Written Assignment 1 - Language Skills-Related Tasks Assignment
Name / Submission Date / Word CountNB This document has 1,716 words in total. Subtract that from your total word count and include here (delete this).
I confirm that this submission is all my own work.
Signed: ______(Trainee) Date:
Reserved for the tutor / Assessment criteriacan correctly use terminology that relates to language skills and sub-skills (Sections A.4, A.5, A.6, B.1)
can relate task design to language skills practice
(Sections A.4, A.5, A.6, B.1)
can find, select and reference information (e.g. bibliography) from one or more sources (including background reading) & use written language that is clear, accurate and appropriate to the task. (All Sections)
Taken from Syllabus and Assessment Guidelines for Course Tutors and Assessors
First Submission / Pass / Re-submissionDue date:
Tutor Comments:
Signed: ______(Tutor) Date: ______Double Mark: ______
Second Submission / Pass on Resubmission / Fail
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CELTA: Language Skills Related Tasks
Word Limit: 750 to 1000 words
The text for this assignment
Read the following article and then answer the questions:
The only way is up: Vertical farming in Kyoto
ByEuan McKirdy, CNN
Updated 0519 GMT (1319 HKT) September 19, 2016
Is vertical farming the future of the industry?02:01
Story highlights
· High-tech farm produces over 20,000 heads of lettuce a day
· Indoor farming reduces inconsistencies of regular crop production, giving rise to considerable efficiencies
· A desire for "safe" produce has increased demand post-Fukushima
Kameoka, Japan (CNN)
The fields around the Spread factory in Kameoka, a satellite town west of the Japanese city of Kyoto, are scrubby and barren -- the farmers there have long since harvested the rice ahead of winter.
While it doesn't generally get too cold in this part of Japan, the temperature drops enough to halt crop farming for four to five months.
Inside the doors of the eerily high-tech facility it's business as usual, as masked workers glide around quietly but purposefully. They'll see 21,000 heads of lettuce shipped out across the length and breadth of Japan today, all delivered to supermarkets and restaurants within 24 hours of leaving the doors of this vertical farm.
They'll see a further 21,000 the following day, and the day after that too -- 7.7 million a year in fact.
Spread harvests 21,000 heads of lettuce a day.
Marrying agriculture and industry
Spread is Japan's largest vertical farm, a unique blend of agriculture and industry, and its Kameoka factory grows and ships out produce -- for now four varieties of lettuce but potentially any kind of leafy vegetable -- year-round.
The company is set to more than double its output with the opening of another western Japanese site early in 2016.
"Around the world we're facing increases in population and more and more environmental issues for farming," Shinji Inada, president of Spread, told CNN.
"As a company we feel we need some new agricultural systems in order to survive and ensure the future for the next generation."
Sprout was formed as far back as 1992, but has since grown into one of the most advanced and efficient vertical farms in the country, if not globally. Inada claimed it's the largest producer in the world and indeed, the first to mass-produce vertical farming.
Growing time, from seed to harvest, is a lean 40 days.
Sustainable, safe food source?
The company's mission is to "continually work towards the realization of a sustainable society while protecting the environment through the use of food technology for the comfort and safety of our children and of future generations."
It hasn't been an easy ride. Initially, said Inada, people were suspicious of the product, given that it’s far removed from traditional farming.
"In the beginning people reacted to our product as something unnatural -- machine-like -- but by continuing to sell in the supermarkets people started to realize slowly that the taste was good and there were health benefits, so we slowly gained customers.
"The turning point was the incident in 2011 at the Fukushima nuclear facility. After what happened there, people became more aware of the importance of safe food and it kind of turned the tables for us."
Vertically-farmed vegetables have significant health advantages, not least because they require no pesticides. The factory itself is spotless, with workers in the growing rows and in the packing facility fastidiously covered up. It is more reminiscent of a microchip factory than a farm, but the payoff is that each head of lettuce is so clean that consumers could eat it straight out of the bag.
Cleanliness is paramount in the facility, which uses no pesticides on the crops. Workers wear full-body suits and masks to maintain the environment.
Improved growing efficiency
The growing cycle is a lot faster than out in the elements too, with lettuce ready from seedling to picking in 40 days, as opposed to an average of two months in a regular outdoor farm. Prey to the vagaries of the weather, traditionally-grown lettuce is also highly sensitive to price fluctuations; not a problem when you know what the climate is going to be day in, day out.
