CELTA written Assignment 3: Language Skills Related Task Essay

Section 1: chosen text For this assignment I have a chosen a text which is an interview with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, called ‘Interview with Jamie Oliver: I’m a big fan of chillies’, by Nandy Priyadarshini, published on DNA India website (http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-interview-with-jamie-oliver-im-a-big-fan-of-chillies-1897063). The level of students for which the article and tasks are intended is intermediate. I think students will be interested in reading an interview with Jamie Oliver because food tends to be a universal topic that everyone can relate to. Despite the fact that different nationalities and cultures have different cuisines, overall, people all around the world love food and enjoy talking about it. Jamie Oliver is one of Britain’s celebrity chefs and what makes him stand out is his outspoken, passionate and no-nonsense philosophy about cooking that people find appealing. He is seen on many TV shows and his books have made him a familiar face all over the world, so there is a good chance the students, who have different nationalities, have heard of Jamie Oliver. Additionally, a healthy lifestyle has become a very current topic which is why this article is interesting and relevant material, suitable for reading activities. The text has a good length, around 1 A4. Too long a text will require too much from the students, too short a text and the students aren’t challenged enough. Section 2: Lead-in In order to raise students’ awareness, I would consider showing them some realia in the classroom, for example a frying pan and ask the students WHOSE name comes to mind when they see it. Perhaps they can come up with some names of famous cooks. Then show a book by Jamie Oliver and elicit his name. I would ask the students what they know about him, whether they have ever seen his shows, if they have ever tried his recipes, if they like cooking in general. If so why, or why not. â€Å"If we can get the students engaged in the task there is a much better chance they will read (or listen) with commitment and concentration, whether or not they were interested in the topic to start with† says Jeremy Harmer in ‘The practice of English Language  Teaching, 3rd edition, 2001, page 206. By allowing the students to work in pairs, they get the chance to practise their speaking skills a little bit. Section 3: Initial receptive skills task On a hand-out, students would be given the interview text and my initial receptive skills task would be to ask the students to come up with a different title for the text. The original title is of the text is: ‘I’m a big fan of chillies’. Jamie Oliver does mention chillies in the interview but talks about many other things. In order for the students to find another title, they would have to read the entire interview and to get a general understanding of the article. Purpose of this task is to practise reading for gist. Students will probably not understand all the vocabulary but they will hopefully get a feel for the passion Jamie Oliver feels towards food and cooking, and how he wants to accomplish his mission(s). The article contains quite a bit of vocabulary that the students may be unfamiliar with. Examples are: in fashion, chat, have it rough, merchandise, noble, knowledge, affordable, treat, do justice, prepare, tastier, chopping board, equipment, sink, rubbish, fortune, contributions, inspired, accessible, watchable, consider, transform, bland, excitement, sneak, flavour, versatile. The students, however, are asked to skim the text, as explained by Jeremy Harmer in ‘The practice of English Language Teaching 3rd edition, 2001, page 202: â€Å"the reader has made a choice not to attend to every detail but to use their processing powers to get more of a top-down view of what is going on†. I would refrain from pre-teaching vocabulary at this stage because â€Å"if we want to give students practice in what it is like to tackle authentic reading and listening texts for general understanding, then getting past words they do not understand is one of the skills they need to develop. By giving them some or all of those words, we deny them that chance† stated Jeremy Harmer in ‘The practice of English Language Teaching 3rd edition, 2001, page 203. After the students have invented a new title, I would ask them to discuss their ideas with their partners to give them some speaking practice. In the class room session, some suggestions would then be shared with the entire class and the teacher is able to do some error-correction. Section 4: Second receptive skills task The second task is a more difficult one and requires the students to read the text for specific information. The purpose of this task is read for detail and interpret the opinion of the interviewer as well as the person being interviewed. Because the majority of difficult words are in context, students should be able to understand the meaning of them. I could encourage the students to read fast, as mentioned in ‘Learning Teaching’ by Jim Scrivener, 3rd edition, 2011, page 264: â€Å"A good first strategy could be to help them to read fast; not worrying about understanding every word; not, perhaps, even understanding most words, but still achieving a specific and useful goal†. In this task, the students will be given a number of statements – see Appendix – and they will have to indicate whether they are true or false. After this activity, students get the opportunity to check their answers with their partners which will enable to correct their own mistakes before the answers are discussed in class. In the class room feedback session, the really difficult words that students struggled with, can be addressed. I would use realia, pictures and/ or mime to elicit the meaning of vocabulary. For example, show pictures of a chopping board, sink, rubbish, merchandise. To convey the meaning of for example ‘noble’ or ‘have it rough’, I could revert back to the context in the article and use concept checking questions. Section 5: Productive skills follow-up activity As a follow-on task, it might be good idea for the students to practise speaking language related to food and food culture in groups and have a little debate about it. Students should think about