aspects of teaching skills

8/20/2019 Aspects of Teaching Skills

1/48

Aspects of Teaching SkillsTeacher Training Plans by Alex Tilbury


2/48

Teacher Training Plans Aspects of Teaching Skills

Cambridge English Teacher © Cambridge University Press and Cambridge English Language Assessment 2015 1

Aspects of Teaching SkillsThis group of plans have been created around the theme of Teaching Skills, and cover the four areas

outlined below. Each plan is designed to be used as part of an in-service training programme in an

institution. Such a programme may consist of trainer-led face-to-face sessions or may be a mix of trainer-led

sessions combined with additional individual study, on Cambridge English Teacher (CET), on the topic. The

plans are designed to be used as stand-alone or along with any of the other plans. They may be used in any

order, according to what is appropriate for the particular programme.

These plans are based on articles, videos and discussions from CET. They are suitable for use with teachers

who can be considered ‘Proficient’ according to the Cambridge English Teaching Framework

www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-framework). These teachers will have a CELTA plus at least two years’

experience.

Please note: There are hyperlinks (e.g. Conversation Strategies, or Worksheet 1) within this document

which will help you to find the information or plan that you require easily. Just click on the hyperlink to be

taken to the correct place.

Conversation Strategies (‘Proficient’: a CELTA or equivalent qualification plus at least

two years’ experience)

Real life conversation often varies from what may be found in the traditional coursebook speaking exercises

we use when teaching learners. Features such as speakers using false starts or repetition are evident in the

conversations we hear in our everyday lives. This session, based on articles by Michael McCarthy and

Jeanne McCarten, focuses on the aspects of real-life conversation and asks participants to identify and

consider those features which are evident in the conversation strategies which exist in actual everyday

speech. The tasks also show when and how to prepare learners for identifying and using these strategies.

Helping Learners with Top-down Listening (‘Proficient’: a CELTA or equivalent

qualification plus at least two years’ experience)

Listening is essential for all learners but it can also be one of the most challenging skills to acquire when

learning a language. Using this session, based on a teaching task by Alex Tilbury, participants identify why

listening comprehension can be difficult and how it poses many problems for learners. Overcoming these

problems is essential to becoming an effective listener and the session draws on the use of bottom-up and

top-down processing skills to provide an understanding of the various aspects of how we create meaning

when we listen.

Helping Learners to Write Cohesively (‘Proficient’: a CELTA or equivalent

qualification plus at least two years’ experience)The importance of cohesion is particularly key to written discourse as authors are rarely present to explain to

their readers any issues which arise through ambiguity or clumsy phrasing within the text. This session,

based on a teaching task by Verity Cole, describes for participants the types of cohesive device evident

within writing and the appropriate use of such devices when creating a written text. The tasks help to

spotlight and raise awareness of cohesive devices whilst also providing ideas of how to teach their use to

learners.

Reading Aloud: Why and How? (‘Proficient’: a CELTA or equivalent qualification plus at

least two years’ experience)

This session, based on a teaching task by Silvana Richardson, focuses on the practice of reading out loudand how it can be effectively used within the classroom. Whilst initially, learners may feel that reading aloud

http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttp://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttp://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-framework


3/48

Teacher Training Plans Aspects of Teaching Skills


is unnatural or makes them feel self-conscious, the tasks show participants the importance of developing this

skill and how reading aloud benefits learners through aiding their comprehension of a written text.

Developing confidence of reading aloud enables learners to feel more able to engage in this skill when

required outside of the classroom.

CET courses of interest for further development:

Skills

Teaching Pronunciation

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500893/teaching-pronunciation

Teaching Speaking

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54144

Teaching Writing


General

English for the Teacher

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18776/english-teacher

Evaluating and Correcting Learners

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500892/evaluating-correcting-learners

Teaching Primary Learners Communicatively

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18777/teaching-primary-learners-communicatively

Teaching with Technology: Internet and Tools

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18607/teaching-with-technology-internet-tools

Exams

How to teach IELTS

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18601/teach-ielts

How to teach Cambridge English: Key (KET)

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18602/teach-cambridge-english-ket

How to teach Cambridge English: Preliminary (PET)

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18603/teach-cambridge-english-preliminary-pet

How to teach Cambridge English: First (FCE)

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500492/teach-cambridge-english-first-fce

How to teach Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500686/teach-cambridge-english-advanced-cae

How to teach Cambridge English: Young Learners

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18604/teach-cambridge-english-young-learners

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500893/teaching-pronunciationhttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500893/teaching-pronunciationhttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54144http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54144http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54091http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54091http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18776/english-teacherhttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18776/english-teacherhttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500892/evaluating-correcting-learnershttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500892/evaluating-correcting-learnershttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18777/teaching-primary-learners-communicativelyhttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18777/teaching-primary-learners-communicativelyhttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18607/teaching-with-technology-internet-toolshttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18607/teaching-with-technology-internet-toolshttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18601/teach-ieltshttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18601/teach-ieltshttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18602/teach-cambridge-english-kethttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18602/teach-cambridge-english-kethttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18603/teach-cambridge-english-preliminary-pethttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18603/teach-cambridge-english-preliminary-pethttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500492/teach-cambridge-english-first-fcehttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500492/teach-cambridge-english-first-fcehttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500686/teach-cambridge-english-advanced-caehttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500686/teach-cambridge-english-advanced-caehttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18604/teach-cambridge-english-young-learnershttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18604/teach-cambridge-english-young-learnershttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18604/teach-cambridge-english-young-learnershttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500686/teach-cambridge-english-advanced-caehttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500492/teach-cambridge-english-first-fcehttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18603/teach-cambridge-english-preliminary-pethttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18602/teach-cambridge-english-kethttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18601/teach-ieltshttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18607/teaching-with-technology-internet-toolshttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18777/teaching-primary-learners-communicativelyhttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500892/evaluating-correcting-learnershttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/18776/english-teacherhttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54091http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54144http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/500893/teaching-pronunciation


4/48


Conversation Strategies Teacher Training Plans by Alex Tilbury


5/48


Conversation Strategies

Background

Real life conversation often varies from what may be found in the traditional coursebook speaking exercises

we use when teaching learners. Features such as speakers using false starts or repetition are evident in the

conversations we hear in our everyday lives. This session, based on articles by Michael McCarthy and

Jeanne McCarten, focuses on the aspects of real-life conversation and asks participants to identify and

consider those features which are evident in the conversation strategies which exist in actual everyday

speech. The tasks also show when and how to prepare learners for identifying and using these strategies.

