Cambridge CELTA Pre-Interview Task

Complete this task carefully. It is an important factor in considering your application. CELTA is an intensive course of study. Because
of this, candidates need to be fully prepared for the demands of the course and show that they are able to research language
structures, a skill required of ESL teachers. Keep in mind that we cover language analysis on the CELTA course, so we do not
expect you to be an expert in grammar before the course starts.

 For help you may refer to a grammar book such as “Practical English Usage” by Michael Swan (Oxford University Press) or
any other grammar reference book you might have at home or find in the library/book store.
 The internet is also a great source of information. If you’re looking for a site,
try: http://esl.about.com/od/englishgrammar/English

=> Please make sure you read the directions for each section and proofread your work carefully! The CELTA course
requires a high level of written English. When you have finished, please send it to [email protected]. Retain a
copy of this task for your interview.

Part 1: Language awareness

A. Error correction
Each of the exchanges below contains a mistake. In each case:
i) write the corrected version in the space provided
ii) clarify your correction in simple English to explain the mistake

Example
Mr. Smith: “Do you have much experience in the restaurant
business?” Giorgio: “Yes, I’ve been working as a chef since 10 years.”

i) I’ve been working as a chef for ten years.

ii) We use ‘since’ before a point in time – for example, since Tuesday, since 1992, since 5 o’clock. We use
for before a period of time - for example, for two weeks, for six years, for ten minutes. In this case ‘10
years’ is a period of time, so we need ‘for’.

1. Maria: “I’d like some informations about your

courses.” Receptionist: “Certainly, here’s our brochure.”

i) I'd like some information about your courses.

ii) While courses is plural because there is more than one of them, 'information' is never counted, meaning you can't have two
or three informations. You can have degrees of information (too much, too little, etc.), but it will always remain singular.

2. Jack: “How do you get to the CELTA center every

day?” Pierre: “I’m walking and then taking the subway.”

i) I walk and then take the subway.

ii) Because this is something that is done every day, and the person answering is not walking or taking the subway as they
answer, we can keep our verbs in simple present form (rather than present participle).

3. John: “Did you see the movie on HBO last

night?” Helen: “Yes I did, it was so a good movie”
John: “Yeah, I think Tom Cruise is such a good actor.’
(Comment on the difference between so and such)

i) Yes I did, it was such a good movie.

ii) The word 'so' is used when what your describing is factual (the tree was so tall, the water was so blue, etc.). Because Helen's
statement is about an opinion (that last night HBO showed a 'good movie'), we would use the word 'such'. The following line is a
good example of this; when John uses the word 'such' to proclaim that Tom Cruise is a good actor he is stating his opinion, not
a fact.

1
4. Carla: “Can you borrow me $10?”
William: “Sure. Here you are.”

i) Can you lend me $10?

ii) The person asking for money is borrowing it, the person giving the money is lending it. When Carla prompts William to take an
action ('Can you'), she must then complete the sentence from William's perspective. In this case, because William is being asked
to give money, he must lend it to her, not borrow it.

B. Differences in meaning
Comment on the difference in meaning between the following pairs of sentences, and outline how you might teach these differences
in meaning.

Example:
a) Claire is working late again; she’s so passionate about her work!
b) Jane is working late again; she’s so obsessed with her work!

In the first sentence, the word ‘passionate’ suggests that Claire’s reason for working late is that she is driven by a love for her job
and a healthy desire to succeed. In the second sentence, the word ‘obsessed’ suggests that Jane’s reason for working late is that she
lacks a healthy balance in her life. She is so fixated on her work that perhaps she doesn’t do anything else, or perhaps other areas of
her life are negatively affected.

To teach it, I would draw two pictures (or bring in two photographs). The first would be of a person working at her desk in an office.
I would show the time with a clock on the wall (showing 9:30pm). She would have a smile on her face to show that she was happy
(and passionate about her work!)
For the second sentence, I would have a picture of Jane at her desk in her office, but she would look tired (and a little stressed). The
time would still be 9:30pm on the clock.
I hope these two examples would show the positive/negative aspects of the two sentences.

1. a) She is alone.
b) She is lonely.

In the first sentence, the word 'alone' is used factually. That means the subject of our sentence ('she') is
physically alone, there is no other person with her. It describes her physical state but says nothing about
her emotional situation. In the second sentence, 'lonely' describes a feeling. While she may or may not be
physically alone, she feels 'lonely'.

To teach it, I would show a picture of a lone mountain climber, smiling at the summit of a mountain. It
would be important to emphasize that being alone only reflects your physical surroundings, and says
nothing about how you feel. I would do the opposite with the second sentence, drawing or finding a
picture of a young student that has been left out of an activity. While they may be surrounded by groups
of people, they would be experiencing a sense of lonliness.

2. a) What time is it?

b) Do you mind telling me what the time is please?

While these sentences mean the same thing, the second is more polite. The first sentence demands to
know what time it is and implies familiarity, while the second sentence twice asks for permission to know
what time it is, first by including 'do you mind', and second by ending in 'please'.

There are many different ways to modify the level of politeness in a sentence. To teach this, I would show
clips from popular television shows (like Downton Abbey) where a variety of niceties are frequently
exchanged. I would then have my students rate the level of politeness for each of the clips based on
language and tone.

3. a) If I become president, I’ll lower taxes.

b) If I had become president, I would have lowered taxes.

