11 Paper 2 Task 4

Task Four (35 minutes)

Below are procedural notes from two elementary (CEFR A2) level lesson plans focusing on food-
related lexis.

a Comment on the similarities and differences in:

 the principles informing the teacher’s approach

 the teacher’s role

b Comment on the effect of each approach on different learner types and learning contexts.

Lesson A Lesson B

1.  Ask the students what kind of food they like to 1.  Ask the students what kind of food they like to
eat.  Put the students into groups to discuss eat.  Put the students into groups to discuss
their favourite foods and different foods from their favourite foods and different foods from
their countries. their countries.
2.  From a bag show the students ten different 2.  Tell students that they have invited two
food items one by one.  For each item elicit / friends for dinner.  Put them into pairs and
tell the students the word, drill chorally and each pair plans a three-course meal for the
individually, check understanding and then dinner.  Monitor and collect examples of food-
write the word on the board.  Repeat with related lexis used by students.
each of the ten words.  Make a note of gaps in students’ language.
3.  Put the students into pairs.  Give each pair 3.  Write examples collected (correct and
small pictures of the words presented.  Tell incorrect) on the board.  Students identify
the students to practise saying the words with errors and correct them.  Check
their partner.  Monitor. understanding of all examples.  Elicit / feed in
 Feedback. lexis students needed.  Check understanding
and pronunciation.
4.  Tell the students that they have invited two
friends for dinner.  Put them into pairs and 4.  Students change partners and compare their
each pair plans a three-course meal for the meals with their new partner’s meal and
dinner.  Students change partners and discuss whose dinner is the healthiest. 
compare their meals with their new partner’s Monitor.
meal and discuss whose dinner is the
healthiest.  Monitor.

Write your answers in your answer booklet.

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11.1 Guideline Answer

a Comment on the similarities and differences in:

the principles informing the teacher’s approach

Similarities in principles informing the teacher’s approach:

 learners need to extend their vocabulary in general and in this topic in particular
 single-word items / lexical sets are an important part of the lexicon
 communicative activities in language teaching allow student interaction and communication
 learner interaction helps learning / aids memorisation
 language is used for communication and is not an ‘academic’ subject for study / communicative
function / purpose is important for learning language
 semi-authentic tasks make language and practice meaningful for learners.
 personalisation motivates learners
 beginning a lesson with a personalised activity reduces the affective filter and engages relevant
schema
 language needs to be explicitly focussed on
 meaning has to be focussed on (and checked)
 phonology is needed to ‘know’ an item of language / learners need to use the language in
speaking
 collaborative learning encourages cognitive engagement / aids learning and retention
 immediate / nearly immediate error correction is required(otherwise may lead to fossilization)
 ending a lesson with an activity which engages learners’ cognitive skills leads to greater
involvement / learning
 a communicative approach is useful for introducing new target language.

Differences in principles informing the teacher’s approach:

Lesson A
 use of PPP
 the teacher knows what learners need to learn
 it is necessary to focus on form and meaning before using the language,
 it is necessary to practise the language in a controlled environment before in a freer one / where
the learners can make more choices
 use of realia (typical of communicative approaches) – helps learners engage / is effective for
providing meaning of concrete items
 repetition drilling assists in language learning/memorisation
 scaffolding and support are needed throughout a lesson/ learners need a framework to guide
them.

Lesson B
 use of Test-Teach-Test / TBL approach
 the content of a lesson is dictated by learner needs / the teacher does not know the content in
advance
 an initial ‘test’ stage is needed to determine what language input is needed. / language focus must
come after an initial task / ‘test’ phase
 a task allows learners to ‘notice the gap’ in their knowledge and means that they are more
motivated to learn the language that fills the gap
 evidence of the (Brumfit) principle of ‘fluency first’ (stage 2)
 learners should be involved in the correction process.

