Language teaching classroom

Question 1

Teaching grammar…

Answer 1

By making them aware of patrons or teaching them rules and some grammatical terms. It can makes language easier for some learners, but others (young and children) may not find it useful.

Question 2

Learning grammatical rules…

Answer 2

Just it doesn’t teach people how to communicate, it’s neccesary to use functions, language skills, fluency and communication.

Question 3

Knowing a word…

Answer 3

It implies an understanding of its form and meaning (what part of the speech it is, pronounciation, spelt and all the meaning it can have). The three things that a learner needs at firts are: Most frequent denotative meaning, spelling and pronounciation.

Question 4

Consolidated memory

Answer 4

It is reached when learners meet a word again and again (as they advance in their knowledge) until the will get to know more about the word. This can be done through extension activities: brainstorming, labelling, categorising or making lexical sets.

Question 5

Key words and exposure.

Answer 5

The words we recognise are called our “receptive” vocabulary; the ones we can use are our “productive” vocabulary. The first ones are the words a teacher exposes his alumns. The second one is the vocabulary that a teacher require to their students to learn: Key words.

Question 6

The way of teaching new words

Answer 6

It’s useful to teach them in context rather than isolated.

Question 7

How to extent the vocabulary?

Answer 7

Using the relationship in meaning between words (synonyms, lexical sets, word families, etc.) and the ways we can built a word (affixes, compounds).

Question 8

Warnings of teaching new words.

Answer 8

We need to check if those new words have any false friend, homophones or homonyms.

Question 9

Teaching beginners and young learners vocabulary

Answer 9

We need to teach general words for categories (E.g. clothes) and then items for each category (E.g. jeans, skirt, etc.)
Also, we can highlight chunks.

Question 10

How to teach pronunciation?

Answer 10

We can use activities like word stress, sentence stress or minimal pairs (words distinguished by only one phoneme: ship and sheep).
Also focusing in their main problematics phonemes; teaching few at a time.
Some learners and youngers may not find the symbols useful at all.

Question 11

Functional approach

Answer 11

Classes often organised around functions or chunks.

Learners can be taught how to write by exponents for greeting, complaining, etc.

Question 12

Lead-in activities

Answer 12

Generally involve looking at the pictures around a text or at the title and trying to predict what the text will be about. They can be brainstorming; discussing a general topic; talking about experiences or predicting vocabulary.

Question 13

Graded readers

Answer 13

Books with language made easier for language learners. This is a way of giving learners extensive reading practice and helping them build their confidence and consolidate language.

Question 14

Structure of reading leason.

Answer 14

1. Introductory activities: focusing on the topic; preteaching vocabulary or predicting content.
2. Main activities: comprenhension activities since the general to the detail.
3. Post-task activities: to talk about the topic.

Question 15

Reading aloud…

Answer 15

The purpose is not reading to get information if not to check learners’ pronounciation. It’s more useful after other work on comprehension of the text has been completed.

Question 16

Primary level

Answer 16

We may spend a lo of time teaching learners how to form letters and words. How they join together and how to write short sentences, often by coping. This also can be true for learners whose first language does not use the roman alphabet.

Question 17

Secondary level

Answer 17

We may focus on kinds of accuracy; communication skills required to write longer texts such as letters, email, etc.

Question 18

Activities for accuracy in writing

Answer 18

Labelling, copying, sentence completion, gap-filling, sentence transformation, proofreading, etc.

Question 19

Activities for practicing communication through writing

Answer 19

Story completion, jumbled picture stories, writing birthday cards, emails or invitations.

Question 20

Writing approach

Answer 20

They move from planning their work to drafting it, and then on to editing, re-drafting and proofreading.

Question 21

How to help students listening skill?

Answer 21

Pre-teaching words; setting pre-listening tasks; focusing on gist at first listening and playing the recording more than once.

Question 22

Authentic texts and simplified texts

Answer 22

The first ones allow learners to deal with the challenge of real language. The second ones allow them to build up their confidence.

Question 23

How to help stundents to deal with aspects of listening?

Answer 23

We can do short activities. E.g. a 5-minute activity on minimal pairs, word stress or dictation.

Question 24

Structure of listening lesson.

Answer 24

1. Introductory activities: Pre teach important vocabulary and ecourage their knowledge of the world.
2. Main activities: Activities from general to more detailed listening.
3. Post activities: To talk about how the topic of the text relates to their own life.

