Assignment 1 : FOCUS ON THE LEARNER (INDIVIDUAL OPTION)

Criteria for Assignment 1: Focus on the Learner Met- yes/ no

Showing awareness of how a learner´s background, previous learning

experience and learning preferences affect learning

Identifying the learner´s language and/ or skills needs

Correctly using terminology relating to the description of language

systems and/ or language skills

Selecting appropriate material and/ or resources to aid the learner´s

language and / or skills development

Providing a rationale for using specific activities with a learner

Finding, selecting and referencing information from one or more sources using
written language that is clear, accurate and appropriate to the task

Tutor comments:

Tutor signature:

Pass: Resubmit: Date for resubmission:

Tutor comments on resubmission:

Pass on resubmission: Fail:

Double marking tutor’s signature:

Assignment 1: FOCUS ON THE LEARNER 750- 1000 words
For this assignment you will choose and focus on ONE student in the TP group you are
currently teaching. You will have time to arrange to meet this student. The information you need
will come from interviewing them and your observations during TP. Type directly into the pro-
forma below.

LEARNER PROFILE (100-130 words)

Include brief bio info (e.g. level, age, nationality, work/studies). Comment on their interests.
Describe the learner’s reasons for learning English, their background in terms of their previous
learning experiences, other languages they speak, and their learning preferences in and outside
the classroom.

O is a psychologist who lives in Minsk, Belarus. She enjoys tennis, yoga, reading, and
walking. She uses English professionally at conferences with international colleagues; this is
her main reason for studying English. She also wants to improve her English for travel. Her
mother tongue is Belarusian, but she speaks closely-related Russian equally well. She studied
English and some German in school. O studied for several years with a tutor and uses
Duolingo now. She reads books, listens to TED talks, watches films or shows with subtitles to
practice English. This is her first course with this school (A2 class) and she enjoys working in
groups. O feels her reading ability is strong, and she can translate well. She wants to improve
her English speaking for greater fluency.

STUDENT´S NEEDS
Comment briefly on your student's strengths and weaknesses in terms of:

LANGUAGE (200 words)

Grammatical ability S: O readily answers controlled practice
grammar exercises quickly and correctly. She
is eager to participate with the group work.

W: During free practice exercises, O makes

frequent grammatical errors such as incorrect
verb forms (not using the progressive form),
dropping articles and using a singular instead
of plural form (“one or two time” )

Vocabulary S: O seeks clarification from classmates and

readily helps others when she can. She uses
circumlocution strategies to describe words
she doesn’t know and receives support from
classmates.

W: O sometimes asks for translation from

Russian-speaking peers, and it seems like
she may use a translating app during class.
 Expanding her English vocabulary would be
beneficial.

Pronunciation S: O’s pronunciation of most individual

phonemes is comprehensible, although she
speaks with an intonation which stays fairly
flat then rises abruptly (Swan and Smith, 149)
somewhat typical of Russian speakers.

W: O struggles with some phonemes that are

often difficult for Russian speakers: /θ / /ð/
and /w/ /v/

SKILLS (200 words)

Reading S: O replies correctly and quickly to gist
reading tasks. She returns rapidly to the text
to find support in order to help a classmate
understand the answers.

W: She may be using a translation app for

support when the lexical level is above her
comfort level.

Listening S: O can easily identify the correct answer in

a listening for gist task and then chime in with
short phrases to participate in the discussion
about it with other more loquacious learners.

W:O has had some trouble with detailed

listening because there is too much unknown
vocabulary

Speaking S: O feels motivated to improve her speaking

skills and participates well with classmates.
She chimes in with short phrases or attempts
longer communication depending on the
group.

W: O makes frequent pauses or hesitations

(“uh”) while searching for the next words or
possibly translating in her mind “...in the
week- uhh- I can eat out.”

STUDENT ERRORS
Grammar (50 – 80 words)
 What the student said /wrote What they should have said/wrote Possible reason for error

1.”They are dance. They are “They are dancing. They are Russian has three
relax.” relaxing.” tenses: past, present and
future. Progressive forms
of verbs don’t exist and
thus would be difficult for
Russian/Belarusian
speakers. (Swan &
Smith, 150)

2. “What are some important “What are some important things Russian has no articles,
things for position?” (to know/do) for the position?” thus this would present
“I am psychologist.” “I am a psychologist.” difficulties for learners.
(Swan & Smith, 155)

Vocabulary (50 – 80 words)

What the student said /wrote What they should have said/wrote Possible reason for error

1.”two millions people” “Two million people” L1 interference could

cause this error (adding -s
to large numerals such as
hundred) (Swan & Smith,
156)

2. I don’t like crowded I don’t like crowded places Learners may confuse
adjectives for nouns due
to L1 interference or an
incomplete understanding
of the vocabulary term.

