Cambridge

CELTA COURSE
International House Mexico

PRE COURSE STUDY TASK

Part B: Language Awareness

This part of the task is devoted to improving your awareness of some of the important issues with regard to the teacher's role
as teacher of language. At least a third of the course content is dedicated to language issues, but the clearer you are in
advance of the course the easier it will be to cope with the course content and the demands of teaching practice.

All these tasks have suggested answers in the KEY at the back.

Any one of the following books should help you do this section of the task:
Parrott Grammar for English Language Teachers CUP
Swan Practical English Usage OUP

1. The language we teach

One of the first decisions facing the language teacher is "what language?" "Do I teach what I actually say, what the
book says I should say, or what my old games mistress used to say?"

1.Here are a few "rules" that, at one time or another, have been promoted by advocates of "traditional" grammar.
Where do you stand?

1. "none" is always singular, as in "none of the class has passed the exam".

2. "She is taller than I", not "she is taller than me".

3. "I usedn't to think so" is preferable to "I didn't use to..."

4. "No, he ain't" is unacceptable.

5. "If I had the money, I should...", not "I would..."

6. "often" has got a "t" in it, so it should be pronounced.

2. In parts of the English-speaking world, the following couplets would rhyme, while in other parts they wouldn't.
Where do you belong?

1. Says I to him, What have you got?

Says he to me, The fish I caught.

2. Who's that knocking? Could it be the Duke?

Give me the lantern - I'll go and take a look.
3. The day dawned clear, the sea was calm,

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 The sun rose up like an atom bomb.

4. Won't you come to the party, Kath?

Hang on a tick, I'm running a bath.

5. Into the tomb stout Carter peered.

Let's go in! But no-one dared.

If, in your own brand of English, any of the above make good rhymes, then you need not fear. You won't be asked
to change your brand. You may find, though, that some of the pronunciation activities don't sit very comfortably,
and you may need to adapt these to suit your own accent.

2. Terminology

Word classes:

There are at least 8 different word classes (or parts of speech):

nouns: e.g., artichoke, Bognor, misery, thing...

verbs: e.g., do, written, cogitating, was...
adjectives: e.g., pretty, green, worse, boring...
determiners: e.g., the, every, both, some...
pronouns: e.g., she, mine, anyone, who...
adverbs: e.g., blithely, well, then, however...
prepositions: e.g., under, by, since, after...
conjunctions: e.g., and, or, but...

Now, read this text, and answer the questions below:

Dear Claire
I am a boy of 16 years and am thoroughly depressed because of the exams I’m taking at school, where there’s
so much pressure on me to do well. This has made me lie, making out I’m ill when I should be taking an exam.
It also drove me to smoking and when my parents found out it broke their hearts. I still smoke secretly and if they
found out it would destroy them because I have asthma. Please help me stop smoking.

In the above text find one example each of the following. (You could use the glossary at the beginning of Practical English
Usage to help):

1. a. a preposition
b. an adjective
c. a conjunction
d. an adverb

2. a. an infinitve
b. an imperative
c. a past participle
d. a present participle
e. a gerund

3. a. an auxiliary verb
b. a modal auxiliary
c. a phrasal verb
d. a conditional construction

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4. a. a subject pronoun
b. an object pronoun
c. a relative pronoun
d. a possessive adjective

5. a. a definite article
b. an indefinite article
c. a countable noun
d. an uncountable noun

3. The Verb

Unlike the Spanish, Italian, or Turkish verbs, for example, the verb in English is not highly inflected. In other
words, there aren't many endings to learn. This gives the illusion that "there isn't much grammar" in English.
English makes up for its lack of inflexions by having a complicated system of auxiliary verbs. These come before
the main part of the verb, and are responsible for the formation of a variety of present, past and future, active and
passive, perfect and progressive, constructions.

