Focus on the Learner Essay Example for Free

Focus on the Learner Essay 1.Group Profile Its a mixed group with a very mixed cultural background as only three students are actually from Germany. Four of the students were born in another country e.g. Lithuania, Turkey, France and Romania. They all moved to Germany as adults and all share German as a common language. The group is heterogeneous concerning the age they started learning English. Two students started learning as adults while the others started learning at school. Most of the students have learnt another language as an adult and therefore have previous language learning experience. The motivation for doing the course is quite high and the group can be divided into two groups – students who need English for their job/university and students who want to learn for their own enjoyment. They are all at upper intermediate level. Except for one student (who could be classed as a converger), the overall group could be classed as concrete learners. They enjoy the social aspects of learning and like to learn from direct experience. They are interested in the language and they enjoy games and group-work in class. The entire group could also be classed as communicative learners because they show a degree of confidence and a willingness to take risks. They are much more interested in social interaction with other speakers of the language than they are with analysis of how the language works. (Learning styles based on Keith Willing [1987]). 2.Strengths and weaknesses Grammar The students are weak when forming the present simple (especially 3rd person singular) (e.g. I must to take the train, She like climbing, Stephen come from Australia) very often confusing it with the present continuous. (Sometimes Im reading Turkish books). Most students also have problems when using the simple past (we seed its ill, I gone to school with her, We can found this in a school, Where are you born?, She were †¦). Some students also have problems with verb-noun collocations (e.g. She make all the housework) Vocabulary The students have a good basic knowledge of vocabulary. They can talk about themselves, where they come from, their profession, their families, experiences they have had in the past and things they like to spend more money on. (Example of good language: My picture is a technical object but I really dont know what it is used for, Because you met the Pope, you changed your mind You said dug – so it is dig, dug, dug = verb orientation). Many of the students try to translate directly from German into English (The cat was by us) and sometimes use a German word in a sentence, using it questioningly enabling other students to help out with the correct English word. The students respond very well, offering suggestions until correct answer is found. Most of the students focus on finding the exact translation of the unknown word rather than trying to paraphrase their idea. Pronunciation All the students have a strong L1 interference and speak with an accent. The group responds well to drilling the right pronunciation and where to put stress on the words. They are keen to sound natural and like repeating after  the teacher. Some students pronounce the endings of words that arent necessary e.g. clothes, See instead of sea, Lus their jobs Words: 208 3.Strengths and weaknesses skills Reading The students are able to read a text fairly quickly in order to understand the overall meaning. After enquiring about a few words of vocabulary (sometimes looking this up themselves in a dictionary) they are able to answer all the questions quickly and correctly. Listening The students are able to listen to texts read to them and in most cases understand the general meaning already after the first time. After hearing the text for the second time, they are able to answer questions, in most cases correctly. The students react well to instructions and during conversation they wait patiently until their dialogue partner has finished. One student is a panicky listener, the others all seem to be relaxed listeners. Writing The students have a wide range of vocabulary appropriate for the given tasks. Their sentences are well-structured and they make few mistakes. Speaking The students try to use structured sentences. If they are confident with the vocabulary hesitation is less frequent, with new vocabulary or grammar most students hesitate frequently. The students are motivated to improve their speaking ability and they make a great effort to only speak English. Some of them use gestures when they do not know a word, others switch between German and English, using the German word to fill in the gaps in the sentence (I go with the Straßenbahn, I make Teig with Zimt and †¦). 4.Recommendations Language development 1.Total English Workbook (Pre-intermediate) Antonia Clare/JJ Wilson – Longman Publishers Page 8, Section 1.3Grammar : Present Simple vs Present Continuous Justification:All 3 exercises on this page help the students to distinguish between the present simple and the present continuous. It also concerns activities they can associate with 2.New Cutting Edge (Pre-intermediate Students Book) Sarah Cunningham/Peter Moor – Pearson/Longman Publishers Module 4, page 34Language Focus 1 Present continuous and present simple Justification:At the top left of the page there is a grammar exercise section where the students have to underline and give an example of the present simple/present continuous. Exercises 1 and 2 help to practice the use of them. 3.Language to go Students Book (Pre-intermediate) Gillie Cunningham/Sue Mohamed – Longman Publishers Lesson 3, page 9 – The Present (Grammar focus) Justification:Exercises for the students to practice distinguishing between Present simple and Present continuous. First of all filling in the gaps, then writing their own email and finally using the language by talking in pairs 4.Total English Students Book (Pre-intermediate) Richard Acklam/Araminta Crace –Pearson/Longman Publishers Chapter 1, page 14 – Review and practice Justification:Exercises for practicing both present simple and present continuous (including question-forming) 5.Clockwise Pre-intermediate Class Book Bruce McGowen Vic Richardson – Oxford University Press Chapter 25, page 65 – Present simple and continuous Justification:Students can fill in the tables with the verb and then complete the rules for using Present simple and continuous themselves in exercise 1 6.New Edition Basis for Business David Christie – Cornelsen Oxford Unit 2, pages 24 and 25 – Further study (Simple present and present continuous) Justification:On page 24 there is an explanation of when to use simple present and present continuous and on page 25 there are exercises to practice 7.New Edition Basis for Business David Christie – Cornelsen Oxford Unit 3, pages 37 and 38 – Further study (Simple past and past continuous) Justification:On page 37 there is an explanation of when to use simple past and past continuous and on page 38 there are exercises to practice 8.Powerbase Pre-intermediate David Evans – Longman Publishers Unit 4, pages 30 to 33 – Going places Justification:The article on page 31 is quite interesting for the students. On page 30 they can fill-in the verbs in the past and present form and on page 32 the past simple can be practiced in exercises. 9.Business opportunities Vicki Hollett – Cornelsen Oxford Unit 5, Growth and development, pages 50 and 51 – Past experiences Justification:The article on page 31 is quite interesting for the students. On page 50 they can fill-in a time line. On page 51 there is an explanation on when to use the simple past, questions for the students to answer and discussion exercise. Skills development 10.Business opportunities Vicki Hollett – Cornelsen Oxford Unit 2, Telephoning to make arrangements, pages 23, 150 and 151 Justification: Students usually enjoy doing role play. In these exercises they work with a partner and discuss a) a conference programme and b) arranging a meeting. 11.Business opportunities Vicki Hollett – Cornelsen Oxford Unit 7, Telephoning to exchange information, page 73 Justification: Students will probably find the stories on this page quite amusing. They will then discuss any car accidents or funny incidents that they have experienced themselves. References: 1.Total English Workbook (Pre-intermediate) Antonia Clare/JJ Wilson – Longman Publishers 2.New Cutting Edge (Pre-intermediate Students Book) Sarah Cunningham/Peter Moor – Pearson/Longman Publishers 3.Language to go Students Book (Pre-intermediate) Gillie Cunningham/Sue Mohamed – Longman Publishers 4.Total English Students Book (Pre-intermediate) Richard Acklam/Araminta Crace –Pearson/Longman Publishers 5.Clockwise Pre-intermediate Class Book Bruce McGowen Vic Richardson – Oxford University Press 6.New Edition Basis for Business David Christie – Cornelsen Oxford 7.Powerbase Pre-intermediate David Evans – Longman Publishers 8.Business opportunities Vicki Hollett – Cornelsen Oxford