Aims:

To raise awareness of the ways in which natural conversations differ from traditional coursebook

recordings.

To learn about a range of conversation strategies and how these are realised using particular

expressions in English. To start thinking about whether/how conversation strategies can be focused on in the classroom.

Materials:

Session plan

IWB or board and pens

Worksheet 1 Lead-in and discussion: A real-life conversation (the text is from Michael McCarthy,

Corpora, speaking and listening available at http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-

details/1846)

Worksheet 2 Task: Four kinds of strategy

Worksheet 2 Key Task: Four kinds of strategy

Worksheet 3 Reading: Important conversation strategies (adapted from Jeanne McCarten and MichaelMcCarthy, Conversation Strategies: What Are They and Can We Teach Them? available at

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1673)

Worksheet 4 Discussion: Teaching conversation strategies

Access to Self-study follow-up reading and tasks (see list after Session Plan)

PowerPoint presentation for use in session (referred to as PPT with the relevant slide number

throughout the session plan). You may want to look at the presentation before using it in session as it

contains animations

Appropriate for:

Teachers with a CELTA or equivalent qualif ication plus more than two years’ experience – ‘Proficient’

according to the Cambridge English Teaching Framework

www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-framework

Time:

One hour

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1673http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1673https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttp://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttp://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttps://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1673http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846


6/48

Teacher Training Plans Conversation Strategies


Session Plan

*T = Tutor, P = Participant, PS = Participants

Stage and aim Procedure Interaction* Timing

Lead-in

Worksheet 1

PPT slides 2–4

To engage the

interest of the

group and

introduce the

topic of the

session

A real-life conversation: focus on meaning

Tell participants that they’re going to start by looking at atranscript of a recording of a real-life conversation.

T-PS 10 min

Working alone, participants read the transcript on Worksheet1 and answer the four questions on the sheet:

1. How many speakers are there in the conversation?2. What’s the topic of the conversation?3. What can you deduce (or guess) about Tina?4. How well do the speakers know Tina? Do they all know her

equally well?

Use PPT2 and 3 to display the transcript and the questions.

P

Participants compare their ideas in pairs / small groups. P-P / P-P-P

Feedback: Discuss as a class 1. There are four speakers.2. They’re talking about a girl / woman called Tina who has come

from abroad to visit England.3. Possible answers: she’s been in England for a week. She

comes from somewhere where there’s a lot of space and notmany people around (a rural area of Australia / New Zealand /Canada?). She hasn’t said much about England. She’s tired

(possibly as a result of her journey, or her work / studies?). Hermother spent some time in England (or was born there?).4. Speaker 1 knows who Tina is but speakers 2, 3 and 4 seem to

have spent more time with her (as her flatmates / a hostfamily?).

Use PPT4 to display the answers as given above.

T-PS

Reading and

discussion

Worksheet 1

PPT slides 5–7

To analyse the

features of real-

life conversation

in contrast to

coursebook

transcripts

A real-life conversation: focus on strategies, language (contrast with coursebook recordings)

10 min

Now that they’re familiar with the content of the conversation,ask participants to look at the transcript again and discuss

how it differs from transcripts of traditional coursebookrecordings (i.e. recordings which are scripted in advance andperformed by actors). How does the behaviour of thespeakers differ? What about the kinds of language they use?

Use PPT5 to display the two questions regarding the

differences between the real-life conversation and traditionalcoursebook recordings.

P-P / P-P-P

https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096


7/48




Reading and

discussion

Worksheet 1

PPT slides 5–7

To analyse the

features of real-

life conversation

in contrast to

coursebook

transcripts

Classroom discussion of the questions. Highlight features ofconversation which we see in the transcript, but which wedon’t often come across in many traditional coursebookrecordings, include: use of expressions like I mean to clarify a point

use of expressions like well , you know to buy a bit of thinkingtime

repetition using different forms of words to emphasise keypoints, e.g. it ’ s good. It ’ s all right

speakers ‘starting again’ to make sure that what they’re sayingis clear, e.g. And she got – she looks – You know she’ sobviously really tired

use of vague expressions like and all that to avoid going intounnecessary detail

use of expressions like yeah, mm, right while other people arespeaking to show interest and attention

Use PPT6 to display the features seen in the real-life

conversation.

Round off this stage by making the point that the above areall naturally occurring features of spontaneous conversation.In fact, things like clarification, buying thinking time, repetition,showing interest and so on, are all examples of strategieswhich are used by competent speakers (of any language) inconversation. The rest of this session will examine thesestrategies in more depth and look at how they’re realised inEnglish. Towards the end of the session, we’ll think aboutwhether/how we might teach some of these strategies in theclassroom.

Use PPT7 to display this information for participants.

T-PS 10 min

(cont’d)

Task

Worksheet 1 +

Worksheet 2

To familiarise

participants with

the categories of

different

conversation

strategies

Conversation strategies: ‘test’

Working together, participants look at Worksheet 2, whichlists a number of key conversation strategies divided underfour broad categories. Some examples of language whichcan be used to realise these strategies – taken from thetranscript on Worksheet 1 – have already been added to thesheet. Participants work together to try to add more examplesand familiarise themselves with the categories.

Note: this is a challenging task, so don’t let it drag on too

long. The real aim is for participants to get familiar with thedifferent kinds of strategy in the left-hand column and providethem with a task for the reading to come; they are notexpected to come up with lots of possible expressions off thetop of their heads. In fact, the difficulty of this task can beused to make the point that, in order to find out what kinds oflanguage speakers use to operationalise strategies, we reallyneed to look at examples of real conversation from a corpusrather than rely on our intuitions!

No feedback at this stage.

P-P / P-P-P

5

https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2096


8/48




Option 1

Worksheet 2 +

Worksheet 3

Worksheet 2

Key

To find

examples of

conversation

strategies

Conversation strategies: ‘teach’

Working alone, participants read Worksheet 3, whichdescribes and gives examples of the various conversationstrategies, and use it to complete the right-hand column of

the table on Worksheet 2. Point out that some expressionscan occur in two or three different categories.

