Feedback Sheet- Skills Related Task Assignment

NAME SUBMISSION DATE WORD COUNT

Asia Sultan 907

Candidates are reminded of the Centre’s policy on plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as submitting as one’s
own work, irrespective of intent to deceive, that which derives in part or in its entirety from the work of
others without due acknowledgement. It is both poor scholarship and a breach of academic integrity.

I CONFIRM THAT THIS SUBMISSION IS ALL MY OWN WORK.

SIGNED: DATE:

Tutor comments:
Reserved for the tutor
Assessment criteria 1st 2nd
submission submission

correctly using terminology that relates to skills and sub-skills /X

relating task design to language skills practice

finding, selecting and referencing information from one or

more sources using written language that is clear, accurate and
appropriate to the task.

Pass Resubmit Signed: Date: Double marked:

Date for resubmission:

Tutor comments:

Pass on
Fail Signed: Date: Double marked:
resubmission

(Adapted from IH Chiang Mai’s assignment feedback template)

1
PART A: Analysis of Sub-Skills

Read the results of a survey and answer the questions.

1 Where was the survey?

It was online poll in UK.

2 What is it about?

It’s a survey about, “How do you spend your free time?”

It’s reading for specific information (scanning), because it only requires learners to quickly identify key
pieces of data in the text without necessarily understanding it.

b) Listen again and tick the phrases you hear from the first part (a) of the Useful Language Box.

1. I spend quite a lot of time looking after my daughter.

2. I spend way too much time travelling.
3. The whole journey takes about an hour and a half.
4. I am on the go the whole day long.
5. There just isn’t enough time.

It’s listening for specific information, because it only requires learners to identify key pieces of data in the
audio text without necessarily understanding it.

1) Look at the photos of three festivals. There are two photos from each festival.

Match the pairs. Where do these festivals take place?

A&D Boston Carnival USA

B&E Mariachi Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico

2) Listen and check your answers to exercise 1.

A&D Anna at Boston Carnival
B&E Justin at Mariachi Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico
C Pam at Helsinki Festival

This task is listening for specific information, because it only requires learners to identify key pieces of data
in the audio text without necessarily understanding it.

“…We all remember the things we are interested in and forget the ones that bore us. This no doubt

2
explains the reason why schoolboys remember football results effortlessly but struggle with dates
from their history lessons!...”

Mark the questions True or False:

1. School children often don’t remember facts about history because they find it very boring. TRUE

It’s reading for specific information (scanning), because it only requires learners to quickly identify key
pieces of data in the text without necessarily understanding it.

“…It’s just so crowded! Wherever you go, there are crowds. Japanese are normally pretty polite, but
sometimes, like on the trains, push just comes to shove (literally)! It can be really claustrophobic at times.
Getting to and from work can be a real hassle…”

Does the following statement reflect the claims of the speaker in the conversation? Write TRUE/FALSE or
NOT GIVEN:

1) The speaker enjoys using public transport in Japan. False

It’s listening for inference, because it requires learners to interpret the audio text for further
understanding beyond what is stated explicitly or overtly.

1) It had been raining hard through the night so the ground was saturated.

What does 'saturated' mean?

a) wet

b) dark

c) cold

3
 d) very wet

This task is reading for lexical inference, as it requires learners to interpret the information in other parts of
the context to make guesses/deductions about what the meaning of a word or lexical item.

4
PART B: Task Design

Skills Related Tasks Assignment

Rationale for text
I have chosen the authentic written text, GT Interview: Muniba Mazari(see Appendix A) for the students.
This text would be appropriate for my Pre-Intermediate class because: i) they have chosen to study English
as an instrumental motivation (job prospects, travelling to abroad) and are therefore determined to stick
to learning despite facing L1 barriers. Some students may have confronted challenges in life and learnt to
change the perception of people about them)As Harmer says: Even where adult students have made their
decision to come to a class to study English, they will bring with them attitudes from the society they live
in ,developed over years ,whether these attitudes are thoroughly positive or somewhat negative(4 th
ed:99) ii)these students are familiar with the genre and format (e.g. information divided into questions
&answers) of interview. Most have probably read an interview (e.g. an interview of Abdul Sattar Edhi with
IRIN in The New Humanitarian); iii) the text is a manageable length for Pre-Intermediate learners (about
635 words). They have often read texts this length in class; iv) the vocabulary used is not too complex or
idiomatic, i.e. manageable for this level; v) this text lends itself to both reading skills tasks and a post-
reading productive skills task.
The lead in discussion (task#1), should activate students’ schema about challenges and motivation to meet
them. Some students will probably have faced challenges and can share their experiences, which should
make the lead in discussion interesting and engaging. As Liu Jingxia& He Jing say: An interesting lead-in
can stimulate students’ learning motivation. Learners’ interest and motivation always take up a central
place in language learning. (Scholarly article) .Harmer also says: When students are engaged, they learn
better …..1998 ed, 25

