W1A-011 ELT texts-2.txt
Name: Sue Mullins

Date: 12/01/02

Question 2 Task 3

Class Profile

The class consists of 6 'high' elementary learners. They are: 2 S. Korean women 1 Chinese women 1 Japanese woman 1 young male from Hong Kong 1 young female from Columbia This particular group of learners work very well together; they are hard-working and make excellent progress because of their use of strategies such as 'inferring meaning'. Only the Hong Kong boy relies heavily on his dictionary as his level is slightly below the others but they are happy to share their knowledge with him. Fairly high-level vocabulary and grammatical constructions are to be found in the text such as, 'precautions, general practitioner, vaccination, cope with' and the use of the gerund on Line 36, etc. I have chosen this group because the text would be quite difficult for other elementary learners who were not prepared to infer meaning.

Exploiting the Text

I would introduce the topic of the text by getting students into two groups to talk about holidays they have had, any illnesses on holiday, and what medicine they would typically bring with them, etc. Then, as the text contains quite a number of high-level vocabulary for elementary, I would divide the students into groups A,B, and C with each group reading a different column of text ('Take Good Care', 'Safety First' and 'Bon Voyage'). I would then check each groups'understanding of the text and deal with vocabulary by encouraging them to infer meaning. Next, the students should team up with members from the other groups and orally share the advice they have read. As a form of feedback, I would ask them to report back on the advice they would/would not follow.

I would then devise exercises to focus on the unique style of the leaflet as it is quite distinct. For example, the language is 'to the point' and direct, bullet points are employed and various ways of giving advice can be noted such as imperatives, infinitives of purpose, etc. Here are a few examples that I would focus on: (L1) To enjoy the sun... you need a little sun know how. (L6) To take care of your skin, there's no need to stay out of the sun for good. (L15) Don't use vegetable oil (L17) Take extra care of children (L18) Remember, you can burn... (L54) Make sure you...

I would also draw students'attention to the ordering and importance of the information because this also adds to the style and the L2 learners should be made aware of variation in style even from the early stages.

As a follow-up, I would ask students to prepare their own leaflet and personalise it by giving it a heading such as 'Advice for Foreigners Preparing to Study in Belfast for the First Time'.
