3. Introduction to Paper 2 Task 3

Task Three is based on ELT-related input from a wide range of materials for teachers e.g. one or two
extracts from teacher’s books, from a methodology / resource book, a lesson plan extract, a
transcript of teachers discussing a lesson, or an extract from tutor feedback. You answer ‘specific
questions about the material e.g. interpreting the teacher’s role as exemplified in the material,
discussing the implications this view of teaching has for classroom practice. This could include
analysis of: both historical and current perspectives on approaches and methodologies, theories of
language acquisition, resources, learner and teacher roles’ (Cambridge Delta Handbook)

As you can see, this task has a very broad scope, both in terms of the type of text and also the areas
of the syllabus it addresses. To respond you will need to use the knowledge you have accumulated
over the course, rather than targeted preparation on one particular topic area. This means that
preparing for Task 3 gives you the opportunity to review a number of areas of the syllabus.

This task is one of the key tasks in the exam and there are 40 marks available. 2 marks for each correct
point made (max. 30 marks) A mark out of 5 is given for the depth of the overall response. This is doubled
to a mark out of 10.

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The following sections have self-study tasks. The answers are in the appendices at
the end of the section.

Identifying key instructions

ACTIVITY 1: Identifying key instructions (5 mins)

Read the task and the extracts below. Underline key words in the task. You may find
yourself underlining a lot of the rubric.

See Appendix 1 for suggested answer.

Paper 2 Task Three

Task Three (35 minutes)

Read the 3 extracts of classroom interaction below.

a. What approach to language teaching is each extract influenced by?

b. What views of the role and nature of teacher talk does each extract reflect?

c. What approach to correction does each extract reflect?

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Approaches to language teaching

When answering Paper 2 Task Three you need to make as many relevant points as you can
in the time. A useful starting point is to brainstorm key areas of the topic focused on in each
part of the rubric to help you get as wide a coverage of the issues as possible. Then check
their relevance to the specific question before expanding on them as you write up your
answer. It is important to limit your answers to what you are specifically being asked in each
part of the rubric. Here we will explore different ways of approaching this task as we tackle
each section
ACTIVITY 2: Identifying relevant key areas (5 minutes)
Look at the approaches to language teaching listed below. Which ones are relevant to the 3
extracts? Label the relevant ones A, B, or C according to the extract they refer to.

• Grammar Translation

• The Silent Way (Gattegno)

• Task Based Approaches

• Community Language Learning (Curran)

• Audiolingualism

• Socio cultural learning theory (Vygotsky)

• Total Physical Response (Asher)

See Appendix 2 for suggested answer

In a task such as this where you need to refer to different extracts, probably the easiest way
of organising your answer and ensuring sufficient coverage is to subdivide your answer into
a section for each extract. There is no need to write long stretches of prose – headings and
bullet points are fine. As elsewhere in the exam, aim to make lots of points

ACTIVITY 3: Approaches to language teaching (5 minutes)

Now write up your answer. Remember you need to show how each extract relates to the
language teaching approach you have identified

Task 3

a. What approach to language teaching is each extract influenced by?

See Appendix 3 for suggested answer

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Teacher Talk

Part b) of the task asks you to consider teacher talk in the extracts, focusing on its different
roles.

ACTIVITY 4: Brainstorming: Role and Nature of Teacher Talk (10 minutes)

Brainstorm ideas for the second part of the task and make brief notes. You can do this alone
or with a colleague. Below you will find some questions to start you off

b. What views of the role and nature of teacher talk does each extract reflect?

• How much does the teacher speak in each extract? Why?

• Look at what the teacher says in each extract – what is their reason for speaking?
e.g. is it to provide input?

• Is the teacher interested in finding something out? i.e. is it a real question?

• Or are they prompting a specific language item? i.e. is it a display question?

Now do Activity 5 below

ACTIVITY 5: Task 4b): Role and Nature of Teacher Talk (10 minutes)

Now use your notes to write up your answer. Again, we suggest you divide up your answer
into sections to address each of the 3 extracts.

See Appendix 4 for suggested answer

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Approaches to correction

For the last part of this Task Three you will explore approaches to correction in the 3 extracts.

ACTIVITY 6: Brainstorming Correction (10 minutes)

a) This time try brainstorming using a spidergram such as the one below:

fossilisation

Correction  

peer correction

reformulation

b) Now check the relevance of each for the 3 extracts

c) Make brief notes on the relevant issues

ACTIVITY 7: Task 4c) Approaches to correction (10 minutes)

Use your notes to write your answers to the last section of Task 4:

c. What approach to correction does each extract reflect?

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Appendices
Appendix 1:
Identifying key
instructions

Task 3 (35 minutes)

Read the 4 extracts of classroom interaction below

a. What approach to language learning does each extract reflect?

b. What views of the role and nature of teacher talk does each extract reflect?

c. What approach to correction does each extract reflect?

Appendix 2: Identifying relevant key areas

• The Silent Way (Gattegno) (B)

• Audiolingualism (A)

• Socio cultural learning theory (Vygotsky)(C)

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Appendix 3: Approaches to Language Teaching

Please note the suggested answers for this task are all in note form to help you identify the
key points being made. You would not be expected to make all the points below. In your
answers you need to write include more justification and show your understanding, although
they can be bullet pointed if you prefer.

• Reminiscent of audiolingualism

• View of language based around sentence structure and from a view of learning
that emphasises habit formation.

• Accuracy is considered to be a precondition for fluency and is focused on from

the outset. Errors are regarded as dangerous so learners given few opportunities
to make them.

• Language learning = accurate practice of forms rather than communication driven

• Shows influence of Silent Way, although not true representation,

• Belief that language learning is personal, one that is self-initiated and self-
directed. ‘Only the learner can do the learning’. Teacher’s role is that of a
facilitator.

