Task three - how to write background assignments for LSAs

Remember each LSA has three parts (that you write) and a tutor report.
The three parts are …
● The background assignment
● The lesson plan
● The reflection
This document is to give you an overview of the background assignment and how to approach it.
Remember you will do four assessed LSAs (two different systems and one receptive and one
productive skill). So that is four background assignments. We recommend you try and write a
background assignment for an unassessed lesson as well because if you do you will get feedback
on your style and approach and this will help you get a better start with drafts for LSAs. It isn’t a
Cambridge requirement though (to do background assignments in unassessed lessons) so it is up
to you.
First choose an area. In unassessed lessons if you have time to do two we recommend starting
with systems (most people choose grammar or lexis) and doing a skills assignment for a second
unassessed lesson, but as they are unassessed you can do whatever you like. When you come to
assessed lessons think strategically. What do you feel most confident teaching ? systems or skills
? save that for the external. Do the other thing for LSA1 and calculate from there.
In fact you should always think about the background assignment and the lesson plan together.
Move between them. Think about your learners and what they seem to have trouble with, see if
that fits with a topic that is suggested in the guideline document for the area. If it sounds different
ask in the forums and we can help you work out whether what you want to do can be shaped into a
Delta assignment well or not.
The background assignment shows you know about the area, how learners of different kinds deal
with it and a range of ways to help them. The lesson focuses on one point within this - one class,
one part of it or one way of approaching something. So the background assignment should feel
‘wider’ than the lesson in terms of what you have analysed or approaches and activities.

Some things are true of all background assignments (and there is a guideline document that goes
over this same ground again). That’s what this task is about (not about specific focuses - they have
their own tasks later).

This time when you upload this task, I’ll send you a key as well as checking what you wrote.
Task 3a Look in the written work style guide on the guideline documents page on the Moodle
and answer the questions that follow. You can copy paste my chart and write directly into that if
you like.

True /False

1. You can use footnotes in these assignments.

2. You should make reference to a minimum of two different sources.

3. You can use internet sources.

4. It is not important which reference system you use.

5. You should upload background assignments in pdf.

6. You should include a bibliography of everything you have read.

One of the things you will have noticed while you were reading the written work style guide is that
you need to be very careful about plagiarism. If Cambridge pick up plagiarism in your work they
can refuse to assess the portfolio and may ban you from re-entry for up to three years.
If we at ITI pick up plagiarism in your work we reserve the right not to work with you (if there is
evidence of what we believe to be unintentional plagiarism we usually give you the chance to
rewrite and resubmit once).
I know … you are reading this and thinking ‘but of course I wouldn’t plagiarise’. So what we need to
do now is establish that we are talking about exactly the same thing.
To that end I have made an activity from the Cambridge guide on what to do and what not to do in
order to avoid plagiarism.

Task 3b
Read through the plagiarism worksheet and match up the examples you are given with the
descriptions of what the teacher has done further down. Make a list of answers. You can copy
paste from my chart below if you wish.

Write the matching description heading in here on the right (in your document, not here in this
document).

Example one

Example two

Example three

Example four

Example five

Example six

Example seven

The link to the plagiarism worksheet is here.

A background assignment has a standard format

Introduction 100 words maximum - say why you are interested in the area.
Analysis 800-1000 words - analyse the bit of the system or skill
(how do you or I use it ? don’t mention learners or classrooms in the analysis)
Issues for learners 500-800 words you say why it is learners have trouble doing/using what you
described - mention a range of different kinds of learners (level, L1 etc)
Suggestions for teaching 800 - 1000 words. Outline ways of helping learners with these things
Conclusion 50 - 100 say what you learnt - don’t tell us over again what you told us.
The total must be 2000 - 2500
There is no tolerance on word count. If you submit an assignment that is 2558 words the tutor is
obliged to mark criterion 1e ‘not met’. If you submit an assignment that is more than 2550 words
they will return it to you to be cut before they mark it. If your assignment is 2010 words, you are
very very unlikely to have met pass criteria.
We suggest you do grammar first as most people are most familiar with it, but you can do
something else if you want and there are guideline documents up on the website for all four
systems and skills areas.
When you write an assignment look at the guideline documents on the Moodle (background
assignments general guidelines and then the guidelines for the specific focus). Talk to us in the
forums if you are not sure about focuses.

The following extracts from assignments are all from the same assignment. Skim through them and
guess what the topic of the assignment was.
State area (skills or systems) which skill or system and the exact focus within that.

1 Higher-level learners who are at least reasonably fluent may still, owing to their L1 culture, negotiate
turns in a way that English isn’t used to. Considering that “interruption occurs more frequently in English
than in Japanese”, for example,

2 e.g. a question should generally be met with an answer. When the expected response is not received, this
can be interpreted as “rudeness, deafness, or lack of attention” (Cook 2009: 53)

3 Learners, in pairs, practice reading the conversation aloud, and then T clicks to remove words and
phrases from it. Initially, T just removes one language item, but by the end

4 Regarding turn length, “some cultures expect to be allowed to preface their turn with a lengthy
background explanation”, while others “expect the speaker to get to the point more quickly” (Bygate
1991: 39).