The Hidden Truth in The Rocking-Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence Essay

The Hidden Truth in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by D. H. Lawrence      Ã‚  Ã‚   The plot in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by D. H. Lawrence reveals to the reader conflicts between Paul and his mother using different levels or forms of secrecy. There are secrets hidden throughout the house that leads Paul and his mother to an unpleasant life. The first level of secrecy is the actual secrets that Paul and Paul's mother keep from each other. The second form of secrecy is that D. H. Lawrence uses a story telling style of writing. This way of writing in itself holds many secrets. Finally, the third level of secrecy is through the use of symbolism. Paul's mother tries to show others that she is a good mother even though "at the center of her heart [is] a hard place that could not feel love, no, not for anybody" (Lawrence 524). The children know their mother has this block for love and it is Paul's goal to find love from his mother. His mother's only obsession is to have money. According to W. R. Martin Paul's mother feels that if she has money her problems will disappear and she can obtain that "high social class" she does not deserve to be in (65). This adds conflict because there is a child that is neglected by his mother and a mother who is only interested in herself and the social class she lives in. Paul's secrets add conflict in the story because the secrets separate him and his mother and eventually lead him to his death. Paul rides a wooden rocking horse that his parents gave to him as a gift. While riding a voice will sometimes magically whisper the next week's winner in the upcoming horse races. Without his mother knowing, Paul will ask the young gardener, Bassett, to place bets on horse races behind her back. Then he gives ... ... story a classic. He did not only write a story that had a good plot line, but a story that had many in depth topics. The way the conflicts were shown throughout the story between Paul and his mother using secrecy was magnificent. D. H. Lawrence is an excellent writer and "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is a prime example of the talent that he has. Works Cited Beauchamp, Gorman. "Lawrence's The Rocking-Horse Winner." Explicator 31.5 (1973): Item 32. Fitz, L. T. "'The Rocking-Horse Winner' and The Golden Bough." Studies in Short Fiction 9 (1973): 199-200. Junkins, Donald. "'The Rocking-Horse Winner': A Modern Myth." Studies in Short Fiction 2.1 (1964): 87-89. Martin, W. R. "Fancy or Imagination? 'The Rocking-Horse Winner'." College English 24 (1962): 64-65. Steinbeck, John. "The Rocking-Horse Winner." Modern Fiction Studies 9.1 (1965): 390-391.   