Rationale for task#1

For task#1, students have to give short answers of the questions (see Appendix B). This is a skimming for
gist task as it requires students to read the entire text quickly and give the answers. The task links back to
the lead in (see Appendix: task#1) and, hopefully, students will be interested to see what the text has to
say following their lead in discussions. To encourage fast reading students would be given three minutes to
do task#1. As Scrivener says: In order to make students better readers, we need first of all to raise their
awareness that it’s not always essential to understand every word…….3 rd ed:264)This task mimics real-
world reading, where a reader would quickly skim an interview of a successful and motivated person to see
what the secrets of happy and successful life are. Students should have little difficulty with vocabulary at
this stage, as gist tasks do not require understanding of specific words in a text. This task is set first as it will
give students a general familiarity with the text and help them focus their reading on appropriate sections
when they attempt task#2.
Rationale for task#2

5
For task#2 students have to match the headings with interview questions/answers (see Appendix C). This is
a reading for detailed understanding task as it requires students to read sections more closely to decide
which would best match question/answer. Having already done task#1 (skimming for gist), the students
should be better able to focus in and read certain sections closely to complete task#2 This task mimics real-
world reading, where a reader would read certain interview questions/answers more closely to find out
key to success and happiness of differently-abled people . As Jeremy says, Reading for detailed
comprehension, whether looking for detailed information or language ,must be seen by students as
something very different from reading skills(skimming &scanning).When looking for details ,we expect
students to concentrate on the miniature of what they’re reading.(1998:69) Students would be given
longer (10 minutes) to do this task. The longer time limit reflects the fact that reading for detailed
understanding often requires students to work out/work around unknown vocabulary (e.g. ethnic,
perception
Rationale for task#3
For task#3 students will do a freer speaking task by arranging an interview with their partner .As Scrivener
says: The real play technique allows learners to practice language they need in their own life.(3 rd ed:222)
This allows them to respond to the text topic (change perception of people about you by your self-
confidence and transforming your any disability to ability) in a personal way; suggesting things that the
other students in the class might want to do to unlock doors of happiness and success by “Live, laugh, love
and share” This task mimics the kind of thing these students might do in the classroom. As Harmer says:
Having them take part in a role play…..allows them to rehearse such a real life event in the safety of the
classroom. (1998:87). the students in this class are from a wide variety of different cities (e.g. Lahore,
Islamabad; Rawalpindi; etc.) and they should be interested in i) talking about their back ground,
occupations, interests, motivation to learn English. After several lessons together they know each other (a
little), so they should be able to choose appropriate activities based on the age, interests of their
classmates.Task#3 is divided into a) preparation (5 minutes) and b) pair discussion. The preparation time
allows students to think and make notes before they have to speak. As Scrivener says: Your students may
need some quite time before the speaking activity, not to write out speeches…..,but perhaps to look up
vocabulary in their dictionaries, think through their thoughts, make a note or two, etc.(3 rd ed:224)

(Word count: 907)

Bibliography
Harmer J (1998) How to Teach English, Pearson Education

Harmer, J (2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching 3rd Ed, Longman

Scrivener, J (2011) Learning Teaching, Macmillan

How to Have a Good Lead-in in English Classrooms (Scholarly Article ,pdf by Liu Jingxia& He Jing China
Three Gorges University)

6
Appendices
A) The text (as given to students)
GT Interview: Muniba Mazari
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Q1: Who is Muniba Mazari?

The mother of a four-year-old boy, daughter, sister, artist, motivational speaker, TV host, dreamer and an
optimist!

Q: What’s a regular day in the life of Muniba Mazari?

My son wakes me up at 7:00am. So my day starts with Nael and his favourite ‘The Dinosaur Train’ cartoon
series. After that, I leave for work, or I paint. I’m blessed to have a super busy life thanks to physiotherapy,
art and motherhood.

Q3: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced being a wheelchair user in Pakistan?

Being a wheelchair user, life wasn’t easy initially. My biggest challenge, or fear, was facing people or a
crowd. I fought an unseen battle against this fear for years and conquered it gradually. Today I speak in
front of thousands of people. I feel so happy when people know me for who I am or what I’ve
accomplished and not because of where I am sitting.

“When I see my scars I feel strengthened and more determined towards my goals”

Q4: Tell us about your journey since the accident?

It’s been seven years now. The accident was an incident which made me realise my hidden potential. It
made me what I am today. When I see my scars I feel strengthened and more determined towards my
goals. The only dream I had was to tell the world that differently-abled people are not less than anybody.
They exist, breathe, live. Most importantly, they dream big! The idea was to glamorise the image of a
wheelchair user. I’ve worked hard for it and will keep doing it till my last breath. And I’m so glad that
gradually the perception is changing. Now people see you for your abilities without judging you for your
‘disabilities’.

