CELTA Assignment - Focus on the Learner

Summary of Interpretation: Given the information provided in Interpretation A, the clinician diagnosed Kara-Lynn with a severe phonological disorder. This diagnosis was made based on evidence provided by testing results, clinician observations, and speech analyses. Kara-Lynn demonstrated phoneme collapses into /d/ in place of stops (/p/, /t/, /k/, /g/), fricatives (/s/, /z/, /θ/, /ð/), and some consonant clusters (/tr/, /gr/) across all word positions. For example, Kara-Lynn produced /diə/ for “seal,” /dædɚ/ for “treasure,” and /dədudɚ/ for “computer.” Kara-Lynn also presented with active phonological processes of final consonant deletion (/fɪ/ for “fish”), cluster reduction (/tul/ for “school”), vocalization (/ɛləkə/ for “helicopter”), and deaffrication (/ʃi/ for “cheese”). She also presented with inconsistent patterns of initial-consonant deletion (/ɑʊps/ for “house”, /ɪʒ/ for “bridge”). In most instances, Kara-Lynn presented with both final consonant deletion and another phonological process, which markedly impacted her speech intelligibility, as when she produced /lɑʊ/ for “clown,” demonstrating both final consonant deletion and cluster reduction. She also expressed a high percentage of CV (27%) and CVC (29%) syllable and word shapes, with little other variation. Analysis of Kara-Lynn’s speech sample revealed similar errors exhibited during formal assessment, including phoneme collapse into /d/, high occurrences of initial and final consonant deletion and cluster

* Have difficulties with a small number of sounds – for example r, w, l, f, th, sh, ch and dz.

However, she still omitts articles in her speech (e.g: I don’t have boss. / I’m Biologist), and uses “ have” instead of “There is” (e.g.: Have a Science Museum in the city.) , both mistakes are made due to L1 interference. In Portuguese, as in the

I agree with Carmichael for the reason that several jobs require people to speak both languages, and often young Americans just know English.

There can be several different reasons why an English Language Learner can have troubles comprehending the English language. Poverty can play a huge role when in explaining why many English language learners have the troubles in mastering the English language. The State testing has varied throughout the years, along with the degrees of assessments and progress. Teachers also need constructive feedback to properly assess their own progress. The increase prescription of ADHD medication can also be a factor. Programs like SLADI in effect that pulls ELL’s from mainstream classrooms to focus on advanced grammatical structures of the English language; all in which, have been unsuccessful in aiding the student to acquire mastery within the English language domains of reading and writing. Comparing a personal experience I had dealt with wasted school year time, regarding an ELL student, involves a teacher being out of touch with her student and giving inappropriate leveled work. All of these issues work hand in hand. The ultimate goal is to teach literacy and to reach proficiency within the English language.

1. How effective are CLT activities ( language games, role plays, problem-solving tasks, information gaps, and interviews) used in class on improving students’ communicative competence?

I attended school in Guatemala where I was taught English. My friends were always bored in that class and did not pay attention, but I knew better. As a young child I believed that up north they all speak is English, and if you do not speak English you would

The student’s main strength is that she is not afraid of speaking and making mistakes. Being an elementary level student, she makes regular mistakes corresponding both to the level and to being a Russian language speaker (Learner English, Swan, M and Smith, M CUP).

In the article, “Teaching rimes with shared reading” written by Sharon Gill, she states that daily practice of shared reading can lead to successful and enjoyable reading experiences for our youngest learners (p. 191). Shared reading is a wonderful vehicle to help young readers with basic skills such as one-to-one correspondence, fluency, and vocabulary. Researcher Richard Allington also concluded the importance of shared reading experiences for our students whose second language is English (p. 191). Gill believes “Teaching onsets and rimes is a better approach to phonics than teaching individual sounds because onsets and rimes are much more consistent than single letters.” (p. 191-192) In the article, “Ways teachers can help children develop phonics knowledge” written by Constance Weaver, she notes the importance of “discussing interesting patterns of onsets and rimes, in the context of shared reading experiences” (p. 3) Unlike Gill, Weaver does not go as far to say that onsets and rimes should be taught first rather than individual sounds.

Lack of language facility tends to cause international students to become more silent and reticent. According to the descriptions of Vi Lieu, an international student from Vietnam, “Although she started to learn English when she was younger like most other Vietnamese, the way English is taught in her country emphasizes more on the written form than the spoken form. English is taught mostly through the traditional grammar-translation method” (Lieu). Although some international students have to take English courses before they move forward to their career programs, they still cannot use English as a native speaker.

She also argues that many Latinos who have lived in the United States for quite a long time, but they still speak English with an accent because they often talk to each other in Spanish. She says that many Latinos preferably attended Sunday mass in Spanish rather than in English. Obviously, it appears that Kuntz makes her decision not to teach her children her native tongue mainly based on those facts that she sees and experiences in her lifetime.

Communication is very crucial in life, especially in education. Whether it be delivering a message or receiving information, without the ability to communicate learning can be extremely difficult. Students with speech and language disorders may have “trouble producing speech sounds, using spoken language to communicate, or understanding what other people say” (Turkington, p10, 2003) Each of these problems can create major setbacks in the classroom. Articulation, expression and reception are all essential components for communication. If a student has an issue with articulation, they most likely then have difficulty speaking clearly and at a normal rate (Turkington, 2003). When they produce words, they

These students may find it very difficult to participate in English tasks and will quickly tire when constantly having to converse in English.

In order to help my chosen learner I will focus on her problem with use of the definite article “the”, and I will devise a suitable lesson plan with relevant materials in relation to her language problem. It is also my adopted view that she needs to practice using the English language more outside the classroom environment, as tests have proven that grasping the English language for foreign students is achieved better by a combination of classroom learning and practicing the language outside the classroom environment), as opposed to just learning in the classroom and not practicing the language outside (David Riddell in Teaching English as a Foreign Language)

Nazir has kindly volunteered for this piece of work. He is a native of Syria who was born in the capital Damascus. His mother tongue is Arabic and he is studying English at South Thames College on the Upper Intermediate level. He currently performs in the top half of the class according to his own assessment with which I tend to concur.