CELTA Language Analysis & Awareness 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the function of a 'discourse marker' such as 'however' or 'on the other hand'?
- To signal a relationship between ideas and organize spoken or written text (Correct answer)
- To introduce a new subject unrelated to the previous one
- To emphasize the most important noun in a sentence
- To indicate past time reference in a narrative
Correct answer: To signal a relationship between ideas and organize spoken or written text
Discourse markers help listeners and readers navigate text by showing how ideas connect, contrast, or develop.
Question 2: Which of the following sentences contains an 'infinitive of purpose'?
- She went to the library to return her books. (Correct answer)
- She wanted to go to the library.
- She seemed to enjoy the library.
- She appeared to have borrowed too many books.
Correct answer: She went to the library to return her books.
The infinitive 'to return' expresses the purpose of going to the library, answering 'why?'.
Question 3: What does the term 'lexical chunk' mean in language teaching?
- A group of words that are commonly stored and used as a single unit, such as 'as a matter of fact' (Correct answer)
- A single vocabulary item with many synonyms
- A word that belongs to more than one grammatical category
- A technical term specific to one professional field
Correct answer: A group of words that are commonly stored and used as a single unit, such as 'as a matter of fact'
Lexical chunks are multi-word units processed holistically, which speeds up fluent communication.
Question 4: In English, what is 'aspect' as distinct from 'tense'?
- Aspect conveys how an action is viewed in terms of its completeness or continuity, independent of time (Correct answer)
- Aspect refers solely to whether an event is in the past, present, or future
- Aspect describes the degree of certainty expressed by a modal verb
- Aspect refers to whether a sentence is active or passive
Correct answer: Aspect conveys how an action is viewed in terms of its completeness or continuity, independent of time
Tense locates events in time; aspect (simple, progressive, perfect) describes the internal temporal structure of the event.
Question 5: What does 'concept checking' involve in a CELTA lesson?
- Using targeted questions to verify that students have understood the meaning of a language item (Correct answer)
- Testing students with a written grammar exercise at the end of class
- Having students translate new vocabulary into their first language
- Drilling the pronunciation of new words repeatedly
Correct answer: Using targeted questions to verify that students have understood the meaning of a language item
Concept checking questions (CCQs) probe comprehension of meaning without simply asking 'Do you understand?'.
Question 6: Which of these is an example of an 'affixation' process?
- Adding '-ness' to 'happy' to form 'happiness' (Correct answer)
- Combining 'tooth' and 'brush' to make 'toothbrush'
- Shortening 'photograph' to 'photo'
- Using 'run' as both a verb and a noun
Correct answer: Adding '-ness' to 'happy' to form 'happiness'
Affixation is the attachment of a prefix or suffix to a base word to create a new word or change its grammatical category.
Question 7: What is 'backchaining' used for in language teaching?
- Drilling a long utterance by starting from the end and progressively adding earlier segments (Correct answer)
- Having students repeat a sentence from the beginning to the end multiple times
- Asking students to translate sentences from English to their L1
- Correcting errors by repeating the correct form at the start of a drill
Correct answer: Drilling a long utterance by starting from the end and progressively adding earlier segments
Backchaining builds pronunciation accuracy and fluency by rehearsing the end of a chunk first, then extending backward.
CELTA Language Analysis & Awareness 4
What is the function of a 'discourse marker' such as 'however' or 'on the other hand'?