answer (a-d) to the following questions.
- •A Role Play.
- •The Agenda.
- •Foreign Language Education in the Republic of Kazakhstan
- •1 Intro:
- •1 Look through the text and say which of the following might be the main idea of the author:
- •What language do they speak in Jersey?
- •3 Read the passage and analyze the conversation according to the following aspects:
- •A conversation between a tefl professor and a student after class
- •4 Work with a partner: Create a scheme of the conversation, and then reproduce the conversation according to the scheme you have created.
- •5 Role play the following situations.
- •1 Read the following situations and talk to your partner analyzing and commenting on them, as well as offering a solution to the problems described:
- •7 Read the information given and express your point of view on the problem. Teaching 21st Century Skills
- •8 Read the information given and express your point of view on the problem.
- •A Conference.
- •A Discussion
- •A Role Play
- •A Polemic Discourse
- •A Discussion Club
- •1 Intro: a Discussion Club
- •The Debate Club
- •1 Intro: a Debate
- •1 Discuss the following issues:
- •2 Read the following role-cards and be ready to participate in the round table discussion on the theme above.
- •A Case Study ‘Global World and Knowledge of Foreign Languages’
- •1 Read the following case and be ready to discuss the following stories of people who share their experience and opinions on studying foreign languages.
- •'A language looks good on your cv'
- •'There was no one at school to inspire you'
- •'It's fun to teach your toddler'
- •'We weren't learning stuff that would be useful if you went to the country'
- •1 Choose one of the topics 1-4 and write your essay in 300-350 words in an appropriate style.
- •2 Choose one of the questions 1-6 and write your answer in 300-350 words in an appropriate style.
What language do they speak in Jersey?
Australian: What language do they speak in Jersey? Scotsman: English. Australian: But like they don’t speak French? Scotsman: Jersey patois occasionally. Australian: What is that? Scotsman: A cross between French and English. Australian: Like, can French people understand it, do you know? Scotsman: No. English people cannot understand it either. It is indigenous to Jersey. I think they can pretty much get a gauge of it, but… Australian: It is a mixture of French and English? Scotsman: Yeah. That is good coming from a Scotsman, isn’t it? Australian: What is the capital of Jersey? Scotsman: St Helier.
http://englishconversations.org/2009/09/20/what-language-do-they-speak-in-jersey
2 Analyze the conversation:
the speakers
its main idea
its sociocultural context
3 Role play the conversation, and then discuss the linguistic varieties that are widespread in the regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
SAMPLE 2
1 Listen to the discussion between a TEFL professor and a student after class, and take notes on its main points: TOEFL_conversation_48.
2 Listen to the discussion again and answer the questions:
1) Which best describes why the student initiated this conversation?
(A) To protest an opinion
(B) To state a position
(C) To clarify a statement
(D) To take a different viewpoint
2) According to their conversation, which is NOT a problem with teaching grammar rules?
(A) It slows language acquisition.
(B) It affects the learner negatively.
(C) The teacher becomes a dictator.
(D) The rules are all inaccurate.
3) The professor explains that if a student says, "I don't brought my homework", it is an example of
(A) Past tense misconstruction
(B) Double negation
(C) Prescriptive grammar
(D) Student lack of confidence
4) Why does the student say this: "Soon college-educated, I hope!"?
(A) She is worried about graduating.
(B) She is being modest about her ability.
(C) She wants to get a good mark from the professor.
(D) She wants her students to attend college, too.
5) Which might make the best title for the professor's next lecture?
(A) Business and Academic English
(B) Prescriptive vs Descriptive Grammar
(C) Teaching English Grammar
(D) Optimal Language Acquisition
3 Read the passage and analyze the conversation according to the following aspects:
What could you tell about the participants of the conversation?
What kind of social-and-role relationships do they have?
What are their motives to socialize with each other?
What is the topic, subject matter and content of the conversation?
What could you tell about the form of the conversation and its type?
What is the result of the conversation?
