ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 11th March 2015
1 Approval of Minutes
2 Presentation of Reports by the MATEFL Committee
3 Any Other Business
4 Election of Committee 2015-2017
5 Break
6 Workshop: Teaching Advanced Learners (90 mins)
Alan Marsh
MATEFL
Reformulate
• John married Mary, not Susan.
• It was Mary John married, not Susan.
• Susan wasn’t the woman John married, it was Mary.
• What John did was to marry Mary, not Susan.
• John didn’t marry Susan but Mary.
• ?????????
• accident run dog road woman (any order)
The plan
• Introduction and background issues
• Starting an Advanced Learners course: some practical suggestions
• Some practical activities
• Health Warning: No whizz-bang stuff
Why a session on Advanced Learners?
• Surely there are not that many advanced learners around, and most of
them are well able to take care of themselves? In fact, with the global
spread of English into new geographical areas and professional domains,
the demand for higher-level proficiency is rising rapidly. The numbers of
advanced learners can be expected to rise, as can the levels of proficiency
demanded of them.
• As Graddol (2006)* has pointed out, a merely passable, functional
command of English will soon no longer be seen as enough. It will be a
‘given’- a necessary part of many people’s portfolio. So ‘getting by in
English’ will not be sufficient. A far higher level of proficiency will be
required.
• Alan Maley Advanced Learners
• *Graddol, David (2006). English Next. London: British Council.
Label the levels
• Basic Advanced (B2/Higher Intermediate) = Box B
• Medium Advanced (C1/ Lower Advanced = Box C
• Higher Advanced (C2/ Upper Advanced) = Box A
How to define an Advanced Learner?
❶Occupation
❷Qualifications
❸Psychological type
Advanced Learners:
• Are confident in their ability to improve
• Are highly motivated, intrinsically and/or extrinsically
• Are willing to invest in time and energy – to go the extra mile
• Are willing to take risks with the language
• Are independent as learners, with strong learning style preferences
• Are aware of their weaknesses and areas for improvement
• Have high aspirations
A good advanced-level syllabus should
encourage
• noticing skills
• building fluency
• leading the learner towards being an independent, life-long learner
• focusing more on quality rather than on more quantity.
Jeanne McCarten, Michael McCarthy
Published 7th November 2014 on Cambridge English Teacher website
http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/resource-details/1815
Advanced grammar 1
• Journalists are required to check the facts, which can mean that
precious time is lost
• The requirement that a journalist………..
• The requirement that a journalist check the facts can mean precious
time is lost.
• the English subjunctive
• You should always be on time
• It is essential that you ……..
• It is essential that you always be on time.
• Long live the King!
• May the Force be with you!
Advanced grammar 2
• When I was growing up, I was always branded a rebel.
• Rewrite as a participle clause:
• Growing up, I was always branded a rebel.
• Features that are common in native- and expert-user corpora but
which are neglected in pedagogy or may be under-represented in
student writing
Advanced grammar 3
• Many people probably haven’t seen the recent documentary about the
melting icecaps.
• Many people will …………………………….. the recent documentary about the
melting icecaps.
• Many people will not have seen the recent documentary about the melting
icecaps.
• Items and patterns already known but with new or extended meanings,
e.g. the use of future perfect forms for making assumptions about the
present or past, as in Many people will not have seen the recent
documentary about the melting icecaps. Typically, these forms are taught in
the context of projections into the future, yet corpus evidence suggests
that the ‘assumptions’ meaning is common.
Advanced grammar 4
• If you go into any supermarket you are likely to find sweets and chocolate
bars at child’s eye-level.
• Re-write without if and use and.
• Go into any supermarket and you are likely to find sweets and chocolate
bars at child’s eye-level.
• If I were in charge of public education, I would …
• Re-write without if
• Were I to be in charge of public education, I would …
• Meanings and functions already familiar to the learner for which an
extended variety of forms is available, e.g. conditional meanings,
evidenced in corpora with forms such as the imperative and were … to
Advanced grammar 5
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Are you ready yet?
Ready yet?
Have you finished?
Finished?
Are you coming tomorrow?
Coming tomorrow?
Are these your books?
These books, are they yours?
These your books?
These yours?
Awareness of key differences between spoken and written grammar. The special nature of
conversational grammar that distinguishes it from grammar in other written and more formal
spoken contexts such as lectures, job interviews, etc. E.g. situational ellipsis
Advanced grammar 6
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The enemy began to attack at noon
The enemy attack began at noon
The choir sang beautifully so the class applauded wildly
The choir’s beautiful singing drew wild applause from the class
Teachers should prioritise helping learners to become independent
Learner independence should be a teacher priority.
