class first orally, pens down, then setting the same task for individual completion. Gap-fill activities can be photocopied and set as revision at the end of the unit or later, with or without the missing items.


Breaking long sentences into key components


One feature of academic English is the average length of sentences. Traditionally, EFL classes teach students to cope with the complexity of the verb phrase, equating level with more and more arcane verb structures, such as the present perfect modal passive. However, research into academic language, including the corpus research which underlies the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English, suggests that complexity in academic language does not lie with the verb phrase but rather with the noun phrase and clause joining and embedding. For this reason, students are shown in many exercises later in the course how to break down long sentences into kernel elements, and find the subject, verb and object of each element. This receptive skill is then turned into a productive skill, by encouraging students to think in terms of kernel elements first before building them into complex sentences.


Activities with stance marking


Another key element of academic text is the attitude (or stance) of the writer or speaker to the information which is being imparted. This could be dogmatic, tentative, incredulous, sceptical, and so on. Students must learn the key skill of recognizing words and phrases marked for stance.


Crosswords and other word puzzles


One of the keys to vocabulary learning is repetition. However, the repetition must be active. It is no good if students are simply going through the motions. The course uses crosswords and other kinds of puzzles to bring words back into the students’ consciousness through an engaging activity. However, it is understood by the writers that such playful activities are not always seen as serious and academic. The crosswords and other activities are therefore made available as photocopiable resources at the back of the Teacher’s Book and can be used at the teacher’s discretion, after explaining to the students why they are valuable.


Methodology points


Setting up tasks The teaching notes for many of the exercises begin with the word Set… . This single word covers a number of vital functions for the teacher, as follows:


8


 Refer students to the rubric (instructions).


 Check that they understand what to do – get one or two students to explain the task in their own words.


 Tell students how they are to do the task, if this is not clear in the Course Book instructions – as individual work, pairwork or in groups.


 Go through the example, if there is one. If not, make it clear what the target output is – full sentences, short answers, notes, etc.


 Go through one or two of the items, working with a good student to elicit the required output.


Use of visuals


There is a considerable amount of visual material in the book. This should be exploited in a number of ways:


 before an exercise, to orientate students, to get them thinking about the situation or the task, and to provide an opportunity for a small amount of pre-teaching of vocabulary (be careful not to pre- empt any exercises, though)


 during the exercise, to remind students of important language


 after the activity, to help with related work or to revise the target language


Comparing answers in pairs


This is frequently suggested when students have completed a task individually. It provides all students with a chance to give and explain their answers, which is not possible if the teacher immediately goes through the answers with the whole class.


Self-checking


Learning only takes place after a person has noticed that there is something to learn. This noticing of an individual learning point does not happen at the same time for all students. In many cases, it does not even happen in a useful sense when a teacher has focused on it. So learning occurs to the individual timetable of each student in a group. For this reason, it is important to give students time to notice mistakes in their own work and try to correct them individually. Take every opportunity to get students to self-check to try to force the noticing stage.


Confirmation and correction


Many activities benefit from a learning tension, i.e., a period of time when students are not sure whether something is right or wrong. The advantages of this tension are:


 a chance for all students to become involved in an activity before the correct answers are given


.


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