1 Form.

Using your grammar book, if necessary, can you fill in these charts?:

ACTIVE

Simple Progressive Perfect Perfect Progressive

Present I watch

Past I was watching

Future I will have watched

PASSIVE

Simple Progressive Perfect Perfect Progressive

Present XXX

Past I was watched XXX

Future I will be being XXX

watched

2 Now, can you identify the underlined verb phrases in this extract? (The first has been done for you).

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 Actress Jan Ruppe is living alone for the first time since she was 16, and finding life tough, lonely,
and exciting.

"For eight years there had always been a man to come home to and when we split up I realised how
much I'd neglected my friends," she says.

"I'd fallen into the trap of thinking that because we were a couple I didn't need anyone else. It was a
big mistake and one I'll never make again."

Tonight she plays a rebellious 16-year-old again, in a drama about a children's home threatened with
closure.

"I have always been cast as a teenager," confesses the 24-year-old who was born in America but
grew up in London, "but for someone who took up acting later than most, I am not complaining."

a. is living = present progressive (or continuous)

b. split up =
c. 'd neglected =
d. says =
e. were =
f. plays =
g. 'll...make =
h. have...been =
i. am not complaining =

3 Meaning

In the above extract, which of the underlined verb phrases tells us about

a. a temporary habit?
b. a future event?
c. a past state?
d. a past event?
e. the past before a past event?
f. a period from the past until now?
g. a present event?

4. Syllabuses

A syllabus is simply an ordered selection of items - traditionally grammatical - for teaching purposes. Most
syllabuses tend to describe language items in the same way (with a few minor variations), but they may differ as to
the order they put them in. Even so, there's a general consensus among coursebook writers with regard to the stage
of learning at which most grammatical items should be introduced. This task is both a check of your grasp of the
way items are labelled, and an introduction to the principle of grading.

1. On the left is a list of grammatical structures. On the right are examples of each. Can you match them?

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 A. B.

1. first conditional bigger, more difficult, better

2. phrasal verbs By this time next week I will have spent three months on the project.

3. reported questions Stand up. Don't write. Be quiet.

4. comparatives always, never, occasionally, often

5. third conditional turn up, take off, put up with, get over

6. present progressive how much rice?/ how many potatoes?

7. question tags If you phone me, I'll come and collect you.

8. imperatives She asked me if I was married.

9. verb "to be" If I had known you were going I would've given you a lift.

10. countables/uncountables is, were, am, was

11. future perfect aren't you? didn't they? is she? couldn't he?

12. adverbs of frequency they're swimming, I'm reading

2. Now, can you put them into three groups, according to the stage of learning at which each structure would probably be
first introduced and developed? Consider factors such as structural and conceptual complexity:

BEGINNERS EARLY - MID LATE INT/

INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

5. Error analysis

Look at this example of student writing. Can you identify the errors, correct them, and label the kind of error each
one is. The first one has been done for you.

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 The sunday night past, the doorbell rangs, I opened the door

and I has got a big surprise, my brother was stoping in the

door. He was changing a lot of, but he was having the same

smile as always. He was more tall and more thin. He was

having many hair but my brother always was a goodlooking.

Now, he's twenty five years, he's lawyer and he works in

"Jhons & Smiht Society". We speaked all night and we

remembered a lot of thinks.

1. Last Sunday night – wrong time expression

What level do you think this student is?

6. The Present

1. Look at this extract from a beginners' course. It is designed to help learners overcome some of the difficulties of the
present simple. What exactly are these difficulties - judging by these exercises?

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 6. Grammar: Present Simple
Questions

Complete these questions with do or does Where ….. Alberto come fom?
Where ….. you come from?
….. he like music?
….. you like reading?

1. Write three questions about your teacher. Example: Where does she/he come from?

2. Ask another student your questions. Ask your teacher if you don’t know the answers.

3rd person s

1. Look at this information about Danuta Kubny. Complete the sentences about you.

She comes from Poland I come from …..

She is 21 years old I ….
She likes reading and music. I ….