The Women of Colonial Latin America

The Book is rich with topics describing opportunities and challenges that shaped the lives of women in Latin America influenced by Spain and Portugal. Engagingly written by Socolow the book can be a very useful reference for teachers of Latin American Studies. The piece abounds with historical information covering effects of conquests, colonization, and settlement of colonial women. It looks into the various roles played by women stressing on their responsibilities and duties as well as their limitations.It gives light as to how factors like race, social status, occupation and environment among others affect women in every circumstance. I would say the piece is one whole powerful presentation. Socolow being a member of the gender in discussion gives weight to the whole intellectual experience. The book might have a different feel if it was written by a man. Socolow made sure that she started her book with an attention grabbing Introduction. I think everyone who has read would agree t hat it is very effective.It is very perceptive but not overly dramatic, it hands the reader all the needed information to the last detail but not to the point that it becomes dreary. The author can be likened to a professional cab driver – expertly maneuvering a vehicle full of passengers to an intended destination. Chapter One, Iberian Women in the Old World and the New is an interesting historical account of how key players in history changed women’s role across time.Chapter Two, Before Columbus: Women in Indigenous America and Africa is an enlightening and at the same time intriguing description of history. Chapter Three, Conquest and Colonization documents the hardships and brutality experienced by women during war. All the other Chapters namely Women, Marriage, and Family, Elite Women, The Brides of Christ and Other Religious Women, Women and Work, Women and Slavery, Women and Social Deviance: Crime, Witchcraft, and Rebellion, Women and Enlightenment Reform bear t he same keen observation and consistency of purpose.The book seems just historical at first but it has more than just historical information. I would say it is a must read – for those who wants to understand how the role of women evolve from early Spanish conquest to what it is presently. The author use easy and simple language that her ideas just flow from page to page. All in all – Socolow’s ‘The Women of Colonial Latin America: New Approaches to the Americas’ is a rich book that surely gets its reader’s hooked.

Comparing Sophia And Aiden Jones - 969 Words

Sophia and Aiden Jones were extremely close. They were in and out of foster homes all their life. No one would adopt them so each foster home stay in was brief. Most were awful but none could compare to the Evan’s family home they stayed in last. Each night Sophia and Aiden would come home from school to yelling and screaming. Mr. Evans would constantly threaten and abuse them. After a few months, Sophia had had enough and decided to stand up for herself and fight back. Mr. Evans got home from work late that night falling head over heels drunk. Sophia and Aiden had set the table ready for dinner. Mr. Evans stumbling over walked towards Aiden. He took one look and with no reason and punched him right in the face. Sophia raged with anger†¦show more content†¦Everyone would wake up, do house work, go to school, come home and then do more chores then go to bed. Each girl had a different role. One would cook dinner, one would mop the floors, one would clean the bathrooms e tc. The only day they were aloud to leave was on Tuesdays where they would sometimes have group excursions or visitation days where people they know could come and visit them. Each year they would hold an annual fundraiser to generate funds to keep the group home running. The fundraiser would attract a few sponsors and some neighbors suspicious about the girls as most of them had come from prison. A few weeks passed and Sophia was slowly settling in but still miserable and terrified about Aiden stuck in the Evans home. Leading up to the fundraiser everyone cleaned the group home and got it organized for the fundraiser. On the day of the fundraiser many people came one of which was a rich businesswomen named Mrs Jenn Sanders and her daughter Kylie. Kylie and Sophia looked complexly alike and were the spitting image of each other making everyone shocked. Sophia gave Kylie a tour around the home and they continued to talk for the rest of the day. Kylie and Sophia got on so well she invited Sophia out to spend a day with her and her mother on their yacht. Sophia was delighted and couldn’t believe her luck. Before she knew it it was Tuesday, the day she was going out on Kylie and Mrs Sanders yacht. She got dressed up and was