• Teacher maintains a deliberately unobtrusive presence and minimal

interventions. Learners should get a feel for the language

• Influence of sociocultural learning theory (Vygotsky)

• Gives an important role for interaction in language acquisition. Belief that learning
opportunities arise when interaction is more conversational and particularly with a
‘better other’ (here the teacher).

• Reflects many features of natural talk; parallels with First Language Acquisition
e.g. Parent and child talk

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Appendix 4: Role and nature of teacher talk

Suggested Answers:

(Please note these are key points for you to check against and your own answers in the
exam need to be slightly fuller, although bullet points are fine. You may be able to think
of others. You would not be expected to make all the points below.)

• Teacher talk is fairly minimal and appears to be graded – no superfluous

conversational elements

• Interaction not attempting to be genuine but production of certain forms

• Classroom is not the place to simulate real conversation

• Interaction is initiated by the teacher and learners respond individually. Teacher

centred interaction of this kind is similar to that associated with transmission teaching

• Giving feedback : negative to prompt correction and positive to praise correct forms

• Eliciting (i.e. Asking questions in order for learners to display what they know
(declarative knowledge) – i.e. Display questions) to prompt production of pre-
determined language items. C.f. Real questions

• Modelling correct forms (grammatical and phonological)

• Prompts learner repetition to ensure correct form clear and help remember

• Accurate language from start

• Teacher talk aimed at directly making learning happen

• Belief that Teacher Talking Time should be kept to a minimum in favour of

maximising Student Talking Time

• Teacher does not respond directly either to content of what learners say (focus on
message) or the form

• Teacher as facilitator: does not expect to directly cause learning but learners learn by
having opportunity to use language

• Learners do not need feedback to develop their language

• Classroom is not the place to model or simulate real conversation

• Teacher only addresses one learner at a time

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• Traditional teacher – learner interaction: teacher initiated and led

• Teacher talk provides a source of input as well as of feedback – both are considered
necessary conditions for language acquisition

• Teacher acts as an interactional partner, simulating a genuine conversation

• Interpersonal talk (including responding to message / content of what learners say,

not just to the form)

• Extract reflects traditional teacher – learner interaction: teacher initiated and led but
here has a real communicative role as strong focus on message

• Teacher asks real questions(as opposed to display questions) which promote greater
depth of processing than display questions according to SLA research

• Modelling of correct forms (but repetition not insisted on)

• Teacher negotiates problems of understanding (these may be genuine or simulated)

• Teacher is the sole interactional partner – this is where learners are more likely to
push themselves and less likely to resort to communication strategies (e.g. gestures).
c.f. pair and groupwork

• Teacher aiming at fluency and responding to content first and foremost but also
encouraged to pay attention to accuracy

• Scaffolding: teacher can provide learner with the necessary interactional support to
encourage production of more complex language

• Scaffolding involves feeding new language which is relevant and personalised,

helping learner get over difficulties but challenging them by demanding clarity and
pushing for more detail and explanation to encourage production of more complex
language

• In this way scaffolding helps learners respond beyond their present competence level
by prompting them to modify output so that closer to the target language

• This is done by asking questions, repeating, reformulating and extending the

learners’ utterances

• Teacher talk focuses on role of facilitator, helping learner express meanings he

chooses to

• Teacher as facilitator: does not expect to directly cause learning but can provide
interactional conditions in which learning happens

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Appendix 5: Approaches to correction

Here are some key points for each extract:

• Reflects the belief that errors are the result of bad habit formation and need
immediate correction if to be eliminated

• There is a danger of fossilisation if the learner is not corrected

• The learner needs negative feedback in order to progress in their language

development

• Learners need an incentive to restructure their interlanguage and negative feedback

has a role to play in this – teacher shows expectations

• Error highlighted so other s may pay greater attention and benefit as a result

• Peer correction prompted by the teacher – encourages self-monitoring and is a step

towards learner autonomy

• Repair: utterance modified to make it more accurate (focus on form rather than
meaning)

• It is important to give clear, unambiguous feedback on form

• Echoing error to prompt self correction could be misunderstood and not seen as
signalling an error

• Reflects the belief that learners learn through using language rather than feedback

• Belief that language learning takes time and accuracy is late acquired, in the
meantime learners need lots of practice

• Teacher feels correcting errors is too intrusive especially in a fluency activity as it can
be stressful and undermine learning

• Teacher may wish to deal with errors later so as not to disrupt the flow of learners’
output and thoughts

• Lack of negative feedback could be taken as positive feedback that forms are correct

• Accepting language other learners or Native Speakers will not understand risks
learners switching off and not listening

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• Reflects the view that effective feedback under real operating conditions, i.e. while
the learner is using the language communicatively, is the most effective

• Reformulation – helping learner communicate more effectively; giving feedback

especially re lexis

• There is some negotiating of meaning and this leads to some repair

• Repairs in this extract: utterance modified to make it more intelligible (c.f. focus on
correct form)

• Repair initiated by teacher / triggered by communication breakdown, mirroring non-

classroom context

• According to interaction hypothesis this sort of repair work provides the basis for
language acquisition

• Teacher makes a (possibly simulated) clarification request as done in real

conversation, signalling meaning is unclear and learner understands that this may be
as a result of incorrect form – this can be considered as a more supportive way of
signalling a mistake

• Reflects the view that when learners recast their message after a clarification request
they can improve their output despite the lack of specific guidance as to the nature of
the error

• There is a danger of fossilisation if the learner is not corrected

• The learner needs negative feedback for their interlanguage to develop

• Learners need both focus on form and focus on meaning

• Reformulation – this is covert feedback in the hope the learner will take the hint but it
risks going unnoticed

• Correction softened as it is important not to be too abrupt to avoid being demotivating

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