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Contents
Introduction ………………………………………………………… 3
Aims ……………………………………………………………….. 3
Reading …………………………………………………………… 4
References ………………………………………………………… 35
Feedback on unit …………………………………………………. 36
Introduction
Aims
Essential Reading
Section A: Reflection
Task 1
Read the following comments which were made by different teachers. Consider
whether you agree or disagree with them and why. If possible, do this task with a
colleague.
Commentary
This is one of the features of the deductive approach (don’t be confused by the
name!) to grammar teaching. In this approach the teacher moves from rules to
examples. In contrast, there is the inductive approach, in which learners are
presented with lots of examples and they work out the rule for themselves; in
other words they induce the rule.
If you are teaching very young learners you probably agreed with this.
If you are teaching older children or adults then it is very difficult to avoid
terminology altogether unless you are using a totally experiential approach to
language learning where the students are using the language to perform task
with no explicit analysis of the language.
On the other hand, over use of terminology with turn a lot of students off and it is
important to be sensitive to the effect use of terminology is having on students.
4. I think if we provide enough good examples, then students can infer the rules
without being told.
Section B: Approaches
The tasks in this section have been taken from Thornbury, 2004)
Task 1
Read through the following three mini lessons and for each one decide:
Teacher
“to form the present perfect continuous, use the auxiliary verb have plus the
past participle of the verb to be (been) plus the present participle, for example
…”
“You use the present perfect continuous to talk about activities that started in
the past and continue to the present (or very recent past), especially when
you want to focus on the process itself, or its duration, for example…”
“Now make sentences using the present perfect continuous for these
situations…
Jeff started watching TV at five o’clock. Hi has just switched the TV off. It is
now nine o’clock.
I first came to live in this town five years ago. I’m still living here.
Our company was set up over 100 years ago. We manufactured bicycles
them and we are still manufacturing them.”
_____________________
Lesson 2
Teacher:
“Dawn is standing outside the cinema. She is waiting for her friend. Dawn
arrived at eight o’clock. It’s now ten past eight. She has been waiting for ten
minutes.
How do you express the idea of waiting that started in the past and is still
continuing?
(Learners: “She has been waiting.”)
It is now nine o’clock and Jeff is watching TV. He started watching TV at five
o’clock . He has been watching TV for four hours.
Use the present perfect continuous to make a sentence for each of these
situations:
I first came to live in this town five years ago. I’m still living here.
Our company was set up over 100 years ago. We manufactured bicycles
then, and we are still manufacturing them.”
_________________________
Lesson 3
Teacher:
“Once upon a time, Goldilocks visited the Bears’ house. There was nobody
home. She ate some of Baby Bear’s porridge. She smoked one of Father
Bear’s cigars. She drank some of Mother Bear’s coffee, and she rode Mother
Bear’s motorbike. She played with Buddy Bear’s toys, and she played Buddy
Bear’s guitar. She read some of Missy Bear’s magazines, and she used
Missy Bear’s computer.
Well, finally, she felt tired so she went upstairs to sleep. When the Bears
came home, Baby Bear said, “Who’s been eating my porridge?” Repeat.
(Learners: “Who’s been eating my porridge?”)
________________________
Commentary
Lesson 1
This is typical of a deductive approach where the rule is stated at the
beginning, example are provided, and then further examples are given by the
learners as evidence of their learning. The teacher guides the whole process
with very little or no learner involvement until the practice stage. (Though it is
possible for the teacher to involve the learners from the beginning by
eliciting).
Lesson 2
This is a typical inductive presentation, in which an example is given and from
which the rule is discovered and then made explicit. Another example is
given before the learners go on to practise the rule themselves. There is high
teacher guidance through the use of leading questions. This is an example of
learning by guided discovery
Lesson 3
This is an example of a presentation in which examples of the target form are
given in context, but where the rule is not made explicit. Learners are
expected to demonstrate awareness of of the rule in their responses. If they
do so, they have shown evidence of discovery learning in its unguided form.
Task 2
Advantages Disadvantages
Lesson 1
Deductive
Lesson 2
Guided discovery
Lesson 3
Unguided discovery
Commentary
Advantages Disadvantages
Lesson 1 • Direct • Can involve complicated
Deductive • Aim is clear explanations and a lot of
• Suits particular learner metalanguage
types who like clear • Can demotivate learners
grammar explanations who are ‘afraid’ of
grammar
• Not very involving –
learner needn’t make
much mental effort – so
may not be memorable
e Making connections Referring to, and building on, what the learners already
know
f Giving feedback Providing messages on the state of the learners’ theory-
building
g Recapping / summarizing
Task 3
T (1) Now. I’m going to dictate some sentences, and I want you to write
them dowm. Are you ready?
