Learner Profile

The Learner Profile
CertTESOL-Trinity College Part Time Course

Trainee: Mihaela Adina Carabat
Acknowledgements
This project consumed huge amount of work, effort and dedication, and I would like
to hereby express my deepest gratitude to the persons that supported me throughout
the profiling process and who offered their guidance and expertise to make my work
possible.
These persons are, in the first place Mr. Gary Preson, the CERT Tesol Coordinator
of the Manchester University Language Centre, Mr. Simon Raw, Senior Language
Tutor within the ULC, and all the rest of the teaching staff (Mrs. Alyson Luke and
Mrs. Claire Lynas), who, all the same, offered their continuous support and guidance
in my ‘’learning teaching endeavouring’’.
The second (and equally important person) would be my learner, Mr. Saif Kamal
Haif, who accepted to take part in my project, was kind enough to co-operate with
me all the way, took the time to fulfil the tasks that I set out to him and
communicated with me either by phone or by e mail in a prompt manner. I am
hereby expressing my sincere thanks and gratitude.
Last but not the least I want to take this opportunity to give my thanks to my course
colleagues, who have been very supportive throughout the whole process.
1
Table of Contents
Speaking skills section: Spoken English- Pronunciation Analysis .................... 2
Spoken English: Grammar and lexis Analysis ...................................................... 8
LP1: Learner’s social and cultural background ................................................. 11
LP2: Summary of Learner’s Current linguistic proficiency ................................ 13
Written English: Grammar and Lexical Analysis ……………………………….. 18
LP3: Future Language Development………………………………………………20
Preface((and rationale) for the Scheme of Work ………………………………… 28
LP3: Scheme of Work ……………………………………………………………….33
Rationale for the taught lesson ……………………………………………………..36
Lesson Plan (Proforma TP1b) ……………………………………………………. 45
Lesson Evaluation ……………………………………………………………………50
Conclusion to Learner Profile …………..………………………………………….. 52
2
Unit 3 Learner Profile Speaking Skills Section
Spoken English: Pronunciation analysis
Phonology
Orthographic representation of the learner’s speech - in Standard English
 When (what age) did you begin to learn English and where?
‘’They told me I was speaking already when I was two years old… not speaking (1) about fluently of course, just words,
some words….but of course I started at nursery errrrm…. I don’t know what age you (2) ^ start school in Emirates. //
˜˜ ˜˜
All this was in Spain…..I study (3) all courses in Spanish…they give us an English subject but their English (4) is not
strong // their English level is not so good…..// when I was in Spain I studied in a school called King’s College, it’s an
English language school if you heard of it….(sic)
My family was talking to me in Arabic so I (5) don’t lose the language.
 Could you tell me what other language learning experiences have you had/for how long were you in school?
3
‘’Well, I (6) did several courses…I started several courses….first in school, and I (7) studies after school a kind of
Polytechnic Institute, the equivalent here would be BTEC, but then…on the second year in school (University) I moved to
Alicante (another city) where I started another career, (8) again, nothing to do with this one. //
Well, when I came here I went to Manchester College and Stockport College, (9) all of them asking for courses but they
(10) wasn’t very helpful because my level of course is (11) far away from GCSE – below, (..) I was searching for courses
but nobody advised me in the correct way (12) to which course to do, to which course to follow…// ‘’
N.B.: This part of the 60 minutes long interview is used for the Grammar and Lexis Error Analysis (which is
included in the Speaking Skills section of the Profile- see page 6).
4
Phonemic Transcription of Learner’s speech (what he is trying to say)
/ðei tould me ai woz ‘spikiŋ olre:di wuen ai woz tu ji ə:z ould … nʌt spikiŋ əbaut fluentli of cɔ:s, ʤʌst wo(r)dz….
bət I sta:tid ət nəs əri …errrrm, ai don’t nou wat eiʤ ju ’stat skul in Emireitz./
/Oll ðis woz in Spein….Ai stʌdi ol co:siz in Spein, wi hæd ən Iŋgliʃ sabʤekt bʌt ðɜ: Iŋgliʃ iz nʌt strong, ðɜ: Iŋgliʃ
levəl iz nʌt səu gu: d….// wen ai woz in Spein ai stadid in a skul kold Kings coliʤ , fo: tu jəz , in Mədrid - itz ən
Iŋgliʃ lenguiʤ skul if ju həd əbaut it…/
/Mai famili woz 'tokin tu mi in Arabic so ai dount luz ðə lenguiʤ/.
/Wel, Ai did sevrəl co:siz…(hesitation), I statid sevrəl co:siz..fəst in skul ænd ai 'stʌdiz aftə skul a kaind of
Politeknik institjut, ði iquivəlent hiə wud bi BTEC, bʌt ðen …on ðə sekənd jiə in skul (Juni'vəsiti) ai muvd tu
Alikante, ənaðə siti weə ai 'statid , əgen, ənaðə kə'riə, nʌðiŋ tu du wið ðis wan/.
/Wel, wen ai keim hiə ai went tu Mænʧestə koliʤ ænd Stockpo:t koliʤ bʌt ðei woznt veri helpful bicoz ai olsou
went tu du asesment əv GCSE bʌt mai levəl əv co:s iz far əwuei from GCSE; Ai woz səʧiŋ fo co:siz bʌt 'noubadi
ədvaizd mi in ðə korekt wei tu wiʧ co:s tu du, tu wiʧ ko:s tu folou //.
5
Spoken English: Pronunciation analysis

Error/Phrase Correction Orthographic Analysis/reason for error
s)
segment
ed
transcrib
gically
phonolo
(refer to
No.
containing error representation
/not spikiŋ /nʌt spikiŋ fluəntly/ ‘’not speaking The underlined word represents an
1. əbaut fluentli/ fluently’’ added word –unnecessary word;
the mistake is a result of the
learner’s improper use of
prepositions
2. / Ai dont nou /Ai dount nəu wɒt ‘’I don’t know what Wrong vowel used: /o/ instead of /ə/
wat eiʤ ju 'stat eiʤ ju sta:t sku:l in age you start school Spanish does not have the vowels /ə/
skul in Emireitz ði Emireitz/ in Emirates.’’ and / ɜ/; instead speakers replace the
vowel with the strong pronunciation of
the strong written vowel /o/- i.e.
/nou/ instead of /nəu/
Short vowel mistake caused by wrong
word stress
/a/ instead of /a:/
9. /Ai went tu M /Ai went tu Mænʧəstə ‘’I went to Supra segmental mistake caused by
ænʧəstə kɒliʤ æŋ kɒliʤ æŋ Stokpo:t Manchester College the Spanish language influence-where
Stokpo:t kɒliʤ ɒl kɒliʤ ɒl ɒv ðem lukin and Stockport the word order in the sentence is
ɒv ðem lukin fo fo: cɔ:siz/ College, all of them more free; this linguistic feature
cɔ:siz/ asking for courses’’ interferes in the intonation at sentence
level: i.e. instead of uttering the
sentence with a falling pitch at the
end, the learner utters it with a rising
pitch
6
Error/Phrase Correction Orthographic Analysis/reason for error

segments)
y transcribed
phonologicall
(refer to
No.
containing error representation
11. ‘’/Ai wɒz səʧiŋ /Ai wɒz sə: ʧiŋ fo: ‘’I was searching for The mistake comes from the Spanish
fo co:siz.. ‘’ co:siz/ courses’’ interference: in Spanish the vowels
are not long sounds: their
pronunciation is a short sound:
e.g /səʧiŋ/ vs /sə: ʧiŋ/
12. As explained above, Spanish Speakers

