PROGRAMME IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS AFOREIGN LANGUAGE

Entrance exam

ENTRANCE EXAM:
PROGRAMME IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN
LANGUAGE (TEFL)

Name: Sandro
Surname(s): Jones Reyes
Date:

Before starting the exam, please read the following notes:

This exam is an important tool for us to determine the level of your writing competence in
English. Thus, the exam is going to be evaluated in order to identify your English level, and
offer you help to acquire the level of the master, if it is needed.

This exam has no correct answers; the questions are made in order to evaluate your
writing production and reading comprehension. Consider the following recommendations
while writing the exam:

The use of grammar and vocabulary are essential in this evaluation. Revise it until
you feel comfortable with the result.
The questions must be conscientiously answered. Pay attention to both reading
and writing, so we can evaluate your real knowledge of the language.
This exam has 5 pages and four exercises; exercises 1 and 2 have short questions
about a text and a quotation; both exercises 3 and 4 ask you two write a short
essay. Make sure you answer all the questions.
If the exam is answered by computer, try to use a different font than the question.

1. Read the following text and answer the questions below:

Behaviourism: Say what I say

Behaviourism is psychological theory of learning which was very influential in the
1940s and 1950s, especially in the United States. Traditional behaviourists believed
that language learning is the result of imitation, sounds and patterns which they hear
around them and receive positive reinforcement (which could take the form of praise
or just successful communication) for doing so. Thus encouraged by their
environment, they continue to imitate and practice these sounds and patterns until
they form habits of correct language use. According to this view, the quality and
quantity of the language which the child hears, as well as the consistency of the
reinforcement offered by others in the environment, should have an effect on the
childs success in language learning.

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Entrance exam

The behaviourist view of how language is learned has an intuitive appeal. And there
is no doubt that it can offer partial explanation of some aspects of childrens early
language learning. However, it is useful to examine actual language data to see how
well this view accounts for the development of some more complex aspects of their
language.

The behaviourists view imitation and practice as primary processes in language

development. To clarify what is meant by these two terms, consider the following
examples.

Transcription conventions:

XXX = incomprehensible speech

= pause
Parentheses = description of non-verbal events

Peter (24 moths)

Peter is playing with a dump truck while two adults, Patsy and Lois, look on.)
Peter Get more
Lois Youre gonna put more wheels in the dump truck?
Peter Dump truck. Wheels. Dump truck.
(Later)
Patsy What happened to it (the truck)?
Peter (looking under chair for it) Lose it. Dump truck! Dump truck! Fall! Fall!
Lois Yes, the dump truck fell down.
Peter Dump truck fell down. Dump truck.

Taken from: How Languages Are Learned, P. M. Lightbown, Revised Edition 2000,
Oxford, Oxford University Press

i. Explain in your own words what is Behaviourism?

ii. Briefly explain if you agree or not with Behaviourism.

1. Its a psychological theory that explains that language learning is carried out by
means of imitation and positive reinforcement. In this task, the environment in which
the child grows is the most relevant factor to acquire the language successfully.

2. To a certain extent I agree because the student needs to have an example that
serves as a role model to use it as a reference and contrast for the language being
acquired.

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Entrance exam

2. Critical reading. Read the extract in the box and answer the following questions.

The most striking aspect of linguistic competence is what we may call

the 'creativity of language,' that is, the speaker's ability to produce new
sentences, sentences that are immediately understood by other
speakers although they bear no physical resemblance to sentences
which are 'familiar.'

Noam Chomsky, Topics in the Theory of Generative Grammar, 1966

i. Summarize in your own words what the author (Noam Chomsky) is saying.

ii. Do you think that Noam Chomsky agrees with Behaviourism?

iii. In the light of your own experience, state if you agree or not with the extract
observation.

I. The speaker may produce new structures without having heard them before than
before.

II. Based on what I read about behaviourism and what Mr. Chomsky stated in the
excerpt above, I think Mr. Chomsky doesnt believe that learning a language doesnt
only lie on the input and its imitation because then the speaker wouldnt be able to
create new utterances different ones heard before. Due to the fact that those new
structures havent been taught.

III. Based on my professional experience, I can say I tend to agree with Mr.Chomsky
as I believe the learner the ability to create new sentences without having heard
them before as language is an innate ability of humankind. I mean, we can learn a
language both by environment exposure and our brain ability.

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Entrance exam

3. In a well-organised essay, discuss why knowing about first language acquisition

might be useful or not in language teaching. (150 words)

How first language acquisition helps second language learning

The first language acquisition is a complex process that takes a big amount of
time to be completed. The results, in most cases, are successful. Unlike first
language acquisition, second language learning doesnt take as much time as
the first one does, but we can intuit that they are similar processes. Therefore,
knowing how to learn a first language can be very important to design courses
that assure the successful learning, because we could try to imitate the order in
which the structures and elements of language are acquired to make a second
language learner learn the same structures of the new language in the same
order. Besides it can also help us learn what components of the language; in
other words, what features of the grammar, pragmatics, morphology,
phonology, etc. are learned more consciously and, on the basis of it, teach the
student how to use them in the right way. Finally, knowing First language
acquisition theories allows you to contrast differences in terms of Syntax, lexis
and Phonology features between both languages, the first one and the second
one.

4. In a well-organised essay, describe what impact you hope your enrolment in

this programme will have on your professional development. (What is your
motivation for enrolling in this Program? What can you bring to the Program?
What do you hope to take from it?) Give specific examples. (150 words)

My main motivation is to improve my work as a teacher. Thus, make my students

learn the language I teach successfully. Another reason I would like to involve in this
program is to have tutors from other countries and the chance to improve my skills
as a teacher. Also the chance to interact with teachers based in other countries and I
consider this quite relevant as I will be able to see other teachers experiences. I
could bring to the program my vast experience as a teacher of adult learners in a
classroom context. I think I know the principal difficulties adult learners face when
learning a second language. At the same time, I am able to recognize those aspects
that students find easier to learn. I hope not only to learn more teaching techniques,
but also understand better how language learning processes are. Therefore this will
allow me to get better results that my students will benefit from.

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PROGRAMME IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS AFOREIGN LANGUAGE
Entrance exam