Cambridge CELTA Pre-Interview Task

Complete this task carefully. It is an important factor in considering your application. CELTA is an intensive course of study. Because of this, candidates need to be fully prepared for the demands of the course and show that they are able to research language structures, a skill required o E!L teachers . eep in mind that !e cover language analysis on the CELTA course, so !e do not e"pect you to be an e"pert in grammar before the course starts. #or help you may refer to a grammar book such as $%ractical English &sage' by (ichael )!an *+"ford &niversity %ress, or any other grammar reference book you might have at home or find in the library-book store. The internet is also a great source of information. If you.re looking for a site, try/ http/--esl.about.com-od-englishgrammar-English

"# Please make sure you read the directions or each section and $roo read your work care ully% The CELTA course requires a high level o written English& 'hen you have inished, $lease send it to in o(teachinghouse&com& )etain a co$y o this task or your interview&

Part *+ Language awareness A& Error correction

Each of the e"changes belo! contains a mistake. In each case/ i, write the corrected version in the space provided ii, clari y your correction in simple English to e"plain the mistake E,am$le -r& !mith+ 2iorgio+ ./o you have much e,$erience in the restaurant business01 .3es, I4ve been working as a che since *5 years&1

i, I.ve been !orking as a chef for ten years. ii, 0e use 1since. before a point in time 2 for e"ample, since Tuesday, since 1992, since 5 oclock. 0e use for before a period of time 3 for e"ample, for two weeks, for six years, for ten minutes. In this case 145 years. is a period of time, so !e need 1for.. *& -aria+ )ece$tionist+ .I4d like some in ormations about your courses&1 .Certainly, here4s our brochure&1

i, I6d like some information about your courses. ii, 0hile courses is plural because there is more than one of them, 6information6 is never counted, meaning you can6t have t!o or three informations. 7ou can have degrees of information *too much, too little, etc.,, but it !ill al!ays remain singular. 6& 7ack+ Pierre+ .8ow do you get to the CELTA center every day01 .I4m walking and then taking the subway&1

i, I !alk and then take the sub!ay. ii, Because this is something that is done every day, and the person ans!ering is not !alking or taking the sub!ay as they ans!er, !e can keep our verbs in simple present form *rather than present participle,. 9& 7ohn+ 8elen+ 7ohn+ ./id you see the movie on 8:; last night01 .3es I did, it was so a good movie1 .3eah, I think Tom Cruise is such a good actor&4 (Comment on the difference between so and such)

i, 7es I did, it !as such a good movie. ii, The !ord 6so6 is used !hen !hat your describing is factual *the tree !as so tall, the !ater !as so blue, etc.,. Because 8elen6s statement is about an opinion *that last night 8B+ sho!ed a 6good movie6,, !e !ould use the !ord 6such6. The follo!ing line is a good e"ample of this9 !hen :ohn uses the !ord 6such6 to proclaim that Tom Cruise is a good actor he is stating his opinion, not a fact.

<& Carla+ 'illiam+ i, Can you lend me ;45<

.Can you borrow me =*501 .!ure& 8ere you are&1

ii, The person asking for money is borro!ing it, the person giving the money is lending it. 0hen Carla prompts 0illiam to take an action *6Can you6,, she must then complete the sentence from 0illiam6s perspective. In this case, because 0illiam is being asked to give money, he must lend it to her, not borro! it .

:& /i erences in meaning

Comment on the difference in meaning bet!een the follo!ing pairs of sentences, and outline ho! you might teach these differences in meaning. E,am$le+ a> Claire is working late again? she4s so $assionate about her work% b> 7ane is working late again? she4s so obsessed with her work% In the first sentence, the !ord 1passionate. suggests that Claire.s reason for !orking late is that she is driven by a love for her =ob and a healthy desire to succeed. In the second sentence, the !ord 1obsessed. suggests that :ane.s reason for !orking late is that she lacks a healthy balance in her life. )he is so fi"ated on her !ork that perhaps she doesn.t do anything else, or perhaps other areas of her life are negatively affected. To teach it, I !ould dra! t!o pictures *or bring in t!o photographs,. The first !ould be of a person !orking at her desk in an office. I !ould sho! the time !ith a clock on the !all *sho!ing >/?5pm,. )he !ould have a smile on her face to sho! that she !as happy *and passionate about her !ork@, #or the second sentence, I !ould have a picture of :ane at her desk in her office, but she !ould look tired *and a little stressed,. The time !ould still be >/?5pm on the clock. I hope these t!o e"amples !ould sho! the positive-negative aspects of the t!o sentences.

