Ok I really do not know what I am doing wrong here, I have tried it twice, I think I am getting it right but obviously I am not. I don't want the answers but some guidance showing me where I may have gone wrong. Thank you so much in advance.

 

Please look at the student mistakes below and do the following:

1. Identify what is wrong with the sentence
2. Write what probably caused the mistake
3. Identify what type of a mistake it is
4. Write how you would correct it.

 

 Thank you :)

 

I have tried again, could you have a look before I hand it in as I am so scared of failing!

 

I "walked" /wɔ:kId/ to school today. (Elementary)

Answer: 1. Student has pronounced the word wrong. It would sound like Walk -ed. Should be replaced with a /t/. This will help the student differentiate between endings of past tense words.

2. I think there could be several reasons for this. Mother tongue interference, due to the fact their language could pronounce things that look the same in the same way. It could also be due to the level of the word. Elementary level are usually just getting on to past participle words, it may have not been covered yet.

3. Vocabulary, due to the student knowledge of words

4. Give an explanation of the difference between voiced and voiceless consonants this will help the student learn different past tense endings.

 

Let me make a photo of you. (Intermediate)

Answer: 1. The student used Make instead of Take.

2. Mother tongue interference.

3. Vocabulary

4. Go over a concept again, explaining the difference between the two. Student just needs to be told the difference.

 

He's a friendly girl. (Upper-intermediate)

Answer: 1. Pupil has identified the wrong sex

2. Mother Tongue could also not make a distinction between male and female.

3. Student used the wrong pronoun. Vocabulary.

4. Gauge on the understanding of male and female, potentially further explanation could be needed. For an Upper-intermediate student this error should not occur.

 

She cans drive. (Elementary)

Answer: 1. Student has tried to use a modal verb in the sentence.

2. Above their level. Although Can is introduced in Elementary level the student may not have understood the concept correctly.

3. Vocabulary

4. Go through the rules for modal verbs, check understanding, concept checking throughout.

 

The people was very kind. (Pre-intermediate)

Answer: 1. Student has used people not person, should have used the singular person rather than the plural people.

2. Student has used the incorrect use of subject and verb.

3. Grammar

4. Student would be made aware of the rules of subject and verb agreement. Different examples of the sentences that each are used in will be given. The people were kind. The person was very kind.

 

 You’d better not criticise her - she is very sensible to criticism. (Advanced)

Answer: 1. Mix-up up with words, sensitive not sensible. She is a very sensible girl. She is sensitive to criticism.

2. For an advanced level of student this in my opinion should not have happened, I think this was simply a Slip up, words very similar in spelling.

3. Vocabulary

4. Go over the words and see if the student understood their mistake. Recap on different sentences that can be used with the words.

 

Good morning, sir. What's up? (Intermediate)

Answer: 1. Potentially I problem with the What's up. Over-generalisation, it is a saying, should be “What is the matter with you”. Also with the sentence being very formal using sir, is inappropriate.

2. Above the students level

3. Grammar

4. Create a scenario, for example this could be a business learner, so creating scenarios could help show the difference between formal and informal conversation.

 

Tomorrow I go to London. (Beginner)

Answer: 1. Student has used the incorrect tense to answer the question. Should be: Tomorrow I am going to London.

2. Above their level. Going to is not usually covered till Intermediate level.

3. Vocabulary

4. Explain the error to the student and explain how the sentence should be formed. Although this error is not covered in the beginning stages for the student it should still not be ignored.

I "walked" /wɔ:kId/ to school today. (Elementary) 

1. Pronunciation. 2. Student is probably reading words letter by letter as is done in the student's own language. 3. Pronunciation 4. Remind student which consonant endings require the -ed to be pronounced like a "t".  (p, k, f, s, sh, ch - hoped, ached, laughed, passed, wished, watched)  Provide exercises to drill these.
 
Let me make a photo of you. (Intermediate)

1. The student used an incorrect verb.2. Interference from their own language?  3. Vocabulary (idioms)  4. Review idioms with "take" and "make".  Provide examples.
 
He's a friendly girl. (Upper-intermediate)

1. He instead of She  2. Mother Tongue might not make a distinction between masculine and feminine pronouns  3. Aspects of both grammar and vocabulary.  4. Drill "She's a girl", "He's a boy", etc., after explaining again.
 
She cans drive. (Elementary)

1. Putting inflectional ending on a modal verb.  2. Analogy with other verbs. 3. Grammar 4. Remind student that modals don't take inflections.  Drill with modals, contrasing with non-modal verbs.
 
The people was very kind. (Pre-intermediate)

1. Singular vs. plural problem. 2. Native language treats "the people" as singular. (Example:  Spanish)  3. Grammar4. I would drill "people" specifically.  It's an important enough word to merit special treatment:  The people were kind. The person was very kind.
 