5 While this concept may be familiar to learners, it is important they know “how these turn-management
moves are realized” (Thornbury, 2009: 33) in English[SH1] . This focus has therefore been chosen to raise
awareness of how turns are typically taken in informal English conversation.

6 one such system, and one that I had once thought was largely self-evident., but through preparing this
assignment I have come to realise the importance of explicitly teaching the mechanisms that make it
possible.

7 this game presents a fun means of training those learners to get into doing so. The fact that it has a
competitive element, and that the groups are working together to achieve the goal, should add to its
productivity .

8 T elicits some topics/questions learners can discuss. These topics should be deep enough to generate
meaningful conversation (“Which countries would you most like to visit and why[SH1] ?”, for example). T
puts learners into groups of three to five, and explains they are going to be ...

9 For learners whose L1 is a tonal language (Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese[SH1] ), identifying, responding to or
producing intonation and pitch patterns that signal wishing to hold or yield the floor during conversation
can be highly problematic.

Task 3c - now work out which section of the assignment each extract is from. As usual I’ve given
you a table to fill in

Introduction Analysis Issues Suggestions Conclusion

Remember the focus of the lesson will fit inside the focus of the background assignment. This
means you have to choose something big enough to give you a pattern or system to analyse, but
small enough to deal with in 800 -1000 words.

Task 3d Of the following ideas, which sound as though they would work as a background
assignment focus and which seem wrong or too wide to you ?
Make a note for each. Is it possible ? If not then why not.

1 Better presentations through awareness of tone units

2 Helping learners to use online corpora to extend their understanding of collocation

3 Helping learners speak more effectively in job interviews

4 Helping learners understand and use the ‘have something done’ structure

5 Lexical collocation

6 The vocabulary of characteristics

7 Using voice recognition technology as a means to more effective pronunciation of sounds

8 Helping learners write effective online consumer reviews

9 The progressive aspect

10 Helping elementary learners with skimming and scanning

Finally, when a tutor is marking your background assignments they are looking at the Delta5a
criteria.
We have touched on a lot of the early ones.
1. Quality of writing
Successful candidates demonstrate that they can effectively present an essay which:

a. Is written in language which is clear, accurate, easy to follow and is cohesive and clearly
ordered.

b. uses appropriate terminology accurately

c. refers to and references key sources

d. follows the conventions of a standard referencing system for in-text referencing and the
bibliography

e. respects the word limit (2000 - 2500 words) and states the number of words used.

and
2. Clarity of topic
Successful candidates demonstrate that they can effectively make clear the topic of the essay
by:

a. identifying for analysis a specific area of the grammar, lexis, phonology or discourse system of
English, or a skills area (listening, speaking, reading or writing)
 b. defining the scope of the area they will analyse with reference to e.g. learners, teaching
approach, method, learning context, learner needs or text type.

c. explaining with reference to classroom experience, reading and research why they have
chosen this area.

d. making all parts of the essay relevant to the topic and coherent.

e. following through in later parts of the essay on key issues identified in earlier parts.

But now we are going to think about parts three and four

3. Analysis and issues

Successful candidates can effectively demonstrate an understanding of the specific area by:

a. analysing the specific area with accuracy, identifying key points.

b. showing awareness of a range of learning and teaching problems occurring in a range of

learning contexts.

4. Suggestions for teaching

Successful candidates demonstrate that they can effectively draw on experience and research
to:

a. outline and show familiarity with relevant key procedures, techniques, resources and /or
materials.

b. evaluate how the selected procedures, techniques, resources and/or materials might be used
effectively in classroom practice.

c. demonstrate how the procedures, techniques, resources and/or materials address points
raised under ‘Analysis and issues’.

Task 3e Look at the following three extracts from analysis sections. Which one do you think is
done better and why ? make a note of what is good / not so good about each (remember they
are all real so none of them is perfect).

Example A From an assignment on comparatives

The inflectional form is used for mono-syllabic, di-syllabic adjectives with a vowel followed by a
consonant and short adjectives ending in ‘y’. For a mono-syllabic adjective such as ‘new’, the
comparative is formed by suffixing‘er’ to the adjective with ‘than’ resulting in ‘newer than’. For
the superlative, the adjective is preceded by ‘the’ and ‘est’ is then suffixed to the adjective giving
‘the newest’. Regarding short adjectives, this rule applies to the formation of 99% of comparatives
and 98% of superlatives[i]. The inflectional form is also used where the adjective is di-syllabic and
ends in ‘y’ as in ‘funny’. For this type of adjective ‘y’ is substituted for ‘i’ and the inflectional
form is suffixed, giving ‘funnier’ and ‘ the funniest’. Although, di-syllabic adjectives are normally
taught with the inflectional form, this is less common, in that only 65% of comparatives and 64%
of superlatives take this form. Adjectives which end in a consonant, followed by a vowel, ‘double’
the consonant before the inflection is suffixed, ‘big’ becomes ‘bigger’ and ‘the biggest’ for the
comparative and superlative respectively.
Example B From an assignment on the difference between past simple and present perfect

According to Soars (2007:72), the present perfect means “…completed some time before now, but with
some present relevance, and so joins past and present…” E.g., in English we can say I have seen the
hockey match (at some indefinite time in my life), but we can´t say I have seen the hockey match
yesterday as the timeframe is different because of the time marker ´yesterday´.
Examples:
I haven't seen her this week.
Have you ever smoked a cigarette?
1. ´I´ve had two hangovers this week.´
2. ´I´ve never been to London´ (The period of the speaker´s life is an implied unfinished period of
time.)
We can also use the tense for experiences that started in the past and continue into the present i.e. I´ve
been a teacher for fifteen years.