My foot went red and swelled up after I was stung by a bee.
There was redness and swelling in my foot as a reaction to a bee sting
Corpus analysis of learner writing shows that certain grammatical features
correlate with high grades (Biber and Gray, 2010; Liu, 2011). One notable
feature is nominalisation, the packing of information into the noun phrase
which otherwise might be realised in, for example, the verb phrase
• Adapted from: Jeanne McCarten, Michael McCarthy
• Published 7th November 2014 on Cambridge English Teacher website
Advanced learners need to:
• Notice language
• Consult and research – and you are NOT the only resource. Indeed, go
on the journey of discovery together.
• Record new / interesting language
• Try out language by producing real language of
their own
Starting out: preparing for the journey
• SWOT analysis:
• Study routine:
• Keeping a study journal
• Keeping a language notebook
• Finding good reference materials.
• Keeping a log of useful websites.
Keeping a study journal
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E.g. Reading
10th March
What I did
Read Chapter 1 of Daniel Goldman’s Social Intelligence (13 pages)
Problems/Successes
Was able to do it withou using the dictionary. Quite an easy style but some
specialist words. Took about an hour.
• What next?
• Read two more chapters this week. Better make some notes next time though.
Try to speed up. Must get hold of his Emotional Intelligence book, too.
Keeping a language notebook
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idioms
new words
unusual accents
‘mistakes’ made by television announcers, politicians, etc
differences in spelling between UK/US English
Maltese English
colloquial phrases not understood
advertising jingles and slogans
witty shop signs
ambiguity, irony, humour, graffiti, etc
Explain that a healthy curiosity about the language can be one way of extending their
range in it.
Noticing language around us
• Before we can learn, we often need to notice.
• Snakes and Leathers
• I’m Loving It
• Offer valid until stocks last
• I ain’t gonna luvya
• Woja say?
Reference materials
Collocations
Some of my own personal favourite languagerelated websites
• http://www.macmillandictionary.com/
• http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
• http://dictionary.reverso.net/
• http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm
• www.edunet.com/english/grammar/index.cfm
• http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/think
• www.matefl.org
• http://www.etprofessional.com/etp/default.aspx
• www.answers.com
• www.onestopenglish.com
• www.soccernet.com
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
The reading habit
• Research has shown that extensive reading – reading
rapidly and copiously, with no questions or activities,
and where reading is its own reward, is the single
most effective way of maintaining the language
learners know, and of learning more.
Revision techniques
• Do you revise or review material you have met for the first time?
• How often do you revise?
• For how long?
• Do you have any special techniques for consolidating what you have
learnt?
• Frequency, Duration and Techniques
Using other people as resources
• to help
• act as a resource
• conversation practice
• communicate by email
• edit written work
• lend a friendly ear
• No man is an island
A stoat, a beech tree … and a ritual
• A rare sight
• Steven Pritchard of Probus, near Truro, in Cornwall, is a very lucky man. He has
been present at a rare event in the Animal Kingdom.
• It happened early one morning last week when Steven, a tractor driver, was
walking to work through the woods near his home. He saw a movement on a
grassy bank behind some trees, and lowering himself behind a treetrunk he
watched with great surprise as eight stoats walked in one line, one behind the
other down the bank, making for a large beech tree at the bottom. At first they
had all four paws on the ground. Then they went up on their back legs, making
high whistling noises and looking intently from side to side. Each one took his
turn at pushing an object like a furry ball towards the beech tree. Once there, the
stoats dug a hole with their paws between the roots and pushed the furry ball
into it, covering it with earth.
• All eight then formed a circle around the tree and ran nose to tail, making the
same high whistling noises as before. Finally they ran quickly away leaving
Steven, who didn’t understand it was all about, still looking on.
• In fact he had a vague but persistent suspicion about this event. He went to the
beech and carefully dug up the furry ball. As he expected, it was the body of an
old stoat.
• What Steven had seen was the burial of the leader of a group of stoats. When the
leader, or ‘King’ stoat dies, the other stoats bury it with the moving ritual which
Steven had been lucky enough to see.
• Adapted from The Tuesday Mail in Rudzka et al (1981) The Words You Need Macmillan
• Text A
• A rare sight
• Steven Pritchard of Probus, near Truro, in Cornwall, is a very lucky man. He has
witnessed a rare event in the Animal Kingdom.
• It happened early one morning last week when Steven, a tractor driver, was
walking to work through the woods near his home. He glimpsed a movement on
a grassy bank behind some trees, and crouching behind a treetrunk he watched
amazed as eight stoats walked in single file down the bank, making for a large
beech tree at the bottom. At first they were on all fours. Then they reared on
their hind legs, making high whistling noises and gazing from side to side. Each
one took his turn at pushing an object like a furry ball towards the beech tree.