T-PS

15-20

min

Participants compare their findings in pairs / small groups. P-P / P-P-P

Round off this stage by inviting participants to give someexamples of their findings and dealing with any problems orqueries in open class. An answer key to Worksheet 2 isprovided at the end of this document (Worksheet 2 Key).

T-PS

Option 2 Jigsaw

reading

Worksheet 3

Worksheet 2

Key

To find

examples of

conversation

strategies

Divide participants into two groups, A and B. Group A readsabout areas 1 and 2 on Worksheet 3, while Group B reads

about areas 3 and 4. (You may wish to fold the worksheetbetween areas 2 and 3.) Then participants get into pairs, A +B, to help each other complete their tables.

P-P 15 min

As with option 1, round off this stage by inviting participants togive some examples of their findings and dealing with anyproblems or queries in open class. An answer key toWorksheet 2 is provided at the end of this document(Worksheet 2 Key).

T-PS

Reading and

discussion

Worksheet 4

PPT slides 8–10

To identify and

discuss how to

include the

teaching of

conversation

strategies in

lessons

Conversation strategies in the classroom

Participants discuss the questions on Worksheet 4 in pairs /small groups.

Use PPT8 to display the questions.

P-P / P-P-P

15-20

min

Feedback: Discuss the answers in class 1. Open answers.2. Open answers.3. Possibilities for awareness raising include:

listening to and comparing conversations with good andbad examples of strategies (e.g. with/without back-channelling expressions)

finding examples of expressions in a suitable transcript(e.g. vague language). This could be something publishedor home made

listen and fill in the gaps (e.g. self-correction expressions)

Use PPT9 to display the possibilities for awareness raising.

3. Possibilities for practice include:

performing scripted conversations

writing conversations to include particular strategicexpressions

improvising from partial scripts / frames / topics

Use PPT10 to display the possibilities for practice.

T-PS



9/48



Self-study follow-up reading and tasks

Refer participants to the following Cambridge English Teacher resources

Articles/Videos which expand upon the topic:

Corpora, Speaking and Listening by Michael McCarthy - Article http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846

Conversation Strategies: What are they and can we teach them? by Jeanne McCarten and Michael

McCarthy - Article

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1673

Developing Conversation with Young Learners by Herbert Puchta - Article


Spoken Discourse (Overview) by Jack Richards - Video http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1682

Teaching Spoken English: From Communicative Competence to Pragmatic Competence by Jack Richards -

Webinar

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/1144

(This touches on many of the issues raised in this session and looks at some practical ideas for teachingconversation skills and strategies.)

Cambridge University Press publications of interest:

Conversation: From Description to Pedagogy by Scott Thornbury and Diana Slade

http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-

research/conversation?format=HB&isbn=9780521814263

CET courses of interest:

Teaching Speaking


http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1673http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1673http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1975http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1975http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1682http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/1144http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/1144http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/conversation?format=HB&isbn=9780521814263http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/conversation?format=HB&isbn=9780521814263http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/conversation?format=HB&isbn=9780521814263http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54144http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54144http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/conversation?format=HB&isbn=9780521814263http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/conversation?format=HB&isbn=9780521814263http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/1144http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1682http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1975http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1673http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846


10/48


Cambridge English Teacher © Cambridge University Press and Cambridge English Language Assessment 2015

Worksheet 1

Lead-in and discussion: A real-life conversation

Read the transcript of the conversation and answer these questions as best you can. 1. How many speakers are there in the conversation?

2. What’s the topic of the conversation?

3. What can you deduce (or guess) about Tina?

4. How well do the speakers know Tina? Do they all know her equally well?

Line 1 Speaker 1 What does Tina make of England? Cos I mean she must be so

Line 2 used to wide open spaces …

Line 3Speaker 2 Yeah.

Line 4 Speaker 1 … and very few people around.

Line 5 Speaker 3 Well, she doesn’t, she doesn’t say much. She hasn’t said much all

Line 6 week.

Line 7 Speaker 2 Just says …

Line 8Speaker 3 Mm.

Line 9 Speaker 2 … it’s good. It’s all right.

Line 10 Speaker 1 Right.

Line 11 Speaker 3 You know.

Line 12 Speaker 4 And she got, she looks, you know she’s obviously really tired.

Line 13 Speaker 3 Mm.

Line 14 Speaker 4 Cos I thought what I’d do is erm ...

Line 15 Speaker 2 She was very interested in all those places where her mum, her

Line 16 mum had lived and all that.

[Transcript from Michael McCarthy, Corpora, speaking and listening at

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846]

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1846


11/48



Worksheet 2

Task: Four kinds of strategy

We can divide conversational strategies into four areas:

1. Managing your own talk

This includes: Example expressions:

Buying thinking time Well, You know

Self-correction

Reiterating / highlighting key points It’s good, it’s all right

Adding details for clarification / elaboration

I mean

Signalling your attitude to what you say

Organising your turn (e.g. linking or contrasting points)

2. Taking account of others

This includes:

Example expressions:

Being polite (e.g. avoiding saying no)

Signalling that information is new

Signalling that information is shared or understood You know

Using vague language to avoid unnecessary detail … and all that

3. Showing listenership (‘back-channelling’)

This includes:


Showing that you’re listening and engaged Yeah, Mm, Right

Showing agreement with what’s being said

Evaluative comments (e.g. to congratulate,

commiserate)

[continued]


12/48



4. Managing the conversation as a whole

This includes:


Opening and closing conversations

Starting new topics

Going back to earlier topics

Interrupting and restarting conversations


13/48



Worksheet 2 Key

Task: Four kinds of strategy

1. Managing your own talk

This includes:


Buying thinking time Well, You know

Self-correction Well, actually, I mean

Reiterating / highlighting key points It’s good, it’s all right

The thing is …

Adding details for clarification / elaboration I mean

Signalling your attitude to what you say The good / great / funny thing is …

Organising your turn (e.g. linking or contrasting points) On the other hand, …


This includes:


Being polite (e.g. avoiding saying no) Not really.

Signalling that information is new Actually, You see

Signalling that information is shared or understood You know

Using vague language to avoid unnecessary detail … And all that, Or something like that,

That sort of thing, Or whatever, And

things like that, Or something


This includes:


Showing that you’re listening and engaged Yeah, Mm, Right, Huh, Uh-huh, Really?