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Comment on the similarities and differences in:
the teachers’ role

Similarities in the teacher’s role:

 ‘teacher as manager’ plans / controls the activities and interaction patterns in the class (based on
the belief that teachers have wider pedagogical knowledge than learners and are expected to use
it for others’ benefit)
 monitors learner output for feedback / correction
 corrects errors in form and pronunciation (belief that teachers have wider content knowledge than
learners and are expected to provide the ‘correct’ model)
 finds out what students already know (in A by eliciting at the beginning of the lesson, in B by
monitoring)
 decides (ultimately) the language input (either before or during the lesson).

Differences in the teacher’s role:

Lesson A:
 prescribes language items (based on the belief that teachers have wider content knowledge than
learners, provide the ‘correct’ model, and can predict learners’ needs)
 ‘informs’ in the presentation stage and the written record / provides accurate models
 drills to correct pronunciation / aid retention.
 corrects errors in form and pronunciation explicitly in the role of ‘knower’
 controls more than in Lesson B.

Lesson B:
 diagnoses learner needs (rather than predicting what these are)
 ‘informs’ at stage 3 - not at the beginning of the lesson
 encourages learner autonomy through st-centred correction
 adopts a lower profile / makes the lesson more learner centred.

b Comment on the effect of each approach on different learner types and learning contexts

Lesson A would appeal to / be appropriate for:

 learners who expect teacher to be the ‘knower’ due to previous learning experience
 step-by-step / serialist learners
 educational cultures where accuracy is prized over fluency
OR
Lesson B appeals more in educational cultures where fluency is prized over accuracy
 Younger Learners as the lesson has a lot of structure / it has real objects / it doesn’t demand as
high a level of cognitive awareness e.g. self correction
OR
Lesson B appeals more to Younger Learners because it is more task based and there is less overt
focus on language
 larger classes because the teacher can control the amount of input
OR
In a large class, the input generated in Lesson B might be overwhelming for teacher and learners
 lower levels
OR
Lesson B may be inappropriate at lower levels as learners may have very little to build on
 visual learners (who would respond positively to looking at objects / pictures) in Stages 2 and 3.

Lesson B would appeal to / be appropriate for:

 learners who like to be challenged / treated like ‘adults’ / given more autonomy.
 analytical learners – individual learners and those from some cultures may not be analytical (so
Lesson A would appeal more)
 multi-lingual groups as the range of vocabulary items they bring up is likely to be wider and more
interesting.

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Both lessons may appeal to / be appropriate for
 auditory learners (who like discussions / listening to others) in Stage 1
 learners who enjoy group work / learning from each other.

Neither lesson may appeal to / be appropriate for

 cultures where the ‘dinner party’ is not a norm
 learners who do not see the value in communicative activities in class
 very small groups / classes.

11.2 Candidate performance

This task was fairly well answered with many answers clustering around a central mean point and
showing less spread than in other tasks. A few candidates scored full or nearly full marks while a tenth
of candidates scored less than a quarter of the marks available for the task.

Stronger answers contained a wide range of relevant points thus taking advantage of the number of
marks available for this task. They also focussed on the principles behind the teachers’ approaches,
the differences in the teachers’ roles and the effect of the approaches on learner types and learner
contexts i.e. they provided the information asked for in the task rubric.

Weaker answers often just described the procedure in the two lessons, thus repeating what was on
the question paper. They did not compare the principles behind the lessons or the teachers roles nor
analyse the effect of the lesson. Some answers also failed to make it clear whether they were
discussing similarities or differences or gave misinformation about the lessons, e.g. that lesson B
made use of repetition or lesson A followed an audiolingual approach, or that lesson B was
communicative whereas lesson A wasn’t.

Candidates are recommended to:

 read the rubric carefully and only provide the information they are asked for
 make as many relevant points as they can under each section
 signpost their answers clearly to show what kind of information they are giving, e.g. similarities /
differences / teachers’ roles / principles / effects.