Once there, the stoats scraped a hole between the roots and pushed the furry
ball into it, covering it with earth.
• All eight then formed a circle around the tree and ran nose to tail, making the
same high whistling noises as before. Finally they scampered away leaving a
puzzled Steven still looking on.
• In fact he had a sneaking suspicion about this event. He went to the beech and
carefully dug up the furry ball. As he expected, it was the body of an old stoat.
• What Steven has seen was the burial of the leader of a pack of stoats. When the
leader, or ‘King’ stoat dies, the other stoats bury it with the touching ritual which
Steven had been lucky enough to see.
• Adapted from The Tuesday Mail in Rudzka et al (1981) The Words You Need Macmillan
Ways of looking: semantic fields
intently, as
in wonder,
delight or
interest
Look
Gaze
Glance
Glimpse
Peer
Gaze
momentarily so that the
object is
hardly
perceived
Glance
look = fix eyes on
Glimpse
searchingly
Peer
closely
Ways of looking:
key
intently, as
in wonder,
delight or
interest
momentarily so that the
object is
hardly
perceived
searchingly
closely
Look




Gaze



Glance

glimpse

Peer


Exercise 2: practice
• Glimpse must take a direct object whereas the other verbs require a
preposition – often at but also into, over and others.
• 1 I just ________ the house through the trees as we drove by.
• 2 ________ at that monkey stealing the apple!
• 3 As he ________ lovingly into her eyes, she felt she would always
love him.
• 4 Could you just ________ over this letter to make sure there are no
mistakes in it.
• 5 We _________ uncertainly into the darkness, trying to distinguish
the route through the forest.
• Adapted from: Rudzka The Words You Need (Macmillan)
Spoken grammar
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A
1
2
B
1
2
C
1
2
•D
•1
•2
That red sports car, the one parked on the corner, is that yours?
The guy with the red beard, he looks weird.
You’d never believe how daft he is, our Kevin.
I can’t stand the smell of it, garlic.
John: I’m off to Brazil tomorrow. Lucy: To where? John: Brazil
Sam: He’s got some lovely fresh pollock. Becky: Fresh what?
Sam:Pollock … It’s a fish.
We had plenty of snacks and stuff.
There was something like 50 protesters, give or take.
Spoken grammar
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A
1
2
B
1
2
C
1
2
•D
•1
•2
Headers
That red sports car, the one parked on the corner, is that yours?
The guy with the red beard, he looks weird.
Tails
You’d never believe how daft he is, our Kevin.
I can’t stand the smell of it, garlic.
Echo questions
John: I’m off to Brazil tomorrow. Lucy: To where? John: Brazil
Sam: He’s got some lovely fresh pollock. Becky: Fresh what?
Sam: Pollock … It’s a fish.
Vague language
We had plenty of snacks and stuff.
There was something like 50 protesters, give or take.
Practice: add these to the appropriate set
•1
It’s got a lovely coat, that dog has.
•2
Kate: I thought it was unfortunate, the way he spoke to her.
Harry: Unfortunate, why? Kate: Not very tactful, you know …
•3
The tall one with the shades, I really fancy him.
•4
It all went sort of pear-shaped really, a bit of a …. you know …
Practice: headers and tails!
1
Does the doctor live in that big house? (Header!)
That big house, does the doctor live there? Is it/that where the doctor lives?
/ The doctor, does he live in that big house?]
•2
My cousin Jim likes going to football matches best (Header!)
Going to football matches, that’s what my cousin Jim likes best. / My cousin
Jim, going to football matches is what he likes best
•3
It’s not cheap to buy cars in Singapore. (Tail!)
• They’re not cheap to buy, cars in Singapore.
•4
Alice is a really good marathon runner (Tail!)
• She’s a really good marathon runner, Alice.
Call out an echo question!
• 1 I’m going out tonight.
• [Going out? Who with? / Where?]
• 2 I left school at 14.
• [14? How come? / Why so young?]
• 3 He’s on a diet.
• [(On) A diet? How come? What on earth for? / why?]
• 4 That painting, it looks like a Braque.
• [Like a what? Like a Braque? What’s that?]
• A Braque. French artist.