/ fo co:siz.. / ‘’fo: co:siz’’/ ‘’For courses’’ pronounce all vowels as short sounds,
as opposed to English
i.e. Learner utters /fo/ instead of
/’’fo:/
8. / ai muvd tu /ai muvd tu ‘’I moved to Alicante This a Supra segmental mistake
Alikante, ənaðə Alikante, ənaðə ‘siti, (another city) where I caused by Spanish interference-where
siti weə ai statid weə ai ‘sta:tid əna started another the word order in the sentence is
, əgen, ənaðə ðə kə'riə/ career, again, more free; this linguistic feature
nothing to do with influences he intonation at sentence
kə'riə/
this one ’’. level: in this example we have an
extra word –the adverb again, which
is pronounced with a rising pitch,
because in Spanish the verb ‘’to
start’’- ‘’empezar’’, is constructed as a
phrasal verb: e.g. ‘’empezar de
nuevo’’ = to start again
7
Transcript of the 1 minute part of the 60 minutes long interview used for the Grammar and Lexis analysis of
Learner’s spoken English
’’Well, I (6) did several courses… (hesitation) I started several courses….first in school, and I (7) studies after school a
kind of Polytechnic Institute, the equivalent here would be BTEC, but then…on the second year in school (University) I
moved to Alicante (another city) where I started another career, (8) again, nothing to do with this one. //
‘’Well, when I came here I went to Manchester College and Stockport College, (9) all of them asking for courses but they
(10) wasn’t very helpful because my level of course is (11) far away from GCSE – below, (..) I was searching for courses
but nobody advised me in the correct way (12) to which course to do, to which course to follow…//
8
Spoken English: Grammar and Lexis Analysis

Type of error Error Correction Analysis
passa
ribed
transc
ally
raphic
orthog
to
(refers
no
Line
7. VF Verb form ‘’Ai studies’’ /Ai ‘stʌdid/ Grammar mistake caused by the wrong use of
tense: Present Simple instead of Past Simple
I studied Tense (Study ÷ studied)
2. ^ a word is I don’t know what I don’t know what age The mistake might derive from the learner’s
missing age you start school you normally start lack of knowledge regarding adverbial phrases
in Emirates. school in Emirates
10. S-V A They wasn’t very They weren’t very Learner does not know the rule of subject-verb
Subject verb helpful. helpful. agreement in English or this might just be a
agreement mistake caused by rushing during speech.
5. Wrong choice of ‘’Nobody advised me ‘’Nobody advised me

preposition and in the correct way, to appropriately, as to Grammatical error caused by learner’s poor
verb which course to which course I should knowledge regarding the use of phrasal verbs
do, which course take ’’; ’’Nobody gave and prepositions in English.
to follow ...’’ me any advice on which
course I should take’’
8. WW- Wrong ‘’Where I started ‘’Where I started This mistake comes probably from the learner’s
wording/expres another career, another career, poor knowledge of English collocations and/or
sion/ nothing to do with different from my lexis.
Wrong choice of this one’’. previous one’’
preposition and
verb
9
Spoken English: Grammar and Lexis Analysis

Type of error Error Correction Analysis
passage
transcribed
ically
orthograph
(refers to
Line no
12. Preposition I don’t know I don’t know what The learner is lacking knowledge
^ Missing word what age you age you normally regarding the proper use of articles
start school in start school in the (definite and non-definite)
Emirates. Emirates
9. A article I /don’t know I don’t know what Mistake caused probably by learner’s
what age you age you normally mother tongue, Arabic, which does not
^ Missing word start school in start school in the have definite articles or it might be only
Emirates/. Emirates. a slip
10. Prep My level of My language level is Error caused by poor knowledge of the
Preposition course is far below GCSE English phrasal verbs and prepositions.
away from
GCSE
10
Unit 3 Learner Profile LP1: Learner’s social and cultural background
Learner’s social and cultural background
Background
Learner’s first language – Arabic
Learner’s second language is Spanish.
He is 39 years old. He was born in Baghdad, Iraq, but he has lived in
Spain for most of his life (from early childhood up to adult age).
He moved to the UK in June 2013, and as a result, his English language
learning experience is somehow ‘’limited’’ to the time spent in the UK,
because, as he stated during our meetings, ‘’in Spain I did not learn
enough English, the English taught in school was not strong’’.
Language learning experience (for any languages other than his mother
tongue)
 Saif has learned Spanish from the age of 6 until he turned 22 years
old), in total 16 years.
 He studied Spanish in primary school, secondary school and within
the Polytechnic Institute he attended in Spain
 He studied English for 6 years, in secondary school (mainstream
education) and within the frame of a vocational course (BTEC)-in
Spain.
11 ULC, University of Manchester

Unit 3 Learner Profile LP1: Learner’s social and cultural background
Preferred methods of learning
 Listening to online tutorials, speaking with English people, watching
news, reading reviews (of technical equipment); Prefers to learn
English in a formal English learning environment (further education
college/University or any other educational establishment).
Reasons for learning and using English
 He needs English mainly for work purposes (to get around in his
work place) and for making job applications/attending job
interviews;
 To integrate in the UK society, communicate with local people, in
day-to-day life contexts.
 For travelling purposes- he is interested in learning specific
vocabulary related to travel.
Future use of English
 In an working environment (at the working place)
 When travelling
 At home, or within his circle of friends, in daily life activities (like
buying a railway ticket or asking for information in a Social Security
office), When going out for social events/activities.

Unit 3 Learner Profile LP2: Summary of learner’s current linguistic proficiency
Summary of learner’s current linguistic proficiency
 My learner is 39 years old, he was born in Baghdad, his mother tongue
is Arabic, his name is Saif Kamal Faik, and his second language is
Spanish, since he has lived for almost 28 years in Spain.
 He moved to Spain at a young age and it is this country where he began
his primary education (at the age of 6); he has studied English in
primary, secondary and vocational educational establishments in Spain
for around 16 years (between the ages of 8 and 24 years old).
Spoken English/ interaction skills
 Saif can manage interaction effectively with a few noticeable lapses in
fluency, which do not interfere or break down communication.
 He can speak fluently in English but he has a reasonable level of
inaccuracy because his pronunciation is influenced by his first
language (not by Arabic, his mother tongue, but by Spanish); this
aspect, nevertheless, does not lead to a breakdown in oral
communication. At the same time, from the accuracy point of view,
my learner can demonstrate a good range of structures but with some
grammatical inaccuracies (oral band 6- according to the
‘’CR/Assessment and Reporting Handbook, ED 09/14 – Oral Bands
(Analytical)’’.
 He needs to improve some grammar points (i.e. subject-verb

