93711232 CELTA Focus on the Learner Help
Assignment 1: Focus on the Learner
Note: The student’s name has been changed for the purpose of this example assignment
1. Background
For this assignment, I interviewed Suzie, a Japanese lady in the Upper-Intermediate English class. Suzie moved to
Australia for her husband’s work and has been living here for about one year. Back in Japan, she worked in an office but is not currently working here. She would like to improve her English so she can make new friends here and more fully integrate into Australian society and is concerned that, “if I don’t learn English, I will be isolated in this country.”
Growing up in Sapporo, Japan, Suzie began learning English in junior high school but indicated that she didn’t retain much. The Japanese school system has a strong focus on grammar and passive learning with less emphasis on language practice. Though she did not have many opportunities to practice English in Japan and her previous jobs did not require any English skills, Suzie has made good progress during her time in Australia and can communicate fairly effectively.
From observation during class, Suzie is a visual learner and prefers tasks with visual props and written components. She demonstrates a good vocabulary and is most comfortable with reading and writing English, but is reserved and sometimes unsure of herself when asked to speak.
Outside of regular language classes, Suzie does not have much opportunity to practice conversational English, as she speaks in Japanese with her husband and close friends. This lack of practice was evident during the interview. Though her phrases were generally well-formed they were often halted and lacked fluency. Suzie also experiences difficulty understanding native English speakers in everyday situations but is motivated to improve her receptive and productive skills. 2. Identification and Analysis of one main language difficulty (grammar)
Area of Difficulty and Rationale for Chosen Activity
While her pronunciation was fine,
Note: The student’s name has been changed for the purpose of this example assignment
1. Background
For this assignment, I interviewed Suzie, a Japanese lady in the Upper-Intermediate English class. Suzie moved to
Australia for her husband’s work and has been living here for about one year. Back in Japan, she worked in an office but is not currently working here. She would like to improve her English so she can make new friends here and more fully integrate into Australian society and is concerned that, “if I don’t learn English, I will be isolated in this country.”
Growing up in Sapporo, Japan, Suzie began learning English in junior high school but indicated that she didn’t retain much. The Japanese school system has a strong focus on grammar and passive learning with less emphasis on language practice. Though she did not have many opportunities to practice English in Japan and her previous jobs did not require any English skills, Suzie has made good progress during her time in Australia and can communicate fairly effectively.
From observation during class, Suzie is a visual learner and prefers tasks with visual props and written components. She demonstrates a good vocabulary and is most comfortable with reading and writing English, but is reserved and sometimes unsure of herself when asked to speak.
Outside of regular language classes, Suzie does not have much opportunity to practice conversational English, as she speaks in Japanese with her husband and close friends. This lack of practice was evident during the interview. Though her phrases were generally well-formed they were often halted and lacked fluency. Suzie also experiences difficulty understanding native English speakers in everyday situations but is motivated to improve her receptive and productive skills. 2. Identification and Analysis of one main language difficulty (grammar)
Area of Difficulty and Rationale for Chosen Activity
While her pronunciation was fine,
Bibliography: 1. Eastwood, J. (2006) Oxford Practice Grammar (Intermediate) 2. Kimizuka, S. (1967) Teaching English to Japanese 3. Bradford, B. (1993) Teaching English Pronunciation to Japanese Learners (Online reference: www.brookes.ac.uk/wie/East-Asian-Learner/27.pdf) 4. Yuzawa, N. (2007) Teaching English Pronunciation Speakout, No 12 Aug http://davidbrett.uniss.it/phonology/aspects_of_connected_speech_inde.htm (accessed Nov 2010) Sean Ockert 2010