Language– Structure 1. Check in a grammar reference book and give examples of the following tenses. Give REALISTIC NATURAL examples that might commonly be spoken/written by a native speaker. a. Present Simple I wake up late. b. Present ContinuousHe is eating. c. Past SimpleShe sat down. d. Past ContinuousThey were still talking when I left. e. Present Perfect SimpleHe hasn’t lived in London for long. f. Present Perfect ContinuousIt has been raining for days. g. Past PerfectHe had eaten. h. Past Perfect ContinuousShe had been playing for hours. 2.
Many foreign learners have learnt that Will and Shall are used to refer to the future in English e. g. Jane’ll be home soon. However, in natural colloquial English other forms are frequently used. Look up and find 3 more ways of talking about the future without using will or shall. Give example sentences. a. It is going to rain. b. They are coming next week. c. You are about to hear it. Language – varieties 3. Look at the following sentences. Would you say them? Who might? So she’s like “No”, and I’m like “Why not? ” This is more likely to be used colloquially in conversation by the younger generation.
I am seeing what you mean. This is an incorrect use of the present continuous tense and is likely to be spoken by someone learning the English language We’ve already gotten to know each other pretty well. This is grammatically correct and is likely to be used by someone who is proficient in speaking the English language Language – accuracy 4. Look at these examples of a learner’s spoken English. Underline the error and say why you think it is wrong and why. (i)Pedro has arrived last Saturday. The sentence incorrectly combines elements of the Present Perfect tense and Past Simple tense.
The correct sentence would be ‘Pedro arrived last Saturday’. ii)She is living here since ten years. The sentence incorrectly combines elements of the Present Continuous tense and the Present Perfect Simple tense. Also the word ‘since’ would only be used if a specific moment in time was mentioned. The correct sentence would be ‘She has been living here for ten years’. (iii)Last year when I went on holiday, I lost my luggages? The word luggage encompasses a group of items and therefore doesn’t need a plural. An example of a similar word would be food. As the word food would include a limitless amount of items no plural is required.
The correct sentence would be ‘Last year when I went on holiday, I lost my luggage’. (iv)She’s a good cooker. Cook can be used as both a noun and a verb. The noun cook has to be distinguished from the verb ‘to cook’. In this context the noun must be used therefore the sentence should read ;She’s a good cook’ Language – Functions 5. Modal auxiliaries are used to express different functions in English. For example, we use should in different ways to mean different things: Sample Sentence You should see a doctor Gives advice I know I should vote Expresses obligation That should be him now Expresses probability
Look in a grammar book at find out more about modal auxiliaries. Consider the modal auxiliary can. Think of 4 different functions/uses and give examples as above. Sample Sentence Function He can ride a bike Refers to abilities Can you turn the light on? Refers to a request Can I sit here? Asking permission I can show you tomorrow Future possibilities Vocabulary 6. The meaning of new vocabulary can be presented in a variety of ways, including the following: A picture or drawing, a simple synonym or opposite, an explanation or definition, a mime or gesture, a scale or diagram, sound effects etc. r any combination of these – remember this is not an exclusive list. Imagine you are teaching low level students. You are going to teach these vocabulary items to them. How would you teach each item individually in the most efficient way? Remember, your students are have a very low level of English – so keep what you say as simple as possible! Also consider words that they might confuse with the words you are teaching. Write your answers below. Unemployed Words: ‘No job’, ‘No work’, Actions: Cross hands over in a waving fashion whilst shaking head and speaking the above words.
Write the word ‘Job’ on the board and put a cross through it. If they do not understand the words ‘job’ and ‘work’, a good way to get the information across would be to put pictures of people in employment on the board with smiley faces next to them and then somebody that has lost their job with a sad face. J L You can then cross out the employed people and put an arrow next to the unemployed guy with a sad face. Tiny Words: ‘Small’, ‘Not big’ Actions: Indicate something small with your thumb and forefinger. Draw something big on the board proceeded by an arrow and the same image but smaller.
Use 2 items or pictures in the classroom, one big, one small and use the word ‘Tiny’ when pointing to the small item and ‘big’ to the other. Wasp Actions: Make a buzzing sound whilst flapping hands. Draw a wasp on the board and colour it with black markings. Draw a bee next to the wasp with the names underneath each to distinguish the 2 and to show the similarity between the 2 to help recognition. to earn Words: ‘Money’, ‘Get money’ Actions: Rub fingers together whilst saying ‘money’. Draw ? or $ sign on a board. Write ‘Job’ on the board with an arrow pointing to the money signs.
Draw images symbolic of different jobs all pointing to the money symbols e. g. stickmen holding briefcases, at computers, with brooms etc. Weekday Words: Say each day of the week in succession followed by a pause and then emphasise the word ‘Weekday’ Actions: Write each day of the week on the board with the word ‘weekday’ underneath Monday to Friday and ‘weekend’ under Saturday and Sunday. If they don’t know days of the week either then full dates (DD/MM/YYYY) can be added to the days to help make the information being put across more universal. Teaching 7. Think of a successful learning experience you have had.
List the factors that you think contributed to its success. Can you think of any other factors that could be important? Plenty of interaction from the teacher to the pupils helped to keep me interested and on track with what the teacher was teaching. Group learning and interaction between pupils also kept things interesting and allowed us to learn from each other. Making notes whilst listening to the teacher helped me to store information mentally and allowed me to go over it again at a later stage. Being asked questions and on the spot testing meant I had to constantly pay attention and allowed constant interaction.
Having time to ask questions regularly meant I didn’t lose track or fall behind with what was being taught. Similarly putting time aside for one on one questions between pupil and teacher after a class helps those that are less willing to speak in front of a class to not fall behind. Getting pupils to read out loud in a class would help to give the pupils confidence in front of others and to put what they are learning into practice. 8. Imagine you teach a group of students most of whom have been learning English for about 2 years. Your lesson aim is to present If I were you, I’d…….. for giving advice (e. g. If I were you, I’d join a gym).
You cannot assume all students will understand the word “advice”. Besides, it’s more effective to present language in a natural situation which students can identify with (i. e. make it clear who is talking to whom, where, why, and so forth). This will clarify the meaning of the language for them. Which situation of giving advice would you choose to present If I were you, I’d…….. for giving advice? E. g. a friend who is not happy in her present job A friend is bored and wants advice on what to do. What example sentences expressing advice would this situation naturally generate (you need to think of at least 4 or 5)?
If I were you, I’d go and play football If I were you, I’d go for a walk If I were you, I’d put the TV on If I were you, I’d go for a bike ride If I were you, I’d go to the cinema Say what aids (eg. pictures) you would use. I would use pictures of the emotion (boredom) and each individual suggested action (a football, TV etc. ) followed by the subsequent emotion (happiness). I would then do similar sentences with different emotions (e. g. Hunger) and ask for suggestions from the class by getting them to repeat ‘If I were you, I’d…’ and then getting them to fill in the blanks.