3. Listen. Add the verbs to the correct column.

eats sleeps does housework washes works studies cooks reads listens

/s/ /z/ /Iz/

She/he likes comes watches

[from Beginners Choice by Mohamed and Acklam, Longman 1992]

2. Present progressive

"I'm minding the baby."

i. Which of these time expressions can be used with that sentence?:

at the moment
these days
tomorrow
always
yesterday

ii. Which of these rules of thumb is correct?

The present progressive can be used to talk about:

a. present activities
b. present habits
c. future arrangements
d. past activities

iii. What does this exercise suggest about the use of the progressive?

7. Question forms

1. Translate these questions into a language you are familiar with. Are there any significant differences of form

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 between the way each language structures its questions?

a. Is Jack Irish?

b. Where has Molly been?

c. Do you smoke?

d. Why didn't Chris phone?

e. Who invited her?

f. You've been drinking, haven't you?

g. Can you tell me where the bus leaves from?

2. Which of the above questions are

a. yes/no questions
b. "Wh" questions
c. subject questions
d. question tags
e. indirect questions

(Some of the examples may belong to more than one category)

3. Find an example of each of the above categories in the following text:

WILSON. Well, I'm sorry I can't stay. I must be going then. MIKE. No. Whoever heard of catching salmon in a canal?
Before I say goodbye would you mind telling me, as briefly WILSON. You killed my brother. Your denials fall on deaf
as possible, why you killed my brother. ears. (Pause.) You're a liar. That's what it amounts to.
MIKE. I didn't! MIKE (frightened). What are you going to do?
WILSON. You did. You were paid two hundred and fifty WILSON. Nothing I can do, is there? (He picks up his
quid. Exclusive of repairs to the van. suitcase and goes to the door.) I'll be off. (He smiles,
MIKE. No! deliberately.) Give my love to Maddy.
WILSON. It was on October the twenty-first he was killed. MIKE grabs WILSON'S arm.
What were you doing that day? MIKE. Why did you call her Maddy?
MIKE. I was fishing. WILSON. She asked me to. In private. It's her trade name.
WILSON. Where? MIKE. She never saw you till two days ago.
MIKE. In the canal. WILSON. She told you that? Do you believe her?
WILSON. Did you catch much? ... Did you have the good MIKE. Yes.
fortune to find a salmon on the end of your line?     from The Ruffian on the Stair by Joe Orton

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8. The Past

1. List some typical contexts in which we talk or write about the past. For example: making excuses for not
doing something ("I didn't have time. I was working on my dissertation all day. And then....etc")

2. Here is an example of a context with a past orientation. Can you identify all the linguistic clues that signal
the past?

A few months ago, I bought a pale blue wool duffle-coat for only
£10 in a north London market. Last Saturday, I went back to try to
buy another, in black this time. The price had gone up to £45.
Surprised, I told the stallholder that not long ago he had sold me my
blue coat for only a tenner. "Yes, I know," came the reply. "I was in
a bad mood that day." - A Salmon, Jeffrey's Street, NW1.

[Evening Standard]

3. Look at these extracts from students' writing. Can your identify and correct the past tense mistakes? What
is the problem, in each case?

a. When we arrived in my house and I opened the door others friends were inside yet. They had been
prepared the party and I was surprising.

b. When we arrived, the train leaved the station and we stayed in three long hours until the next train arrived .

c. My mother said me that my boyfriend, Andrew, was having a accident and he stayed in the General
Hospital.

d. In this afternoon my cousin was killed the cat of his mother because the cat was in the road and my cousin
don't he looked.

9. Perfect aspect

1.Look at this exercise. What does it suggest about the way the present perfect is used in English?

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 3. Can you answer these questions?

1. A man says “I’ve been in France for six years”. Is he living

in France when he says this?

2. A woman says “I was in Japan for three years”. Is she in

Japan when she says this?

3. Somebody says “I’ve been working with Eric for ten years,
and I worked with Sally for six years”. Which one does he or
she still work with?