agreement) and the ability to link parts of speech and phrases
together in a sentence (oral band 6- see the above citation).
 His vocabulary range is not wide enough; he has an insufficient range
of vocabulary, because his linguistic knowledge is situated at a basic,
general level (oral band 5- see the above citation).
 ‘’He can express ideas and messages with some hesitation which
might require some effort on part of the listener to avoid breakdown in
communication’’; consequently his communicative ability falls into
class number 5, according to the ‘’CR/Assessment and Reporting
Handbook, ED 09/14 – Oral Bands (Analytical)’’.
Pronunciation
 He usually stresses particular syllables and not the whole word;
consequently the intonation at sentence level is quite flat
(influence/interference coming from L1-Spanish).
Intensive and extensive listening skills/interaction skills
 In terms of range, Saif is able to understand mostly extended speech
on familiar topics (listening bands (analytical) no. 5 – according to the
CR/Assessment and Reporting Handbook, ED 09/14).
 With regards to the depth aspect of the listening ability, my learner
can usually understand a range of idiomatic expressions and
colloquialisms associated with familiar topics. I came to this conclusion

after asking the learner to do an intensive listening task on a
general/familiar topic (life and travel) and assessing his
results/answers: he scored 85% of the total number of points being
marked.
 He can understand key points and details competently, and he is able
to infer meanings of unknown vocabulary. As a result, his depth of
listening skills could fall into category number 6, according to the
CR/Assessment and Reporting Handbook, ED 09/14 –Listening Bands
(Analytical).
 When we speak about interaction, my learner can ‘’show a
reasonable level of interaction in personal, social, academic
and vocational contexts’’, conclusions drawn from his self-reporting
and also from reading the results of the intensive listening task
handed out to him; in this aspect he falls into category number 6,
according to the CR/Assessment and Reporting Handbook, ED 09/14 –
Listening Bands (Analytical).
 In terms of extensive listening activities, most of the time the learner
listens to mass media channels (i.e social media), online tutorials,
technical reviews and instructions.
Written English
- The learner’s level of competence, according to the Common

European Framework of Reference: Learning, Teaching, Assessment,
is B1, which stands for lower intermediate (Council of Europe
reference document for the European Language Portfolio, accessible

at http://www.coe.int/en/web/portfolio/self-assessment-grid
- He is able to form simple sentences and express ideas and personal

experiences although the structure of the sentences is lacking
coherence and it is difficult for the reader to figure out the meaning ;
- According to the European Frame of Reference, he can write simple

connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest,
and he is able to write personal letters describing experiences and
impressions;
Reading comprehension skills
- My learner’s linguistic proficiency level is B1-as per the CEFR,
Common European Framework of Reference: Learning, Teaching,
Assessment, the reference document for the European Language
Portfolio; consequently he can understand texts that consist mainly of
high frequency every day or job-related language.
- He can understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in
personal letters.
- I set up a reading text/task for Saif, taken from a Preliminary level
course book (City and Guilds IESOL Book 4- Communicator level) to
test his reading comprehension skills. The topic of the text was
general life issues (travelling and driving) and while I was observing
the learner I was able to notice the following:
- he possesses only a few reading sub skills, such as predicting,
guessing meaning, and he is able to grasp the topic of a sentence.
- he displayed a general comprehension of the text taken as a whole;

soon after he finished reading the text, he was asked to tick boxes
with the correct answers using his ability to read for detail (the
skimming and scanning sub skills) and I noticed that he was not able
to answer specific questions related to the information provided in the
text correctly.
- As a conclusion, in terms of evaluating the reading material, the
learner can understand texts of a general and academic nature, while
being able to understand the communicative function and style of
more general texts (as per the reference document of The University
of Manchester’s Language Centre: CR/Assessment and Reporting
Handbook, ED 09/14 –Listening Bands (Analytical).