Number one:
I have teaching for twelve year now. [pause]
Number two:
Before that I was a student teacher. [pause]
Number three:
I have been living in Cali for a year now. [pause]
Number four:
Last year I was living in Bucaramanga. [pause]
Number five:
At present, I am living in a friend’s apartment. [pause]
I am going to repeat the sentences then I want you to check in pairs to see
if you both have the same …
T OK. All those sentences are about me, but some are true and some are
false. Can you guess which is which? I’ll give you a clue. Only one of
them is false. Yes, Andres ….?
T … That’s right. So we have two sentences about the finished past . And
three sentences about now. (3) How do you know they are about now?
S1 ‘Now’
S2 ‘At present’
T Good, ‘I have been teaching for twelve years now. I have been living in
Cali for a year now. At present, I am living in a friend’s apartment.’ OK.
(4) Now let’s look at these last two sentences. ‘I have been living in Cali / I
am living in a friend’s apartment.’ (5) Can you see the difference?
S3 have been
S4 am living
T (6) Is it? Are you sure? ‘I have been living in Cali for a year now.’ Is that
finished?
T Good. ‘I have been living in Cali for a year now’ Am I still living in here in
Cali?’
Ss Yes
T Obviously! ‘For a year now.’ I started living in here a year ago and I am
still living here. ‘I have been living in Cali for a year now.’ From the past
to the present. So what about ‘I am living at a friend’s apartment.’ Do we
know when it started?
Ss No
T (8) Are we talking about the past only, or the present only, or from the past
to the present?
T Good. From past to present. (10) Do you remember what we call this
tense: I am living…?
S6 Present continuous.
T Good. So what do we call this one, have been living, do you think?
[pause] Have been … what is that?
S4 Present perfect.
Commentary
This teacher here uses a guided discovery approach in this lesson. The teacher
personalises the data, and makes it into a kind of game (true / false) in order to
engage the learners and to encourage them to think about the meaning of the
sentences – this helps them to make sense of the rule.
The teacher includes a time adverbial in each of the sentences so that the
students can make sense of them even before the focus on present continuous /
present perfect continuous.
1 providing data
2 problem framing
3 asking leading questions ( or focussing attention)
4 focussing attention
5 problem framing
6 giving feedback
7 asking leading questions
8 asking leading questions
9 giving feedback
10 making connections (or asking leading questions)
11 making connections (or asking leading questions)
12 recapping / summarizing
Task 4
Choose one of the structures in the box below. Design a guided discovery
presentation for the structure.
You need to follow the sequence of a guided discovery presentation (from
examples to rule and that you provide support and guidance for the learners in
the form of problem framing and leading questions.
Please post your ideas on the website forum for comments from your colleagues.
Task 5
TASK 1
1 I have never seen this presentation and I don’t think it would work in my class
2 I have never seen this presentation but I would like to try it in one of my classes
3 I have used this presentation in one of my classes and it didn’t work very well.
4 I have used this presentation and it worked very well .
The teacher finds a song text that contains a lot of present perfect tenses. He
makes a work sheet where some of the present perfect tenses are blanked out
and as the learners listen to the song they try to fill in the gaps. The teacher then
asks for the answers and asks the learners why the present perfect tense is used
and not the past tense. He elicits (or explains if necessary) the use and form of
the present perfect tense.
For an example of a song using the present perfect tense form presentation
purposes see Cambridge English Course, Book 2 , Unit 7A I’ve never been to
Athens.
Your mark
The teacher draws a time line on the board, representing the sentence I have
seen her as the dotted line [ ------------------- ] on the diagram below. He tells the
class that it is placed between PAST and NOW, the present perfect used for an
unspecified time: I saw her, but I don’t tell you when or where so I use the
present perfect tense.
Your mark
3 READING
ENGLISH A Very good Ursula has worked hard this term and
received high marks in her tests. Well done! P.B
MATHS B Ursula has had a good term; she has worked very
hard and has improved a lot. J.O
SPORT B Ursula has enjoyed her dance classes this term and
has done very well. She has also done very well in
gymnastics. P.W
Read Ursula’s report. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
7 She has
8 She has
Your mark
The teacher puts some objects on a desk in front of the class : a briefcase, some
books, a cup of coffee, a piece of chalk and some objects from the learners in the
class. He then asks the class to close their eyes or turn round for a few seconds
and quickly moves some objects. He asks the class , What have I moved? And
tries to elicit examples of the present perfect using, You have moved from them.
For example, You have moved the coffee, You have moved the blue book.
He writes examples of the sentences that he has elicited on the blackboard.
