ENGLISH LANGUAGE

WORKSHOP
Final Assignment
August 2017

Antonella Surez Bell

antokaia@gmail.com
 English Language Workshop Final Assignment | Antonella Surez Bell

Content
Topic ................................................................................................................................. 2
Aims .................................................................................................................................. 2
Level .................................................................................................................................. 2
Time .................................................................................................................................. 2
Materials ........................................................................................................................... 2
Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2
Task 1 Pre-reading ..................................................................................................... 2
Task 2- Reading ............................................................................................................. 2
Task 3 Lexis development .......................................................................................... 3
Task 4 Comparatives .................................................................................................. 3
Task 5 Stress in a sentence ........................................................................................ 3
Justification ....................................................................................................................... 4

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 English Language Workshop Final Assignment | Antonella Surez Bell

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/ice-age-fossils-underwater-cave-bears-
humans-science/

Topic
Science / Evolution

Aims
To increase students knowledge of subject content
To develop students knowledge of content-related lexis
To review the rules for forming comparative adjectives.
To practise pronunciation, word stress connected with the content

Level
C1

Time
90 minutes

Materials
Worksheet, PPT, Mobile Phones, Internet Connectivity, Computer, LED Screen or a
Projector, speakers

Procedure
Introduction (3 minutes): The teacher shows students PPT slides which show pictures
of divers exploring Hoyo Negro. She elicits from students what the divers are doing, why
the bones might be there and how long have they been there for. Target vocabulary:
fossils, underwater, paleontology.
Transition: The teacher says There is a documentary about these divers because they
have made an amazing discovery, well see the trailer.
Task 1 Pre-reading (7 minutes): Students watch the video about the discovery of
Hoyo Negro and in groups, they discuss the following questions: Which was the most
important discovery made in the Hoyo Negro? Do you think they found more things
there? Which ones?
Transition: The teacher says The answers to your discussion can be found in this
magazine article, read it to see if you were right.
Task 2- Reading (15 minutes): In the same groups, students read the text from the
worksheet and answer questions 1 through 3.
1. To which locations do the remains found in Hoyo Negro belong to?
2. Why is Naia assumed to have fallen in the pit?

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 English Language Workshop Final Assignment | Antonella Surez Bell

3. What is the Great American Interchange? Which path do scientists believe the
carnivores did?
Transition: The teacher asks Interesting text, but there must be unfamiliar words
there, am I right? For example menagerie, what does it mean?
Task 3 Lexis development (25 minutes): Each group gets a word from the text
according to the teachers suggestions (menagerie; megafauna; entombing; mapped;
dizzying; carcasses; gomphotheres; dweller; grizzly; stocky), finds the definition in the
dictionary and searches for an image that helps them explain the word to their
classmates. Finally they employ the word in a sentence and write it in their worksheet.
After the groups explain the words, their classmates copy the sentences in their
worksheets. Next, the teacher shares a PPT slide on how she makes links to those words
in order to store and recall words. Students write the translation of their sentences into
L1 in the worksheets.
Transition: The teacher says I can assure you have a more wide lexis now? Humm
widerer? Well, forget it, its gooder, anyways.
Task 4 Comparatives (20 minutes): The teacher shows a PPT slide of pictures
representing comparatives found in the text, students find them in the text and think of
rules. In pairs, students exchange their rules and do activity 4 in the worksheet (from
http://www.fcc.es/documents/21301/256517/C1_The+sentence.pdf/7349718e-d286-
4e93-aef5-084cc2644f53 ). Rewrite the following text using the comparative: The
powerful new vacuum cleaner features a (good) filtering system and a (small), (sturdy)
body. The redesigned engine produces (little) noise than ever. A (long) hose extension
will allow you to reach (far) into those difficult corners. The improved click-and-open
feature makes it (easy) to dispose of and replace filter bags. Combining quality and
value, you won't find a (good) model on the market.
When they finish the teacher and students socialize their rules in a plenary and focus
on exceptions.
Transition: The teacher says That was fun. It was a fun task. Can you hear the
difference in my voice when I say that? Where is the stress in the first? And in the
second?
Task 5 Stress in a sentence (15 minutes): The teacher shows a PPT slide of short
phrases from the text which contained the information and students figure out the
correct pronunciation for each case. Finally the teacher explains that whenever we have
new information in a descriptive phrase, nouns are heavier than adjectives.
Its deep. Its a deep pit.
Theyre the best. Theyre the best records.
Its an animal. Its an animal bone.
Theyre exotic. Theyre exotic animals.
Its solid. Its a solid clue.
Its from the Ice Age. Its from an Ice Age girl.
Its a cave. Its a cave diver.

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 English Language Workshop Final Assignment | Antonella Surez Bell

Justification
Task 3 A student in the C1 level should know approximately eight thousand base
words, in order to achieve this the teacher must foster experiences where the students
are able to successfully include new, content-related vocabulary in their productions. In
this case, the image choice assures students will have a personalized mental image to
relate to the word and they begin to enhance the cognitive depth, using this as a
stepping stone. The judgement will become more demanding as they continue, by
employing the new word in a sentence, and the use will be helpful to include the words
in the students long-term memory.
Task 4 As the CEFR level becomes more advanced, students are expected to handle
effectively all the aspects from the lover levels. In order to focus on accuracy, students
must recall their previous learning experiences. Since every grammatical form can be
explained with a rule, they can remember the rules they devised in their minds, but
there are some exceptions to the rule. The first activity is related to the context where
they can be found, in order to trigger reflection whereas pair work will make students
interact and promote motivation. The second activity aims for economy, putting into
practice what students believe is the appropriate rule. Finally, the need to learn or revise
the actual rule for self-correction will provide the conditions to learn grammar.
Task 5 Misplacing stress could lead our students to be misunderstood, making our
students aware of proper pronunciation will work towards their intelligibility. By
listening to their classmates and discussing their thoughts on how to pronounce, as well
as repeating after the correct stress has been placed, students train their minds to think
of differences and by relating these cases to the context in which they saw them, they
will be predisposed to remember in which cases the stress varies.