Unit 1: Task 1 – Initial Activity (Discussion Forum)

English Exams

Tutor:

MONICA DEL ROSARIO GUILLEN

Present by:

GUSTAVO ALBERTO GRANADOS DELGADO

Collaborative group: 551039_11

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA (UNAD)

ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACION

LICENCIATURA EN INGLES COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA

Medellín, Colombia

2020
 Tabla de contenido

DEFINITIONS OF THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF REFERENCE..........................................3

Initial comments...........................................................................................................................3

The European Common Framework of reference.....................................................................5

Table of reference.....................................................................................................................6
PROPOSAL OF STRATEGIES.....................................................................................................7
Initial comments...........................................................................................................................7

The “ESA” Strategy.....................................................................................................................8

FORUM´S SCREENSHOTS.........................................................................................................11
REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................13

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 DEFINITIONS OF THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF REFERENCE
Initial comments.

Distinctions among different levels of ability in the English language Clearly have to be
made The most common breakdowns is as follows:

Beginners.

From zero knowledge of English to a very basic knowledge of English which can not be
quickly or easily activated.

Elementary.

Students at this level are likely to be able to form basic sentences structures and
communicate on simple topics.

Low/pre-intermediate.

Able to communicate and understand a greater variety of topics but lacking general
fluency and depth of language awareness. Still, likely to make many errors even with basic
structures.

Intermediate.

Able to understand and communicate on a wide range of issues using limited vocabulary
but still lacking in accuracy and fluency.

Upper intermediate.

Should be able to actively communicate on almost all topics using a greater range of
language but still lacking in accuracy.

Advanced.

Students should have a very good knowledge of the English language and now will be
studying mor subtle language Items.

The above terms are the most commonly used , their actual meanings may differ depending
on where the student or the person learning the language is, the text book that the student

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may be using, for example an elementary student in one country could be viewed as
intermediate elsewhere.

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The European Common Framework of reference.
The common European framework established by the Council of Europe states the
following 6 levels:

 Breakthrough, Basic user A1.

 Waystage, Basic user A2.
 Threshold, Independent user, B1.
 Vantage, Independent user, B2.
 Effective, Operational proficiency, Proficient user C1.
 Mastery, Proficient user C2.

These broadly equate to the level listed previously.

With lower levels success is easy to see and usually fun. It may be a bit restricting,
however, for the teacher due to difficulties the students have in communicating in English.
Students at this level are not likely to ask too many complicated grammar questions and the
teaching is mainly visual.

Mid-level students have already achieved a lot, and success can be difficult to measure.
To get to this level, students are usually motivated, and the teacher is able to communicate
with students on a greater range of topics.

Higher level students already know a lot of English and are usually high motivated. The
danger is that they can sometimes feel that they have reached the top notch and fail to see
any more progress. At this level it is necessary to encourage students to take more and more
responsibility for their own language learning process.

The complexity and the speed teachers speak to students will be determined by the level
of the students. Many activities can be adapted to more than one level, but there are some
which are more suited to one level. It would be rather pointless to give an advanced student
basic material. Likewise, there is no sense in giving beginners activities which they have no
hope of completing.

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 Table of reference
LEVEL DESCRIPTION
A1  Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the
satisfaction of needs of a concrete type.
 Can introduce themselves and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such
as where they live, people they know and things they have.
 Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to
help.

A2  Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate
relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography,
employment).
 Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of
information on familiar and routine matters.
 Can describe in simple terms aspects of their background, immediate environment and matters in
areas of immediate need.

B1  Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in
work, school, leisure, etc.
 Can deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling in an area where the language is
spoken.
 Can produce simple connected text on topics that are familiar or of personal interest.
 Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and
explanations for opinions and plans.

B2  Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including
technical discussions in their field of specialization.
 Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native
speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
 Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical
issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

C1  Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer clauses, and recognize implicit meaning.
 Can express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
 Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.
 Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of
organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

C2  Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read.

 Can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments
and accounts in a coherent presentation.
 Can express themselves spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of
meaning even in the most complex situations.

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 PROPOSAL OF STRATEGIES
Initial comments
English students who have the opportunity to live in an English-speaking country while
studying have a huge advantage. They are surrounded by language continuously and are
able put acquired language into practice every day. However, the majority of English
learners are living in their native countries, where English is not the first language, and as
result do not have these benefits. Many of those students may have the opportunity to use
English at work, with their friends or in some other practical way where they are able to use
their English on fairly regular basis. Many other learners are not so fortunate, and their only
contact with the language may be daily, twice a week or weekly English classes at school
or at a private language institute. As a result, these students do not get the same exposure
to the language and therefore the do not have the same opportunity to put it into practice.