Your mark
5 PERSONALISATION
The teacher writes up the names of 5 people he knows on the board. He tells the
class about each of the five people using a present perfect tense with just for
each one. For example, My son has just started school or My friend Alex has
just gone to Miami on holiday. He writes the 5 sentences on the board ,
explaining that if we use just and the present perfect tense, and we don’t say
exactly when, it means that something has happened in the very recent past.
He explains the third person form of the present perfect tense (has plus the past
participle) and asks the learners to write down the names of 5 people they know.
The learners then try to use the present perfect tense writing about the 5 people
in their lives, using the present perfect tense and just. The learners then get into
groups to tell each other about what they have written.
Your mark
6 EXPLAINING DIRECTLY
He gives some examples to illustrate, for i) I have been to America and for ii)
She has lived in Lima for 5 years.
Your mark
The teacher gives out the table below asking learners to work in pairs and ask
and answer the questions. The learners are familiar with the vocabulary in the
table but not with the present perfect tense. He does a few examples with
individual learners first.
an elephant?
your great-grandmother ?
a TV programme about dolphins? No. I haven’t
a UFO?
Have you ever seen a shooting star ?
the Mediterranean Sea?
Rio de Janeiro harbour ? Yes , I have
etc
The teacher gradually elicits the present perfect tense questions by asking his
class, What question did I ask you ?. Some learners will reproduce her question
with prompting . The teacher eventually writes on the blackboard:
Your mark
8 DISCOVERING
The teacher asks the learners to look at a reading passage which they have
studied before as a reading text. The learners then guess in groups which of the
following sentences (a) to (g) are grammatically correct (C) or incorrect (I) and
circle the letter C or I next to each sentence.
Learners then complete the two substitution tables below. If they have problems,
the teacher supplies them with the words have and has , but does not tell the
learners where to place the words until they have tried for themselves. This gives
this activity an element of discovery learning
After the learners have completed the table, the teacher asks them to correct the
original incorrect sentences (a) to (g). He checks their answers.
Your mark
9 USING A CHART
The teacher asks different learners in the class, Have you been to Britain ? or ,
Have you been to Venezuela? Completing the row by ticking (3) the appropriate
box as the learners give their answers. Once the chart is complete without about
5 learners he asks the class what question he was asking. He then writes his
question on the board and gives a short explanation of the form of the present
perfect tense and the question form. He rubs the ticks off the board. Learners
then copy the empty table into their notebooks leaving space for 5 names and
ticks. They then ask each other the question Have you been to ………..? and tick
the appropriate boxes in their tables. Afterwards they write 5 sentences in their
notebooks about the five people they interviewed (for example , Alicia has been
to Spain and Venezuela ,but she hasn’t been to the USA)
Your mark
10 ELICITING
The teacher tells his class what he has done this morning: I’ve had my breakfast.
I’ve said goodbye to my children. I’ve drunk two cups of coffee. I’ve driven to
school. (etc). He writes on the board, What have you done this morning? And
then asks individual this question gradually eliciting present perfect sentences. If
the learners make mistakes he corrects them gently. He slowly builds up correct
present perfect sentences on the board (I’ve fed my dog, I’ve eaten some bread)
He then points out that the present perfect tense is used for unspecified past time
– if the time in the past when an event happened is not mentioned the present
perfect tense is often used.
Your mark
Your mark
12 DICTOGLOSSS
The teacher writes a short paragraph about his life using the past tense (which it
is assumed the learners have already seen and the present perfect tense which
may be new to the learners). e.g:
The teacher reads this passage once at normal speed and tells the learners to
just listen and not to try to write anything. When he has finished reading the
teacher tells the students to write down anything they can remember, any date,
any fact. The teacher then reads the passage again at normal speed and asks
the learners to get into groups and to try to reconstruct the passage exactly.
When learners have tried to do this the teacher takes an OHT transfer and slowly
reveals the passage to the learners.* The teacher then asks using the present
perfect tense:
How long have I worked in Bogotà?
The student then write paragraphs about their own life and compare them in
groups.
* If you use an OHT transfer it is a good idea to reveal the text slowly line by line
by putting a piece of paper over the transfer and slowly pulling it down so that
learners are able to check exactly what they have written against the original text.
It is also more exciting and hence more motivating to reveal the text in this way. If
you do not have an overhead projector the text can be written out on a piece of
cardboard which can then be stuck to the board with sellotape. Another piece of
cardboard can then be stuck over the first one and this piece of cardboard can be
slowly pulled down to reveal the text bit by bit just as with an OHT transfer.
Your mark
TASK 2
1 If you were introducing the present perfect tense for the first time, which of the
eleven presentation techniques would you use? (You may choose to combine
two or three of them)
TASK 3
Read the passage below on form and use, and then do the task which follows.