11.3 Sample Answers

11.3.1 The following sample answer obtained the full number of marks available for this task

4a)

Both lessons use personalisation as a warmer to make the topics relevant and the ss
engaged.
The both encourage group discussion, presumably in the target language, revealing
that genuine communication is a key principle.
Lesson A continues by using realia to elicit/teach vocabulary prior to the task, with an
emphasis on pronunciation. This shows they draw principles from the Direct way
where communicating accurately in the target language, with a focus on individual
words, is key.
Lesson B, on the other hand, seems to draw principles from Task based learning,
letting the learners go straight into the task with no vocab input from the teacher so
that they can learn by doing. Lesson B continues by using a noticing activity where ss
correct their own mistakes which promotes learner autonomy + deeper cognitive

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awareness with the language. The final stage in lesson B allows further
communicative practice with the learners more aware of their possible errors.
Lesson A leaves the task til the final stage, using the third stage for more restricted
practice of the pronunciation of the words.
Both lessons draw principles from the Communicative approach, eg, genuine
communication should be present in the classroom and that this should reflect real
world skills to make it as authentic as possible.
Both believe in communicative performance over communicative competence, use
over usage.
Lesson A uses scaffolding and a building block approach to enable ss to perform the
task.
Lesson B prefers to withold input until after the first task cycle.

Teachers note

Lesson A
Facilitator, model for pronunciation, guide, error corrector.
The teacher is quite an active member of the class, a very visible presence
throughout, but the emphasis is on the students, they are not passive in this lesson.

Lesson B
Facilitator, model for pron, observer.
The teacher quite often takes a more back seat role, not interupting during the first
task stage, instead quietly taking note of errors for later activities. This enables a more
ss-centred approach in keeping with the silent way → the teacher is working with the
students, the students are working on the language. By quietly observing they can
give specific relevant feedback at a later stage.

4b)

Lesson A would particularly appeal to visual/aural learners with the use of realia +
choral drills.

It also adheres to the more conventional classroom approach of input before output,
meeting ss expectations. However in a mixed nationality class of adults, particularly in
a rolling induction, there would be a difference in vocab knowledge + pron problems
amongst individual members of the class so a blanket approach to pron may not be
the most effective use of time, making some learners disengage with the topic.

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 Lesson B would particularly appeal to younger learners who are resistant to formal
lesson conventions and who seem to learn better by doing. This may be more
problematic say for example for Asian students who come from a very rigid classroom
environment. They may have difficulties understanding what is expected of them.
In very large classes it is very difficult for the teacher to monitor and give feedback to
every student.
In large classes of young children, not only would the topic be inappropriate, but the
lack of conventional structure particularly in lesson B could result in chaos,
communication in L1 and the task not being achieved.
Older ss may initially be confused as to the expectations of them in this class but
would then probably respond well to a real life, functional activity.
In monolingual classes they would have less motivation at the first stage as they
would all have knowledge of similar foods. In mixed nationality classes ss are usually
interested in learning from and about each other so genuine communication can be
achieved.

Examiner’s comments on sample answer

This is a comprehensive response covering a wide range of relevant points. The candidate identifies a
high number of similarities and differences and the answer is clearly signposted, showing whether it is
discussing similarities or differences in relation to principles and roles. In general points are made
briefly and succinctly and the candidate only describes lesson procedure insofar as it is necessary to
make it clear what principle is being followed. The candidate demonstrates awareness of a wide range
of types of learners and learning contexts in part b and recognises how factors that make an approach
suitable for one group of learners may make an alternative approach suitable for another e.g. learners’
age and expectations.

11.3.2 The following sample answer obtained slightly over half the number of marks available
for this task

4)
Lesson A

Teachers 1 (Lesson A) seems to believe that errors should be avoided so drilling the
pronunciation should do the trick. This is probably an influence from the behaviourist
theory of language learning, such as the audio-lingual method. Use of realia also
implies direct method. The teacher’s role here is to provide students with the correct
models for them to imitate.

Teacher 2 (Lesson B) seems to believe that making errors is a natural learning

process. Developmental errors are part of learning a language and they should be
tolerated, corrected only at a later stage.
The teacher’s role here is to provide learners with opportunities to use the language.
She also acts as a monitor, checking and making a not of errors but not interrupting
students during fluency based activities.

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