Thanks Maureen, I am also a linguist and still teach English for
academic purposes. I am just interested in how you phrase things to
students, do you say you 'should' do something or are you more
insistent? I am interested in where the line is drawn. How far can we go
as advisers in 'telling' students? Do we not not 'tell' students through
the mass of nuances in the language?
David
-----Original Message-----
From: Maureen Preece [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 26 May 2006 12:18
To: David Donnarumma
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Language use in one-to-one advice
Hi David
I am the Academic Skills Adviser here at Chichester but taught TEFL for
many years, although not for about the last nine.I am also a linguist.
From memory, we used to start teaching modal verbs and hence the concept
of modality at about pre intermdiate level,(relatively low level),
reinforcing/demonstrating more complex useage up to Cambridge Advanced
and Proficiency levels.
Assuming University entry requires at least Cambridge First Certificate
level (the level below Advanced)or equivalent for International
students, then yes, I would say they should certainly understand what
"should" means in the context you describe. The idea of modality was
often taught in a "percentage" format in terms of understanding
obligation, i.e. "could" = 40%, "ought" =65%, "should" = 75% (or
roughly- it's a few years now!)
Hope that helps,
Maureen
----- Original Message -----
From: David Donnarumma <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, May 26, 2006 11:13 am
Subject: Language use in one-to-one advice
> Hi,
>
> On advising students re. Academic work on a one-to-one basis. I am
> interested in how advice is phrased. Is it enough to say "Perhaps, you
> should think about..." or "Have you considered...". Is it enough to
> use the modality of language to advise students? If students are from
> different cultures will they necessarily understand the use of
> suggestion that is used in English to indicate that something should
> be done?
>
> Example:
>
> The student had a deadline for Tuesday, but wanted to hand in today,
> because they wanted to go away. The essay needs further work. I say
> "you should work more on these sections". I think they need to spend
> the weekend working on the essay, as it is not 'up to scratch'. Should
> thisbe made explicit? Or is this crossing a boundary? Would an
> internationalstudent understand the use of 'should' in this context?
> Should I assume that an international student will understand this
> use?
>
> Has anyone else faced this issue? Apologies if I am describing an
> 'old'problem, just interested in what other people thought..
>
> David
>
> David Donnarumma
> Effective Learning Adviser
> Learning Teaching and Development Unit, Lc019
> [log in to unmask] Direct Dial: 01895 266547
>
>
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