Showing agreement with what’s being said Absolutely! Definitely!

Evaluative comments (e.g. to congratulate,

commiserate)

That’s wonderful! That’s great!

[continued]


14/48




This includes:


Opening and closing conversations So, Anyway, All right

Starting new topics So, Now

Going back to earlier topics As I was saying , Going back to what

you were saying

Interrupting and restarting conversations Hold on a sec , where were we?


15/48



Worksheet 3

Reading: Important conversation strategies

1. Managing your own talk One of the most obvious concerns of speakers is to manage their own contributions to the conversation. This

involves, among other things, answering questions, organising your turn, self-correcting, keeping the floor by

elaborating or reiterating, clarifying, highlighting key points, signalling your attitude to what you say, and so

on.

Items that can help learners acquire such skills in English include the discourse markers well , actually , I

mean, the thing is, on the other hand . In answers to questions, well gives speakers thinking time – a valuable

commodity for elementary learners – and allows yes-no questions to be answered with neither yes or no (A:

Do you live in London? B: Well, just outside). It also teams up with actually as a self-correction strategy (We

went to high school together. Well, actually it was middle school ).

Reiteration, elaboration and clarification are often realised with I mean (Oh it’s a good job. I mean it’s super

easy ) – a simple expression that even elementary learners can use. The thing is is useful to signal a keypoint or issue and can be expanded with adjectives (e.g. The great/funny thing is …) to include the speaker’s

attitude (The good thing is they’re all direct flights).


This includes politeness strategies (e.g. not really as a reply to a question, as an alternative to the potentially

more abrupt no).

Also, speakers constantly judge the degree of shared knowledge between themselves and their

interlocutors. Actually and you see are often used to introduce new information, whereas you know signals

an assumption that the information is shared or understood ( Airport security is so strict these days, you

know ).

An extremely frequent set of items are vague expressions such as or something like that , that sort of thing ,

or whatever , and things like that , which speakers use rather than specify every example or detail (e.g. I’ll

have a sandwich or something ) – they can take it for granted that the listener will understand.


Listenership means that you show your understanding by making an appropriate response. Responses can

range from simple acknowledgements that you are listening and engaged (huh, uh-huh, really?, etc.) through

agreement (absolutely! definitely! ) to more contentful responses (that’s wonderful , great , etc.), which can

easily be taught and practised from elementary level.


Example strategies here include opening and closing conversations (so, anyway , all right ), starting new

topics (so, now ), going back to earlier topics (as I was saying , going back to what you were saying )

interrupting and restarting conversations (hold on a sec , where were we?).

The responsibility for managing the conversation often defaults to the native or more competent speaker.

However, many of these conversational functions can be realised with vocabulary that learners up to

intermediate level would be comfortable with.


16/48



Worksheet 4

Discussion: Teaching conversation strategies

Discuss the following questions with your colleagues. 1. Have you ever focused on any conversation strategies in your lessons? Why?

How did it go?

2. In your opinion, which strategies can be taught?

Would your current learners benefit from work on any particular strategies? Why do you think so?

Are there any which you think would be difficult/impossible to teach explicitly?

3. Pick a strategy which you’d like to work on in class. How could you do this?

Think about:

awareness-raising (of the strategy and useful expressions)

practice


17/48

www.CambridgeEnglishTeacher.org

© Cambridge University Press and Cambridge English Language Assessment 2015


18/48


Helping Learners with Top-down Listening Teaching Training Plan by Alex Tilbury


19/48


Helping Learners with Top-down Listening

Background

Listening is essential for all learners but it can also be one of the most challenging skills to acquire when

learning a language. Using this session, based on a teaching task by Alex Tilbury, participants identify why

listening comprehension can be difficult and how it poses many problems for learners. Overcoming these

problems is essential to becoming an effective listener and the session draws on the use of bottom-up and

top-down processing skills to provide an understanding of the various aspects of how we create meaning

when we listen.

Aims

Participants learn about the concepts of bottom-up and top-down processes in listening (also applicable

to reading).

Participants develop awareness of specific kinds of background knowledge involved in top-down

processing. Participants learn about classroom procedures for helping learners with top-down processing while

listening.

Materials

Session Plan


Worksheet 1 Discussion: What makes listening difficult?

Worksheet 2 Reading and discussion: A closer look at top-down processing

Worksheet 3 Teaching ideas

(Worksheets 2 and 3 are adapted from Alex Tilbury, Listening and Background Knowledge at

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1198) Access to Self-study follow-up reading and tasks (see list after Session Plan)

PowerPoint presentation for use in session (referred to as PPT with the relevant slide number

throughout the session plan). You may want to look at the presentation before using it in session as it

contains animations.

Appropriate for

Teachers with a CELTA or equivalent qualif ication plus more than two years’ experience – ‘Proficient’



Time

One hour

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1198http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1198https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttp://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttp://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttps://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1198


20/48

Teacher Training Plans Helping Learners with Top-down Listening


Session Plan


Stage and aims Procedure Interaction* Timing

Lead-in Worksheet 1 PPT slides 2 and3

To engage theinterest of thegroup andintroduce thetopic of thesession

What makes listening difficult?

Introduce the session as follows:

Listening is an essential skill in a very wide range ofpractical and social contexts, e.g. understandinginstructions at work, following lectures and presentations,listening to the radio, watching TV programmes and films,participating in conversation. At the same time, manylearners regard listening as the most challenging of theskills.

In this session, we’ll think about these questions o What makes listening difficult? o How can we help our learners to listen more

effectively?

Use PPT2 to display the questions for the discussion.

T-PS

10 min

Participants discuss in small groups:

Imagine that you’re listening to a radio news bulletin in alanguage you don’t know very well. What specificproblems might you have with listening? Make a list. See if you can come up with six points.

Option: to get the ball rolling, elicit one or two ideas in openclass, e.g. the newsreader talks very quickly, has anunfamiliar accent.

Use PPT3 to display the question for the discussion.

P-P-P

Feedback: In the same groups, participants spend a few minutescomparing their ideas with those on Worksheet 1.

P-P-P

Input Worksheet 1 PPT slides 4–9

To explain the

use of andissues withbottom-up andtop-downprocessing

Bottom-up vs. top-down processing

Explain the division of the problems on Worksheet 1 asfollows (use the relevant PPT slides to provide theinformation to display these points if required):

When we listen, we use two different kinds of informationto build our understanding of the message.