You’d better not criticise her - she is very sensible to criticism. (Advanced)

1. Mixup with words, sensitive not sensible2. Native language has a word very much like "sensible" whose meaning is, in English, "sensitive".  (Examples:  Spanish, French, Italian) 3. Vocabulary4. Drill the false cognates that your students have trouble with:  She is a very sensible girl. She is sensitive to criticism.  [This will be highly dependent on their native language.  The only students that have trouble with false cognates are those whose native language shares a common history with that of English.]
 
Good morning, sir. What's up? (Intermediate)

1. Mix of formal and informal.  That is, problems maintaining the same register throughout.  2. Student is ignorant of the topic of register.  3. Usage. Pragmatics.  4. Discuss, then test on, concepts of register.  Present various sentences in different registers.  Student must identify whether very formal, formal, informal, casual, or slang.  Or student identifies social group most likely to say the sentence:  teen-agers, university professors, middle-class housewives, etc.
 
Tomorrow I go to London. (Beginner)

1. Nothing wrong.  2. NA 3.   NA 4. NA  (I don't see the point of calling this an error when it will not be considered an error later in the student's course work.)

CJ

Ok so I haven't handed it in yet, it is my last chance and if I fail I fail my TEFL can you just check once more too see if I look like I know what I am talking about! I am so nervous, quite a lot riding on this you see. I know I have already had help and I really appreciate it, but one last look please :(

 

I "walked" /wɔ:kId/ to school today. (Elementary)

1. Student has pronounced the word wrong. It would sound like Walk -ed. Should be replaced with a /t/. This will help the student differentiate between endings of past tense words.

2. I think there could be several reasons for this. Mother tongue interference, due to the fact their language could pronounce things that look the same in the same way. It could also be due to the level of the word. Elementary level are usually just getting on to past participle words, it may have not been covered yet.

3. Pronounciation

4. Plan extra practice on the regular past tense verb form, and the rules about how the ending -ed can be pronounced as either /t/, /d/ or /id/, depending on the final consonant sound of the verb stem. Recognition and classification of ending sounds.  Also provide homework exercises to drill these.

Let me make a photo of you. (Intermediate)

1. The student used Make instead of Take.

2. Mother tongue interference.

3. Vocabulary

4. Practice dialogues using the different words in different ways. Provide examples and potentially provide exercises for homework.

He's a friendly girl. (Upper-intermediate)/

1. Pupil has identified the wrong sex

2. Mother Tongue could also not make a distinction between male and female.

3. Student used the wrong pronoun. Vocabulary.

4. Gauge on the understanding of male and female, potentially further explanation could be needed. For an Upper-intermediate student this error should not occur. Drill the differences between he is a boy and she is a girl. For this level I would also create more advanced sentences to ensure the students understanding of Male, Female matches the upper intermediate level.

She cans drive. (Elementary)

1. Student has tried to use a modal verb in the sentence.

2. Above their level. Although Can is introduced in Elementary level the student may not have understood the concept correctly.

3. Grammar

4. Go through the rules for modal verbs, check understanding, concept checking throughout. Also give examples of helping verbs and how to use them.

The people was very kind. (Pre-intermediate)

1. Student has used people not person, should have used the singular person rather than the plural people.

2. Mother tongue interference

3. Grammar

4. Student would be made aware of the rules of subject and verb agreement. Different examples of the sentences that each are used in will be given. The people were kind. The person was very kind. Allow time for students to make simple sentences with irregular plurals.

You’d better not criticise her - she is very sensible to criticism. (Advanced)

1. Mix-up up with words, sensitive not sensible. She is a very sensible girl. She is sensitive to criticism.

2. For an advanced level of student this in my opinion should not have happened, I think this was simply a Slip up, words very similar in spelling. Although it could have been false friends, mother tongue interference could have a words sounding like sensible which means sensitive.

3. Vocabulary

4. Go over the words and see if the student understood their mistake. Recap on different sentences that can be used with the words and allow for dictionary practice.

 

 

Good morning, sir. What's up? (Intermediate)

1. Potentially I problem with the What's up. Over-generalisation, it is a saying, should be “What is the matter with you”. Also with the sentence being very formal using sir, is inappropriate.

2. Above the students level

3. Grammar

4. Have students create a dialogue for formal (job interview) and an informal conversation (meeting friends). This could help the student identify what kind of conversation to have formally or informally.
 

Tomorrow I go to London. (Beginner)

1. Student has used the incorrect tense to answer the question. Should be: Tomorrow I am going to London.

2. Above their level. Going to is not usually covered till Intermediate level.

3. Vocabulary

4. Explain the error to the student and practice making simple sentences using present, past and future tenses with adverbs of time.