Example C From an assignment on relative clauses

But our choice of relative pronoun depends on the grammatical value and meaning of the NP
being replaced. We should consider if the pronoun functions as subject, object or possessive; and
if it refers back to a person, a thing, a place, a time or the reason for something.

Function in Relative Use and additional information:

sentence pronoun:

Subject/ object That for living and non-living things.

can substitute which or who (Scrivener, p271). However, Parrot
takes this further proposing that we can use that ‘instead of any
relative pronoun except whose’.
It cannot be used in non-defining relative clauses.

Subject/ object Which non- living things.(Grammarians have attempted to insist on using only which in
restrictive clauses described as a ‘time-wasting early-20th-century fetish’(Pullman))

Subject/ Who for people and sometimes animals, although this is again a matter
Object of contention.

Task 3f - now look at these extracts from issues sections - do the same thing - what is good or
not so good about each one - make some notes.

D From an assignment on helping learners listen to news broadcasts

3.6 Background of learners:

Firstly, there is the cultural context, different learners may have different expectations of
the news. The content might be different in terms of political bias, criticisms and details
of information revealed (see section 2.1(i).)
Secondly, some learners may feel particularly sensitive to certain topics due to their own
personal experiences - as in it would be unwise to use a use a broadcast concerning the
war in Syria when there are Syrian students in the class.
E From an assignment on top down processing in reading

Schematic knowledge can be defined as the scripts that people use to interpret the world. It is mainly
cultural and situational knowledge, helpful to predict the content of reading. However, if there is no
connection or relation between content schema and reading comprehension, readers find difficulty in
understanding a text. Also, if readers have no background or prior knowledge about the reading text, they
will not understand it. Thus, if this knowledge is of a poor quality, not organized well, not deep and
flexible, it is useless for the reader. The more familiar version is better recalled .

F From an assignment on multi word verbs

In countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the problem with word order is common. I found my
students made the following errors while I was teaching in Bangladesh in 2000.
I was wearing a jacket. I felt hot and took off it. *
There was phone call. I picked up it and talked. *
The major reason for the above mentioned error is their over consciousness about the difference
between Bengali and English syntax. Usually such learners think that the particle is inseparable and their
rigid belief that the object must come after the verb results in the error.

Task 3g - now look at these extracts from suggestions sections - do the same thing - what is
good or not so good about each one - make some notes.

G From an assignment on wishes

3.2 Consciousness Raising Activity

The teacher will set a time limit for students to read a text that contains several speakers talking about
their future hopes and wishes. Having read the text, students will be asked to match examples of the target
language containing wish and hope clauses to the ones who said it in the text.
Commentary:
This activity is meant to help students notice the target language in a written text. The exercise that
follows the reading text focuses on the uses of wish and hope in expressing a present and future wish. As
both verbs are presented side by side, it gives students the opportunity to focus on the meaning implied by
both verbs. This activity could be boring for students who do not prefer to read; however, students could
be more motivated if it is done in a competitive setting.

H From an assignment on listening (helping with bottom up decoding)

To further aid learners in recognizing sounds, words and connected speech, teachers can
employ an activity where learners listen and note down the number of words they heard. An
authentic (or semi-authentic) recording could be used with an activity where learners count the
words. They may not hear the individual words and by counting them, become more aware of
the sounds they are missing and are more accustomed to identifying word boundaries (issues D
and E).

I From a reading skills assignment

With students of higher levels of English, it is recommended that more attention should be given
to “top-down processing” (Brown, D. 1994:319). In a lesson about “our future stock”, students
read about the selection, predict the topic that they will read about, and skim. It is only after that
 students start reading and checking to see if what they anticipated is correct. While reading,
guessing meaning from context is encouraged. Vocabulary is not taught before reading, as with
lower level students. Skills like evaluating the reading and using that for further work on other
skills like writing occur usually after the reading in higher level classes (See issues 3.2.).

J from an assignment on speaking on the phone

Once the context has been established and a model business call provided, immediately get the
learners to start practising the target language involved in a controlled manner. Control their
output by providing them with a card matching exercise, where they need to match register with
pictures provided by the teacher on the board. There can be two pictures one of home and one
of the office and the cards can display such utterances as: ‘Hello?’ ‘Who is it’? or ‘Axa insurance,
Mary speaking?’ ‘Finance department. How can I help?’ . This activity would activate their
register awareness in an immediate way enabling to categorise language effectively (see also
above)

Don’t forget to upload the Pdf of your answers.

You can upload from the ‘upload work here’ link.