Using language appropriately for a range of classroom functions

1. CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF
ECUADOR
FACULTY OF PHILOSOFIE
ESP
TEACHERS AND LEARNERS
LANGUAGE IN THE
CLASSROOM
MIGUEL ARIZALA
GABRIELA RUIZ
MAYTA VASQUEZ

2. The language that best suits the learners
and the situation .
C.F. are the purposes for which both use
language in the classroom.
e.g. activities, explaining points.

3. Instructing
Imperative for young learners and
beginners
- Open your books on page…
For higher levels we might use another
language forms
- For this exercise we will work in pairs

4. Explaining
We explain the learners how to do an activity
- We will put the project on the wall.
Narrating
In primary classrooms we often tell stories to the
learners.
In adults classrooms the experiences must be more
detailed.

5. Eliciting
It’s when we get information from our learners rather
than giving it to them

6. Prompting
It’s when we say something to help learners to
remember something, or giving them ideas.
- Clo….for closure
Correcting
We can correct learners by using language to points
out the mistakes.

7. Checking learning
All the time, most frequently after presenting new
language.
- Can anyone give me a sentence?
Conveying the meaning the new language
When we show the meaning of new words or
structures.
- Realia, mime, questions, explaining

8. UNIT 27
Identifying the functions of learners' language
HOW?
• Tasks and activities
• Asking questions of the teachers
Asking for clarification:
Asking for Clarification
F: I’m afraid I am not quite clear what you mean by …
F: I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean by …
SF: I’m sorry, but could you explain what you mean by …
SF: What do you mean by … ?
I: What exactly are you trying to say ?
I: What (exactly) are you getting at ?
http://www.commonenglishphrases.com/2011/08/asking-for-clarification/

9. KEY CONCEPTS functions of learners' language
Stages:
(step in a process)
• There are twenty
separate stages in this
process.
• Hay veinte etapas
diferentes en este proceso.
http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=stage

10. INTERACTION
Interact appropriately with each other
Talking, dancing, playing a game —
all of these activities allow you
to interact with other people.
To interact means to communicate
and react to the people you're
involved with.

11. EXAMPLES

12. Unit 28 Categorizing learners' mistakes
Mistakes show problems either with accuracy,
i.e. using the correct form of the language
or with communication.
i.e. sharing information dearly.
Learners can make:
 ORAL MISTAKES
 WRITTEN MISTAKES

13.  ORAL MISTAKES
Oral mistakes are mistakes learners make when they are speaking. They make mistakes in the
accuracy of, for example: grammar, pronunciation or vocabulary or in the degree of formality of
the language they use.
• ACCURACY
Accuracy is the use of correct forms of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. In an
accuracy activity, teachers and learners usually focus on using and producing language
correctly.
1. Grammar: She like this picture. (Talking about present habit)
2. Pronunciation: I wear my suit in the sea.
3. Vocabulary: The dog bite me. (Talking about a dog attacking someone)
In Example 1. The learner has missed the third person s from the verb. The learner should have said She
likes this picture'.
In Example 2. The learner has used suit instead of swimsuit. The learner should have said wear my
swimsuit in the sea'.
In Example 3. The learner has used the long /biːt/ sound when he/she should have used the short lit sound.
The learner should have said 'The dog /bɪt/ me'.

14. • APPROPRIACY
Language which is proper or appropiate in a particular situation.
1. 'Shut up!‘ (said to a classmate)
2. It depends of the weather
Example 1. It is rude to say 'Shut up!' in the classroom.
Can you be quiet, please?‘
Example 2. It is not the same as in Spanish.
It depends on the weather

15.  WRITTEN MISTAKES
As with oral mistakes; these can also be categorized into slips or errors in accuracy or appropriacy, or errors in
communication.
Grammar
She never goes with nobody.
She never goes with someone.
Punctuation
The wizard said “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”
The wizard said, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”
A comma is needed before a direct quotation.
I doed the homework.
I did the homework.

16. ERROR (NOUN)
A mistake that a learner makes when trying to say or write something above their
level of language or language processing.
 A developmental error: is an error made by a second language learner which
could also be made by a child learning their mother tongue as part of their
normal development.
e.g.
I goed there last week.
(I went there last week).

17.  A fossilized error: is an error that has become (almost) permanent in a learner’s
language and has become a habit.
Fossilized errors cannot easily be corrected.
For example:
A B2 learner might habitually not add an ‘s’ when saying third person singular present
simple verbs.
 A SLIP.
When a learner makes a slip they make a language mistake but they are able to correct
themselves.
e.g.
Learner: He like ice-cream, I mean, he likes ice-cream.

18. Word missing
wrong word order
wrong spelling
Wrong vocabulary
punctuation (comma, full stop, etc,)
A common tool to optimize learners opportunities.
The teacher uses a correction code to indicate the types of mistakes in accuracy that
the learner has made. This enables learners to make their own corrections.

19. Example: