Activity 3

Has your life changed a lot at any time? Many people's lives change a lot - when they move house, get married, have children, get or change a job. Here's some information about changes in the life of Sabir Bandali, a London schoolboy who migrated from Uganda.

Fill in the gaps in the present or past tense.

In Uganda, I________in my father's shop. We_________African languages, Hindi and Gujarati. I ________ to school on foot in the early morning, and____________ home at lunch time. My teachers _________ strict and the students never _____________to each other in class. Etc.

Now tell a partner about changes in your life, and write them in 2 paragraphs like Sabir Bandali's story.

 

Reflection on ways being taught grammar

Consider the following points individually.

1. Do your teachers usually start with explaining a rule or with giving examples?

2. Do your teachers ever ask their Ss to formulate the rules themselves?

3. Do your teachers’ examples include any new vocabulary items?

4. Which aspect - form, meaning or use - do your teachers usually draw their Ss' attention to first?

5. Which ways of presenting a grammar item do you prefer?

Share your ideas in groups.

5. P – P – P paradigm. What can these letters stand for?

P

P

P

Analysis of ways of presenting grammar items (in pairs)

Grammar Presentation Techniques

Using a picture

A teacher demonstrates a picture of a street and makes statements about it using can and can't, e.g. " I can see a bird in the tree. But I can't see any birds on the ground. I can't see any flowers but I can see snow. It is winter." Then she asks the class to describe what they can and can't see in the picture. The teacher elicits sentences and corrects the mistakes. Then she asks some learners to repeat correct sentences and puts them on the blackboard. She draws learners' attention to affirmative and negative form and explains the meaning - " possibility", " ability".

2.Using a reading text

The teachers have a text describing what a schoolgirl did yesterday (got up at …, had breakfast at …, went to school at.., played in the yard after classes, etc) The teacher asks learners to read the text and mark T/F statements after it.

3. Using actions/realia

The teacher comes into class and starts performing some actions commenting on them: " I have closed the door. I have opened the window. I have written a word on the blackboard. I have cleaned the blackboard, etc." She asks the class: " What have I done? " and tries to elicit examples of the Present Perfect. She writes some examples on the blackboard.