CELTA written assignment: focus on language structure
The purpose of the assignment
The CELTA handbook explains that this assignment allows you to demonstrate that you can:
- analyse language correctly for teaching purposes
- correctly use terminology relating to form, meaning and phonology when analysing language
- access reference materials and referencing information you have learned about language to an appropriate source
- use written language that is clear, accurate and appropriate to the task
That's a lot to cover in 1000 words so you need to be concise and stay focused. This is not the place to discuss generalities.
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The elements of the structure of the language |
This is an overview only. For more on
structures, go to the
initial-plus training index. There are other links at the
end for more help.
The structure of the language is often perceived in levels working
from the bottom up. This is not the only way to envisage
structure but it works as a mental image of interlocking elements
starting from small cogs and ending up with fully formed longer
texts.
It looks like this:
Starting from the smallest units, we have:
- Phonemes: these are the sounds of English (or any language)
and their study includes:
- vowels
- consonants
- connected speech
- intonation
- Morphemes: are the building blocks of words and the study of
morphology includes
- bound morphemes which cannot stand alone (such as suffixes like -ed endings and word-forming endings like -tion and -ity, prefixes such as im- or dis-
- free morphemes which can stand alone but also appear in combinations such as appear + -ance
- word formation
- Words or lexemes: whose study includes
- word classes (open classes such as verbs, nouns and adjectives and closed classes such as prepositions, pronouns and determiners)
- relationships between words (antonymy, synonymy etc.)
- idioms and fixed or semi-fixed expressions
- multi-word units and compounds like cut across, look up and gaslight
- Phrases: which are collections of words doing the work of
single items, including
- noun phrases (e.g., the old men in the corner)
- verb phrases (e.g., should have told)
- adjective phrases (e.g., horrible, great big, blue)
- adverb phrases (e.g., extremely quickly)
- prepositional phrases (e.g., in the house)
- Clauses: which contain verbs and potentially stand alone and
whose study includes
- types of sentences
- subordination
- coordination
- conjunction
- adverbials and more
- Discourse: which concerns how longer spoken or written texts
work and whose study concerns
- linking
- cohesion
- coherence
- spoken interaction and more
We may focus on individual parts of the language in teaching it but should not lose sight of the fact that people combine them all to make language work.
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The structure of the assignment |
Your centre will probably give you a set of instructions for your
assignments. You'd be foolish to ignore these.
What follows is generic advice.
Most centres give you a choice of structures to write about, some may even give you a free hand.
This is in the genre of an Information Report and it has two parts:
- A brief introduction stating the focus
of the assignment and why you think the area is important.
For example,
I have chosen to focus on going to and the present progressive to talk about the future because expressing intentions and outlining plans are important communicative acts. - Now you need to analyse the structure
step by step. Include:
- Form:
For example, the present progressive is formed from the verb be + the present participle (-ing). The verb, be, changes (am, is, are etc.) depending on person. The negative and question forms are formed as follows ... - Meaning and Use:
For example, we use going to most frequently to speak about intentions we have now for the future. (E.g., I am going to talk to my father about it. It is also used for ... - Pronunciation:
For example, The pronunciation of the participle ending (-ing) often contains a nasalised consonant, /ŋ/, which some learners find difficult. However, in rapid speech, the sound is often reduced to /n/ rather than /ŋ/. We have, therefore, the word hunting as /'hʌnt.ɪŋ/ or 'hʌnt.ɪn/.
For this part, you'll need to access the guide to basic features of phonology or, if you are feeling strong, follow the course in learning how to transcribe.
- Form:
- If you have the space, you may like to include a brief conclusion saying why the structure may cause problems for learners from certain language backgrounds. You can also include this in the analysis, of course.
Graphically:
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Wait a minute! |
Before you submit your assignment, here's a quick checklist. You can have this as a PDF file by clicking here or you can mentally tick things off on the screen.
- I have chosen a suitably limited area to analyse
- I have made it clear in the introduction and the title what it is
- I have analysed
- the structural form
- the meaning and communicative function of the language
- the pronunciation issues to do with the language
- I have said why the form may present problems for learners from more than one background
Now assess yourself against the criteria for the assignment. Here they are again. Have you been able to:
- analyse language correctly for teaching purposes
- correctly use terminology relating to form, meaning and phonology when analysing language
- access reference materials and referencing information you have learned about language to an appropriate source
- use written language that is clear, accurate and appropriate to the task
Your tutors will maintain a record of the work you have done on
the written assignments and will grade each of the criteria as
follows: NS (Not to Standard), S (at Standard) or S+ (above
Standard).
You need to aim consistently for S or S+ grades, naturally.
If you have managed to tick all the items, well done. Submit the assignment and move on.
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Investigating the language structure |
Before you start, review the guide to Topic 2 of the CELTA syllabus.
In that guide, you were directed to sources of help and information:
| A Basic Training Course | This is a pre-CELTA course and this part will introduce you to some key grammar analysis. |
| A 10-unit Language Analysis Course | This is a 10-unit course covering the elements of pronunciation, word class, content and function words, subjects and objects, tenses and aspects, modality, sentences (phrases and clauses), and text structures. |
| A Simple English Grammar | This is written for elementary students and will help you to explain simply some grammatical ideas in the classroom. |
| Grammar reference materials | For a list of grammars and some comments about which to use. |
| Search ELT Concourse | If you are looking for something specific you have decided or been told to teach. |
| the A-Z index | for an alternative way to search |
| The CELTA written assignment guides: | |
| Focus on the learner(s) | Focus on skills |
| Focus on structure | Lessons from the classroom |