Job Discussion Forums

[scattydove]

I'm nearing the backend of my CELTA application to study in Wroclaw in August. I've done the majority of the pre-interview task, however I have drawn a blank with a couple of the questions. I'm not asking for anyone to tell me the answers at all (i've been quite happily doing tons of research for those i've been unsure about and learned lots already) but a tiny point in the right direction would be great for any of them....

Part 2. Approaches to Teaching and Learning

Imagine you are teaching a multilingual group of 12 adult learners at BEGINNER level.
a) What problems might your students have in
(i) understanding, (ii) pronouncing and (iii) using these items?


1) I've got a headache.

i) �I�ve got� suggests possession and, at beginner level, students may have only been taught this in connection with tangible, physical objects. Contracting �I have� to make �i�ve� may also be difficult for beginners to grasp.

ii) �-ch� can have multiple pronunciations and sounds depending on the word and its positioning in the word. The �-ch� in the words �lunch�, �chart� and �ache� are all pronounced differently and sound different.

iii) The only thing I can think to write here is pretty much the same as the explanation in the first part of this...but i'm thinking I should have come up with something else

2) comfortable

i) No idea!

ii) This word contains 4 syllables which could prove to be quite complex to a beginner learner. Additionally the whole word is not pronounced in the same way as it is when split into its seperate entities (�comfort� and �able� or �table�).

iii) Again, no idea

3) What's the matter?

i) I'm thinking this is something to do with the use of the word "matter". Beginners may not understand this to mean that concern about an individual's emotional state is being shown

ii) ???

iii) ???

Like I said i'm genuinely not looking for someone to just give me all the answers....i'm actually quite enjoying thinking about them and trying to come up with the answers myself. I'm just completely at a loss with these.....

[fluffyhamster]

There's something about "I've got a headache" here:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=73865

Comfortable, can that be 3 syllables? /k^mft.../

[nickpellatt]

You may want to mention the contracted form of speech. 'What's' rather than 'what is'. Minor point but worth mentioning for beginners perhaps. We run our words together quite a lot which can make speech hard to follow, esp for beginners.

Otherwise...I wouldnt worry. My pre-course work material had a few gaps in it when I handed it in. I felt the exercise was really used to illustrate the kind of issues faced, and it wasnt a fail/pass type task. A fair attempt at as much as possible was all that was required, and you seem to be giving it a lot of thought etc.

Best advice pre-course is to read as much of 'learning teaching' by Scrivener as possible...and learn the tense system and some IPA...we used both a lot on my course...being mildly familiar with both is a great asset

[scattydove]

Thanks for your help guys

Just a quick bumpity bump for anyone else who might have ideas....?

[littleone]

Good luck

[doner]

you are paying=does not matter=write anything

[momworld]

Comfortable...might be misconstrued to be come forth table...lol.
And comfortable is like the word easy, but we can say "I feel comfortable." But then again if we change to "I feel easy," it has the connotation of something entirely different.
What's the matter? Matter is substance and a very difficult thing to explain. Matter equating to problem or bad (Ok, they ARE beginners.) is very difficult.
p.s. I am a CELTA holder and would NOT take it again.