Unit 3 Learner Profile LP3: Future language development
Future language development
Introduction
As an introduction to this section of my project, I am quoting a passage
from a well-known educational organization (The British Council) which
sets out some basic principles as the ‘’foundation’’ of today’s curriculum in
the teaching English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) subject
matter: ’’ In order to design and achieve an effective syllabus for an ESOL
language learner we need to consider an important aspect of effective
teaching which is to pay attention to the links between language
acquisition and cognitive and academic development, and understand the
importance of providing work that is sufficiently challenging for the
learner, while matching the learners’ needs with the materials designed in
the scheme of work (syllabus).’’(accessible at
https://eal.britishcouncil.org/teachers/effective-teaching-eal-learners).
 The National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum
(NALDIC) suggests five key teaching principles to achieve a successful
syllabus: activating prior knowledge in the learner, providing a rich
context, encouraging learners to communicate in speech and writing,
pointing out key features of English explicitly, and developing learners’
independence.
I have used these ideas as main guidelines to create the scheme of work
for my learner, and I have tried to find ‘’the balance of skills and
activities’’ that Jeremy Harmer describes in his book- ‘’The Practice of
English Language Teaching’’ (Harmer, J., 2007, page 377).
20
Strengths and weaknesses
Learner’s perceptions:
Weaknesses:
 He stated he needs to improve the accuracy level in spoken English –
improve certain grammar issues (see below), the intonation (at
sentence level).
 Needs to work more on the grammatical issues, such as the word order
in a sentence, the correct use of prepositions and adverbs/Adverbial
phrases and revise the rules governing the third person form verb
endings ;
 In the writing skills area of English the learner needs to improve
accuracy and some grammatical issues (as presented further along, in
the Key Learning Needs section).
Strengths:
 Good level of fluency in oral communication in English; confident
speaker
 Has a reasonably wide range of vocabulary, he is happy with his
current level of knowledge but at the same time is aware of his lapses
(faults) and he is willing to improve through individual study; after
discussing his extensive and reading habits he acknowledged that he
needs to expand his reading materials and that he will try to allow
more time to reading grammar books, appropriate for his intermediate
level of proficiency (i.e. GCSE level textbooks)
21
 The learner affirmed that he feels his range of fluency is reasonably
good; His pronunciation is ‘’acceptable’’ on the whole, since he can
make himself understood by English native speakers in a non-formal
conversation context and can manage to communicate in English in
basic life situations, such as buying a railway ticket, asking for
information in a Jobs and Benefits Office and making a doctor’s
appointment, for example.
Teacher’s perceptions:
 In the pronunciation area of the language he needs to learn more
about the characteristics of word stress in English, the speech patterns
of English, he should focus on intonation and become aware of the
features of connected speech;
 In terms of vocabulary(lexis) he has some knowledge about English
lexis and ‘’language corpus’’ but he is making spelling mistakes in
writing;
 His listening skills are slightly above his level – 5.5 according to the
IELTS criteria; from the range point of view- 5, depth he scored 6
points level, and he had a high score on the intensive listening task
(see LP2- Summary of Learner’s Current linguistic proficiency).
Furthermore he is able to show reasonable interaction in personal,
social, academic and vocational contexts (according to University of
Manchester’s Criteria – ‘’CR/Assessment and Reporting Handbook (ED
09/14’’)
22
 From the Grammar point of view learner has to improve certain
particular items, like SVA (Subject- Verb Agreement), the word order
in an English sentence, he has to acquire more knowledge on the
morphology level (plurals of adjectives, the articles, adverbials phrases
and/or adverbs, prepositions and the rule that governs the final ‘’s’’ in
the third person singular of verbs in Present Simple Tense.
 He also needs to revise and practise other tenses, such as the
Present Perfect, Past Tense Simple and Continuous, the Modal verbs,
The Present Passive and Past Passive.
Key learning needs
Learner’s perceptions
 From the grammatical point of view, the learner is aware that he
needs to enrich his vocabulary, with a focus on idiomatic expressions,
proper use of collocations, the phrasal verbs of English;
 He also needs to practise the use of the following tenses: Present
Simple, Present Perfect, Past Tense Simple and Continuous, the Modal
verbs, and the Passives.
Speaking
During one of our meetings he made the assertion that he is able to
speak in English at the ‘’communicative level’’, he has the ability to
communicate effectively through speech in a dialogue and
23
monologue framework; in other words his spoken interaction is
reasonably good.
Reading
With regards to the reading skills my learner could not make any
statement or assertion in our first meeting (the 1 hour long the interview),
but after having analysed the intensive reading task that I handed out to
him, I noticed that his reading speed is quite slow, and he is lacking most
of the related reading sub-skills, such as understanding paragraph
structure, skimming and scanning, critical analysis and evaluation and he
cannot distinguish between literary genres.
 Listening
He was not aware of the level of his listening skills and he stated that his
level is quite poor.
 Writing:
In this area of language the learner has a Low Intermediate level (B1)
according to the CEFR guidelines (Common European Framework of
Reference).
He acknowledges that he needs to improve his grammar and
vocabulary (as shown above in the recommendations I set out for him).
24
Teacher’s perceptions
o Speaking
 After outlining the learner’s current linguistic proficiency skills in Pro
forma LP2, Summary of Learner’s Current Linguistic Proficiency, it
becomes obvious that in the speaking skills area of English the learner
needs to acquire and practise the rules of conversation (i.e turn taking,
formal interrogations formulas, language used for acts such as
greeting, agreeing or warning, learn the concept of ‘’linguistic register’’
and acquire the social and cultural norms particular to English
language.
Because his vocabulary level is limited (general level) he will need to
improve this area of language, by making use of study skills (dictionary
skills, learning new lexis items, and organising learning successfully.
The Learner has to increase his level of accuracy by learning the structure
of a typical English sentence (SVO) and also the use of collocations,
idiomatic expressions, adverbs and adverbial phrases and prepositions.
 Reading
 He needs to expand his extensive reading habits by adding a bit of
variation to the materials he accesses like, for instance, he should start
reading newspapers or newspaper articles, critical reviews, engage in
25
reading different literary genres in English. At the same time the learner
has to attempt reading for cultural knowledge and awareness.
 In terms of intensive reading he must seek out to read particular
textbooks–such as the course books dedicated to students preparing for
the GCSE exams and grammar-focused books that tackle his particular
learning needs (Lexis, English Idioms, frequently used
collocations/Phrasal Verbs, Relative clauses, English syntax and tenses).
 Listening
 As described and analysed in LP2, Summary of Learner’s Current
Linguistic Proficiency, my learner’s listening skills are fairly good – his
overall score (using the range, depth and interaction criteria) is 5.5
which means that he has a reasonable ability to receive and process
information in personal, social, academic and vocational contexts.
 He needs to engage into intensive and extensive listening skills, which
would enhance the two receptive skills, listening and speaking, as
described by Jim Scrivener (Scrivener, J., Learning Teaching, page 29 ).
 Grammar:
 Needs to improve the use of collocations/phrasal verbs, prepositions,
adverbs and tenses ;
 Engage in further individual study of the English syntax- The word order in
an English sentence.
26
 These learning needs can be fulfilled by striving to improve his study skills,
such as learning and recording vocabulary, organise learning (which
includes time management), planning, note-taking, using BLE/VLE, and
Internet resources.
 Phonology
In this linguistic sector, the learner needs to become aware of his own
pronunciation mistakes and learn to adapt his tone and pitch to the
particularities of the English sentence (i.e features of connected speech,
word stress and intonation).
 Writing
For this area of language, the learner was asked to create a piece of
writing at his free choice and he was given an error correction code to
self-correct;
* * *
As I analysed in the previous section, LP2 (Summary of Learner’s
Current linguistic proficiency), ‘’he can write simple connected text on
topics which are familiar or of personal interest’’ and can write personal
letters describing experiences and impressions and personal
ideas/beliefs.’’ (according to the Common European Framework of
Reference document –self-assessment grid).
27
I have noticed that the he is encountering some problems with word
order- i.e. SVA (Subject-Verb agreement), the word order in a sentence
(rules of syntax) and he is having problems with using
prepositions/adverbs accurately; he is also not aware of the rule
regarding verb ending in ‘’s’’ for the third person singular of the Present
Simple tense.
Conclusion to LP3- Future Language Development
In the listening area of the language Saif’s skills are fairly
good and I will not draw any guidelines for him in this regard.
He mentioned in one of our meetings that he is preparing for the
GCSE tests/examinations because this qualification will assist him in
finding a better job in the future.
The GCSE qualification carries a skills- based syllabus, and ‘’is
suitable for learners who are aiming at improving English usage,
language investigation and analysis and are learning to experiment
and use language creatively’’. According to the GCSE syllabus
requirements, the students need to show they can speak and listen in
functional contexts where they have to discuss and present
information and also demonstrate their ability to role-play in
functional or dramatic situations’’. (taken from the official AQA’s
government website http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-4700)
28
Taking into consideration all the aspects presented before, throughout
my learner’s profile: learner’s current linguistic proficiency, the
recommendations that I made for him in the four linguistic macro
skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and the analysis of his
learning needs, I conclude this part of my profile by making the
following assertion: my learner needs to focus on improving his
speaking and writing skills, in order to be able to produce language
in an efficient and coherent manner and to attain the proficiency level
required of him to pass the GCSE examination.
Therefore, I recommend him to make use of the study skills available
for language learners, such as using dictionaries effectively, learning
vocabulary (recording and practice), organising free time for learning
(time management skills), note taking, planning and using all the
internet resources available (BLE or VLE) so that he achieves his
language proficiency target; at the same time he must engage into
thorough individual study of the course books that are designed for
the students/learners who are preparing for their GCSE exam (s)
because they suit his learning needs and will help him in achieving his
future career objectives.
This is the rationale that I designed for my learner’s future
development plan. The learning guidelines take the form of a scheme
of work comprising 5x45 min lessons that focus on four major
objectives (functional and structural, skills, phonological and lexical
objectives).
29
Scheme of work
Preface /Rationale to the scheme of work
Jim Scrivener makes a plea for the importance of skills work in a sequence
of lessons (Scrivener, 2011, pag. 30): ‘’Don’t underestimate the
importance of skills work. Not every lesson needs to teach new words,
new grammar, etc. Lessons also need to be planned to give students
opportunities to practise and improve their language skills’’.
The author suggests as well ‘’a purpose-based view of course
content, which emphasizes the communicative purposes that students
need language for. The Common European Framework focuses on what
learners can do with language.
Jeremy Harmer brings forward the idea that when we are thinking about
planning a sequence of lessons (Harmer, 2007, pag. 369) we should bear
in mind that there are 5 (five) types of syllabuses: grammatical,
functional (which have listed functions), situational (based around
situations) and lexical syllabuses. He makes this classification in order to
make teachers aware about the differences between them, while pointing
out the advantages and disadvantages held by each type of syllabus; the
author makes this differentiation to assist teachers in choosing the most
suitable sequence of lessons for their class or group of learners.
The author states that ‘’it is difficult to sequence language if we base our
syllabus on situations’’ because for example, as he points out in the same
page, (Harmer,2007, p. 369) ‘’many courses have been based around
30
grammatical syllabuses (a list of linguistic items) while others have
grouped their teaching items in sequence of topics (topic syllabuses) such
as Travelling, Sports, The Weather etc.
Harmer suggests that if we choose to approach a sequence of lessons in
the form of a topic syllabus, this means we need to focus on different
thematic content in each individual lesson; furthermore, he claims that
‘’we should weave a thematic strand that flows through that sequence of
lessons in a logical manner’’ (Harmer, 2007, p. 369).
All along the ‘’elaboration’’ or preparation stage the teacher should aim to
‘’achieve a balance of activities and skills which will determine the overall
level of student involvement in the course’’ (Harmer, 2007, page 377).
Finding ‘’the balance of skills depends to a large extent on the kind of
course we are teaching’’- for instance some students are studying to
improve their speaking and listening, while others need to focus more on
reading and writing.
When I embarked on designing the scheme of work for my learner, and
after analysing his learning needs and preparing the error analysis for the
speaking, listening, writing and phonological areas of language, I decided
to focus mainly on speaking and writing.
In the chapter ‘’The Subject Matter of Language Teaching’’, Jim
Scrivener makes a clear distinction between Receptive skills (Reading
and Listening) and Productive skills (speaking and writing); he also
states that all language skills ‘’are commonly used interactively and in
31
combination rather than in isolation, especially speaking and listening’’.
(Scrivener, J., 2011, page 29).
32
Scheme of work
Student name: Saif Kamal Haif Tutor: Mihaela A. Carabat
Level: B1 – Lower/pre-Intermediate (B1)

