ADVANCED DIDACTICS: SHORTS QUESTIONS.

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- What does the “pre-listening stage” (current format) consist in?

In the pre-listening stage, the teacher should establish context (to prepare students for what they are about to hear), create motivation (a reason for listening) and pre-teach only critical vocabulary

- Explain why we should only teach critical vocabulary in the pre-listening stage according to the current listening format.

We should only teach critical vocabulary in the pre-listening stage because if we focus on teaching every single word, students will focus on language rather than on meaning. Apart from that, if we spent too much time teaching every single word, that fact would not be practical since students are not going to have the opportunity to learn all the new words before facing a conversation in a real-life listening encounter.

- How to prepare students before an extensive listening.

Before an extensive listening, there is a pre-listening stage in which the teacher should establish context (to prepare students for what they are about to hear), create motivation (a reason for listening) and pre-teach only critical vocabulary.

- 3 types of information used for decoding and meaning building.

There are 3 types of information used for decoding and meaning building.

The first one of them is input: the sounds the listener receives and what those sounds represent.

The second type is the linguistic knowledge of words, grammar, syntax, intonation, etc.

The last type is the context, which refers to the general knowledge and personal experience and the knowledge of what has been said so far in the conversation.

- 2 Directions of processing.

There are two different directions of processing: bottom-up and top-down. The first one of them (bottom-up) involves building small units into larger units. On the other hand, top-down processing requires the use of context (external knowledge) and co-text (text-so-far) to help identify words that are not clear.

- Interactive compensatory hypothesis.

Input and context play a very important role in listening. When confidence in input is high, the role of top-down information is small. On the contrary, when confidence in input is low, the role of top-down information is much more important.

UNIT 4

- Reading techniques and examples.

There are four different reading techniques.

The first one of them is skimming, which consists in getting the general idea of the text by focusing on the most relevant information. One example of it would be newspaper headlines or texts titles.

The second one is scanning. This technique involves going quickly through the text to get a particular piece of information rejecting irrelevant data. This is, for example, reading from a menu or checking the telephone book looking for someone's address.

The third technique is extensive or receptive reading which consists in reading (for pleasure) longer texts. This results in a global understanding of the text. One example would be a rapid reading to get the main ideas from a text.

The last technique is intensive or study reading. It consists in reading shorter texts looking for specific information. It involves a complete understanding of the text. An example would be studying a concrete subject.

- Cognitive processes involved in reading.

There are four processes involved in skilled reading.

Firstly, the linear model (bottom-up processes) in which reading means decoding both letter or words and meaning. It is a linear process where word recognition ends up becoming automatic.

Secondly, the psycholinguistic model (top-down processes) in which the decoding of information is guided by the readers' previous knowledge.

Thirdly, the interactive approach in which reading means an interaction of both bottom-up and top-down processes. This interaction is carried out simultaneously.

Finally, critical literacy in which reading is regarded as a social and psychological activity. It takes into account the relationship between readers and writers. Moreover, meaning is built by analysing the context in which texts take place so the context is always essential on it.

- Explain briefly the three different ways of using texts to teach English.

Texts can be used in three different ways.

Firstly, text as a linguistic object (TALO). Texts are used for presenting a language: as an example of grammar structures, vocabulary, orthography, etc.

Secondly, text as a vehicle for information (TAVI). In other words, using a text to learn about any aspect related to English culture.

Thirdly, text as a stimulus for production (TASP). Using a text as a point of departure from which students can get ideas and motivation to write or speak.

- Advantages and disadvantages of using authentic materials.

On the one hand, the advantages of using authentic materials in the foreign language classroom are a direct relationship with the language, and the learning of new items, lexicon, structures which are not usually shown in textbooks. In addition, when authentic materials are used, they can be chosen according to students' tastes making lessons more enjoyable. Therefore, pupils will become familiar with the kind of readings they find outside the classroom.

On the other hand, the disadvantages of using authentic materials in the foreign language classroom are the difficulties and the spent time to find suitable texts (if the text is not correctly chosen, it can be a frustrating experience for students). Apart from these, their extension could be inappropriate, grammatical structures might be very different and typical expressions of one particular country or region may make texts seem to be more difficult.

UNIT 5

- Productive and receptive skills.

Productive skills are writing and speaking while receptive