Hello. I need some help with celta preinterview task. II know the mistakes,
however, I have no idea how to explain them easily. I’m new
to all teachers’ world so please help me :( I’ve got some ideas for the answers but the biggest problem for me is to explain to students so they understand. could anyone help me please:(Each of the exchanges below contains a mistake. In each case:
a) indicate what the mistake is
b) write in the correct version in the box
c) write, in simple terms, an explanation that the student would understand
1) “I’d like some informations about your courses”.
“Certainly, here’s our brochure”.
informations is a mistake. it is an uncountable noun and plural itself so we don’t add “s” to the plural form.
2) “What does your teacher look like?”
“He looks like tall”.
looks like is a mistake. we say he is tall. (no idea how to explain that)
3) “What did you do last night?”
“Oh, I watched a very bored programme on television”.
bored is a mistake. we say boring. we use the present participle (don’t know again)
4) “Why didn’t you answer the telephone?”
“Because I had a bath”.
I was having a bath..should be.. becase we say the reason?
Imagine you are teaching a multilingual group of 12 adult learners at BEGINNER level.
a)What problems might your students have in (i) understanding,
(ii) pronouncing and (iii) using these items?
i) I’ve got a headache. (have got..possession?)
ii) comfortable (pronouncing table(as an object of a classroom)
iii) What’s the matter?(matter=issue?)
1) “I’d like some informations about your courses”.
“Certainly, here’s our brochure”.
informations is a mistake. it is an uncountable noun and plural itself so we don’t add “s” to the plural form.
You’re thinking along the right lines – information is uncountable. If we want to count it, we have to say something like “a piece of information”. (This causes particular problems for students in whose first language nouns such as “news” and “information” are countable.)
I wouldn’t say “…and plural itself so we don’t add “s” to the plural form.” – we don’t really refer to uncountable nouns (sometimes called mass nouns) as having a plural form.
2) “What does your teacher look like?”
“He looks like tall”.
looks like is a mistake. we say he is tall. (no idea how to explain that)
Again – you’ve identified the mistake correctly
When we’re describing physical appearance, think about the question which would prompt each of the following, and also whether each is followed by a noun or an adjective:
“He looks like…”
“He looks…”
“He’s…”
3) “What did you do last night?”
“Oh, I watched a very bored programme on television”.
bored is a mistake. we say boring. we use the present participle (don’t know again)
Think about the difference in meaning between -ed adjectives and -ing adjectives. Which one describes how you feel, and which one describes a situation? A couple of examples would help students:
The film was boring.
I was bored.
Ghosts are frightening.
I was frightened when I saw a ghost.
4) “Why didn’t you answer the telephone?”
“Because I had a bath”.
I was having a bath..should be.. becase we say the reason?
You’re right about the mistake. There are two actions here (having a bath; (not) answering the phone). One is longer and one is short. One interrupts the other. Which is which?
i) I’ve got a headache. (have got..possession?)
Yes – at beginner level, your students will most likely have learnt “have got” to mean possession. For pronunciation, which sound do you think students usually associate with the letters “ch” togther?
ii) comfortable (pronouncing table(as an object of a classroom)
Yes – the number of syllables is a pronunciation issue here. In terms of using a word, what do you think students might need to know about a word before they can use it?
Dan
thank you so much for replying :) it’s really helpful what u wrote :)
also for I’ve got a headache and what’s the matter….for beginner students, the concept of contractions and what they mean can also be difficult. they need to know I’ve=I have and what’s=what is.
Good luck!