*& a> !he is alone& b> !he is lonely&

In the first sentence, the !ord 6alone6 is used factually. That means the sub=ect of our sentence *6she6, is physically alone, there is no other person !ith her. It describes her physical state but says nothing about her emotional situation. In the second sentence, 6lonely6 describes a feeling. 0hile she may or may not be physically alone, she feels 6lonely6. To teach it, I !ould sho! a picture of a lone mountain climber, smiling at the summit of a mountain. It !ould be important to emphasiAe that being alone only reflects your physical surroundings, and says nothing about ho! you feel. I !ould do the opposite !ith the second sentence, dra!ing or finding a picture of a young student that has been left out of an activity. 0hile they may be surrounded by groups of people, they !ould be e"periencing a sense of lonliness.
6& a> 'hat time is it0 b> /o you mind telling me what the time is $lease0

0hile these sentences mean the same thing, the second is more polite. The first sentence demands to kno! !hat time it is and implies familiarity, !hile the second sentence t!ice asks for permission to kno! !hat time it is, first by including 6do you mind6, and second by ending in 6please6. There are many different !ays to modify the level of politeness in a sentence. To teach this, I !ould sho! clips from popular television sho!s *like Bo!nton Abbey, !here a variety of niceties are freCuently e"changed. I !ould then have my students rate the level of politeness for each of the clips based on language and tone.
9& a> I I become $resident, I4ll lower ta,es& b> I I had become $resident, I would have lowered ta,es&

There is a tense change from the first sentence to the second. The first sentence tells us !hat the speaker !ill do if they become %resident, a potential future action. The second sentence tells us !hat the speaker

!ould have done if they had become president, a potential past action. The only factual information !e can retrieve from these sentences is that the speaker did not become %resident. Bepending on the political climate of the country in !hich I6m teaching, the easiest !ay to teach the difference is to use photographs of local politicians advocating lo!er ta"es, as !ell as photographs of defeated candidates !ho had !anted to lo!er ta"es. If unable to find politicians that fit this description, a photograph or short video of %resident +bama and Eovernor Fomney could be used to sho! that !hile Eovernor Fomney !as running for %resident, he promised to cut ta"es, and no! that the election is over, he says he !ould have liked to cut ta"es.

C& 'ord !tress

All !ords of more than t!o syllables in English have one specific syllable !hich is stressed. #or e"ample, in the noun 1record. *bought in a record store, the 1stress. 3 i.e. the louder syllable 3 is the first syllable/ 1FEcord. ;o. But in the verb 1to record. *e.g. 1Elvis tried to record an album every year, the stress is on the second syllable 1reC+FB. o;. 0ith the follo!ing !ords, put the !ord into the correct column belo! according to the number of syllables and the main stress. e,am$les+ momentous computer banana bystander burger hos$itality superb ratio menu independent photograph undeniable photographer reliable photographic

o; record *verb, superb

;o menu record *noun, burger ratio

;oo bystander photograph

o;o banana momentous computer

oo;o independent photographic

o;oo reliable photographer

oo;oo hospitality undeniable

/& !ounds
(atch the underlined sound of the !ords in column A to a !ord in column B !ith a corresponding sound. Gote/ the sound can correspond to any sound in the !ords in Column B. #or e"ample/ ad ice goes !ith si!. Be!are@ The spelling of the sound may be different@ Column A 4. D. ?. H. I. J. K. L. advice advise day beach lodge thin breathe young Correct Letter f h c g b e d a a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. unit =ump eight though thick sip !eek Aoo Column :

