Focus on the learner CELTA
For this assignment I interviewed Alessandro, an Italian student in the Pre-Intermediate English class. Alessandro has been living in London for a few months now. He came to the UK to search for work as a result of the global economic recession. He would like to improve his spoken English skills to improve his job prospects as well as better integrate into British society.
Alessandro has studied English from primary school level to High school level but highlighted that the quality of English learning was very poor as much of his formal education was in Italian. This also meant that speaking practice was lot more limited. Since his arrival in the UK Alessandro has been attending the classes at Language Link for almost two months, and has also found work part-time in a café.
Over the past couple of weeks, classroom observations and numerous conversations during and after class, Alessandro is competent in understanding the spoken word, including tasks explained in English, however is shy and reserved when answering questions or speaking in the class. Alessandro generally likes the use of visual aids in the lessons, when images were used it helped him understand and remember the context more easily, as well as making lessons more interesting.
In order to accurately assess the areas where Alessandro may need assistance both his oral and written levels were tested, using an interview I was able to note problems in his speaking. I also asked him to write me a short letter which included similar questions to the ones he had answered during the interview. While his pronunciation was fine, his answers highlighted an incorrect use of prepositions with adjectives. For example, he said “I’m live at small town at South Italy” instead of “I live in a small town in South Italy.” For this error I have selected grammar exercises centred on the use of prepositions correctly (See Appendix A.).
Another example of language difficulty was the use of quantifiers when speaking;
Alessandro has studied English from primary school level to High school level but highlighted that the quality of English learning was very poor as much of his formal education was in Italian. This also meant that speaking practice was lot more limited. Since his arrival in the UK Alessandro has been attending the classes at Language Link for almost two months, and has also found work part-time in a café.
Over the past couple of weeks, classroom observations and numerous conversations during and after class, Alessandro is competent in understanding the spoken word, including tasks explained in English, however is shy and reserved when answering questions or speaking in the class. Alessandro generally likes the use of visual aids in the lessons, when images were used it helped him understand and remember the context more easily, as well as making lessons more interesting.
In order to accurately assess the areas where Alessandro may need assistance both his oral and written levels were tested, using an interview I was able to note problems in his speaking. I also asked him to write me a short letter which included similar questions to the ones he had answered during the interview. While his pronunciation was fine, his answers highlighted an incorrect use of prepositions with adjectives. For example, he said “I’m live at small town at South Italy” instead of “I live in a small town in South Italy.” For this error I have selected grammar exercises centred on the use of prepositions correctly (See Appendix A.).
Another example of language difficulty was the use of quantifiers when speaking;
Bibliography: Murphy, R., 2004. English Grammar in Use 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press) Riddell, D A. Add in a/an or the; Source (Murphy, 2004) B C. Quite, pretty, rather and fairly (Murphy, 2004) D