The TEFL Academy
Assignment C
Assignment C, Part 2.1 - Authentic text
Select an authentic text* for this class:
A mixed nationality general English class of 15 Advanced C1-C2 adults (9 women, 6 men, ages 20-40 years)
living /studying in an English speaking country.
4 have university places for the next academic year and want to improve their fluency in preparation. 2 are
married to people from the host country – one is at home with a young child and the other works in a
restaurant. 4 are work colleagues who have been sent by their company to work in this country for a year. The
other 5 have come on short term visits specifically to improve their English.
*An authentic text is one which was originally aimed at native or proficient English speakers, and was not
designed as a piece of language teaching material.
Do not use material found on educational websites. You must demonstrate your own ability to find and
exploit authentic materials.
The text should be 500 - 700 words long. (4-5 minutes for listening texts).
In this document provide a copy of the reading text or a transcript of the listening text you have chosen. Ensure
the text is referenced, and if you have selected a listening text or video, provide a link.
If you choose a reading text, you can shorten and/or adapt it slightly. Please supply a copy of the original and
your adapted version. In section b) of the essay briefly explain the decisions you've made about changing the
text.
Highlight 12 vocabulary items (words or phrases) which it would be useful to pre-
teach.
Screen addiction among teens: is there such a thing?
Anya Kamenetz, 5 February 2018
Look up from this screen right now. Take a look around. On a bus. In a cafe. Even at a
stoplight. Chances are, most of the other people in your line of sight are staring at their
phones or other devices. And if they don't happen to have one out, it is certainly tucked
away in a pocket or bag. But are we truly addicted to technology? And what about our
kids? It's a scary question, and a big one for scientists right now. Still, while the debate
rages on, some doctors and technologists are focusing on solutions. 3 "There is a fairly
even split in the scientific community about whether 'tech addiction' is a real thing," says
Dr Michael Bishop, who runs Summerland, which he calls "a summer camp for screen
overuse" for teens. 4 Dr Nicholas Kardaras is the author of the 2016 book Glow Kids: How
Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids. When I ask him about the term "addiction" he
doesn't miss a beat. There are brain-imaging studies of the effects of screen time, he
says. And he also has treated many teens who are so wrapped up in video games that
they don't even get up to use the bathroom. 5 He says the evidence is clear, but we're not
ready to face it. 6 "We have, as a society, gone all-in on tech," he says. "So we don't want
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