A conversation between a tefl professor and a student after class
Professor Dickens: Hello, Linda. Can I help you? Linda Wright: Yes, professor. I was wondering about what you said at the, at the end of your lecture, about the dangers of prescriptive grammar? PD: Yes? LW: And well, you said that, uh, prescriptive grammar-- I mean, teaching the rules of how grammarians think people should use English-- actually impedes learning, right? PD: Yes, that's what I said, Linda. It does impede learning, it impedes language acquisition. Studies have actually shown that. LW: But what bothers me, I guess, is that, well-- all I've ever studied is prescriptive grammar, then. That's what I've learned, and that's what I use, and that's what I know, I think. When I was in school, when I was growing up in Denver-- we learned "I before E", we learned to avoid "ain't", and double negatives, and "they" as a singular pronoun, and "between you and I", and so on, and well, just a whole slew of rules that you'd call prescriptive, I'm sure. PD: Yes. Yes, I would-- many of them. LW: So you're saying that we shouldn't teach any of that? PD: "Teach"? No, you really shouldn't try to "teach" those kinds of grammar rules. LW: Because they're not good rules? PD: Well, no, that's not it at all. Now, you've just listed a few "rules" that actually range very widely between good and bad. It's true that some of your students are going to need to know, to be aware of, many of those rules eventually. When they're writing business reports or college essays, for instance. But if you fill their lessons with rules, if your students are always worrying about being "right" or "wrong" instead of relaxing and just focusing on communicating, then those rules really get in the way of the learning process, of the process of language acquisition. LW: But then...when-- or how-- do we...? PD: Discourage double negatives? Get them to say "between you and me"? By example, mostly. You need to have confidence in your own English as a model-- you're a native speaker, after all-- a college-educated English speaker...almost. LW (laughs): Soon college-educated, I hope! PD (laughs): Yes, I'm sure you will be. So have confidence in your own English, the English you use. Your students will hear you. They'll pay attention to how you speak, to what you say. LW: But how does that help them exactly? PD: It lets them realize for themselves those many small elements of the language that preoccupy some grammarians so much. Tell me, Linda, why do TEFL students take classes? LW: Well...to learn to speak English, don't they? PD: Precisely! So that's what you want them to be able to do, to be doing, in class-- speaking English. Now, if I'm a student and I say to you, "I don't brought my homework today"-- do you understand what I mean? LW: Well, uh, sure-- you mean you didn't bring your homework. PD: So-- I communicated successfully, didn't I? LW: Well, yes...but-- PD: And it's important that that success should be rewarded. But if the teacher responds instead with "No, you should say 'didn't bring'", then the student all too often feels embarrassed or chastened, or he loses self-confidence. Not all of them, of course. But many do. The student withdraws psychologically from participation in the communication process-- and this is deadly. This is dangerous. What you want to do is complete the communicative act. Say something like, "Oh, that's OK if you didn't bring it today. Just bring it tomorrow." LW: Oh! So... PD: So, that way you haven't "taught" negative past formation, you have just presented it in the process of communicating. The student is happy that you understood his English, and he's happy that you're not angry about his forgetting his homework-- and he may have noticed how you formed that verb phrase. Or if he didn't, he may notice it next time. Research shows that, over time, this kind of positive reinforcement produces a much steeper learning curve. LW: Yeah? PD: And the students, on average, attain fluency much more quickly. LW: Well, I guess that makes sense, then... PD: What I'm arguing against, actually, is not prescriptive grammar per se-- English does have rules that speakers are judged by-- what I'm protesting is prescriptive teaching, with the teacher as lawgiver. That's what can be counter-productive. LW: I think I'm beginning to get it, Doctor Dickens. Thank you very much. Will you be talking more about this later? PD: Oh, yes. We'll be discussing this in detail in our next class. So don't be late! LW (laughs): OK, I won't. Thank you for your time. See you Tuesday.
http://www.english-test.net/toefl/listening