hi
I am currently studying the i to i Tefl course and I am having problems getting passed the questions 30-37 on the check point three. I have only three attempts to pass this part of the course and if I do not get it right then I will fail the whole course. I have failed my first attempt. After a lot of re-writing and a weekend of reading an English grammar dictionary, I have changed the answers and would be very gratefull if anyone could have a look at them for me and give me a little bit of guidence. I don't expect anyone to give me the answers to the questions, but any help would be most apprieciated. The questions and my answers are as follows. Thank you in advance.
Please look at the student mistakes below and do the following:
- Identify what is wrong with the sentence
- Write what probably caused the mistake
- Identify what type of a mistake it is
- Write how you would correct it.
(Note: These are all spoken mistakes. The level of the learner is written next to the sentence).
I "walked" /w?
:kI
d/ to school today. (Elementary)1. By using /I/ in the pronunciation of the word 'walked', the student sounds like he/she is saying 'walk-ed'. Using /t/ instead would be appropriate.
2. This is an error and I believe this to be so because, it seems as if said student is reading and pronouncing each phonetic letter in the word. So I believe the level of the word (and tense; past present verb tense) is higher than the student's level of knowledge.
3. Pronunciation
4. It is intelligibility that I need to consider above all when I decide whether or not to correct said student's pronunciation errors. With this in mind, I would respond by saying "I walked to school also." (using the correct pronunciation of the word walked), but I would not take any action immediately because, even though the word is pronounced incorrectly, it is difficult to confuse it with any other word. I would drill the problem word and other words with the same sound at a later stage. This could involve planning additional presentation and practice of the regular past tense form, as well as the rules used at the end of verbs, such as -ed and how it can be pronounced as /d/, /id/ or /t/ depending on the last consonant sound of the verb stem. I would then devise practice for identifying and classifying ending sounds. But again, this is something I would do at a later stage.
Let me make a photo of you. (Intermediate)1. The student has used the incorrect verb
'make
' in this sentence. It' should say "Let me
take a photo of you."
2. This could be to do with L1 interference as there seems to be some confusion over the similar sounding words
'make' and
'take.'3. I would say this is a mistake in vocabulary because, said student has not fully grasped how to use idioms within English vocabulary.
4. I would repeat up to point of error and use a puzzled look when emphasising the word 'make'. Wait for the student to self-correct. If not self corrected, I would ask peers to correct and then I would ask students to look up definitions of both 'make' and 'take' in the bilingual dictionaries provided. Then encourage students to create and practice dialogues that use both words. Ask concept questions to ensure students understand the difference between the two.
He's a friendly girl. (Upper-intermediate)1. The student has used the incorrect gender in this sentence. It should say "He's a friendly boy."
2. It looks as if said student is having difficulty in making a distinction between masculine and feminine pronouns. This could be to do woth L1 interference.
3. I would say this is a mistake in vocabulary as the student used an incorrect pronoun.
4. This type of error should not occur at such a high level of learning, so I would repeat up to point of error and point to a flash card of a boy. Wait for student to self correct. Elicit form students the difference between male and female. I may need to plan extra practice linking gender to the correct pronoun and then drill both chorally and individually sentences such as; She is a girl, he is a boy using realia, flash cards, illustrations and concept questions to ensure the students understand the information being conveyed (I think I would devise practice where the students could create more intricate sentence to match their level of learning.
She cans drive. (Elementary)1. The student has used a verb conjugation on a modal verb. One of the rules for modal verbs state that these berbs lack the suffix -s in modern language. By adding -s to the word 'can' the sentence become grammatically incorrect.
2. This is an error as the information is above the student's level of learning. I come to this conclusion as said student's knowledge of the rules of modal verbs is not present. By this stage the student should have been taught about this type of verb in particular, so I can only assume that he/she did not understand the information being conveyed at the time.
3. Grammar
4. Repeat sentence but at the point of error, use questioning intonantion and
puzzled look when saying 'cans'. Hold up four fingers and touch each finger for each word as follows, "She",(first finger) "can"(second finger) "s" (third finger) and "drive" (fourth finger). Then put down the third finger and repeat actions as before. Repeat corrected sentence. Drill sentence chorally and individually. Ask concept question to ensure students understand. Present class with a list of some of the modal verb and go over the rules of grammar when using them. For example: You can not add -ing, -ed, -es, -s and so on. Give students some examples of how they are used in vocabulary. Drill chorally and individually. Ask concept questions. Then practice finding different verbs within sentences that use the present tense structure (keep in mind that these sentences can't be too advanced, otherwise the students may not understand what is being taught). Elicit identification of madal verbs from these sentences also.