Lesson Functional/ Skills Phonological objectives Lexical objectives Rationale
# structural objectives objectives
Functional  Asking people about what they do;  The learner’s

1. talking about daily routine
Objective: Speaking  Intonation level of
Grammar: Present simple; yes/no proficiency is pre
Daily questions; Wh- questions -
intermediate- in
routine/socializing  Focus on
order to improve
fluency  Word stress  Present simple yes/no questions
the level of
Structural  Being able to  Present simple Wh- questions
(Where? When? What? What
accuracy in
objective: discuss about time?) Spoken English
personal habits  Ways of talking about daily he needs to focus
 Understand people's and carry a routine (e.g. get up, go to on grammar
habits through a conversation work, have dinner) points like tense
questionnaire about daily  Simple present tense of formation and
 Make Present simple routines/people be/have/do and common regular tense usage.
Wh- questions that ’s habits. verbs
might be used when  Present continuous of common
 Sub skills: verbs, Have got’’; Short answers
talking to someone - Summarizing such as yes he does, ‘’no I
you don't know.
 Use appropriate - Describing haven't; Yes/no questions
 Question words: who/what/wh
language to express - Contrasting
 Auxiliary 'do' for questions and
things you do every - Exemplifying negatives
day, likes and - Generalizing.
dislikes.
33
Scheme of work

Topic Speaking/sub-skills  Achieve a higher level of  New vocabulary (words/phrases: The learner self-
2.
Travelling reported in the
accuracy by focusing on ‘’touristic site/attraction’’,
Information exchange
Learn the standard interview that he
Functional the stress patterns of historic site, landmark’’ etc);
polite formulas used in needs English for
objective: English language (word  Popular greeting phrases: ’’Hello.
How to book a basic conversational travel purposes;
holiday and/or ask English (i.e. stress) and intonation at How can I help you’’? What He has been asked
for information Would you be kind
enough to help me find sentence level.  would you like to drink/eat?’’ (in to do an intensive
this address?  a hotel/restaurant) listening task
Structural
related to the topic
objective: i.e.: ‘’Which is the  Make the learner aware ‘’Would you be so kind to help
-Acquire the of travel and he was
cheapest means of of the features of me with some information
language items that transportation to able to recognize
belong to the place/site X? connected speech: regarding…?’’ the key vocabulary
formal register: -Learner needs to learn assimilation, items related to
polite about specific cultural
requests/asking for Grammar: travel (basic English
norms, ask for advice, contractions, juncture,
information make a complaint, used in daily life
and/information catenation and elision.  - Practice the Present tense – basic
argue/make arguments situations).
exchange -Focus on pronunciation verb endings; the Present Perfect
Consequently, he
- Auxiliary verbs ;Present and past needs to improve
tense of IR(Irregular) verbs his speaking skills.
- The ‘’ Ing’’ Infinitive
- Definite and Indefinite Articles
 34

 the
nndflnjdofvnodvde

3. Topic : How to Speaking 

communicate  Increase accuracy in The learner needs to
effectively in  Learn the rules of  New language items (English
spoken English by enrich and improve
English conversation: turn idioms, phrasal verbs), specialized
taking, asking for setting up various his vocabulary, to be
Functional clarification, vocabulary;
listening activities – i.e.
Objective: Making able to progress in
standard  Practise the new vocabulary by
a news report (TV) allocate half of a
interrogation means of listening activities (e.g.
learning English and
formulas in modern lesson’s time to playing
Structural listening to a news report made achieve his target-
day English; audio materials with
objective: passing the GCSE
 Reported speech native speakers
by a BBC news presenter);
Learn new  English outside the  Controlled practice exercises exam; this is the
involved in real-life
vocabulary related classroom – Using the
using the target vocabulary; purpose of the
to types of written media (e.g. listen to speaking situations
BBC radio programmes  The grammatical structure and lesson, which
and spoken English,
10 min every day).
personal Pronunciation: rules of reported speech; relative focuses on speaking
 Giving a oral
communication, Intonation and clauses.
presentation in front skills.
learning a language meaning.
of a group of people.
35

Functional objective: Skills and sub-skills required: Pronunciation:  Interviewing In order to achieve
4. the desired standard
Writing: techniques, successful
Filling in application of English I set out as
- Organization of question formation, homework for the
letters/ Looking for a job sentences
- The adequate use of
 Make the learner familiar and specific formulas of
learner to write up a
with the specific letter of application
Structural objective: formal English introduction (e.g. Dear using a sample letter
(common phrases and pronunciation of certain
created by myself and
 Learning the expressions) words Sir/Madam….), greeting
adapted from on line
-The ability to summarize (‘’Yours sincerely’’ and resources :
concept of ‘’being information and arrange  Awareness of the rising and (https://www.reed.co
assertive’’ and paragraphs in a clearly falling features of an asking for clarification.
.uk/career-
legible format. English sentence; practice  advice/cover-letters/)
acquiring specific Focus on spelling and
-Writing a formal letter with examples.
lexis particular to a by using interviewing fluency and accuracy in The learner needs to
techniques and adapting
writing to the format of  Learner has to work on
standard application oral English learn English for job
the tendency to stress purposes; this is why
letter. a successful covering  Attaining a higher level I emailed him a link
letter. particular syllables when
 Learn greeting and of proficiency in the with vocabulary
Speaking uttering words within a
specific to the job
formulas of sentence, because English vocabulary and industry which would
-increase fluency and is a stress timed
politeness. speaking areas help him practise the
accuracy in spoken language. language more and
English ;
improve his speaking
- develop the following
and writing skills:
sub skills: explaining,
http://www.examengl
summarizing, describing,
ish.com/B1/b1_readi
arguing, exemplifying
ng_job_application.ht
and generalizing.
m
36