For as long as people have been learning or teaching languages, there has been continual
debate as to which method or techniques produce best results. The most common of these
are:

 Grammar translation.

 Audio-lingualism.

 Presentation, practice and production.

 Task based learning.

 The silent way.

 Suggestopaedia.

 The lexical approach.

With so many different approaches and methods it can be rather difficult to decide
which is the best to use. Unfortunately, there is no clear answer as much will depend on the
the circumstances. The spectrum of personalities, the culture, and the students´s needs. In
reality, each method has it pluses and minuses, but certain conclusions can be made:

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  Students need as much exposure to language as possible.

 Students need a certain amount of input from the teacher.

 Communicative tasks offer real learning possibilities but are not enough by their
own.

 Anxiety and stress need to be low effective language learning.

When possible students should be encourage to discover language for themselves.

The “ESA” Strategy.

What I proposed for all leves is the method put forward by Jeremy Harmer, where he
called these elements “ESA” – Engage, study and activate.

This approach allows all the previously mentioned conditions to be applied, and gives a
great deal of flexibility in the classroom.

Engage: This is the sequence in a lesson where the teacher will try to arouse the
students interests and get them involved in the lesson. If students are involved and
interested, they will find the lesson more stimulating and fun, reducing inhibitions and
leading to a more conductive language learning environment.

Activities and materials which tend to engage students include games, discussions, music,
pictures, stories, etc. It is vital that students engage with the topic and the language they are
going to be dealing with.

Study: These activities are those where the students will focus on the language and how
it´s constructed. This activities could range from the practice and the study of a single
sound to an examination and practice of a verb tense.

Sometimes the teacher will explain the language, at other times the teacher will want the
students to discover it for themselves. Study means any stage where students will be
focused of the construction of language.

Activate: This is the stage where students are encouraged to use any/all language they
know. Here students should be using the language as freely and communicatively as

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possible. The focus is much more on fluency than accuracy with no restriction on the
language usage.

Typical Activate activities include role-plays, communication games, debates,

discussions, story writing, etc.

To say that all three elements need to be included does not mean that they always have
to happen in the same order.

Ideas for engage phase.

 Introductions prompts.
 Partner information share.
 Number games.
 Alphabet relay.
 Memory games.
 Word linking.
 Pictionary.
 Anagrams.
 Word linking.
 Information search.
 Sentence prompts.
 Adjective introductions.

Ideas for study phase:

 Explanation/elicitation.
 Pronunciation.
 Spelling.
 Meaning.
 Word order.
 Analysis.
 Tongue twisters.
 Gap fill.

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Ideas for activate phase:

 Role-play
 Surveys.
 Producing material.
 Communication games.
 Debate/discussion.
 Story building.

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FORUM´S SCREENSHOTS

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 REFERENCES

Blake, R. (2016). Technology and the four skills. Language Learning & Technology,
20(2), 129–142. Retrieved from https://www.lltjournal.org/item/2951

Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:

Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved
from https://rm.coe.int/1680459f97

Ekola, T. (2016). ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEEDS AND LANGUAGE

PROFICIENCY OF ACADEMIC PROFESSIONALS AS A BASIS FOR DEVELOPING
LANGUAGE TRAINING. Junio de 2020, de University of Jyväskylä Sitio web:
https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/53038/1/URN%3ANBN%3Afi%3Ajyu-
201702141439.pdf

Gharvi, A. (2005). Do Language Proficiency Levels Correspond to Language Learning

Strategy Adoption? . Junio de 2020, de www.ccsenet.org/elt Sitio web:
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1079676.pdf

Kadiu, Vahidije & Treska, Tomi. (2016). AN EFFECTIVE ENGLISH CLASS WITH
APPROPRIATE TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES. CBU International Conference
Proceedings. 4. 583. 10.12955/cbup.v4.818.
Navarro, D. Piñeiro, M. . (2012). DIDACTIC STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING
ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN SEVENTH AND EIGHT GRADES IN
SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN COSTA RICA. Junio de 2020 , de Universidad de Costa
Rica Sitio web: file:///C:/Users/Adriana/Downloads/6479-Texto%20del%20art
%C3%ADculo-8944-1-10-20130114.pdf

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Ideas for study phase:

 Explanation/elicitation.
 Pronunciation.
 Spelling.
 Meaning.
 Word order.
 Analysis.
 Tongue twisters.
 Gap fill.

Ideas for activate phase:

 Role-play
 Surveys.
 Producing material.
 Communication games.
 Debate/discussion.
 Story building.

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