The new facility, which opens its doors in a custom-designed building in the science park area of Keihannain 2016, is going to be much more highly automated than Kameoka. They'll be able to recycle 98% of the water at the new site, and with increased automation will be able to cut down 50% of their current factory's labor costs, said Inada.
Despite working towards a fully-automated facility, Inada doesn't feel that we'll be getting served all our vegetables by robots in future.
"I don't think vertical farming will take over the whole farming industry," he said. "I still think seasonal and local vegetables are very important and unique and is something to embrace.
"Our business and existing farms have to cohabit together. If you think about the global food situation there is a need for this kind of farming."
NB Simply type into the boxes below in continuous prose
SECTION A – Developing Receptive Skills Using the above Text
1. / What is your opinion of the text? What level do you think it would be most suitable for? What do you think of the subject? And the length of the text?Would this article be suitable for your current TP students at IH Roma-Accademia Britannica? Why? Why not? What about other learners/other cultures?
In general, what would be some of the potential barriers to reading which some learners would face? Are there any students in your class who have difficulties understanding texts?
2. / Introducing the text
How would you introduce the article and get students interested in the topic?
What is your rationale? Why introduce a text before reading? Refer to background reading (include page reference). / You must use your own words and back up with reference to reading. Do not simply include a long quotation. (delete this text)
*3. / DESIGN a comprehension task which provides students with practice in skimming (reading for gist – global understanding) and include it in the appendices. You MUST refer to background reading (include page reference) when completing this section.
Define skimming / You must use your own words and back up with reference to reading. Do not simply include a long quotation. (delete this text)
Time limit and why
What is the rationale for getting students to practise skimming in class? When would they do this in real life? / You must use your own words and back up with reference to reading. Do not simply include a long quotation. (delete this text)
*4. / DESIGN a comprehension task which provides students with practice in scanning (e.g. the way a person would read a train timetable) and include it in the appendices. You MUST refer to background reading (include page reference) when completing this section.
Define scanning / You must use your own words and back up with reference to reading. Do not simply include a long quotation. (delete this text)
Time limit and why
What is the rationale for getting students to practise scanning in class? When would they do this in real life? / You must use your own words and back up with reference to reading. Do not simply include a long quotation. (delete this text)
*5. / DESIGN a comprehension task which provides students with practice in reading for detailed understanding and include it in the appendices. You MUST refer to background reading (include page reference) when completing the section.
Define reading for detailed comprehension / You must use your own words and back up with reference to reading. Do not simply include a long quotation. (delete this text)
Time limit and why
What is the rationale for getting students to read for detailed comprehension in class? When would they do this in real life? / You must use your own words and back up with reference to reading. Do not simply include a long quotation. (delete this text)
Suggest three ways teachers could help students if they get wrong answers to the detailed questions
6* / Are there any items of vocabulary which you feel might be challenging for the students? List 4 or 5 lexical items which you can anticipate as problematic.
SECTION B – Developing Productive Skills
°You also need to answer this question correctly in order to pass the assignment.
°1. / DESIGN or find an extension activity (for productive skills – either speaking or writing) which you could use after the students had read the article and include it in the appendices. You MUST refer to background reading (include page reference) when completing this section.Why use a productive follow-up activity following reading work? Why your particular task? How does it promote productive skills development? / You must use your own words and back up with reference to reading. Do not simply include a long quotation. (delete this text)
What is expected of the students? What is the teacher’s role? Is this a fluency or accuracy stage?
Section C – Appendices
Ensure the following are included in this section:
Appendix 1 – Skimming Task
Appendix 2 – Scanning Task
Appendix 3 – Reading for Detailed Comprehension Task
Appendix 4 – Productive Skills Task
Section D – Bibliography
Adrian Underhill (2005). Sound Foundations. Macmillan. (delete this example)
Section E – Submission Checklist
Checklist to help you pass first time
I have included / üa skimming task in the appendices
a scanning task in the appendices
a reading for detailed comprehension task in the appendices
a productive skills follow-up task in the appendices
definitions of the reading subskills in the boxes in Section B
time limits for my tasks
references from at least one methodology book in my rationales
a bibliography
a word count
© Adapted from IH Bangkok