5. Topic: Everyday life Writing  Understand and

 Word stress use infinitives in The lesson focuses on
Functional Objectives - Familiarize with the different situations writing skills, and I
How to make a formal  Intonation
standard expressions Vocabulary: designed it to assist
letter of
complaint/write up a and formulas of  Pitch variations in the learner in
product review  types of written
politeness belonging improving his writing
spoken English and spoken
to a certain linguistic skills and making him
Structural objectives
English;
register (formal aware of the
- Writing a consumer English)  Relative clauses.
particularities of the
review- learn how to  Grammar study:
Sub skills: language used in the
communicate with people Infinitives- the short ‘’formal register’’ of
Summarizing,
on line and decide what
comparing, form and the long English- the English
to buy depending on
arranging form ending in –ing’’ used when writing
other people’s reviews.
paragraphs properly, formal
critical analysis, letters/documents/
arguing, reporting, emails.
organizing ideas
/sentences and
expressing personal
opinions.
37
Unit 3 Learner Profile LP4: Lesson plan and evaluation proformas
Rationale for the taught lesson
After having had the 60 minutes interview with my learner, Saif,
during which I had the opportunity to find out more about his
current linguistic proficiency, I managed to design a plan of lesson
for him consisting of 45 minutes long (taught lesson), through
which I am aiming at helping him improve his language proficiency
level, firstly, and secondly offer him some guidelines related to his
learning process that will ideally support him in progressing in his
English learning endeavouring.
The guidelines that I mentioned before refer to the four areas of
linguistic development and are put together in the form of a scheme
of work.
Speaking/spoken interaction
During my analysis of the learner’s current linguistic levels of
competence numbered above I noticed that he is a confident
speaker, he is able to pause when it is necessary and/or asked to
do so; he is also capable of expressing thoughts and ideas and his
level of fluency in spoken English is quite good.
He needs to learn more about turn taking in a formal conversation
(according to the standards of spoken English) and work more on

38
ULC, University of Manchester
his accuracy level, particularly on some grammar points such as
subject-verb agreement, the appropriate use of prepositions,
adjectives/adverbs, the correct use of plurals (both for adjectives
and in the final ‘’s’’ for the third person singular of verbs used in
Present Simple Tense) and become aware of the word structure
(order) in an English sentence.
He is also struggling with understanding/perceiving relative clauses
and complex sentences due to lack of knowledge and as a result he
is unable to link parts of speech in an accurate manner in order to
form a full comprehensible sentence.
Pronunciation
In the area of pronunciation Saif usually stresses particular syllables

instead of the whole word, which in turn has an influence on
sentence intonation, that sounds rather flat (the ‘’staccato’’ effect).
This pronunciation feature comes from his first language – Spanish,

language that has quite regular patterns of intonation and word
stress, as Michael Swan suggested in his book - Spanish is ‘’a
syllable-timed language’’ ( Michael Swan, Learner English, 2001,
page 95) .
Consequently Saif has to focus on improving his pronunciation,

particularly on word stress, features of connected speech: i.e. the
linking words in a sentence and become aware of the pitch varieties
that define the intonation of English language.
39
Listening Skills
I tested Saif’s listening skills by asking him to do an intensive

listening task; the activity consisted in a ‘’pre-listening’’ stage, with
an exercise that had prediction work and a ‘’while listening’’ stage
that aimed to find out the level of his listening skills.
I played him an audio material with a conversation between two
persons, about general ‘’life situations’’ – i.e. holidays and travel;
after having listened to the tape recording, he was asked to do a
gap fill exercise where he had to fill in the gaps with missing
words/information taken from the audio material and he scored, on
average, an 85%of the total number of marks.
The results lead me into believing that he has fairly good listening
skills, he is able to grasp for specific information (in terms of
intensive listening).
In terms of extensive listening skills, I would say that he possesses
a reasonably good level, conclusion drawn after observing his
spontaneous reactions to my questions during the one hour long
interview I had with him at our first meeting.
40
Reading Skills
Intensive reading
For the area of reading comprehension I prepared a reading text for
Saif, by means of which I wanted to test his intensive reading skills;
I noticed that he possesses good reading sub skills, such as
predicting, reading for detail, skimming and scanning.
He was able to guess meaning, he could answer specific questions
related to the information presented in the text, he could make
inferences and on the whole, he could understand paragraph
structure but he should work on his reading speed and build up the
ability to engage into extensive reading.
Extensive reading
In terms of extensive reading, my learner is usually reading on line
tutorials, technical materials and documents and he has recently
started to read grammar text books.
I recommended to him to engage into further intensive reading that
would help him enrich his vocabulary/grammar knowledge and
increase his current level of language proficiency.
41
Writing Skills
I have asked my learner to produce a piece of writing (about an A4
page length) on a topic chosen by him, in order to assess his writing
skills in English.
He came up with a piece of writing having as topic/subject
‘’stereotypes’’, and the impact that stereotyping has on people in
modern times.
After having performed the analysis of grammar errors in written
English, I conclude that his level falls into category 5 (according to
the IELTS Band Descriptors).
He presented the purpose for his writing that is unclear at times and
the tone is variable and sometimes inappropriate. The word order
in the sentence is inadequate (influence coming most likely from L1,
Spanish, where the syntax is different).
The vocabulary used in his writing is limited and he has made some
noticeable spelling mistakes. The learner can use only a limited
range of structures; he is trying to construct complex sentences but
these tend to be less accurate than simple sentences.
He also makes frequent grammatical and punctuation errors, which
might cause some difficulty for the reader.
As a result, the learner must aim to improve some major grammar
and lexical points, as I have presented in more detail in the Future
Language Development Plan.
42
During our interview Saif informed me that he needs to learn
English for job purposes (he has to improve his English language
level in order to find a good job) and also for day-to-day life in
the United Kingdom; he is aspiring to communicate efficiently
with native English speakers and integrate into British society.
Conclusion
After having analysed the learner’s degree of competence in all
four linguistic areas, and having carefully considered his learning
needs (i.e. where he will be using English and for what purposes)
I endeavoured in designing a lesson plan for a taught lesson.
I taught this lesson with him roughly three weeks following our
interview (first meeting); in the meantime we had a second
meeting, when I set up the reading and listening activities for
him.
When I was thinking about the aims of my lesson, I had in mind
primarily the learner’s level of proficiency (so that I can adapt
the materials to his level), then his language learning needs and
lastingly the idea of him being able to grasp the meaning of
certain linguistic concepts, produce language effectively and
improve the four basic areas of language competence: speaking,
reading, listening and writing. At the same time, I was and I am
presently aware of the fact that it is not possible to ‘’generate’’ a
43
drastic or immediate improvement in his current command of the
English language, I am only attempting to make a thorough
evaluation of his competence level and furthermore hand out to
him a plan for future language development, including
recommendations in all the major skills areas comprised in the
format of a scheme of work, which will assist him in his language
learning process.
In my learner’s case I have noticed that he possesses fairly good
listening and reading skills; consequently I came to the
conclusion that he needs to work more on the other two skills
areas –speaking and writing. In order to meet these
particular needs, I planned the lesson with activities that match
his learning needs and should help him acquire and practise new
language items, improve his vocabulary, focus on grammar
points – correct usage of tenses and prepositions and also enable
him to gain confidence in speaking (by focusing on fluency).
44
Lesson plan(s) and evaluation
TEACHING PRACTICE – LESSON PLAN
NAME: Mihaela A. Carabat DATE: 23/3/2017

