Assignment C - Part 1
An Evaluation of Cutting Edge Advanced
Use the checklist from unit 10 ('Evaluating course book material') to write a general evaluation
of the book.
You won't be able to comment on all items as you only have one unit and the contents but say
as much as you can.
This must be presented as a coherent essay, not just a list.
Then say whether you personally would like to use the book with an advanced class and why or
why not - this is just your opinion, so there is not a right or a wrong response to this part.
You do not need to refer to the class described for Part 2 of this assignment.
Write 300 - 500 words.
The Cutting-Edge Advanced Students' Book takes a task-based approach to teaching, which is ideal
because it makes learning fun and engaging for students by allowing them to figure things out on
their own without the teacher providing all the answers, this is referred to as guided discovery.
The book includes a variety of relevant and functional materials, exercises and activities, including
mind maps, role plays, conscious-raising tasks, and discussion questions. These activities enable an
environment in which the teacher can assess the class's actual language ability and needs. The
course material also adheres to cultural norms and avoids references to controversial subjects like
race, religion, or sexual orientation.
The topics are interesting and age-appropriate for the group. Since adults have more life experience
and more developed ideas about its various facets, they will find issues like globalization and
urbanization to be both incredibly interesting and amusing. It is also crucial to ensure that the
language in this textbook is appropriately graded, and this coursebook is in fact perfect for a C1/C2
class, because there are many high-level vocabulary items such as devised and globalisation that are
taught and used in activities.
This unit is well-structured with a pre-defined theme and clear lesson objectives, ensuring that
students understand exactly what is expected of them and can monitor their progress. The four skills
are thoughtfully balanced, and throughout the lesson, a variety of tasks are provided to help each
skill grow. Many of these exercises are also designed for pair or group work, allowing students to
learn from one another in an enjoyable and engaging manner. At the end of the coursebook, there
are tasks for independent usage and revision so that students can practice, recycle, and revise their
grammar and vocabulary on their own. A Useful Language block on page 13 provides students with
new and valuable language they can use when talking about everyday things.
In addition, the organization of the units on the contents pages demonstrates the book's functional
focus. The book also includes a variety of real photos that appeal to both adults and young adults by
activating their prior knowledge about the topic and allowing them to make predictions about the
language and vocabulary used. Each unit begins with a clear goal and concludes with an "after
unit" section in which students can evaluate themselves by reflecting on their own progress, giving
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,them a sense of accomplishment.
Inconclusion, I would definitely use most of the activities and content in this book in my advanced
class because it is well structured, has language summaries and revision exercises at the end of the
coursebook, and has plenty of task-based activities that provide ample practice for all four skills.
Additionally, the language is graded and culturally appropriate.
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, Assignment C - Part 2.i
Authentic Text
Check the Class Description and Notes on Part 2 on the assignment platform before you begin.
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.
If you have adapted the text, briefly explain the decisions you've made about changing the text
in section b) of the essay.
Highlight 12 vocabulary items (words or phrases) which would be useful to pre-teach.
Part A: Adapted/shortened Version
The bad things that happen when algorithms run online shops.
Smart software controls the prices and products you see when you shop online – and sometimes it
can go spectacularly wrong, from causing offence to destroying livelihoods. But that’s the trouble
with algorithms. All sorts of unexpected results can occur. Sometimes these are costly, but in other
cases they have benefited businesses to the tune of millions of pounds.
What’s the real impact of the machinations of machines? And what else do they do?
Errant algorithms can also cause human headaches when it comes to prices. The costs of products
that appear on retail websites are constantly fluctuating thanks to software that sets them
competitively.
The frequency at which these changes happen is so great that dedicated websites have been set up to
“watch” the pricing on websites like Amazon. Daniel Green has been running one of these sites for
years. He explains that prices don’t just change daily – but sometimes several times in one day.
“They will drop the price of a product every few days or every few hours until a product is
purchased by someone and then the price goes back up,” he says.
“We know that they keep prices low on a lot of their most popular products to give the impression
that they have great deals and then for less active product categories or less popular products they
may have a bit more of a profit margin there.” Sometimes this can produce amusing and unexpected
results, however, in what Green calls a “race to the bottom”.
Two retailers selling the same thing on Amazon’s marketplace will re-price their product against
their competitor, but the re-pricing can occasionally continue unabated until absurdly low or high
price points are reached. “It just goes back and forth,” says Green.
Sometimes the most damaging prices are the lowest – as low as you can get, for example. This was
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