CELTA Language Analysis & Awareness 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence illustrates reported speech with a tense shift from present to past?
- He said he was tired. (original: 'I am tired.') (Correct answer)
- He said he is tired. (original: 'I am tired.')
- He told he was tired. (original: 'I am tired.')
- He said that he will be tired. (original: 'I am tired.')
Correct answer: He said he was tired. (original: 'I am tired.')
In reported speech, the present simple 'am' typically shifts back to past simple 'was' after a past reporting verb.
Question 2: What is the difference between 'dynamic' and 'stative' verbs?
- Dynamic verbs describe actions or processes, while stative verbs describe states and are rarely used in progressive forms (Correct answer)
- Dynamic verbs are irregular in the past tense, while stative verbs are all regular
- Dynamic verbs are only used in formal registers, while stative verbs are informal
- Dynamic verbs require an object, while stative verbs do not
Correct answer: Dynamic verbs describe actions or processes, while stative verbs describe states and are rarely used in progressive forms
Stative verbs such as 'know,' 'believe,' and 'contain' express states rather than actions and are typically not used in continuous forms.
Question 3: What is a 'false friend' in language learning?
- A word in the target language that looks or sounds like a word in the learner's L1 but has a different meaning (Correct answer)
- A grammatical rule that appears in both L1 and L2 but functions differently
- A vocabulary item that has no direct translation in the learner's first language
- An idiom that cannot be understood from its individual words
Correct answer: A word in the target language that looks or sounds like a word in the learner's L1 but has a different meaning
False friends cause interference errors when learners assume a word means the same thing in both languages.
Question 4: In English phonology, what is 'weak form'?
- The unstressed, reduced pronunciation of function words in connected speech, such as 'an' becoming /ən/ (Correct answer)
- A consonant sound that is not voiced in a particular context
- A syllable that receives secondary stress in a polysyllabic word
- A vowel sound that changes quality at the end of a diphthong
Correct answer: The unstressed, reduced pronunciation of function words in connected speech, such as 'an' becoming /ən/
Function words like 'and,' 'to,' and 'was' have weak forms in natural speech when unstressed, which learners must recognize.
Question 5: Which term describes the phenomenon where a word can belong to different word classes depending on context?
- Conversion (zero derivation) (Correct answer)
- Compounding
- Affixation
- Blending
Correct answer: Conversion (zero derivation)
Conversion (also called zero derivation) is the process by which a word shifts grammatical category without any change in form, as in 'to email' from the noun 'email.'
Question 6: What does 'cohesion' refer to in written or spoken discourse?
- The grammatical and lexical devices that link sentences and clauses together, such as pronouns and connectors (Correct answer)
- The overall logical argument or message of a text
- The appropriateness of a text for its intended audience
- The use of formal vocabulary throughout a piece of writing
Correct answer: The grammatical and lexical devices that link sentences and clauses together, such as pronouns and connectors
Cohesion involves surface-level linking devices — reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical cohesion — that create texture in a text.
Question 7: In which situation would a CELTA trainer say a teacher is doing 'overt error correction'?
- When the teacher explicitly identifies and corrects a student's mistake by pointing it out directly (Correct answer)
- When the teacher ignores an error to maintain fluency during a speaking activity
- When the teacher repeats what the student said with correct intonation and moves on
- When the teacher signals there is an error but allows the student to self-correct first
Correct answer: When the teacher explicitly identifies and corrects a student's mistake by pointing it out directly
Overt correction is direct and explicit — the teacher clearly indicates the error and provides or elicits the correct form.
CELTA Language Analysis & Awareness 5
Which sentence illustrates reported speech with a tense shift from present to past?