Text A: Teaching English in Malta
There are lots of good things about being an English language teacher
in Malta. You get to meet loads of interesting people from all over the
world. You strike up some lasting friendships and these can continue
for years, sometimes for generations. I have a couple of friends who
used to be my students when they were in their twenties and who are
now grandmums. Every now and again we meet up and have a good
chinwag. Another thing Malta has going for it is the weather, especially
in summer. Many teachers have finished by 2 and are on the beach an
hour later. You need lots of stamina to teach in the morning and spend
the afternoon on the beach. Some teachers work longer hours while
others go for an afternoon nap. There are a few downsides, too. The
pay’s nothing to write home about. And sometimes I’m shattered by
the end of the morning. And occasionally we get a ‘demanding’ client.
And sometimes the Director of Studies has got out of bed the wrong
side. Yes, there are challenges, but I love this job and I wouldn’t change
it for the world. Though I wouldn’t mind a pay rise ….
Fixed phrases
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As a matter of …
At any ...
For that …
All in …
By and …
Once and for …
By the …
So to …
Time and …
No doubt …… …
More or …
If you see … … …
At this moment in …
How shall I … …?
All’s well … … …
Text B
There are lots of good things about being an English language teacher in
Malta. First ____, you get to meet loads of interesting people from all ____
the world. ______ and again you strike up some lasting friendships and
these can continue for years, sometimes for generations. As a matter of
_______, I have a couple of friends who used to be my students when they
were in _______ twenties and who are now grandmums, believe it or
_______. _______ now and again we meet up and have a good chinwag.
Another thing Malta has_______ for it is _______ course the weather,
especially in summer. Many teachers have finished by 2 and are on the beach
an hour later. Mind _______, you need lots of stamina to teach in the
morning and spend the afternoon on the beach. And to _______ the truth,
some teachers work longer hours while others go for an afternoon nap (me
_______!). _______, there are a few downsides, too. _______ instance, the
pay’s nothing to write _______ about. And sometimes I’m shattered by the
_______of the morning. And if truth be _______, occasionally we get, how
shall I _______ it … a ‘demanding’ client. And sometimes the Director of
Studies has got out of bed the _______ side. Yes, there are challenges, but
by and _______, the pros far _______ the cons. I love this job and I
wouldn’t change it for the _______. Though I wouldn’t _______ a pay rise
….
Text C
There are lots of good things about being an English language teacher in
Malta. First off, you get to meet loads of interesting people from all over the
world. Now and again you strike up some lasting friendships and these can
continue for years, sometimes for generations. As a matter of fact, I have a
couple of friends who used to be my students when they were in their
twenties and who are now grandmums, believe it or not. Every now and
again we meet up and have a good chinwag. Another thing Malta has going
for it is of course the weather, especially in summer. Many teachers have
finished by 2 and are on the beach an hour later. Mind you, you need lots of
stamina to teach in the morning and spend the afternoon on the beach. And
to tell the truth, some teachers work longer hours while others go for an
afternoon nap (me included!). Granted, there are a few downsides, too. For
instance, the pay’s nothing to write home about. And sometimes I’m
shattered by the end of the morning. And if truth be told, occasionally we
get, how shall I put it … a ‘demanding’ client. And sometimes the Director of
Studies has got out of bed the wrong side. Yes, there are challenges, but by
and large, the pros far outweigh the cons. I love this job and I wouldn’t
change it for the world. Though I wouldn’t mind a pay rise ….
Chunking
• There are lots of good things about being an English language teacher
in Malta. You get to meet loads of interesting people from all over the
world. You strike up some lasting friendships and these can continue
for years, sometimes for generations.
Chunking
• There are lots of good things about being an English
language teacher in Malta. You get to meet loads of
interesting people from all over the world. You strike up
some lasting friendships and these can continue for years,
sometimes for generations.
Over to you
• Now prepare a two-minute monologue about the pros and cons of
one of the following topics:
• My job
• Living in my town
• Living in my country
• Seeing a film in the cinema v watching it on my own screen
• Studying English in Malta v studying it in the UK
• ???
• NB Try and use some spoken discourse markers
Chunking
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
The easier it is to do, the harder it is to change.
Teamwork is twice the results for half the effort.
Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can.
Humour is always the shortest distance between two people.
Anyone can make a mistake, but to really mess things up requires a computer.
People always have two reasons for doing things: a good reason and a real reason.
People who think they know it all are a pain in the neck to those of us who really
do.
An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until he
knows everything about nothing.
The human brain starts working the moment you are born and doesn’t stop
until you stand up to speak in public.
Thank you!
Thank you for help from:
Caroline Campbell: Easy SL Malta
Sigo Gatt: Skylark Malta
Slides are available from:
www.alanmarshelt.com
You can also contact me on:
alanmarshinmalta@gmail.com
+356 99428447