1. MOTIVATING AND CHALLENGING ADVANCED BUSINESS ENGLISH LEARNERS R ACHEL A PPLEBY IH B ARCELONA ELT 2010

2. OVERVIEW What is an advanced learner? What can they do? What do they lack? What problems do they have? Are we addressing these issues? Ideas and activities

3. WELCOME: STUDENTS INTERESTS! TASK! Complete two of the sentences below. Now share and discuss the information in groups. Sentence starters: 1. If I wasnt a teacher … 2. Not many people know that Im particularly interested in … 3. By this time next year … 4. If I didnt have to work to earn money, Id … 5. One of my most memorable experiences was … Sentence starters: 1. If I wasnt a teacher … 2. Not many people know that Im particularly interested in … 3. By this time next year … 4. If I didnt have to work to earn money, Id … 5. One of my most memorable experiences was …

4. WHAT IS AN ADVANCED LEARNER? Someone who … has passed / could pass FCE / B2 exam has a wide range of language between FCE and near-NS level (B2-C2) 1. Language - 2. Communication -

5. 1 - LANGUAGE Linguistic Profile An advanced student has … some knowledge of all structures active vocabulary c. 3,000 words; < passive English sounds / intonation patterns ingrained mistakes Linguistic NEEDS An advanced student needs … revision of structures sophisticated structures activation of passive vocabulary & vocabulary discrimination work on pronunciation The grammars awful and the spellings atrocious – otherwise its an impressive CV.

6. 2 - COMMUNICATION Communicative Profile An advanced student has some ability in / awareness of … style / register functional elements non-specialized spoken and written English Communicative NEEDS An advanced student needs … further practice in different styles /register expansion of range of functions (in-/formal) extensive practice in freer Speaking, development of R, W, L skills, especially in specialized areas.

7. basic ingrained mistakes avoidance strategies register/style – over-formal, or over-familiar language plateau / lack of sense of progress unbalanced proficiency in the skills [ they know what they want …] P ROBLEMS FOR S TUDENTS - FOR TEACHERS apprehension diverse needs mixed levels ….

8. APPROACH – TO BEAR IN MIND 1 NEEDS ANALYSIS – check / redefine INTERESTS – exploit for practising language, vocabulary & skills 2 DIAGNOSTIC TEST – for strengths and weaknesses RECORD freer speaking activities – for priorities for correction 3 SYLLABUS – course planning = packaging language to motivate and show progress, e.g. by TOPIC / THEME by SKILLS by FUNCTION NB: short and long term goals

9. GRAMMAR Context: Extracts overheard from a meeting of the IH Barcelona conference team, who are discussing the conference over coffee… a. Read the following. Would you like to be on the conference committee? b. Can you label the sentences according to a conditional type? TASK! 1.If wed advertised the conference earlier, wed have got a lot of this paperwork out of the way sooner. c. Now decide what the function of each sentence is. 2. But count yourself yourself lucky: had we invited more big name speakers, wed be overrun with participants, and have far too many people to deal with! 3. If we spoke individually to some of the key participants, do you think we could try to encourage them to join the committee?

10. Sentence starters If I wasnt a teacher … By this time next year … One of my most memorable experiences is … Sentence starters If I wasnt a teacher … By this time next year … One of my most memorable experiences is … Reminder: To what extent does each activity meet advanced level students needs? TASK! 1.If wed advertised the conference earlier, wed have got a lot of this paperwork out of the way sooner. 2.But count yourself yourself lucky: had we invited more big name speakers, wed be overrun with participants, and have far too many people to deal with! 3.… 1.If wed advertised the conference earlier, wed have got a lot of this paperwork out of the way sooner. 2.But count yourself yourself lucky: had we invited more big name speakers, wed be overrun with participants, and have far too many people to deal with! 3.… INFO ABOUT STUDENTS / GRAMMAR: ADDRESSING CONCERNS

11. VOCABULARY 1 – FAMILIAR WORDS a. communicate an idea ___ b. introduce a strong opinion ___ c. someone has made a good point; you agree ___ d. its obvious ___ 1 I have to say that I was expecting something a bit more professional. 4 You can say that again! 3 He should be promoted after this project finishes – it goes without saying. 2. What does this logo say about our company? Phrases with say. Match an example with its meaning beneath. TASK!

12. VOCABULARY 2 – CONFUSING WORDS 1 a. Were expecting him at 10, so Im sure hell arrive _________. b. So, __________, lets summarize what weve done so far. 2 a. Alans leaving in 3 months, but, _________, due to the holiday hes owed, hell be leaving mid-March. b. We travelled ________ every weekend – there was hardly a Saturday when I was at home. 3 a. We had ________ a great time in Peru – Id love to go back. b. The weather was ______ wonderful – we were really lucky. practically / in practice so / such shortly / in brief Choose a pair of words from the box below for each pair of sentences; decide which goes where.

13. SKILLS - SPEAKING TASK! Money, wealth and poverty Food and Drink 1 Is a global event like the Olympic Games more about politics and money rather than sport itself? 2 Are hobbies only for people who have too much leisure time? 3 Is Formula 1 motor racing really a sport? 4 Who is your countrys most famous sportsperson? How are they a reflection of national identity? 5 Which sports are most popular in your country with a) teenagers and b) women? 6 Describe your perfect weekend. 7 How will you spend your retirement? 1 Is a global event like the Olympic Games more about politics and money rather than sport itself? 2 Are hobbies only for people who have too much leisure time? 3 Is Formula 1 motor racing really a sport? 4 Who is your countrys most famous sportsperson? How are they a reflection of national identity? 5 Which sports are most popular in your country with a) teenagers and b) women? 6 Describe your perfect weekend. 7 How will you spend your retirement? SPORT (& LEISURE) Leisure time is that five or six hours when you sleep at night. George Allen TASK!

14. SKILLS – ACTIVATING PASSIVE LANGUAGE PRON. (intonation, sentence stress, pausing) & REGISTER AIMS: Make sure tasks are focused, with a clear communicative aim. CHALLENGE sts to use new words and phrases, e.g. as follows: A list of phrases: the student ticks them off as they use them: Deal out phrases: students speak, and race to use them up Put phrases on cards: place on desk / students turn over when used

15. SKILLS – ACTIVATING PASSIVE LANGUAGE 2 PRONUNCIATION AIMS CHALLENGE

16. SHOWING PROGRESS Elicit what has been covered (make a list, draw a mindmap, … ) Refer back to your original plan Run a discussion / meeting where students give feedback Adapt the sentence starters Get sts to indicate how they feel about each language area / skills, e.g. ** * * * Conditionals Phrases with say Confusing words

17. RECAP: ARE WE ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES?

18. MOTIVATING AND CHALLENGING ADVANCED BUSINESS ENGLISH LEARNERS R ACHEL A PPLEBY IH B ARCELONA ELT 2010 T HANK YOU !