Question 25

How to help learners with speaking?

Answer 25

Practicing fluency, pronounciation, registers, grammatical accuracy, body language, interactive strategies, interactive speaking and speaking at lenght (presentations)

Question 26

Controlled practice

Answer 26

Activities in which the learners are required to repeatedly use the language that they have just been taught. E.g. Drills, learn by heart.
They can improve the confidence in the learner.

Question 27

Fluency activities

Answer 27

Information-gap activities, problem solving, project work, discussions, explaining solutions.

Question 28

Controlled practice and fluency activities

Answer 28

In the first one we focus in accuracy, meanwhile, the second ones are about the ability to deliver a message, that’s why we can’t correct learners as they are speaking.

Question 29

Silent period.

Answer 29

This is the period of time when we gather vocabulary and functions until we feel confident enough to speak. As children, we experiment a silent period when we are growing up and learning our mother tongue.

Question 30

Structure for speaking lesson.

Answer 30

1. Lead-in activity: introduction to the topic.
2. Practice activities or tasks: From controlled to free activities.
3. Post-task activities: free speaking activities on the topic.

Question 31

What errors need to be corrected.

Answer 31

Errors wich prevent communication are more important than those which do not.

Question 32

How we teach L2 according to their age.

Answer 32

The younger they are the most close to be teach as L1 they need.
Older learners by the contrary need to focus on the form in a more abstract or general way.

Question 33

How to find out their learners learning styles.

Answer 33

By varying their teaching style: approaches, material, topics, method of correction, etc.

Question 34

How to find out learner characteristics

Answer 34

By asking them, obseving them, giving them questionnaries, etc.

Question 35

Learner training

Answer 35

It means to train learners to become aware of and use different learning strategies. Besides, helping them to adapt their own ways of learning.

Question 36

Learners at secondary school needs

Answer 36

Personal and learning needs; autonomy and recognition of individuality.

Question 37

Learner at primary age needs.

Answer 37

Need for praise and support.

Question 38

How to find out about learners needs

Answer 38

Through observation, questionnaires or discussing.

Question 39

The best approach to LT

Answer 39

It is through considering learner’s age, level, motivation, expectations, experience and resources available.

Question 40

Presenting new language involves…

Answer 40

Whent to present it; what to; In what context (it needs to be personalised, meaningful and relevant); what aids to use; how to show the meaning and whether to focus on meaning or form.

Question 41

PPP structure.

Answer 41

Presentation-controlled practice activity-freer practice.

Question 42

TBL structure.

Answer 42

Lead in-tasks-presentation-further tasks.

Question 43

Presenting main aims…

Answer 43

Instead of using infinitives to describe what the teacher plans to do, some of them prefer to describe the learner’ objectives or learning outcomes (what they will be able to do at the end of the lesson).

Question 44

Lessons plans.

Answer 44

As simple as possible; but we would have to write important things like prompts for drilling, questions to check understanding, etc.

Question 45

Variety

Answer 45

It is very important both in a single lesson and in a sequence of lessons. It helps keep learners interested and involved. E.g. Through pace, interaction patterns, skill, difficulty, content, mood, etc.

Question 46

The amount of informal assessment according to…

Answer 46

The size of the class, age, language knowledge and frequency of formal tests. And it is important that learners know why we are assessing them, how and when.
In larger classes we need to assess small numbers of learners in different lessons. On top of that, it is important to keep records of informal assessment.

Question 47

Can we leave out a part of a unit or a whole unit?

Answer 47

Yes, we can, but do it too frequently may confuse the students.

Question 48

Inappropriate of the exponents.

Answer 48

They might be inappropriate if they are above the student’s level, too informal or if they are impolite.

Question 49

Sequencing.

Answer 49

This means using language un a logical order for explanations and instructions.

Question 50

Understanding grammar of chuncks.

Answer 50

Students don’t need to understand the grammar of the utterance, just when to use it and what it means.

Question 51

Learner training.

Answer 51

It means to introduce the new roles slowly so that learners get used to new ways of working.

Question 52

Mixed ability in the classroom.

Answer 52

All classes are mixed because all the students are different in their personality and skills.

Question 53

Changing interaction pattern.

Answer 53

Gradual introduction of pair and group work is important when learners are used to working as whole class.

Question 54

Considerations on managing interaction patterns.

Answer 54

We need to consider that not always all the students are going to the class, so, it can mess up our activity if we don’t consider before other interaction patterns.