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Betts 1 Ana Samantha Betts Bote Professor James Lawley Dominio instrumental de la lengua inglesa 15th December 2013

From Arthur & Mary to Today's Methodology 1. The choice of theme: Motivation and Justification While working as a language assistant and private tutor many dilemmas are encountered when choosing the appropriate textbook and methodology for each form and level. After skimming through several syllabus from different publishers, it seemed as though some skills were had been enhanced more than others. The predominant lack of communicative competences for students to cope with everyday-situations stands out. Every publisher accompanies the teacher's book ,surprisingly enough, with a number of resources and tools for this purpose some of which serve no useful end other than to entertain the students. Thence comes the urge to look back at older publications, some of which have been left on the shelf for over twenty years, seeking oral activities so desperately needed. It was then, when I first read about Arthur and Mary the characters in Access to English Turning Point which included an oral practice section in each unit, a well-accepted element in my class. My goal is to bring those forgotten tools to light after a period of implementation in adult groups, in particular to discuss their effciciency in contrast to modern methods attaining a proved useful unit-model blend of tradition and modernity. 2. Academic relevance Many English students drop out before finishing the course being unmotivated by the tedious and ineffectual tasks. Therefore, improving academic quality related to new trends in curricular development should always be promoted for practical teaching in the classroom. Nonetheless, the drive to be creative leads authors to

Betts 2 focus on appealing modern approaches which not always help learners accomplish their main objectives. It is in this regard that my work tries to be innovative. The empirical data will be collected as the means for the development of a useful learning unit-structure to deal with any topic built upon the progress achieved up to this moment whilst taking into account good old-fashioned drills such as interaction processes. 3. In relation to the courses studied Throughout these years of studying at the National University of Distance Education (UNED) while being engaged in teaching has helped evolve my critical vision, it has also heightened my understanding of the English language in many ways. Based on the fundamental knowledge acquired as part of the degree, I can provide satisfactory answers and detailed explanations to the questions raised by my students. If I have any doubts I would resort to the resources and means at my disposal. The resources I refer to above are the contents included in the degree consisting of on the one hand, general culture comprising of English and American History, Literature and Foreign Languages and on the other hand, areas of expertise pertaining to Linguistics such as Semantics, Syntax, Grammar, Dyachronic Studies or Phonetic-Phonological Variations of the English Language. Although at first sight, it seems somewhat subjective quite the opposite is intended and sought after in this project. 4.Bibliographic review Shovel, Martin. Making Sense of Phrasal Verbs. London: Cassell Publishers Limited, 1985. Print. Coles and Lord. Access to English Turning Point. London: Oxford University Press,1976. Print. Pollard, Barbara. “Teaching English, the English Way”. The English Journal. 58. 4. (1969): 586-590. Print. J. Early, Margaret. “What Does Research in Reading Reveal--About Successful Reading Programs?”. The English Journal. 58. 4. (1969): 534-547. Print.

Betts 3 B. Gambrell,Linda. “Issues and Trends in Literacy: Exploring the Connection between Oral Language and Early Reading”. The Reading Teacher. 57. 5. (2004): 490492. Print. Shipley, Suzanne. Rev. of Oral Skills in the Modern Languages Degree by Doble and Brian Griffiths. The Modern Language Journal. 70. 4. (1986): 416-417. Print. Campbell, Dermot. “Between you and me“. n.p. UNED. n.d. Lecture. Russell, Tony, Allen Brizee, and Elizabeth Angeli. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 4 Apr. 2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2013.