what people like to eat in the country where they are from. If there are foods their countries are famous for. For example Spain: tapas; Netherlands: cheese, France: also cheese, bread etc. What would you recommend a visitor to eat in your country and why? Or why not? The students get some freer oral fluency practice related to different food cultures. Afterwards, one person may present some of the group’s findings to the rest of the class. Another follow-on task might involve some writing practice where students, individually, write a paragraph with ‘all your favourite foods in one day’. To start off with, students should describe their ideal breakfast, followed by lunch and  dinner, including drinks. What would the perfect menu look like? This may include foods from the country that they are from or from another country. For example: in the morning, I want to eat bread with cheese and have cup of tea. I would also like to drink a glass of milk or orange juice for breakfast etc. This would enable to students to have controlled written practice in the context of food. Section 6: References Sources: http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-interview-with-jamie-oliver-im-a-big-fan-of-chillies-1897063 Learning Teaching, the essential guide to English Language Teaching, 3rd edition 2011 by Jim Scrivener The Practice of English Language Teaching, 3rd edition 2001 by Jeremy Harmer Appendix True/False Statements 1) Jamie Oliver is like all the other cooks on TV because he is just an entertainer cannot really cook (false) 2) In Food Revolution, he is trying to teach people that tasty food does not have to cost much and it can be healthy (true) 3) He also believes that ‘fast food’ is ok and that people can eat it as much as they want (false) 4) Jamie Oliver thinks that if you want to cook a really good meal, it always takes a lot of time in the kitchen (false) 5) Jamie likes to keep his kitchen as clean as possible when he is cooking (true) 6) What Jamie Oliver really likes is to think of new recipes with other chefs (true) 7) He says that the fish from Marrakesh is the best (false) 8) Jamie Oliver hopes that young people stop eating all junk food (false) 9) His mission is to give people new ideas about food and how to cook it (true) 10) He believes that you have to use garlic, lemons and chillies in every meal if you want your food to taste better (false) Wednesday, 2 October 2013 – 4:30pm IST | Agency: dna / Priyadarshini Nandy Interview with Jamie Oliver: I’m a big fan of chillies Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is always in fashion. With two of his famous television shows currently on Indian television, we decided to have a little chat with him about them. And what he tells us is to love food — from the heart. Celebrity chefs often have it rough. While most of them are heroes on television, in the real culinary world they are sometimes considered to be simply showmen and not real chefs. British chef Jamie Oliver is a bit different though. Yes, he is cute for sure, but the talented chef and restaurateur, who also has a line of television shows to his credit (a few of them are currently airing on Big CBS Love) as well as a line of irresistible merchandise, can sure put together a decent meal. In an interview with After Hrs, he talks about his food mantra†¦ We’d like to start with Food Revolution†¦ The show has been on for a while and you’re trying to do something extremely noble that the world can learn from. Did you achieve what you set out to do? My goals are really to make sure that children and adults around the world are given the knowledge to be able to feed themselves and their families properly — and by that I mean with fresh ingredients, not expensive ingredients. With a bit of knowledge, you can prepare quick, affordable, delicious and nutritious meals and also understand that there’s nothing wrong with things like fast food but only as a treat, not as everyday food. Referring to your 30 Minute Meals show, don’t you think that meals don’t quite do justice to a dish, unless you’re just throwing something together to avoid staying hungry? Cooking doesn’t have to be a slow process – you can make a delicious meal in five minutes if you know what you’re doing. You can even prepare something at home in the morning that you can eat for lunch and you’ll save money and it will probably be tastier than something you buy from a shop. It also depends on what you are cooking. Some dishes are simple and they only take one pot and a chopping board and a knife to put together. Others use more equipment. I find working into an empty sink or dishwasher, and having a bowl for rubbish near you when you prep, really helps minimise the mess. You’ve had the fortune of travelling across the globe. Can you share one or two of your favourite experiences as far as your culinary expeditions are concerned†¦ I’ll always remember my first night in Marrakesh as well as the freshness of the fish in Greece. But I’ll tell you that every few months, I get to work in the kitchens with my chefs from Jamie’s Italian and also an American chef I’m working with called Adam Perry Lang, and the things we come up with are always exciting. What do you think are your major contributions in the world of food? I would like to think that I’ve inspired people all over the world to try new things, to cook a bit better and to be a bit more adventurous with their cooking. I also hope I’ve inspired children to get excited about fresh food. What makes you different from other colleagues that have their own TV shows? I’ve always tried to make my television series interesting and accessible so whether it’s something like Jamie at Home or Jamie’s School Dinners, they’re always very watchable and there’s something in each one that makes the viewer think about food in a new way. What is that one ingredient you consider basic in any kitchen — the one thing that can transform a bland meal into a banquet? I’m a big fan of chillies and so I’d probably choose those – there’s so much you can do with them. They don’t work in every meal, of course, but they can really add excitement to so many things. I know I’m only supposed to choose one ingredient, but if I can sneak two more in, I’d also say lemons and garlic, both add so much flavour and are incredibly versatile.