Part 6+ A$$roaches to teaching and learning

0rite a minimum of 455 !ords about !hat you think constitutes a good language lesson, based on your e"periences. A good language lesson must encourage students to actively listen, participate, and be interested in the sub=ect matter. Because language is, at its essence, simply a collection of permeable and sometimes ad3 hoc rules pertaining to the vocaliAation of sound, it depends almost soley on the teacher to make the e"perience en=oyable and relatable to their students. To do this, the teacher should freCuently involve the classroom, use an animated and impassioned teaching style, and, perhaps most importantly, have a detailed lesson structure that tracks progress. These methods !ill increase student confidence and allo! the teacher to observe different learning styles. A detailed structure !ill also provide lesson outcomes by !hich the teacher can measure student progress. I6ve had many different English teachers throughout my education, and I can easily remember the sense of boredom and irrelevance I felt during long, technical lectures. I also remember the interest and motivation I e"perienced !hen an English teacher !ould bring the class into the lesson, using e"amples from television and history, amusing us !hile teaching. I !ould like to be this second type of teacher, and make a positive impact in the lives of my students.

/isclosure
:e ore submitting your $re-interview task, $lease read the $oints below and ty$e your name with the date below . If you have any Cuestions concerning these points, please send your Cueries to/ infoMteachinghouse.com. 4. I ackno!ledge that if I decide to !ithdra! from a Teaching 8ouse CELTA course fe!er than I business days before the course begins, or during the course, the course fee !ill not be refunded. I understand I !ill not be allo!ed to transfer bet!een courses or defer to another course less than I business days before the course begins. D. I ackno!ledge that the Teaching 8ouse CELTA course is a %ass-#ail course, and that if I receive a 6#ail6 grade, the result cannot be changed, and that the course fee !ill not be refunded. ?. I ackno!ledge that the Teaching 8ouse CELTA course reCuires 455N class attendance, in addition to !ork outside of scheduled contact hours. As a result, absences, tardiness, incomplete or late assignments may compromise my grade on the course. H. I confirm that all of the information disclosed in my application is complete and accurate, and I kno! of no circumstances related to my health, personal situation, !ork commitment or learning ability that may affect my performance on the course. I. I understand that if I am accepted onto the Teaching 8ouse CELTA course, I should pay a ;D55 enrollment fee to reserve a place on the course of my choice *availability permitting,. This fee may be transferred bet!een course start dates !ithin 4D months of my intervie! date, but is non3refundable. J. I confirm that the pre3intervie! task is my o!n !ork.

!ignature
Game/

*OP %lease type your name and the date in the space belo!,

Biego (edrano

Bate/

April 4, D54H

The Interview
Thank you for completing the pre3intervie! task@ +nce !e have received the pre3intervie! task !e !ill get back to you to set up a suitable time for an intervie!. 0e run most of our intervie!s during daytime !orking hours from (onday 2 #riday. %lease complete the follo!ing grid to give us an idea of the best time for you. Candidates will be calling into our o ice or tele$hone interviews&

0hat type of intervie! !ould you like<

In-$erson Ge! 7ork, Boston, Chicago Q 0ashington BC

:y tele$hone All cities

%referred Intervie! Time/ Ge! 7ork City, 0ashington B.C, Los Angeles, %hiladelphia, Atlanta, (inneapolis, Brooklyn, %ortland, )alt Lake City Eastern !tandard Time

45/55 A(

4D/55 %(

H/?5 %(

I/D5 %(

%referred Intervie! Time/ :;!T;@, C8ICA2;, /ET);IT, 8;A!T;@, and P8;E@IB ;@L3 Eastern !tandard Time 5>/HI A( 45/?5 A( 44/?5 A( 4D/55 %( H/?5 %(

Candidates for all other cities !ill be contacted to arrange a mutually convenient intervie! time.

Buring the ne"t t!o !eeks, are there any dates you are not available< If so, !hen<

Go, fully available.

Is there any other information that !ill help us to set up a suitable time for an intervie!<

I selected telephone intervie! because it6s a little more convenient than taking the LIFF into (anhattan, but if you !ould prefer in3person I can easily come to your office. Additionally, I6m available any time for an intervie!.