CELTA Assignment 1 - FOL - Resubmission

Assignment 1
Focus on the Learner
Part A:
Profile of the Learner
The student I am focusing on is a 34-year-old physics teacher from Sohar, Oman. He is a native
Arabic speaker, and English has been his second language since grade 4. His current level of English
is Pre-Intermediate. Yousuf has a bachelor’s degree in science and teaches students from grades 5 to
10. He took two IELTS examinations in 2016 to successfully complete his university studies. He
currently holds B1 and B2 level English certificates with a final score of 4.5 each (between Limited
User and Modest User, according to the IELTS scale). 1 In the near future, he plans to do his Master's
degree and this is one of the reasons why he wants to improve his English, since a score of at least 6
(Competent) points in the IELTS test are required for matriculation. His intrinsic motivation comes
from the fact that he really enjoys learning English, and he considers it as one of his favourite
activities along with his other hobbies, which are travelling, reading, and fitness training. He rates his
English as good, although he makes many mistakes when speaking. He is an avid learner and shows a
strong ambition to become an advanced English speaker.
Learning Styles and Preferences
Yousuf's learning style seems to lean towards kinaesthetic, interpersonal and visual, as he mentioned
that he likes to write things down to remember them better, and that he enjoys lessons where learners
communicate with each other and share ideas in a discussion. When I gave him a writing task during
the interview, he seemed very eager to do it and the results were surprisingly good as it seemed that
his writing skills are more advanced than his speaking skills. He mentioned that while he does not
have a major difficulty in learning and improving his English through self-study books, he still prefers
to be guided by a teacher as it provides him with a better awareness of all aspects of language learning
and disciplines him. The learner wants to improve in all the four skills with a greater focus on
speaking, listening and vocabulary.
Strengths and weaknesses
Yousuf is a good communicator and shows willingness to complete tasks and express his ideas.
Therefore, it will also be important to support this aspect of his learning style.
As I mentioned above, it is evident from his written work that his grammar is better formulated in it
than in his speech. He uses the verb to be (together with the contractions) correctly in all simple
tenses. The learner shows adequate knowledge of the use of sequence adverbs and some subordinating
conjunctions (e.g. though, until) appropriate to his level. He is aware of some of his errors and is able
to correct them. The learner actively participates in skill-based tasks during lessons and is able to give
relatively accurate answers.
Contrarily, Yousuf has several grammatical problems. Although he is able to use the verb to be
correctly in writing, he tends to drop it very often when speaking, both in present simple and
progressive tense. He says, “these four skills very important in English” instead of “these four skills
are very important in English”. The reason for this could be that “There is no verb to be in Arabic in
the present tense. The copula (am, is, are) is not expressed”, according to Swan & Smith (2001, page
201).2
1
How IELTS is scored. (2021, September 8). Retrieved from www.ielts.org:
https://www.ielts.org/for-test-takers/how-ielts-is-scored
2
Swan, M. (2001). Learner English (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press, page 201
Another obstacle the learner faces is prepositions. Either he avoids them, or he uses the wrong ones.
For example, he says "I arrived Turkey" instead of "I arrived in Turkey".
The learner forms very short and simple sentences, both when writing and speaking. This is due to his
limited lexical vocabulary. Therefore, it is also difficult for him to understand natural conversations,
especially when they are held by native speakers.
Since Yousuf mentioned that he likes reading books, my advice for him would be to try audio books
as an alternative. This could be beneficial for improving his listening skills. He could start by listening
to the audible versions of the books he has already read in English.
Part B:
Examples of error types:
Area Error Correction Cause of error

Grammar: “I focus practice the “I focus on practicing L1 interference. According
omitted English” English.” to Swan and Smith,
preposition and “Arabic has a wealth of
-ing form fixed prepositions and
particles, used with both
verbs and adjectives. Many
of these do not coincide
with their direct English
translations” (Swan &
Smith, 2001, page 206)3
Area Error Correction Cause of error

Pronunciation tiʧəRweRɑR ju: fRɒm “Teacher, where are you The learner
? from?” pronounces the r
ˈtiːʧə, weər ɑː juː frɒm? sound with a trill. A
common pronunciation
error among Arabic
speakers. Swam and
Smith state, “/r/ is a
voiced flap very unlike
the RP /r/. Arabic
speakers tend therefore
to pronounce the post-
vocalic r, as in car
park” (Swan & Smith,
2001, page 197).4
Suggestions and rationale
Grammar: omitted preposition and -ing form

For this particular error, I suggest an exercise where the learner can practise the prepositions with
different verbs followed by the -ing form. I have chosen an exercise from Oxford Grammar Practise
3
Swan, M. (2001). Learner English (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press, p. 206
4
Swan, M. (2001). Learner English (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press, p. 197
Intermediate (Eastwood, 2006, page 166-167).5This will help the learner to see how the prepositions
are formed and used with some verbs.
Pronunciation: trilled r sound

To help the learner improve this area of his pronunciation, I have selected a listening exercise from
English Pronunciation in Use – Elementary by Marks (2007, page 53).6 This exercise focuses on the
sound /r/ when it is not followed by a vowel and is therefore silent. This will help the learner to
become more aware of his pronunciation and the difference of this phoneme in English and in Arabic.
For further practise, he could look for similar other words.
Appendix A
Eastwood, J. (2006). Oxford Practice Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pages 166-167
5
Eastwood, J. (2006). Oxford Practice Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 166-
167
6
Marks, J. (2007). English Pronunciation in Use - Elementary. Cambridge University Press, p.
53
Appendix B
Marks, J. (2007). English Pronunciation in Use - Elementary. Cambridge University Press, p. 53

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What are Yousuf's strengths and weaknesses as an English learner?

What are some of the errors Yousuf commonly makes?

Assignment 1

Focus on the Learner

Profile of the Learner

Learning Styles and Preferences

Strengths and weaknesses

Area Error Correction Cause of error

Area Error Correction Cause of error

Suggestions and rationale

Grammar: omitted preposition and -ing form

Pronunciation: trilled r sound

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