On the one hand, we understand simply by recognisingwords and expressions and putting them together to‘decode’ the message. This is called bottom-up processing. For example, in order to understand a radionews story about an election, we would need to knowand recognise language like ‘vote’, ‘ballot box’ and ‘go tothe polls’.

Use PPT4 to display this information.

T-PS

10 min

https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2094


21/48




Input Worksheet 1 PPT slides 4–9

To explain the

use of andissues withbottom-up andtop-downprocessing

So, bottom-up listening problems include things likesimply not knowing key words and expressions or, even ifwe do know them, not recognising them because offactors like speed of speech, unfamiliar accent, andfeatures of connected speech (weak forms, elision and soon).


On the other hand, we also need to apply our backgroundknowledge of the topic of the listening, the culture inwhich it’s situated, the context and so on. This is calledtop-down processing. For example, in order tounderstand a report about a game of American football,

just knowing particular words and expressions would notbe enough to make sense of what we hear: we wouldalso need to know the rules of the game.


So, top-down listening problems include lack ofknowledge or interest in the topic of the listening, orhaving the ‘wrong’ knowledge because of a differentcultural background.


Whenever we listen, we use both kinds of processing to agreater or lesser degree; and for learners, both kinds ofprocessing can present challenges.


Lastly, there are a number of more general affective or‘emotional’ problems which learners often encounter withlistening.


T-PS (cont’d)

10 min(cont’d)

Wrap up this stage by asking participants if they came up withany more problems which are not listed on Worksheet 1. Ifso, in which group would each problem belong (bottom-up,top-down or affective)?

T-PS

Reading anddiscussion Worksheet 2

To clarify andidentify the useof top-downprocessing

A closer look at top-down processing

Explain that we’ll now look at top-down processing in moredetail as this is an aspect of listening which can easily beoverlooked. Of course, we need to know and be able torecognise lots of words in order to be able to listensuccessfully – but top-down factors, although they’re perhapsless obvious, are also vitally important.

T-PS

20 min

Working alone, participants read about the four different kindsof background knowledge on Worksheet 2.

P

Then in pairs, participants re-read the sheet together andcome up with their own alternative examples for theunderlined parts.

P-P



22/48




Reading anddiscussion Worksheet 2 To clarify andidentify the use

of top-downprocessing

Finally, put participants in different pairs or in larger groups tocompare their ideas.

P-P / P-P-P

20 min (cont’d)

Round off by eliciting one or two suggestions for each of theunderlined parts of the sheet, using the suggestions to

assess how well the participants have understood theconcepts involved and clarifying as necessary.

T-PS

Discussion Worksheet 2 andWorksheet 3 PPT slide 10

To identifymethods bywhichparticipants canaid learners in

top-downprocessing

Helping learners with top-down processing

In small groups, participants come up with one or twoclassroom ideas for helping learners with each of the areas‘top-down’ listed on Worksheet 2: topic, discourse, situationand cohesive devices.

P-P-P

20 min

Use PPT10 to display the different areas of ‘top-down’

processing to help remind participants.

P-P-P

Feedback: Ask the groups to compare their ideas with those onWorksheet 3.

P-P-P

To round off this stage and the session, ask each group toshare any teaching ideas they had which are not listed on thesheet.

T-PS



23/48




Refer participants to the following Cambridge English Teacher resources:


Joined-Up Listening by Johanna Stirling - Webinar http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/1138

Joined-Up Listening by Johanna Stirling - Article


Livening up Listening! by Nick Bilbrough - Webinar

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/2072

Second Language Listening: Where are we? by John Field - Article


Tasks which can aid reflection upon the topic:

An Introduction to Listening Sub-Skills by Alex Tilbury


Listening Sub-Skills and Classroom Tasks by Alex Tilbury


Listening and Background Knowledge by Alex Tilbury


Listening to Connected Speech by Alex Tilbury


Planning a Listening Lesson by Alex Tilbury


Preparing for Cambridge English: Key Listening by Niki Joseph


Preparing for Cambridge English: Preliminary Listening by Niki Joseph



Listening in the Language Classroom by John Field

http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/listening-

language-classroom-1/listening-language-classroom

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/1138http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/1138http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/752http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/752http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/2072http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/2072http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1196http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1196http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1202http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1202http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1201http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1201http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1198http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1198http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1199http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1199http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1200http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1200http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1586http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1586http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1592http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1592http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/listening-language-classroom-1/listening-language-classroomhttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/listening-language-classroom-1/listening-language-classroomhttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/listening-language-classroom-1/listening-language-classroomhttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/listening-language-classroom-1/listening-language-classroomhttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/teacher-training-development-and-research/listening-language-classroom-1/listening-language-classroomhttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1592http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1586http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1200http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1199http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1198http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1201http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1202http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1196http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/2072http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/752http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/eventdetail/1138


24/48



Worksheet 1

Discussion: What makes listening difficult?

Problems with ‘bottom-up’ processing

Lack of vocabulary: not knowing key words and expressions

Not recognising words and expressions because of:

o speed of delivery

o unfamiliar accents

o connected speech (contractions, weak forms, linking, elision, etc.)

Confusion caused by use of fillers, e.g. um, er , you know

Difficulties with interpreting the meaning of stress, intonation, ‘tone of voice’

… … …

Problems with ‘top-down’ processing

Not being familiar with the topic because of:

o lack of experience

o lack of interest

o different cultural background

Making incorrect assumptions about the topic, possibly for cultural reasons

Lack of paralinguistic features (facial expressions, body language) to help understanding

… … …

Affective problems

Panic, negative feelings about listening in general

Expecting to understand every word – leading to demotivation

High level of concentration required for too long a time – leading to tiredness, ‘switching off’

Uninteresting or inappropriate topic

… … …


25/48



Worksheet 2

Reading and discussion: A closer look at top-down processing

When we listen, we use two kinds of information to work out the meaning of what’s being said. We use our

understanding of the words and expressions which we hear (bottom-up processing), but we also use our

background knowledge (top-down processing).

