Task Two

 

The purpose of the extract as a whole is to review and extend learners’ language for asking and talking about plans.

 

a

Identify the purpose of the exercises listed in the box below in relation to the purpose of the extract as a whole. Do not refer to the pronunciation box on p 54 or the ‘Did you notice’ box on p 55.

 

Comment on the ways in which Speak for Yourself and Speak out (Exercise 1) combine with the exercises discussed in Task Two. Do not refer to the ‘Remember’ box on p 55.

 

c

Identify a total of six key assumptions about language learning that are evident in the exercises Listening Exercise 1, Listening Exercise 2 and English in Use Exercise 1 and explain why the authors might consider these assumptions to be important for language learning. State which exercise or exercises each assumption refers to.

 

Clockwise Advanced, Amanda Jeffries, Oxford University Press, 2001, pages 54, 55 and 116

 

 

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Tapescript 16

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS?

 

Conversation 1

A: Have you got any plans for the weekend?

B: Yeah, I think on Friday night I’m, I’m going, er, salsa dancing.

A: Uh-uh. To your usual place?

B:Yes, I’ll meet up with some friends. I’m going to, yeah, probably stay up quite late.

A: Uh-uh. How late?

B: Well, I don’t know. Usually about 3:00. How about you? What are your, what are your plans?

A: Um, I’m going up to Nottingham to visit some friends up there, and, er, I’m just going to stay the night, have a meal, and come back down the next day.

B: So you’re coming back on Saturday?

A: Yes, yeah, yeah, ‘cos I’ve got a party on Saturday night.

B: Oh, very busy.

 

Conversation 2

A: So do you have any plans for this weekend?

B: So pretty much the same plans as every weekend. I’ll be playing cricket one day …

A: Really?

B: Yeah, probably on Sunday. Er …

A: If the weather lets you.

B: How about you?

A: I’m going to have a lazy weekend. Um, I’m going to be packing, sorting out things, so that when I fly away next Wednesday, it won’t be too much of a headache.

 

Conversation 3

A: What are you doing at the weekend then, Katharine?

B: Um, Friday night I’m just going out for a meal and I’m going to see my parents. Um, Saturday, I’ll probably go to the gym and just do things round the house, and then Saturday night I’m going ten-pin bowling, so quite an active weekend. I think Sunday I shall just crash out and do nothing.

A: Yeah, catch up with everything.

B: What are you doing?

 

Conversation 4

A: Have you got anything exciting planned for the weekend, then?

B: No, not really. I was going to go round to Naomi’s but unfortunately, she’s got flu, so she’s had to call it off.

A: Oh no, what a shame!

B: Um, yeah. I’d quite like to go on that trip to Bath, though, but it depends on whether they’ve got any places left.

 

9.1 Guideline Answer

 

Purpose of the exercises

  

Exercise

Intended Purpose

Listening Exercise 1

· to introduce / familiarise the learners with the topic of the text / activate schemata

· to expose learners to natural language in a (semi)-authentic text

· to personalise the topic of the text

· to expose learners to the TL (i.e. expressions to talk about plans)

· to check understanding of the context of the TL

· to contextualise the TL (Acceptable for either exercise 1 or 2)

Listening Exercise 2

· to present the target expressions in context (Acceptable for either exercise 1 or 2)

· to focus on / introduce / notice / the form or pronunciation of the TL

· to give intensive listening practice to focus on the TL / listen for detail of TL / listen for specific language

· to provide learners with written examples/models/record of the TL

English in Use Exercise 1

· to review and extend expressions of the TL / to provide additional models of the TL to those introduced in the listening text

· to show that one function has several different exponents / one meaning expressed by different forms / a variety of ways for expressing plans

· to focus on question forms

· to focus on / check learners’ understanding of the use / meaning / function of the TL

· to encourage students to use the context to work out the functions / meaning / use

· to encourage students to record expressions according to function/ meaning/use / to provide a written record of the TL

 

How exercises combine

 

Exercise

How exercise combines with exercises in Part A

Speak for yourself

· Generates interest in / introduces the topic / activates schemata / prepare learners for the listening

· To check key vocabulary (for the listening) (via the use of visuals)

· Helps learners to see any gaps in their knowledge / to give the teacher the opportunity to find out what the learners already know

· Provides a variety of skills (speaking before listening) (acceptable for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)

· To activate / use language that they know / which may be in the listening

· Challenges the learners to activate their knowledge within a time frame before they focus on the TL in Listening Exercise 1 / to motivate the learners by giving them a time limit.