4. Somebody says “ I did seven years’ French at school”. Is he

or she still doing French at school?

(from The New Cambridge English Course, CUP).

2. The present perfect is used to talk about (1) situations that started in the past and continue to the present,
and (2) situations that happened at an undefined time in the past. Can you find an example of each usage in
this passage?

Barry Crump is New Zealand's version of Crocodile Dundee - a man who's done it
all...

Barry Crump has spent his life travelling the world. He's shot crocodiles in
Queensland, been shipwrecked in New Guinea, travelled by motorbike through
Germany and lived on houseboats in India. At home in New Zealand, Crump is a
national icon. He's a man who's spent his whole life living off the land: our local
Crocodile Dundee.

Now, at the ripe old age of 57, Barry Crump figures it's time to share his life story
in his new book: The Life and Times Of A Good Keen Man. .... In the past 30 years
Crump has written 23 books and sold a collective total of 1,325,000 - and even
while his new work is selling like hot cakes, he's spent the past eight months
panning the rivers of the South Island's rugged West Coast, looking for gold...

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10. The future

1. There are a number of ways of referring to the future in English. In each of the following extracts, identify and
label the verb phrase that has future reference.

a. Dry and sunny in many areas. The best of the sunshine will be in the West, especially Scotland and Wales.

b. "You had better get out of the house or call the police because I am going to kill you if it is the last thing I
do".

c. His niece Kerry, daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, is getting married to New York Governor Mario
Cuomo's son Andrew in Virginia in June.

d. "It is going to be an intriguing few days between now and next Thursday. I do not have a single shred of
doubt we are going to get a working majority."

e. Next month, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" opens on Broadway with its original West End cast.

f. Will you help us save more dogs like Jake this Christmas by making a donation today?

2. In the above examples, which of the verb phrases

1. expresses the will (or willingness) of the subject?

2. expresses a prediction made by the writer or speaker?
3. states a fact?
4. reports an arrangement?

3. Try doing the following exercise. What does it suggest about the difference between will and going to?

8. Will or going to?

1. Look out! We’ll / We’re going to crash!

2. I hope one day I’ll / I’m going to have more free time.
3. Mary’ll / Mary’s going to marry an old friend of mine in August.
4. I can’t talk to you now. We’ll just / we’re just going to have lunch.
5. Perhaps in a few hundred years everybody will / is going to have an easy life.
6. “What are your plans for this evening?” “I’ll / I’m going to stay at home and
watch T.V.”
7. John’s starting university in October”.
18 “Oh, yes? What will he / What’s he
going to study?”
8. If you and your husband both have green eyes, your children will probabaly /
are probably going to have green eyes too.

from The Cambridge English Course 2 by Swan and Walter, Cambridge University
Press 1985
11. Modality

1. There are nine "pure" modal auxiliaries:

will shall may can must

would should might could -

Each of these modals can be used to talk about probability, likelihood:

it will happen
it might happen
it would happen (if...)
etc

As well as its "probability" meaning, each modal has been "tailored" to carry out a more specific function, such as
expressing obligation, giving permission etc.

For example, can you match the concepts on the left with the sentences on the right?

ability She won't eat it.

permission You must eat it!

obligation/ You may eat now.

duty

(un)willingness Cows can't eat meat!

2. There are a number of other verb phrases, such as have to, be able to, ought to, that have a meaning similar to the
modals, but which are not auxiliary verbs in the true sense of the word. Sometimes these are conscripted to supply
past or future forms of the "pure" modals, where such forms don't exist.

For example, how can you best complete these sentences?

a. She can't walk on her leg yet, but the doctor says that in a month she ___________ walk normally.
b. Tax declarations must be made by April. Last year they _____ be made by May.
c. He says he couldn't see the stop sign. He would ________ see it if he'd been wearing his glasses.

3. Now, can you correct these student errors. In each case, is the problem one of form or of meaning? I.e. is it the
wrong form of the modal, or the wrong modal altogether?