Pronunciation (50 – 80 words)

What the student said What they should have said Possible reason for error

1. /krəʊ.dɪd/ “crow-ded” /ˈkraʊ.dɪd/ crowded Russian speakers often

pronounce English vowels as
glides and struggle to
differentiate between long
and short English sounds.
 (Swan & Smith, 146)

2. /ˈsʌm.sɪŋ/ “Somesing” /ˈsʌm.θɪŋ/ Something /θ / /ð are difficult because

they don’t have equivalents in
Russian and are often
replaced by /s/ or /z/ (Swan &
Smith, 147)

SUGGESTED MATERIALS TO HELP WITH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

a) Choose 2 areas where the ss needs more help. These should be weaknesses from
section3 (grammar, vocabulary, phonology. You CANNOT choose 2 areas within one category
eg. You can’t have 2 grammar areas).
b) Select or design tasks/ activities that you could use to help the student overcome these
difficulties.
c) Describe (briefly) why you have chosen these particular tasks/ activities ie. Provide a
rationale
d) Provide copies of these tasks/ activities in your appendix.
(100-130 words each suggestion)

Area 1: Grammar- Present progressive

Brief description of task to help: This activity could be offered to O and other interested
students as extra practice. Students would set up Zoom meetings outside of class to practice-
pairs or triads are ideal. This could also be used in the class setting in break out rooms. Part
1: Learners write sentences with the present progressive on the handout from Roadmap and
check answers. Part 2: Learners play several rounds of charades, taking turns to act out the
sentences on the handout. Those guessing must turn over the list. The actor validates the
answer from the list. Part 3: Learners look at the image from Roadmap and take turns telling
what various people are doing; their partner guesses who it is and they continue.

Rationale for activity choice: O could benefit from oral practice that is scaffolded to the freer
speaking activities where she still makes mistakes and hesitates. Improving speaking is her
main goal.

Area 2: Pronunciation /θ / /ð/ sound

Brief description of task to help: O could access these pronunciation videos at home to
practice target sounds and they also could be incorporated into one or more lessons to the
benefit of all learners. One video is very comprehensive, helping learners understand how to
identify and produce the /θ / /ð/ phonemes. The other is shorter and practices a tongue
twister contrasting the /θ/ and /s/ phonemes.

Rationale for activity choice: O would benefit from this targeted practice to build her speaking
confidence and comprehensibility. The videos provide practice at home which is necessary for
this challenging sound. O likes to use technology to learn so this seems appropriate for her.

Bibliography:

Busy Teacher. 7 Easy Lessons for Teaching the Present Progressive.

https://busyteacher.org/13619-teaching-present-progressive-7-ideas.html

Cambridge Dictionary Online https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Parrott, Martin. Grammar for English Language Teachers, Cambridge University Press,
Second Edition

Pearson Publishing . Roadmap Level A2 Resources,

https://english-dashboard.pearson.com/toc/roadmap-a2/resources/

Rikenville, ESL. The Best TH pronunciation activities for Adult ESL.

https://rikeneville.com/th-pronunciation-activities/

Scrivener, Jim. Teaching English Grammar, Macmillan Books for Teachers

Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press, Fourth Edition

Swan, Michael and Smith. Bernard. Learner English, Cambridge University Press, Second
Edition

Appendix:
1. Roadmap, Unit 8A Workbook page 46 and Student Book page 163
Charades game - based on the sentences above
For a longer description of the charades game, it is described here:
https://busyteacher.org/13619-teaching-present-progressive-7-ideas.html
_____
Work in pairs or a group. Look at the picture. Describe what one person is doing in the
picture, but don’t say which person it is. Listen to your partner’s description and say which
person they’re describing.
“Someone is taking a photo.”
_________________________
2. Pronunciation Tutorial videos for TH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKnzRxDVHsU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8oY0Y_mpe8

Word count: (-446)