· Provides a fun activity to allow for a change of pace / to balance the more analytical work in Listening Exercise 1 / English in Use 1 (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)

· Provides a variety of interaction as the exercises in Task Two are

done individually (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)

Speak out Exercise 1

· Provides a fun activity to allow for a change of pace / to balance the more analytical work in Listening Exercise 1 / English in Use 1 (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)

· Appeals to a different type of learner i.e. kinaesthetic

· To extend the practice to include time expressions (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out exercise 1)

· Provides a variety of interaction as the exercises in Task Two are done individually (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)

· Gives the learners the chance to use the language presented in the previous exercises / provides freer practice

· Makes the language relevant to the students through personalisation

· Provides a focus on oral fluency after some quite intensive / analytical work / moves the learners from receptive to productive work

· Gives the learners / teacher the chance to see progress / recognise the learner’s improved ability to talk about plans

· Maintains the context of talking about plans / extends the topic from discussing plans for the weekend to short and long-term plans

· Provides a variety of skills (speaking after listening) (awarded for either Speak for yourself or Speak out Exercise 1)

 

 

Assumptions and reasons

 

· It’s important for advanced learner to extend their lexical repertoire / learners need to have a range of functional exponents at their disposal (Listening Exercise 2, English in Use Exercise 1)

So that they can express themselves more concisely and with more variety / to sound more like a native speaker / they need to understand a range of speakers

 

· It’s useful for learners to learn lexical chunks/phrases/idiomatic language especially in spoken functional language (All exercises)

Because it helps them to retrieve language more easily/quickly / it has high surrender value outside the classroom

 

· Advanced learners benefit from focusing on many different future forms together (English in Use Exercise 1)

Presenting the future forms together helps learners notice own weaknesses / presents a motivating challenge / allows the teacher to notice the learners’ weaknesses

 

· Form and meaning cannot be separated so it is useful to present both together / it is not necessary to focus explicitly on the form of this TL at an advanced level (English in Use Exercise 1)

Advanced learners will feel patronised if the material focuses on the form / they will have learnt the form at previous levels / it is the subtle differences in use which are the key problems with this area of language

 

· Learners need to understand the meaning / gist of a text before focusing on language (Listening Exercise 1)

Because this will help them to understand the meaning of the language / because this helps to develop the listening skill they need for much of real life listening

 

· Learners need a task to focus them on the overall meaning of the text (Listening Exercise 1) 

To prevent them from trying to understand every word / this mirrors real life use as we usually listen to something for a specific purpose

 

· Learners should be encouraged to respond personally to texts (Listening Exercise 1) 

Because this generates interest / because listening is an interactive process

  

· It’s important for learners to hear / see the language in context (Listening Exercises 1 & 2) 

So that they can see how it is used / it mirrors how the L1 is learnt

 

· Listening texts are a good way of presenting functional language (Listening Exercises 1 & 2) 

Because this reflects what happens in real life / may encourage learners to become ‘language detectives’ outside the classroom

 

· Learners should be exposed to natural features of spoken discourse (e.g. false starts / (semi) authentic texts) (Listening Exercises 1 & 2)

Because they may not have exposure to these features if they are not learning in an L1 environment / they provide good models for learners whose use of the L2 sounds a little unnatural

 

· Learners need a task to help extract language examples from a text / notice the language (Listening Exercise 2)

Because otherwise they won’t know which part of the text to focus on / it ensures that they identify the correct TL quickly

 

· Learners benefit from categorising language / cognitively engaging tasks are useful

(English in Use Exercise 1)

Because it helps them to see similarities and differences / recording lexis in this way may make it easier for them to retrieve / because learners are motivated by such tasks / because cognitive engagement encourages them to process the language forms and leads to greater retention / helps learners to notice the language

 

· It’s helpful to provide prompts/examples of language / a written record (English in Use Exercise 1)

Because it provides scaffolding during activities / it allows learners to revise what they have learnt

 

· It’s important to encourage learners to work out language use themselves / to use guided discovery (English in Use Exercise 1)

Because they can utilise the knowledge that they already have which is motivating / it allows learners to see where the gaps in their knowledge are