Q5: Does your accident reflect in your paintings in any way?

7
Art is the only medium which helps you to express your hidden pain, fear, joy, depression or hope without
uttering a single word. I paint women with big eyes which depicts hope and the idea of dreaming. The
accident made me a dreamer and my art is all about women who dream big.

Q6: Do you remember your first interaction with art? When did you decide you wanted to become an
artist?

My childhood diaries are filled with sketches. But I never thought of being a professional artist. The first
painting I made was in the hospital. There I realised that this is my real passion.

“The first painting I made was in the hospital”

Q7: Tell us a little about your brand “Muniba’s Canvas” and the inspiration behind your art?

Muniba’s Canvas is all about women adorned with traditional ethnic jewels of our country. It’s about life,
bright colours and women who are yearning for hope and freedom. The tag line of Muniba’s Canvas is “Let
your walls wear Colours.” That says it all.

People usually ask me why I only paint women. I think being a woman, womanhood is the subject I know
best!

Q8: You have a very gifted voice. Ever thought about pursuing a career in singing?

Music is food for the soul. I feel it’s my responsibility to revive Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Iqbal as well as beautiful
national songs by other poets. I want my son to be able to sing Faiz. So if I ever pursue singing as career,
my wish is to sing these legendary poets.

Q9: What advice would you give to the people reading this?

My story revolves around hope and determination. There’s no shortcut to success. The harder you work
the luckier you get. We all have been sent to this world for a purpose. If you still don’t know what that
purpose is, then remember, a life without purpose is pointless! Live, laugh, love and share. That’s the key
to happiness.

8
The tasks (as given to students) – Appendices B, C, D

Task 1 (B)

a) Where did Muniba make her first painting?

b) What is the name of Muniba’s brand?

c) Which thing does make Muniba more determined towards her goals?

Answers:

a) in hospital

b) Muniba’s Canvas

c) her scars

Task 2 (C)

Match the headings to the questions (1-9) in the text.

A) Perception is changing
B) Womanhood
C) Key to happiness
D) Medium of expression of inner feelings without uttering a single word
E) Unseen battle
Now check your answers with your partner.
ANSWERS:
A4; B7; C9; D5; E3
Task 3 (D)

You are going to have an interview of a social worker for kids of split families of your
community .Which questions will you ask specially motivation behind this community service.

Suggested questions:

1. Why did you go into social work? 

2. Why do you want to work with this target population?
3. What are your experiences with the target population?
4. Tell me about the most difficult case you have worked on.
5. How do you handle high-pressure situations? 
6. Tell me about something you would do differently in your field?
7. What is your theoretical orientation regarding family therapy?
9
Lesson Plan

Stage aim Procedure

1 To set context/activate schema Tasks 1a and 1b

and engage students’ interest
 Nominate and ask students ‘What is their motivation to
in the topic of the lesson
learn English?

 Tell your partner.’ Breakout rooms. Monitor.

 Conduct feedback nominating

2 To encourage students to Task 2

practice skimming for gist
 Set task: screen share hand-out #1 &2 (text) and ask
students to read and find answers of the questions. (Task#1)
Set time limit (3 mins).
 Send hand-outs #1 and #2 via chat box. Students read.
Monitor.
 Ask students to check together in breakout rooms. Monitor.
 Conduct whole class feedback, nominating to elicit answers.
Provide visual support screen sharing the text.

3 To encourage students to Task 3

practice reading for more
 Set task: screen share hand-out #2 and ask students to
detailed understanding
read and decide which headings suit to which question.

Set time limit (10 mins).

 Students read. Monitor.

 Ask students to check together in breakout rooms.

Monitor.

 Conduct whole class feedback, nominating to elicit

answers. Encourage students to support/justify their
10
 suggestions with reference to the text.

4 To give opportunities for Tasks #3

personalised freer speaking
 Set task giving clear instructions.
practice
 Allow students 5 minutes to prepare. Monitor and
provide support (e.g. with vocabulary& questions) as
necessary.

 Put students in breakout room pairing of 2 and ask them

to role play as an interviewer and social worker.

 Monitor and make notes of accurate/inaccurate language

use (MFP).

To provide content feedback, ● Conduct whole class feedback, nominating to elicit answers.
focus on emerging language
● Screen share emerging language.
(lexis/grammar) and allow
opportunities for self/peer ● Ask students to correct in pairs (breakout rooms). Monitor.
correction before
eliciting/giving correction. Also,● Screen share. Elicit/give correction.
to highlight/praise accurate
● Highlight /praise accurate language use.
language use.

11