TKT - Teaching Knowledge Teachers' and Learners' Language Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a learner does not know the word for 'scissors', they describe it as "the thing you use for cutting paper". Which communication strategy is the learner using?
- Circumlocution (Correct answer)
- Paraphrasing
- Code-switching
- Simplification
Correct answer: Circumlocution
Circumlocution is a communication strategy where a speaker describes or 'talks around' a word they do not know, which is exactly what the learner is doing by describing the function and appearance of scissors.
Question 2: A learner says, "I no have a pen." The teacher responds, "Oh, you don't have a pen. Here, you can borrow mine." Which correction technique is the teacher primarily using?
- Elicitation
- Explicit correction
- Recasting (Correct answer)
- Peer correction
Correct answer: Recasting
Recasting, also known as reformulation, involves the teacher repeating the learner's utterance correctly without explicitly stating that an error was made. The teacher's response, "Oh, you don't have a pen," models the correct form in a natural, communicative way.
Question 3: Which of the following teacher utterances has the main function of eliciting language from a learner?
- "Good job, that's almost perfect."
- "What's the opposite of 'hot'?" (Correct answer)
- "Please open your books to page 42."
- "The past tense of 'go' is 'went'."
Correct answer: "What's the opposite of 'hot'?"
Eliciting is the technique of drawing out information or language from students rather than giving it to them. Asking "What's the opposite of 'hot'?" is a direct attempt to get the learner to produce a specific word ('cold').
Question 4: A Spanish-speaking learner of English says, "I have 25 years," instead of "I am 25 years old." This is a classic example of which type of error?
- A developmental error
- An overgeneralisation
- A slip of the tongue
- L1 interference (Correct answer)
Correct answer: L1 interference
This error is caused by L1 interference (or negative transfer), where the learner directly translates a grammatical structure from their first language (Spanish: 'Tengo 25 años') into the second language. This is a common error for speakers of Romance languages.
Question 5: Which of the following best defines 'interlanguage'?
- The use of two or more languages within a single conversation.
- A simplified version of a language used by native speakers to communicate with non-native speakers.
- The learner's own developing linguistic system, which has features of both their L1 and the L2. (Correct answer)
- A formal and academic style of language used in textbooks and lectures.
Correct answer: The learner's own developing linguistic system, which has features of both their L1 and the L2.
Interlanguage refers to the unique linguistic system created by a second language learner at a specific stage of their development. This system is influenced by their first language (L1) and their evolving knowledge of the target language (L2), and it is systematic and dynamic.
Question 6: A teacher, noticing a student is struggling to answer a question, says, "What's that thing we use to cook eggs in...? It's round... a frying...?" What is the function of the teacher's language?
- Instructing
- Conveying meaning
- Prompting (Correct answer)
- Narrating
Correct answer: Prompting
Prompting is when a teacher provides hints or clues to help a learner remember a word or produce a correct answer. By describing the object and providing the first part of the word, the teacher is prompting the student to say 'pan'.
TKT - Teaching Knowledge Teachers' and Learners' Language Questions and Answers 1
When a learner does not know the word for 'scissors', they describe it as "the thing you use for cutting paper".
Which communication strategy is the learner using?