Celta Assignment 3
The purpose of this assignment is to examine and explain the reasons why I have chosen this specific article.
According to what J. Scrivener says , the usefulness and effectiveness of a text is related to how close to real-life the topic is. So I decided to pick an article that I spotted on a webpage a few days ago, it is a real news which reports the fact that young Chinese girls are literally queuing up to have their legs broken in order to be better able to find a rewarding job or a handsome husband once the 18 - month treatment is over.
I thought this kind of news may be quite challenging and engaging for an intermediate level which can possibly have students coming from China therefore, commenting and discussing the topic from different points of view and cultural backgrounds would be more interesting.
After reading through a couple of different methodologies I reckon that a top – down reading which is mentioned in “Learning Teaching” is ideal to help students develop reading skills and sub-skills in this case.
I think that a lead-in before the text is fundamental, it helps contextualise the article. Making a discussion of the key themes or making a link between the topic of the text and students' experiences is important to raise their interest and to make predictions before reading.
The issue of the article is predominantly about heights and stretched limbs so it would be great to show on the whiteboard a picture depicting two men of different heights ( see pic A) and elicit ideas from students. Do you think a man's height is very important? Do you think that it is easier to find a job if you are tall ? Etc.
It is also very important to set the task before the activity so learners know what the purpose of each stage is.
I chose the following exercises so the students can practise their receptive language skills - reading for gist ( skimming ) by accomplishing tasks which focus on meaning and general information of the text.
Ex. 1
According to what J. Scrivener says , the usefulness and effectiveness of a text is related to how close to real-life the topic is. So I decided to pick an article that I spotted on a webpage a few days ago, it is a real news which reports the fact that young Chinese girls are literally queuing up to have their legs broken in order to be better able to find a rewarding job or a handsome husband once the 18 - month treatment is over.
I thought this kind of news may be quite challenging and engaging for an intermediate level which can possibly have students coming from China therefore, commenting and discussing the topic from different points of view and cultural backgrounds would be more interesting.
After reading through a couple of different methodologies I reckon that a top – down reading which is mentioned in “Learning Teaching” is ideal to help students develop reading skills and sub-skills in this case.
I think that a lead-in before the text is fundamental, it helps contextualise the article. Making a discussion of the key themes or making a link between the topic of the text and students' experiences is important to raise their interest and to make predictions before reading.
The issue of the article is predominantly about heights and stretched limbs so it would be great to show on the whiteboard a picture depicting two men of different heights ( see pic A) and elicit ideas from students. Do you think a man's height is very important? Do you think that it is easier to find a job if you are tall ? Etc.
It is also very important to set the task before the activity so learners know what the purpose of each stage is.
I chose the following exercises so the students can practise their receptive language skills - reading for gist ( skimming ) by accomplishing tasks which focus on meaning and general information of the text.
Ex. 1