DA Module 6_Positioning the Writer and Reader
Text 2
Instructions. Read the entire text before completing the blanks. Write the verb form or verb phrase that best fits the developing discourse. The base verb is provided in parentheses after each blank. Consider temporal framing, aspect, and the speaker/writer’s intended modal stance.
When I first began teaching at the university, I (1) ____________________ (teach) most of my listening classes in a small language laboratory at the end of the second floor.
At the beginning of every class, I (2) ____________________ (arrive) about twenty minutes early so that I could check the equipment. I (3) ____________________ (arrange) the headphones on the desks, test the recording equipment, and write the day’s listening questions on the board.
Once the students entered, I (4) ____________________ (ask) them to listen to the same recording two or three times before comparing their answers. For several months, another classroom nearby (5) ____________________ (renovate), so construction noise often interrupted our activities.
Despite the noise, students (6) ____________________ (work) in pairs after each recording and explain what they had understood. One morning, however, the entire audio system (7) ____________________ (fail) during an important listening activity, so we changed the lesson completely.
By the time the department eventually replaced the old laboratory, I (8) ____________________ (teach) there for several years. I (9) ____________________ (develop) dozens of activities specifically for the equipment in that room, and my students (10) ____________________ (become) quite accustomed to the routine.
During our final semester in the old laboratory, several teachers (11) ____________________ (work) on new ways to combine mobile technology with traditional listening activities. At that time, we thought mobile devices (12) ____________________ (provide) learners with more flexible access to authentic language, although we did not yet have enough evidence to be certain.
We also recognized that unrestricted device use (13) ____________________ (create) new distractions if activities were not designed carefully.
This semester, our department (14) ____________________ (organize) a Learning Fair to demonstrate how language teaching has changed. Several groups (15) ____________________ (demonstrate) activities that combine traditional classroom interaction with digital tools.
My Discourse Analysis students (16) ____________________ (present) examples showing how grammatical choices influence meaning across a text. The event (17) ____________________ (take place) in the central university courtyard, an open area that connects several academic buildings.
Visitors (18) ____________________ (move) from station to station, talk with students, and compare different teaching approaches. At our station, students (19) ____________________ (explain) how tense, aspect, and modality help writers construct temporal relationships and express different degrees of commitment.
By the time the Fair begins, each group (20) ____________________ (complete) its display, examples, and short explanation for visitors. During the first hour of the Fair, some students (21) ____________________ (present) their analyses while others answer questions from visitors.
Some visitors (22) ____________________ (disagree) with the students’ interpretations because grammatical choices do not always have only one possible discourse effect. For that reason, students (23) ____________________ (support) their interpretations with evidence from the surrounding text instead of simply naming a grammatical form.
Because this is an assessed academic activity, however, every group (24) ____________________ (distinguish) clearly between evidence from the text and personal interpretation.