Form means the grammatical form of an item and the rules for it. For example
does a word have an s at the end ? When do we add –ed to the end of a verb
and when not? What is the word order of a question ? When do you use do and
when do you use did in a question. Form also includes phonology.
Use deals with the context. When or where is an item used ? To discover the use
of an item , ask yourself, In which situation is an item used in natural
communication? For example one use of the present simple tense is for
describing actions that people do every day (I get up at 7.30), so in your
presentation for the present simple tense you might include a natural situation
where a person is telling someone else what they do every day, such as a
learner writing to a new penfriend , telling her about a typical day at his school.
In the 12 presentations in task 1 the form and use were both presented. But
which use of the present perfect tense was presented in each one ?
Complete the table below with the use of the present perfect which was
presented in each case . Two examples are done for you.
3 Reading •
4 Using realia •
5 Personalisation •
6 Explaining directly •
9 Using a chart •
10 Eliciting •
11 Comparing Spanish •
and English
12 Dictogloss •
Commentary
5 Personalisation used with just to talk about something that has happened in the
very recent past
6 Explaining directly unspecified time in the past and something started in the
past which is still true now
7 Practising and presenting questions and tag questions; general questions in the
past with ever.
8 Discovering unspecified time in the past and something which started in the
past and is still true now.
12 Dictogloss something which began in the past and is still true now.
Task 4
Section D – Practice
Task 1
Commentary
We should try use grammar practice activities in the classroom that incorporate
these communicative features most of the time. There are, of course, non-
communicative practice activities that are also useful, for example drilling.
Task 2
The terms controlled practice and freer practice are often used when
discussing practice activities. What do you understand by these terms?
If possible discuss your answers with a colleague and note down your ideas.
Commentary
CONTROLLED FREE
Task 3
There are two activities here. Where would you place them on the above
continuum?
Activity 1
Complete these sentences with the past simple or the present perfect.
1. David Beckham ________ (play) for Real Madrid for 34 years.
2. He ___________ (move) to Spain with his family in 2002.
3. etc
Activity 2
Write a fan letter to your favourite English football player. Tell him a little
about yourself and why you like his team.
Commentary
Both these activities give the learners an opportunity to use language but in
different ways. 1 is very controlled and would be placed on the far left on the
continuum. Activity 2 is almost entirely free and would be placed quite far
right on the continuum. Many of the activities we do in the classroom would
however be placed between these two.
Task 4
On the next page, you will find eight activities from four different lessons.
A) Read through the activities carefully and try to complete the table below:
In column 1 identify the target language (the language point that the class in
working on)
In column 2 identify the activity the teacher chose to provide accuracy
focussed controlled practice
In column 3 identify the activity the teacher chose to provide fluency focussed
freer practice
B) Where would you place these activities on the controlled/free continuum?
C) Are all the activities communicative?
A B C D
Find someone who... Students bring in family photos. Give groups students a map of Divide the class in two groups.
Go/Cali _______ Students work in groups. They Colombia. They discuss where Assign one group the city Bogota
Live/outside Bogota ________ spread the photos on the floor they have and haven’t been. and the other group Medellin.
Eat/ants _______ and discuss them. Each group notes down why their
Swim/Pacific Ocean _______ city is better than the other.
Go/Miami _______ Then have a debate between the
groups.
E F G H
In grid of 9 boxes, sts draw Students work in groups of 3. Students do a mini-survey. They Students draw a picture of the
important people in their life, 3 They each have a set of place each ask 4 students about their school they attended. In pairs
women, 3 men, 3 families. Sts cards (Cali, Tunja, etc) and a set childhood, (live/look like/watch on students discuss their childhood
swap with their partner, ask and of adjective cards (cold, big, TV/hate eating). routines.
fill in (who/where live/what do/ green, quiet, etc). In turn sts
old). pick up 2 place cards and 1
adjective card. They make
sentences comparing the places
using the adjective.
Commentary
Comparative adjectives F D
Task 4
Now think of a controlled practice activity and a freer practice activity for the
following language points. Make sure the activities are communicative.
When you have finished, post you ideas on the website forum for others to
comment on. If possible, do this task with a colleague.
Task 5
Task 1
Think about the following statements and note down your ideas. If possible,
discuss these with a partner.
1. Grammar is too difficult for children and it should not be taught in youn
learner classes.
2. Young learners need to be taught grammar in order to communicate
effectively.
3. Grammar is the most important part of a language.
4. If we do not focus on form in the young learner classroom then our pupils
will learn inaccurate rules.
Task 2
References
Good OK Poor
Good OK Poor
Good OK Poor
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