A number of different types of background knowledge are involved in top-down processing, and they can all

present challenges to learners. Here are some examples:

Type of background knowledge Possible learner problems

1. Knowledge of topic

When we listen to talk about a particular

topic, we use our existing knowledge of the

topic to help us understand (e.g. when

listening to talk about football, we alreadyknow that there are two teams, that the aim

is to score goals, that handling the ball is

against the rules, and so on).

The learner may have little or no knowledge

of the topic because it doesn’t interest them

or because it’s not familiar in their culture

(e.g. understanding a conversation about

cricket would be difficult for learners in many

parts of the world).

They may make assumptions about the

topic which are incorrect, possibly because

of cultural differences (e.g. in some cultures,

weddings last for several days and it’s

assumed that the hosts will pay for their

guests’ transport and accommodation).

2. Knowledge of discourse When we listen to certain types of text, we

have expectations about how the text will be

organised. This knowledge helps us to

understand the summary (e.g. a radio news

summary in the UK will often start with very

short headlines. We then hear about each

story (in the same order as the headlines) in

more detail. There may be a light-hearted or

funny story at the end).

Learners may have no experience of thetext type.

Learners may expect the text type to be

organised in a different way (e.g. in some

countries, perhaps radio news summaries

follow a different structure).

Learners sometimes have the necessary

knowledge of discourse but they may not

use it because they’re too focused on trying

to understand every word, or becauselistening causes feelings of panic. The same

problem can also apply to knowledge of

topic (above).

[continued]


26/48



Type of background knowledge Possible learner problems

3. Knowledge of situation

This refers to knowledge about the physical

space (where are we? what can we see?) and

people (who are they? what’s their

relationship?) in the listening situation. Thisknowledge helps us to understand particular

words and expressions (e.g. I , you , this

table, that book ).

In the classroom, learners often practise by

listening to recordings. They may not have

enough knowledge of the context of the

recording (who the people are, where they

are) to make sense of what they hear.

4. Knowledge of cohesive devices

Good listeners are able to use certain words

and expressions (cohesive devices) to

predict what’s going to come next. e.g.:

I usually finish work at six. Unfortunately,

… (we expect to hear some ‘bad news’) I agree, Mike’s a good candidate for the

job. However, … (we expect to hear a

reservation or an alternative suggestion)

On the one hand, living in the centre is

very convenient. … (we expect to hear on

the other hand and then a contrasting

point)

Learners may not know the meanings of

cohesive devices, and so will not be able to

use the clues which they give to predict the

next part of the message.


27/48



Worksheet 3

Teaching ideas

1. Knowledge of topic.

In groups, learners tell each other all they know / discuss questions about the topic before theylisten.

Tell learners the topic of the listening, put them in groups, and ask them to come up with questions

they expect to be answered in the recording.

Learners listen to the beginning of a recording and make predictions about the rest.

2. Knowledge of discourse.

Before learners listen to a radio news summary, show them a diagram with the structure of a news

summary, e.g. headlines 1, 2, 3 > story 1 > story 2 > story 3 > funny story > weather.

After listening to a formal presentation, learners look at the recording script and label the different

parts (e.g. introduction, outline, topic 1, topic 2, topic 3, summary, questions).

Before listening to a recording of a traveller buying a ticket at a railway station, learners work in pairsand act out the conversation as they imagine it will happen. This can be done in English or in the

learners’ first language.

3. Knowledge of situation.

Before listening, tell learners who the speakers are, how they’re related and where they are. Use

pictures of the people and place to interest the learners.

If using a video, play it first with the sound off and ask learners to predict what’s happening and what

the people are saying.

4. Knowledge of cohesive devices.

Stop the recording after cohesive devices and put learners in pairs to predict what kind of information

will come next. Discuss their suggestions as a class and ask them how they were able to make their

predictions. Discuss the meanings of the cohesive devices.

After listening, give learners the recording script with gaps in place of the cohesive devices. Learners

try to predict or remember the cohesive devices, then listen to check. Go through the answers as a

class and discuss the meaning of the cohesive devices.


28/48




29/48

Helping Learners to Write Cohesively Teaching Training Plan by Alex Tilbury


30/48

Teacher Training Plans Helping Learners to Write Cohesively


Helping Learners to Write Cohesively

Background

The importance of cohesion is particularly key to written discourse as authors are rarely present to explain to

their readers any issues which arise through ambiguity or clumsy phrasing within the text. This session,

based on a teaching task by Verity Cole, describes for participants the types of cohesive device evident

within writing and the appropriate use of such devices when creating a written text. The tasks help to

spotlight and raise awareness of cohesive devices whilst also providing ideas of how to teach their use to

learners.

Aims:

Participants learn about the importance of cohesion in written (in particular, formal or academic) texts, and

different kinds of cohesive devices.

Participants practise diagnosing issues with use of cohesive devices in learners’ written work. Participants learn about some classroom activities for improving learners’ ability to recognise, understand

and use cohesive devices.

Materials:

Session plan


Worksheet 1 Lead-in: Dictogloss text

Worksheet 2 Task and discussion: Diagnosing learner problems

Worksheet 3 Task and discussion: Diagnosing learner problems – suggested answers

Worksheet 4 Discussion: Classroom activities

(All worksheets are adapted from Verity Cole, Making It Fit Together: Helping Students to Write CohesiveEssays at http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1470)

Access to Self-study follow-up reading and tasks (see list after Session Plan)

PowerPoint presentation (referred to as PPT with the relevant slide number throughout the session plan).

You may want to look at the presentation before using it in session as it contains animations

Appropriate for:

Teachers with a CELTA or equivalent qualification plus more than two years’ experience – ‘Proficient’



Time:

One hour

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1470http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1470http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1470https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttp://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttp://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-frameworkhttps://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1470


31/48



Session Plan


Stage and aim Procedure Interaction Timing

Lead-in

Option 1

Worksheet 1

To engage the

interest of the

group and

introduce the

topic of the

session

Start the session by using the introductory text onWorksheet 1. Read the text aloud at natural speed. Askparticipants simply to sit back and listen.

T-PS 10 min

In small groups, participants tell each other what they canremember of the text.

P-P-P

Read the text aloud for a second time, again at naturalspeed, pausing only briefly between sentences. This time,participants note down key words as they listen.

T-PS

In small groups, participants work together and use their

notes to recreate the paragraph (about 150 words). Itdoesn’t need to be identical to the original, but it shouldhave the same meaning – and be written in good English!

