Questões de Concurso Comentadas sobre ensino da língua estrangeira inglesa em inglês

     In order for collection of sentences and utterances to succed effectively, the discourse needs to be organised or conducted in such a way that it will be successful. In written English this calls for both coherence and cohesion. For a text to be coherent, it needs to be in the right order. (…)

      No matter how coherent a text is, however, it will not work unless it has internal cohesion. The elements in that text must cohere or stick to each other successfully to help us navigate our way around the stretch of discourse. One way of achieving this is through lexical cohesion, and a way of ensuring lexical cohesion is through the repetition of words and phrases. (…) We can also use interrelated words and meanings to bind a text together (…)

      Another similar cohesive technique is that of substitution, using a phrase to refer to something we have already written. (…) Writers also use linkers such as and, also, moreover (…)

      These features are also present in spoken language, which also shows many examples of ellipsis (where words from a written-grammar version of an utterance are left out without compromising the meaning of what is said). (…)

                      (Harmer, J. The practice of English language teaching. 2007. Adapted)

      There is a danger in paying too much attention to learners’ errors. While errors indeed reveal a system at work, the classroom language teacher can become so preoccupied ________ noticing errors that the correct utterances in the second language go unnoticed. In our observation and analysis of errors – for all that they do reveal about the learner – we must beware of placing too much attention on errors and not lose sight of the value of positive reinforcement of clearly expressed language that is a product of the learner’s progress of development. While the diminishing of errors is an important criterion ______ increasing language proficiency, the ultimate goal of second language learning is the attainment of communicative fluency.

      Another inadequacy in error analysis is an overemphasis on production data. Language is speaking and listening, writing and reading. The comprehension of language is as important as production. It so happens that production lends itself to analysis and thus becomes the prey of researchers, __________ comprehension data is equally important in developing an understanding of the process of SLA.

               (Brown, D. H. Principles of language learning and teaching. 2000. Adapted)

      Classes which are arranged in a circle make quite a strong statement about what the teacher and the students believe in. With all the people in the room sitting in a circle, there is a far greater feeling of equality than when the teacher stays out at the front. This may not be quite so true of the horseshoe shape, where the teacher is often located in a commanding position, but, even here, the rigidity that comes with orderly rows, for example, is lessened.

      With the horseshoe and circle seating, the classroom is a more intimate place and the potential for students to share feelings and information through talking, eye contact or expressive body movements (eyebrow-raising, shouldershrugging, etc.) is far greater than when they are sitting in rows.

                                      (Harmer, J. The practice of English language teaching. 2007)