LESSON NUMBER: 1
LENGTH OF LESSON: 60 min
FOCUS OF LESSON (Language/Skills): Lexis-words formed by

derivation- Writing a formal letter-writing/Grammar point- Practise the
use of Present simple, introduce and practise Present Perfect -Speaking
LESSON OUTLINE
Aims of lesson, e.g. to present and practise ‘will’ and ‘going to’:
- Introduce the concept of ‘’word formation’’(word building by derivation)

and practice it in a controlled practice activity (gap fill exercise); present
the concepts of prefix and suffix;
- Make the learner aware of the format/structure and contents of a formal
cover letter (letter of application);
- Practice the usage of Present Simple and Present Perfect by doing
controlled assessment from a course book reading text.
Desired outcomes for student, e.g. by the end of my lesson he/she should be
able to:
- Understand how new lexical items are formed using prefixes and suffixes;
- Be able to identify and recognize certain words as parts of speech (noun,
adjective, adverb);
- Produce a formal letter of application for a job;
- Be able to produce language fluently and coherently in an informal context
- Read accurately and with reasonable speed a piece of writing/text
Language items for this class (grammar/vocabulary/pronunciation/etc):
 Lexis: prefixes/suffixes
 Grammar: Present Simple
Present Perfect
 Target language related to writing a formal letter
Main skill areas and sub-skills:
 Ability to link words in a sentence (use connected speech correctly)

 Increasing the accuracy in pronouncing certain words (particularly
45
focusing on word stress)

 Grammatical accuracy (correct usage of tenses) and improving
vocabulary.
Vocabulary items needed (any to be pre-taught?):
- Suffix ; Prefix; Derivation; ‘’Metabolic rate’’; ‘’Acclimatized ‘’
Materials to be used (indicate which ones you have designed) :
 Model of covering letter (for jobs applications)- material designed by me

 Skills for Life (QCF) — Entry 3 Speaking and Listening prompts 1
Teaching aids to be used (equipment/realia/boards/flashcards/etc):
 Textbook (s), own materials (adapted- from online source), whiteboard,

pencils/markers.
Summary of teaching techniques & activities to be used (refer to Lesson

Procedure):
 Elicitation (using facial expressions, gestures and board work)

 Drilling
 concept checking
 Gap fill activities
 Speaking/Writing
Anticipated problems with solutions:
- Unknown words (e.g. ‘’acclimatized’’)

- Lack of knowledge about specific format and language items (lexis) specific to
covering letters (formal language)
- Relative clauses (in the set reading text)
- Poor pronunciation due to lack of knowledge related to word order/word
stress in the context of free (spontaneous) speech
To assess whether my student has achieved the desired outcomes, I will (e.g.
monitor/correct (when?):
 During the controlled practice activities ;

 During concept checking
46
Unit 3 Learner Profile Proforma 4 Lesson plan and evaluation
Teaching one-to-one
Areas to consider:
- Adapting the materials to learner’s needs and the available time;
- Make sure the learner has enough speaking time/allow him enough time
to speak;
- Always correct pronunciation mistakes and hand out appropriate feedback
after the lesson (as part of feedback and for future development plan);
- Give out grammar/punctuation error code to student for future self-
correction and to support him during his individual study of English.
- Make recommendations for the learner in the form of a scheme of work,
consisting of 5 (five) lessons, that will represent a guideline for his future
learning process, focusing on skills work, and combining the
functional/structural objectives with phonological and lexical objectives.
47
Unit 3 Learner Profile Proforma 4 lesson plan and evaluation
LESSON PLAN: PROCEDURE NAME: Mihaela Carabat TP No: DATE: 23.3.17 PROFORMA TP1b
TIME STAGE TEACHER ACTIVITY LEARNER ACTIVITY MATERIALS/AIDS INTERACTION
-Pre teach the concept of Speaking, asking questions Course book –

10 min Eliciting/introducing Cambridge Student’s T- S
derivation and word
new language items Take notes book, CAE, Spratt &
formation and elicit meaning Taylor, Intermediate, S-T
page 176, chapter 13
for ‘’prefix’’ and ‘’suffix’’ Reading
-Monitor and prompt
answers
-Draw timelines for Present
 Grammar point- Simple and Present Perfect
Speaking Course book, CAE, T-S
15-20 presentation and Spratt & Taylor, In –
Listening
min revision of the Present to show/demonstrate the time Cambridge Student’s S-T
Simple and Present Responding book, Intermediate,
sequence
Perfect page 177, chapter 13
Writing
-elicit meaning (for time
Reading
relations)
Concept/instruction
Checking
-set out a reading text
(course book) to practice the
use of the above mentioned
tenses.
48
Unit 3 Learner Profile Proforma 4 lesson plan and evaluation
15-20  introduce the format - present to learner the Reading Original Material-
min of a formal letter of structure and contents of a Listening T-S
application for a job standard letter of application speaking adapted from online
for jobs and set up as resources
homework activity for him to
write a covering letter using
his personal information
-introduce the concept of role

-Design/ create a Skills for Life (QCF) —
Practice speaking and Entry 3 Speaking and
play activity –i.e. activity that
vocabulary Listening prompts-
plan/structure for the short
10-15 focuses on speaking skills; TRINITY College T-S
the topic is ‘’how to request speech; London, pdf doc,
min (accessible in pdf format S-T
time off from work from your in the Skills for Life
--Ask questions regarding the
boss using the formal online syllabus)
rules of standard formal
language register;
- introduce to the learner speech in English.
some basic vocabulary items
describing polite
requests/formulas in English
(i.e. ‘’Could I possibly ask
your permission to take 5
days off my annual leave
starting with next week ?’’
49
Unit 3 Learner Profile
Proforma 4 lesson plan and evaluation
Reflection
Evaluation of the lesson
(Teaching one to one, aims, teaching methods, materials used, overall

strengths of the lesson, areas to work on)
i. On the first hand I found teaching one to one a bit challenging due to the
intensity of the whole process of teaching and learning.
ii. Secondly, I realised that the time allocated for each activity in my lesson
plan in ‘’real time conditions’’ (during the actual duration of the lesson) was
insufficient – for instance I was envisaging that 10 minutes would be
enough to introduce and practice the lexical items prepared for the lesson
(words formed by derivation) but in reality this did not happen (we actually
spent 20 minutes for this activity). As a consequence, the entire sequence
of activities planned for the learner staggered over and lead to the third
section of the lesson –the one dealing with writing skills, being left out and
set as homework.
iii. This made me think that the timing in one to one lessons is dictated by the
learner and not the teacher; the latter must adapt to his/her speed and
accommodate his/her needs.
iv. Moving on to the grammatical stage of the lesson, I have noticed that the
learner is not aware of the rule of the third person ‘’s’’ ending for the
Present Tense Simple verb forms (i.e. ‘’sings, walks, talks’’) which again
extended the activity by 10 minutes. I presented the grammar rule and
gave out some examples; in addition I did some oral drilling for a couple of
verbs. The learner seemed to have grasped the rule and was able to
produce the target verb forms.
v. With regards to the Present Perfect tense, I drew a timeline to exemplify

the time relationship with the Past and also the fact that this tense
describes an action which started at an unspecified point in the past,
continues in the present and it may continue in the future.
50
vi. I asked the learner to read aloud a text chosen from an Intermediate
course book, (The Cambridge CAE student’s Course book, Spratt, M. and
Taylor L. B, page178 ), where there were examples of verbs used in the
Present Perfect tense and I set out a task for him to identify/spot the
corresponding verb forms – a ‘’fill-in the gaps’' exercise.
vii. He was not able to identify the requested tense for most of the verbs; he
was only able to recognise a couple of tenses after asking him some
concept checking questions and eliciting information, which did not go very
well, because he was hesitating .
viii. In terms of teaching materials, I used the Cambridge CAE student’s