P-P-P

Once participants have completed their texts, give outcopies of Worksheet 1, folded so that the task on thebottom half is not visible, so they can compare it with theoriginal.

T-PS

Lead-in

Option 2

Worksheet 1

To engage the

interest of the

group and

introduce the

topic of the

session

Sentence ordering

Give each group the set of 12 phrases below, each on aseparate slip of paper.

T-PS 10 min

Tell the participants put the sentences in order to make acoherent text. A cohesive text is a text in which ideas are clearly linked together

within and between paragraphs,

and then to refer forwards and backwards to these

as learners are required to use complex structures

Coursebooks and self-study materials favour these for goodreason:

for example using pronouns like ‘this’ and ‘that’ and words like‘therefore’ and ‘although’.

However, learners’ ability to complete a gap-fill task isn’t aguarantee of their ability to write a cohesive extended text.

rather than to single, concrete nouns.

such as embedded clauses and extended noun phrases, The more academic the style of writing,

the more difficult writing cohesively becomes,

they provide practice of manipulation of form, collocation andconnotation in context; they are relatively quick to complete; theyare straightforward to mark; and they often provide a model of awritten genre for learners to follow.

Throughout their English education, learners become adept atgap-fill exercises.

Then compare with the original on Worksheet 1, folded sothat the task on the bottom half is not visible.

P-P-P


32/48




Round up of

lead-in stage

PPT slides 2–5

To identify the

use of cohesion

and cohesive

devices in

written

discourse

Having either completed option 1 or 2, round off this stage byquickly establishing the answers to these questions:

1. What do we mean by ‘cohesion’ / a text being ‘cohesive’?

Answer: The use of words / expressions / structures tolink together the ideas in a text and show to the readerhow they’re related.

Use PPT2 to display the above information.

2. What are some examples of ‘cohesive devices’? Answer: ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘therefore’, ‘although’. Sometimes a

text can still make sense without cohesive devices, butthis can mean that the reader has to do more work inorder to understand the relationships between the ideasin a text. To use an example from our paragraph:

Throughout their English education, learners becomeadept at gap-fill exercises … However, learners’ ability tocomplete a gap-fill task isn’t a guarantee of their ability towrite a cohesive extended text.

Use PPT3 and 4 to display the above information and help

with the discussion below.

We could in fact leave out the word ‘however’, but its usemakes it easier for the reader to understand right awaythat a contrast is being made.

Explain that the rest of this session will consider thequestions:1. What kinds of cohesive device are particularly important inwriting? 2. What problems can learners have with these? 3. How can we help our learners to write more cohesively?

Use PPT5 to display the questions.

T-PS 5 min

Task and

discussion

Worksheet 1

PPT slides 6–10

To clarify the

types of

cohesive device

and provide

examples

Kinds of cohesive device

Participants unfold Worksheet 1

so they can see the task in

the bottom half, and attempt the task on their own.

P

15 min

After a few minutes, they compare their ideas in pairs or smallgroups.

P-P / P-P-P

Feedback: Elicit and check answers as a class. Example answers: 1. Pronouns

these, they = ‘gap-fill exercises’

in which = ‘in a cohesive text’

these’ = ‘complex structures’

Use PPT6 to display the list of pronouns.

T-PS

https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097


33/48




Task and

discussion

Worksheet 1

PPT slides 6–10

To clarify the

types of

cohesive device

and provide

examples

2. Linking words and expressions

however , for example, like, as (= because), such as

Use PPT7 to display the list of linking words and

expressions.

3. Complex noun phrases

‘learners’ ability to complete a gap-fill task’

‘a guarantee of their ability to write a cohesiveextended text’

‘complex structures such as embedded clauses andextended noun phrases’

Use PPT8 to display the complex noun phrases.

4. Subject-verb agreement

‘learners become …’

‘learners’ ability to complete a gap-fill task isn’t …’

Use PPT9 to display the examples of subject-verb

agreement.

5. Punctuation

The use of colon and semi-colons to introduce andseparate reasons in ‘Coursebooks and self-study

materials favour these for good reason: they provide practice of manipulation of form, collocation and

connotation in context ; they are relatively quick tocomplete; they are straightforward to mark ; and theyoften provide a model of a written genre for learners tofollow.’

Use PPT10 to display the punctuation examples.

T-PS

(cont’d)

15 min

(cont’d)

Task and

discussion

Worksheet 2 and

Worksheet 3

PPT slides 11

and 12

To raise

awareness of

the types of

problems faced

by learners

when using

cohesive

devices

Learner problems

Participants attempt the task on Worksheet 2 alone, thencompare their ideas in pairs or small groups.

P then

P-P / P-P-P

15 min

Feedback:

For feedback, participants study the suggested answers onWorksheet 3.

Use PPT11 and 12 to display the suggested answers. T-PS

https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097https://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/2097


34/48




Discussion and

summary

Worksheet 4

PPT slide 13

To identify

classroom

activities which

aid the process

of teaching

learners about

cohesive

devices

Classroom activities

Participants attempt the task on Worksheet 4 alone, then

compare their ideas in pairs or small groups. Emphasise that

there are different possible answers to this task.

P then

P-P / P-P-P

15

Feedback: For feedback, suggest one possible order for the activities:

c)> e) > a) > b) > d)

Use PPT13 to display the possible order for the activities.

This order moves from general awareness raising (c) topractice in recognising cohesive devices (e) and then a seriesof increasingly challenging activities in using cohesivedevices (a, b, d).

T-PS

Find out of participants came up with any different answersfor this task and ask them to explain their reasoning.



