Skills Assignment for the Cambridge CELTA

Section One: A READING TASK

THE TASK
Design one reading comprehension task that you could use with the group of students described on page 1 to help them practice one reading subskill.

Type the task into the template. IT IS EXCLUDED FROM THE WORD COUNT.
Make sure the layout of the task is clear and learner-friendly. It should be classroom-ready.
Do not copy the text itself from Appendix 1 unless it is indispensable for the task design (e.g. you re-organise the text for the task)
Add the answer key, with your justification and the text fragments that justify the answers, under the task for students.

Your READING COMPREHENSION TASK should meet all these criteria:
It is based on the authentic text in Appendix 1.
It can be used with the group of students described on page 1.
It can be completed in up to 15 minutes.
It is either a skimming task or a scanning task (choose only one subskill).
It has no more than 4 prompts (statements, questions, titles, etc.).
It represents one of these task formats:
TRUE/FALSE
TRUE/FALSE/NO INFO
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
MULTIPLE CHOICE
MULTIPLE MATCHING
It can only be completed after students have read the text.
The prompts cover the content of all the text.
It has clear instructions on the handout/slide.
Its design is reader-friendly.
It is written in fully accurate English, which has been graded for B2+ students.
The prompts follow the sequence of information in the text.
It does not lift the exact same wording as used in the text.
It has appropriately challenging distractors (if distractors are needed).
It has an answer key attached.
It has justification for all the answers, added to the answer key (your justification with the fragments of the text that justify the answer).

THE RATIONALE
Provide a brief overview by answering these questions:

AIMS AND SUBSKILLS
What is the task type? (e.g. a multiple-choice task, etc.)
Which stage of the reading lesson is it?
What is the aim of this stage?
Which reading subskill does it develop, skimming or scanning?
What is the definition of this subskill? Include references to your background reading:
Emma Tudor: Developing Reading Skills (ETP, Issue 115 – March 2018, pp. 41-42)
Use the CITATION GUIDE in Appendix 2.

TASK SETUP
What lesson stages precede this activity during the reading lesson? What are their aims?
What lesson stages happen after this activity during the reading lesson? What are their aims?
What does the teacher do to set up the task effectively: What is important when giving instructions for this particular task?
Why do students need to complete the task individually first, and not in groups?
How do students compare their answers: What do we call this micro-stage? What is the interaction pattern? What do students focus on? What does the teacher focus on when monitoring?
What does the teacher elicit in open-class feedback? How does the teacher make this stage student-centred?

Section Two: A SPEAKING TASK

THE TASK
Design one speaking task that you could use with the same group of students in the same lesson to help them practice their oral fluency and communicative competence in reference to the topic of the text they have just read.

Prepare the prompts for students. THEY ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE WORD COUNT.
Paste them into the template.
Make sure the layout is clear and learner-friendly.
If you use visuals, provide the URLs to the respective images in Bibliography.

Your SPEAKING TASK should meet all these criteria:
It is linked to the topic of the authentic text in Appendix 1.
It can be used with the group of students described on page 1.
It is an extension of the reading part of the lesson (as described in Section One).
It can be completed in 15-25 minutes.
It is an oral fluency practice task that also develops communicative competence (choose both subskills).
It follows the sequence of microstages outlined in the input session on the setup of a pyramid discussion.
It does not activate/practise any Target Language.
It is an immersive speaking task.
It is a pyramid discussion.
It has prompts on the handout/slide.
It has no more than 4-5 prompts (questions, topics, ideas, characters, photos, etc.).
Its design is reader-friendly.
The prompts are written in fully accurate English, which has been graded for B2+ students.
The context is relatable and relevant to students.
The communicative focus is introduced at the start and referred to in feedback on ideas.
The instructions include a model/demo.
The task gives enough time for peer interaction in smaller groups.
The task is rounded off with feedback on ideas.
The final feedback on language is balanced, positive and student-centred.

THE RATIONALE
Provide a brief overview by answering these questions:

AIMS AND SUBSKILLS
What is a pyramid discussion? Define it briefly.
Does the task develop accuracy or fluency in speaking? Give the definitions of both.
Include references to your background reading:
Chia Suan Chong (31 January 2019). Going beyond Accuracy vs Fluency [blog post] English Teaching Professional | Available at www.etprofessional.com Use the CITATION GUIDE in Appendix 2.
How does the task help students to practice communicative competence?
Include references to your background reading:
Chia Suan Chong (31 January 2019). Going beyond Accuracy vs Fluency [blog post] English Teaching Professional | Available at www.etprofessional.com Use the CITATION GUIDE in Appendix 2.
Why is it an immersive speaking activity? What is the communicative focus?
Include references to your background reading:
Adams, R. (2018). Enhancing student interaction in the language classroom: Part of
the Cambridge Papers in ELT series. [pdf] Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Available at cambridge.org/betterlearning Use the CITATION GUIDE in Appendix 2.

TASK SETUP
How does the teacher prepare students for speaking in groups:
how does the teacher engage sts in the context?
how does the teacher scaffold the instructions? what is included? what is the communicative focus?
why do students need thinking time, based on prompts?
why is the model or demo important before students start talking in groups? Give 2 ideas.
Include references to your background reading:
Adams, R. (2018). Enhancing student interaction in the language classroom: Part of
the Cambridge Papers in ELT series. [pdf] Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Available at cambridge.org/betterlearning Use the CITATION GUIDE in Appendix 2.
How does the teacher monitor students’ work in groups? Why is it important?
What kind of feedback does the teacher give after speaking:
what comes first, feedback on ideas or feedback on language? Why?
how can the teacher provide positive feedback on speaking? Give 2 ideas.
Include references to your background reading:
Kerr, P. (2017). Giving feedback on speaking. Part of the Cambridge
Papers in ELT series. [pdf] Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Available at cambridge.org/betterlearning Use the CITATION GUIDE in Appendix 2.

Bibliography
Excluded from the total word count.

List the background reading sources you referred to in the body of the text (quotes/references).
List the URL links to the images used (as needed).
Use the format described in the CITATION GUIDE (Appendix 2).