1. If it doesn't rain we will can swim in the beach.

2. Another point against military service is that young people must to do it either when they are studying or
when they have got their first job.
3. The hotel was overbooked and they sended us to another hotel at London. There was only one room and all
of us must sleep together.
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 4. If my money isn't refunded I'll be able to go to a lawyer to resolve the question.
5. The best activity was a kind of competition: things have been hide and the teams should to find them.
6. In the end, a policeman could get the man and he gave the bag back to the woman.

12. Conditionals

1. Look at these rules:

Type 1 Conditionals

The verb in the if-clause is in the present simple; the verb in

the main clause is in the future:

"If you go to Rome, you'll see the Colosseum".

Type 2 Conditionals

The verb in the if-clause is in the past simple; the verb phrase
in the main clause consists of a modal auxiliary in its past form
+ present infinitive:

"If you went to Rome, you'd see the Colosseum".

Type 3 Conditionals

The verb in the if-clause is in the past perfect; the verb phrase
in the main clause consists of a modal auxiliary in its past form
+ perfect infinitive:

"If you'd gone to Rome, you would have seen the Colosseum."

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2. What is the difference in meaning in the three examples above?

3. Using the above categories, can you identify the different types of conditionals in these extracts? Are there any that
don't fit these categories?

a. Asked if he saw any potential conflict of interest in his appointment with Allied Lyons, he said: "If I had, I
wouldn't have done it."
b. If you're a cat lover like me, then you'll want to find out HOW TO TALK TO YOUR CAT.
c. Like I said, if I don't write for a week, I get sick.
d. "If I met Margaret Thatcher I couldn't feel any violence towards her. All I could do is laugh at her."
e. "If I go in a room and I don't know anyone, I won't be the loud one, I'll sit back and take it all in."
f. "If Silvino was capable of doing this, he would not be the man I married."

13. Phonology:

1. Phonemes

Because of the non-phonetic nature of the English alphabet system, it is helpful to be able to recognise the
conventional symbols for transcribing spoken language.

Look up the chart of the English sound system in any good learners’ dictionary

How many consonant sounds are there in English?

How many pure vowel sounds are there?
How many double vowels (diphthongs ) are there?
Write your full name in symbols rather than letters.

Use the dictionary to look up the pronunciation of the words, all of which end in “ough”: cough; through; though;
bough. What do you notice?

People with different accents pronounce the same word in different ways.
Look up the phonemic transcripts of these words, which vary depending on accent : cup; bathroom; better;
homework; cigarette; their; manager.
Try saying each word according to the dictionary pronunciation. Do you say these words in the same way in your
accent?
If not, try and use symbols from the list to write each word as you say it.
If yes, for each word think of another accent which would say it differently, and try and use symbols from the list to
write each word as you say it

2. Word and sentence stress

1. Word Stress: Put these words into three groups, according to whether the first, second, or third syllable is
stressed (accented):

engineer physician employer

astronaut employee optician
mechanic architect designer
auctioneer journalist technician
professor analyst diplomat
mountaineer referee brigadier
managerpharmacist reporter
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 I. II. III.

2. Can you detect any patterns that might suggest any rules for word stress in English?

3. Sentence stress: Try the following exercise. What does it suggest about the reason words are stressed in
sentences?

Read this short scene and, in each sentence marked (*), indicate the word that you think carries the main
stress.

Eric: You're late.

Deborah: I'm sorry. I was held up at the office,
Eric: *You might have phoned me.
Deborah: I phoned Alice and told her.
Eric: *You might have phoned me!
Deborah: Didn't Alice tell you? I asked her to phone you and tell you.
Eric: Alice? I can't remember. *She might have phoned me.
Deborah: Of course she did. I asked her to.
Eric: That's right. She did. *But you might have phoned me.
Deborah: Eric, don't be so childish...

4. Write a similar short dialogue, to show different ways of placing the stress on the sentence:

"Kim's going to buy a car."

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