35/48




Refer participants to the following Cambridge English Teacher resources


Writing and Language Accuracy by Craig Thaine - Article


Teaching Grammar for Academic Writing: The Neglected Noun Phrase by Martin Hewings - Article


Tasks which can aid reflection upon the topic:

Reflective Learning Journals with Blogs by Graham Stanley


Evaluating and Structuring Arguments for an Essay by Carolyn Westbrook



Skills for Effective Writing 1 by Blass, L., Brown, K. et al

http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/skills-effective-writing

Academic Writing Skills 1 by Peter Chin, Yusa Koizumi, Samuel Reid, Sean Wray, and Yoko Yamazaki

http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/academic-writing-skills

Real Writing by Graham Palmer

http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/cambridge-english-skills-real-writing

CET courses of interest:

Teaching Writing


http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/965http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/965http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1376http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1512http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1512http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1412http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1412http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/skills-effective-writinghttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/skills-effective-writinghttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/academic-writing-skillshttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/academic-writing-skillshttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/cambridge-english-skills-real-writinghttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/cambridge-english-skills-real-writinghttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54091http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54091http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/courses/details/54091http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/cambridge-english-skills-real-writinghttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/academic-writing-skillshttp://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/skills/skills-effective-writinghttp://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1412http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1512http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1376http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/965


36/48



Worksheet 1

Lead-in: Dictogloss text

Throughout their English education, learners become adept at gap-fill exercises. Coursebooks and self-study

materials favour these for good reason: they provide practice of manipulation of form, collocation and

connotation in context; they are relatively quick to complete; they are straightforward to mark; and they often

provide a model of a written genre for learners to follow. However, learners’ ability to complete a gap-fill task

isn’t a guarantee of their ability to write a cohesive extended text. A cohesive text is a text in which ideas are

clearly linked together within and between paragraphs, for example using pronouns like ‘this’ and ‘that’ and

words like ‘therefore’ and ‘although’. The more academic the style of writing, the more difficult writing

cohesively becomes, as learners are required to use complex structures such as embedded clauses and

extended noun phrases, and then to refer forwards and backwards to these rather than to single, concrete

nouns.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------

Here are some kinds of cohesive device which are important particularly in more formal or academic writing.

Can you find some examples of each in the text above?

1. Use of pronouns to refer backwards and forwards in the text

2. Use of linking words and expressions (often adverbs and prepositions) to show logical relations between

phrases, clauses and sentences

3. Use of long and complex noun phrases to pack lots of ideas into a small space

4. Agreement between subjects of sentences and verbs

5. Use of punctuation to show logical relations


37/48



Worksheet 2

Task and discussion: Diagnosing learner problems

Read these extracts from learners’ essays and identify the cohesion problem(s) they contain. Use the list ofcohesive devices from Worksheet 1 to help you.

1. Essay question: ‘Throughout the play, the world of Egypt and the Egyptians is presented as nothing

more than a world of foolishness.’ By exploring Shakespeare’s dramatic presentation of Egypt and its

people in Antony and Cleopatra, evaluate this view.

Start of learner’s answer: Indeed, Egypt is described as a place where ‘he fishes, drinks and

wastes’, a place of losing control and pleasure.

2. Despite the diversified contexts, women from the three texts have two features in common, the feelingof being inwardly bound to the man they love and to allow themselves to experience abandonment

and rejection.

3. Besides the two settings of the play, Egypt and Rome, Shakespeare has also included many

references to little geographic details such as ‘Tiber’ and ‘Nile’ in Antony and Cleopatra’s speeches.

The two rivers act as a link between them, showing how the thoughts of the couple connect.

4. The difference in popularity between the first age group and the third age group is particularly marked.

The attendance rate of the third age group is four times the first age group.

5. For the age group of 25–44, they are more likely to enjoy the theatre performance as 37 of them chose

it.


38/48



Worksheet 3

Task and discussion: Diagnosing learner problems – suggested answers

1. Indeed, Egypt is described as a place where ‘he fishes, drinks and wastes’, a place of losing control

and pleasure.

It’s not clear what the adverb ‘indeed’ refers back to, particularly as the essay asks the writer to evaluate

the view that Egypt is a land of pleasure. The misuse of the pronoun ‘he’ compounds the confusion.

2. Despite the diversified contexts, women from the three texts have two features in common, the feeling

of being inwardly bound to the man they love and to allow themselves to experience abandonment

and rejection.

This is a mistake with a complex noun phrase. Suggested correction: ‘Despite the diversified contexts,

women from the three texts have two features in common, the feeling of being inwardly bound to theman they love and a willingness to experience abandonment and rejection.’

3. Besides the two settings of the play, Egypt and Rome, Shakespeare has also included many

references to little geographic details such as ‘Tiber’ and ‘Nile’ in Antony and Cleopatra’s speeches.

The two rivers act as a link between them, showing how the thoughts of the couple connect.

It’s not clear what the pronoun ‘them’ refers back to. The writer intended it to refer to the couple, but it

could refer back to the two rivers or the speeches.

4. The difference in popularity between the first age group and the third age group is particularly marked.

The attendance rate of the third age group is four times the first age group.

There is a general avoidance of cohesive devices here, making the text overly repetitive. Suggested

correction: ‘The difference in popularity between the first age group and the third age group is particularly

marked. The attendance rate of the former is four times that of the latter.’

5. For the age group of 25–44, they are more likely to enjoy the theatre performance as 37 of them chose

it.

The (plural) pronoun ‘they’ is erroneously used to refer back to an age group (singular), when it was

intended to refer back to the people in that age group.


39/48



Worksheet 4

Discussion: Classroom activities

Put the following activities in the order that you might use them to help your learners improve thecohesiveness of their writing.

a) Give learners a list of sentences containing repetition. Learners underline the repetition and then

replace the words they have underlined with selected cohesive devices.

b) Give learners two separate sentences which they have to join together using the appropriate cohesive

device.

c) Give learners two paragraphs, one which contains a lot of repetition and one which doesn’t. Ask which

paragraph learners think reads best. Go through the preferred paragraph, identifying different cohesive

devices.

d) Give learners a paragraph or set of sentences with cohesive devices missing. Learners have to read

the paragraph and insert the missing devices.

e) Give learners a paragraph with noun phrases in bold. Learners have to find the pronouns and otherdevices which refer forwards and backwards to these phrases and underline them.


40/48




41/48


Reading Aloud: Why and How? Teaching Training Plan by Alex Tilbury


42/48


Reading Aloud: Why and How?

Background

This session, based on a teaching task by Silvana Richardson, focuses on the practice of reading out loud

and how it can be effectively used within the classroom. Whilst initially, learners may feel that reading aloud

is unnatural or makes them feel self-conscious, the tasks show participants the importance of developing this

skill and how reading aloud benefits learners through aiding their comprehension of a written text.

Developing confidence of reading aloud enables learners to feel more able to engage in this skill when

required outside of the classroom.

Aims

Participants consider the benefits of reading aloud in real life and in the language classroom.

Participants learn about a basic procedure for develo

aspects of teaching skills

Documents