There is a tense change from the first sentence to the second. The first sentence tells us what the speaker
will do if they become President, a potential future action. The second sentence tells us what the speaker
would have done if they had become president, a potential past action. The only factual information we
can retrieve from these sentences is that the speaker did not become President.

Depending on the political climate of the country in which I'm teaching, the easiest way to teach the
difference is to use photographs of local politicians advocating lower taxes, as well as photographs of
defeated candidates who had wanted to lower taxes. If unable to find politicians that fit this description, a
photograph or short video of President Obama and Governor Romney could be used to show that while
Governor Romney was running for President, he promised to cut taxes, and now that the election is over,
he says he would have liked to cut taxes.

C. Word Stress
All words of more than two syllables in English have one specific syllable which is stressed. For example, in the noun ‘record’ (bought
in a record store) the ‘stress’ - i.e. the louder syllable - is the first syllable: ‘REcord’ Oo. But in the verb ‘to record’ (e.g. ‘Elvis tried
to record an album every year) the stress is on the second syllable ‘reCORD’ oO.

With the following words, put the word into the correct column below according to the number of syllables and the main stress.

examples: banana hospitality menu

momentous bystander superb independent undeniable reliable

computer burger ratio photograph photographer photographic

oO Oo Ooo oOo ooOo oOoo ooOoo

record (verb) menu bystander banana independent reliable hospitality

superb record (noun) photograph momentous photographic photographer undeniable
burger computer
ratio

D. Sounds
Match the underlined sound of the words in column A to a word in column B with a corresponding sound. Note: the sound can
correspond to any sound in the words in Column B. For example: advice goes with sip. Beware! The spelling of the sound may be
different!

Column A Correct Letter Column B

1. advice f a. unit
2. advise h b. jump
3. day c c. eight
4. beach g d. though
5. lodge b e. thick
6. thin e f. sip
7. breathe d g. week
8. young a h. zoo

Part 2: Approaches to teaching and learning

Write a minimum of 100 words about what you think constitutes a good language lesson, based on your
experiences.

A good language lesson must encourage students to actively listen, participate, and be interested in the
subject matter. Because language is, at its essence, simply a collection of permeable and sometimes ad-
hoc rules pertaining to the vocalization of sound, it depends almost soley on the teacher to make the
experience enjoyable and relatable to their students. To do this, the teacher should frequently involve the
classroom, use an animated and impassioned teaching style, and, perhaps most importantly, have a
detailed lesson structure that tracks progress. These methods will increase student confidence and allow
the teacher to observe different learning styles. A detailed structure will also provide lesson outcomes by
which the teacher can measure student progress. I've had many different English teachers throughout my
education, and I can easily remember the sense of boredom and irrelevance I felt during long, technical
lectures. I also remember the interest and motivation I experienced when an English teacher would bring
the class into the lesson, using examples from television and history, amusing us while teaching. I would
like to be this second type of teacher, and make a positive impact in the lives of my students.

Disclosure
Before submitting your pre-interview task, please read the points below and type your name with the date below. If you
have any questions concerning these points, please send your queries to: [email protected].

1. I acknowledge that if I decide to withdraw from a Teaching House CELTA course fewer than 5 business days before
the course begins, or during the course, the course fee will not be refunded. I understand I will not be allowed to transfer between
courses or defer to another course less than 5 business days before the course begins.

2. I acknowledge that the Teaching House CELTA course is a Pass/Fail course, and that if I receive a 'Fail' grade, the result cannot
be changed, and that the course fee will not be refunded.

3. I acknowledge that the Teaching House CELTA course requires 100% class attendance, in addition to work outside of
scheduled contact hours. As a result, absences, tardiness, incomplete or late assignments may compromise my grade on the
course.

4. I confirm that all of the information disclosed in my application is complete and accurate, and I know of no circumstances related
to my health, personal situation, work commitment or learning ability that may affect my performance on the course.

5. I understand that if I am accepted onto the Teaching House CELTA course, I should pay a $200 enrollment fee to reserve a
place on the course of my choice (availability permitting). This fee may be transferred between course start dates within 12
months of my interview date, but is non-refundable.

6. I confirm that the pre-interview task is my own work.

Signature
(=> Please type your name and the date in the space below)

Name: Diego Medrano Date: April 1, 2014

The Interview
Thank you for completing the pre-interview task!

Once we have received the pre-interview task we will get back to you to set up a suitable time for an interview. We run most of our
interviews during daytime working hours from Monday – Friday.

Please complete the following grid to give us an idea of the best time for you.

Candidates will be calling into our office for telephone interviews.

 In-person By telephone
What type of interview would you like?
New York, Boston, Chicago & All cities
Washington DC

Preferred Interview Time:

New York City, Washington D.C,

Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta,
10:00 AM 12:00 PM 4:30 PM 5:20 PM
Minneapolis, Brooklyn, Portland,
Salt Lake City

Eastern Standard Time

Preferred Interview Time:

BOSTON, CHICAGO, DETROIT,

09:45 AM 10:30 AM 11:30 AM 12:00 PM 4:30 PM
HOUSTON, and PHOENIX ONLY

Eastern Standard Time

Candidates for all other cities will be

contacted to arrange a mutually
convenient interview time.

During the next two weeks, are there

any dates you are not available? If so, No, fully available.
when?

Is there any other information that will I selected telephone interview because it's a little more convenient than taking the LIRR
help us to set up a suitable time for an into Manhattan, but if you would prefer in-person I can easily come to your office.
interview? Additionally, I'm available any time for an interview.