Course book, written by Mary Spratt and Lynda B. Taylor, the 2000 edition
and I created a model of covering letter using online resources. 123
ix. There were some strong points of the lesson though; during the eliciting
stage of the vocabulary the learner knew most of the words (since their
equivalent in Spanish is quite similar) and was able to construct easily new
words/parts of speech using a given model and after having taught him (by
drawing on the whiteboard) the concept of word building by derivation.
x. In the future he will need to improve his linguistic area of vocabulary, either
by extensive and/or intensive reading or various intensive listening
exercises, revising and practising the usage of Tenses in English (starting
with the Present Simple tense), then the irregular verbs, the Continuous
tenses, future and modal verb forms, English colloquial expressions,
idioms and verbal/adverbial phrases.
xi.
1 https://www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/cover-letters
2
http://www.examenglish.com/B1/b1_reading_job_application.htm
3Skills for Life (QCF) — Entry 3 Speaking and Listening prompts- TRINITY College
London, pdf doc, (accessible in pdf format in the Skills for Life online syllabus)
51
Conclusion to Learner Profile
(Overall assessment, most enjoyable part, most demanding part, learner’s

response to class(es), what was learned, what specific parts of the course
were applied in the Learner Profile)
I found this unit of the Trinity CertTESOL course quite challenging and
rewarding at the same time. This is due to a number of reasons, which I am
putting forward in this concluding section.
 The most demanding part, the part that required a strenuous
effort for me, as a non-native English speaker, was
transcribing phonetically the learner’s speech, as part of the
Pronunciation analysis.
 The Scheme of Work part of the profile was the second most
demanding section since I feel that the information gathered
from the learner with regards to his linguistic proficiency, as
well as the actual time spent in our meetings, could not cover
the phonological objectives part included in the scheme of
work.
 What I have enjoyed the most while working on my learner
profile is the opportunity to design a complete linguistic
analysis, that focuses on the four macro language skills:
speaking, listening, reading and writing.
52
 I applied knowledge acquired from the Phonology Unit and the
Unknown Language unit when I was working on the error
analysis within the Speaking skills section of the Profile and
also for the Summary of Leaner’s current linguistic proficiency.
 I have used concepts learned in the Language Awareness and
Skills Unit when I embarked on drawing up the Spoken
Grammar and Lexis Analysis for the Speaking skills section
and for the Grammar and Lexis Analysis of the learners’
writing.
 I applied knowledge acquired during the Teaching Skills unit,
for the 1:1 lesson taught (i.e. Lesson Plan, Aims and
Objectives, teaching methods and techniques, teaching
resources and materials, planning a lesson and/or a sequence
of lessons.
 Lastingly I applied knowledge acquired by reading course
related literature (see the attached Bibliography) and concepts
of Language Acquisition and Methodology.
 The individual study dedicated to the Learner Profile and the actual
nature of the project have made me acknowledge the differences
between tutoring (teaching one on one) and teaching to a group of
learners; the former is more intensive and it somehow shifts the
‘’control of the lesson’’ to the learner; thus the relationship between
teacher and student becomes more intimate.
53
 My work on the learner profile and the profiling process itself has
made me acknowledge the connections that exist between the
different units of the course (as I explained above) and on the
whole I consider this Unit a beneficial experience to me as an
aspiring ESOL teacher ; I also find it useful for my future teaching
career, since I have discovered new insights into teaching that I did
not know before.
54

Learner Profile

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Learner Profile

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The Learner Profile

CertTESOL-Trinity College Part Time Course

to hereby express my deepest gratitude to the persons that supported me throughout

in my ‘’learning teaching endeavouring’’.

communicated with me either by phone or by e mail in a prompt manner. I am

hereby expressing my sincere thanks and gratitude.

Speaking skills section: Spoken English- Pronunciation Analysis .................... 2

Spoken English: Grammar and lexis Analysis ...................................................... 8

LP1: Learner’s social and cultural background ................................................. 11

LP2: Summary of Learner’s Current linguistic proficiency ................................ 13

Written English: Grammar and Lexical Analysis ……………………………….. 18

LP3: Future Language Development………………………………………………20

Preface((and rationale) for the Scheme of Work ………………………………… 28

LP3: Scheme of Work ……………………………………………………………….33

Rationale for the taught lesson ……………………………………………………..36

Lesson Plan (Proforma TP1b) ……………………………………………………. 45

Lesson Evaluation ……………………………………………………………………50

Conclusion to Learner Profile …………..………………………………………….. 52

Spoken English: Pronunciation analysis

Orthographic representation of the learner’s speech - in Standard English

English language school if you heard of it….(sic)

My family was talking to me in Arabic so I (5) don’t lose the language.

Phonemic Transcription of Learner’s speech (what he is trying to say)

Spoken English: Pronunciation analysis

Error/Phrase Correction Orthographic Analysis/reason for error

12. As explained above, Spanish Speakers

Spoken English: Grammar and Lexis Analysis

5. Wrong choice of ‘’Nobody advised me ‘’Nobody advised me

Spoken English: Grammar and Lexis Analysis

Learner’s social and cultural background

Learner’s first language – Arabic

Learner’s second language is Spanish.

He is 39 years old. He was born in Baghdad, Iraq, but he has lived in

He moved to the UK in June 2013, and as a result, his English language

learning experience is somehow ‘’limited’’ to the time spent in the UK,

enough English, the English taught in school was not strong’’.

old), in total 16 years.

 He studied Spanish in primary school, secondary school and within

the Polytechnic Institute he attended in Spain

 He studied English for 6 years, in secondary school (mainstream

education) and within the frame of a vocational course (BTEC)-in

11 ULC, University of Manchester

Preferred methods of learning

 Listening to online tutorials, speaking with English people, watching

news, reading reviews (of technical equipment); Prefers to learn

English in a formal English learning environment (further education

college/University or any other educational establishment).

Reasons for learning and using English

work place) and for making job applications/attending job

 To integrate in the UK society, communicate with local people, in

day-to-day life contexts.

 For travelling purposes- he is interested in learning specific

vocabulary related to travel.

Future use of English

 In an working environment (at the working place)

 At home, or within his circle of friends, in daily life activities (like

buying a railway ticket or asking for information in a Social Security

office), When going out for social events/activities.

12 ULC, University of Manchester

Summary of learner’s current linguistic proficiency

 My learner is 39 years old, he was born in Baghdad, his mother tongue

Spanish, since he has lived for almost 28 years in Spain.

 He moved to Spain at a young age and it is this country where he began