Kateryna Kirichenko Exam Practice Unit 6 August 2013

Exam practice Unit 6.

Task 1
a) cohesion

b) tense

c) integrative

d)minimal pairs

e) lexical set

f) product approach

This took me about 4 min. But one of them I checked later and it was incorrect so I changed it.

Task 2
a) idiom – a phrase or a clause whose meaning is not literal and as such its meaning cannot be
worked out form the individual words in it. Idioms are formulaic (they are a used as a single
unit).
Example: a tip of the iceberg – a small, visible part of something that has a bigger, hidden part.
It’s only a tip of the iceberg, - meaning there is a lot more to it.
b) coordinating conjunction – words that join together equal units (words, phrases. clauses,
sentences).
Example: apples and pears; I went to the bank and did the shopping; I did the dishes but didn’t
do the washing.
c) modal auxiliary verb – verbs that express speakers attitude to what they are saying
grammatically. All modal verbs can express both extrinsic (likelihood, possibility) and intrinsic
(necessity, desirability)modality.
There are nine pure modal verbs (ones that fulfil all requirements for modal verbs: form
negative with not, form questions by inversion with the subject, don’t have infinitives, participle
or 3rd person –s ):might, ought, should, shall, must, can, could, may. There are also semi-modal
verbs such as ought to, need(to), have to, be going to, used to and be able to.
Example:
I might visit him tomorrow (pure modal auxiliary verb can that expresses extrinsic modality).
I have to visit my grandparent (semi-modal that expresses intrinsic modality).
d) Direct method – a methodology of teaching languages using only target language (no
translation) With the help of realia, pictures and demonstrations. Came to be in the late 19th
century. One of the most successful proponents – Berlitz. In the USA direct method merged with
behaviourist theory and this created audiolingualism.
Example: in the lesson the teacher uses sequences of questions and answers to teach present
continuous: I am eating. Am I eating? Yes, I am/No, I’m not. I am sleeping. Am I sleeping? ,etc.
Kateryna Kirichenko Exam Practice Unit 6 August 2013

This task took me all 15 min to write and then I looked back and edited a bit to make sound more
DELTA-like.

Task 3
5 key language features

Grammar

 Modal verbs (You might want to visit a castle nearby. You will see turtles laying eggs on the
shore.).
 Prepositions of place (at the top of the mountain, in between, etc)
 Gerund (Swimming and kite surfing are very popular here.)
 Articles (The Danube River, The Alps, Mount Everest, a church, The Opera House, etc.)

Cohesive devices

 Additive (not only, but... ; also; moreover, etc)

 Referential (The castle is over 400 years old. It is one of the few left from that period.).

Organisation/discourse

 Paragraphing to group information and make it more accessible for the reader (each place the
writer describes is one paragraph).

Lexis

 Adjectives to describe places (amazing, )

 vocabulary of places: geographical features and things in the cities (rivers, lakes, pond, castle,
fort, statue, mausoleum, )

More than 15 min because at first I didn’t think about the level of the students so had to change a
few.

Task 4
a. Teachers beliefs 1 and 2
 These teachers are influenced by the direct method where there is no place for translation and
all teaching is in target language.
 This also suggests the influence of communicative approach where the students use target
language to communicate.
 The teachers believe in experimenting with the language when the language means students
have at their disposal are limited.
 Teacher 1 in particular believes that translation encourages dependence on L1
 Translation is also seen by these teachers as an ‘easy’ and therefore less memorable approach.
Kateryna Kirichenko Exam Practice Unit 6 August 2013

b. Suggested procedures for teachers 3 and 4

1. Pre-teach the vocabulary/ useful language before the activity
2. Use elements of task –based approach: conduct an analysis/feedback session after the activity
and then repeat the activity with an emphasis on using target language only
3. Ensure that tasks are achievable – the students have resources to complete them in target
language.
4. Explicit instructions that during this activity only English can be used (English time!)
5. Teach discourse skills such as opening and closing, turn-taking, interrupting and clarifying,
agreeing and disagreeing, etc.
6. While frowned upon by some teachers making the activity a competition often gives the
students extra-motivation to use L1 only.
7. Real-life activities such as role plays
8. Bring a native speaker to the class who doesn’t speak students’ L1 for an interview could help
the students experiment with the language they have at their disposal to get their message
across
9. Planning stages are very beneficial because the students have a chance to think of what
language they will need during the activity. Students can ask teachers or their peers for help or
use a dictionary to prepare.

c. When is it beneficial to use L1 in class?

1. Giving instructions for low level when they are complicated can be very time-efficient compared
to explanations.
2. In some cases comparing L1 with the target language can clarify things a lot faster. This is called
positive transfer.
3. When stronger students help weaker (or the ones who came late) students to understand the
task.
4. When students have difficulties understanding the meaning of a word/phrase other students
who know it can translate it for them
5. When teaching phonology sounds can be compared to the ones in L1
6. Using contrastive analysis to compare grammatical feature of the two languages helps students
understand grammar better and in some cases shows them why they make certain mistakes as a
result of L1 interference (e.g. false friends).
7. Some learners expect it because they have been taught using translation before and using it
sometimes can lower the affective filter.

This took a lot of time. Over an hour. And I needed to look back at the previous exam practice
papers to see what exactly is required here.