The people was very kind. (Pre-intermediate)1. The student has used the irregular plural '
people' rather than the singular '
person.' It should say "The person was very kind."
2. This could be to do with L1 interference as some romance languages identify the word 'people' as singular and not plural. This could also be the reason why said student has not grasped the correct relationship between subject and verb in this sentence.
3. Grammar
4. Repeat up to point of error, emphasise the word 'peopl' with a questioning look. Show two flash cards, one with the image of a person with the text 'person' and the other with an image of a group of people on it with the text 'people'. Wait for student to self correct. Drill sentences such as "The person was very kind (hold up flash card of singular) and "The people were kind" (hold up flash card of plural). Ask concept questions. Practice with students different irregular plural such as woman/women, child/children and so forth. Use flash cards with plural and singular illustration to aid students understanding. Then use irregular plurals to create basic sentences. Drill sentences.
You’d better not criticise her - she is very sensible to criticism. (Advanced)
1. The student has used the word 'sensible' when he/she should have used 'sensitive' The student has confused the two. It should say "You'd better not criticise her, she is sensitive to criticism."
2. Slip of the tongue with reference to L1 interference. In Spanish and some other romance languages the word 'sensible' actually means 'sensitive'. I believe this error is a slip of the tongue as the student is at the highest level of learning and this could have been a momentary blip and the student said the word above in thier mother tongue by accident.
3. Vocabulary.
4. Repeat up to point of error and say "Sensible". Give student a puzzled look and wait for student to self-correct.
Good morning, sir. What's up? (Intermediate)
1. The student has used colloquial speech and formal speech in the same sentence. The colloquailism "What's up?" can mean "What's the matter with you?", but is commonly used as a slang phrase for "How are you?". So you can see how inappropriate it is to use "What's up?" in this sentence (when the beginning of the greeting is so self-concious and polite in manner). It should say "Good morning, Sir. How are you?"
2. I think the reason for this error is mainly to do with the student not being able to differenciate between the two speech patterns, which would bring me to believe that the sentence above is academically higher than the student's level of knowledge.
3. Grammar
4. Repeat to point of error and give a puzzled look when saying "What's up?" Elicit ideas on whether "What's up is formal or informal speech and vice versa for "Good morning, Sir..." If the students do not know what formal and informal speech is, tell them. Elicit ideas on what could be used instead of "What's up?" in a formal manner, such as "How are you?" Ask said student to repeat newly corrected sentence. Drill chorally and individually. Elicit what could be used instead of "Good morning,Sir..." in an informal greeting such as "Hi." or "Hello." Drill chorally and individually. Ask concept questions throughout. Ask students to practice formal and informal dialogues through role play. For example: Informal could be 'meeting up with friends' (going to the cinema/swimming/going for lunch and so on) and formal could be 'meeting the girlfriend/boyfriend's parents or a job interview.'
Tomorrow I go to London. (Beginner)
1. Student has used the present simple form of the main verb in a future tense sentence. The sentence is also missing the verb 'to be.' It should say "Tomorrow I am going to London."
2. This is an error. The structure of the corrected sentence is above the level of the student's knowledge, as the Future with going to' form has not been taught yet.
3. Vocabulary
4. Hold up six fingers for each of the words in the corrected sentence: "Tomorrow I am going to London." Ask said student to repeat the (incorrect) sentence again. For each word the student says, touch a finger. The student will notice that one finger (the third) is left untouched. Repeat the corrected sentence touching each finger for each word. Emphasise 'am' and when saying the word 'going' point straight ahead. A time line on the board with an ex marked in the present and an arrow that goes into the future part of the time line would help. I could point from the present to the future whilst repeating "Tomorrow I am going (emphasise going) to London." Ask student to repeat newly corrected sentence. Drill chorally and individually. Ask concept questions ensure students understand fully. Then use adverbs of time in relation to past, present and future tenses and have students create basic sentences.