|
Communicative
Activities for Teaching Grammar (and One Big Mistake to Avoid)
John Brezinsky, Higher
Education
Marketing Manager
If you're like
most grammar teachers, you don't have a lot of time to invent new
exercises. Here's a set of 22 photocopiable activities for you to
download and use in your next lesson, suggestions for using them, and
one mistake to avoid.
The Activities
Click here
for the activities. They include less controlled and free practice of
Present Simple and Present Progressive. The best time to use them is
after students have had plenty of controlled practice and are ready for
some fluency-building work.
Suggestions for Using Communicative Activities
- Mix
it up—Students will appreciate a variety of activity types. Doing
a "Find someone who..." exercise one time is fun. Doing one every class
is boring.
- Get
students moving—Even adults need physical activity while
learning. Take every opportunity to rearrange groups, regularly switch
partners, or send student around the classroom.
- Take
notes—Listen in to your students' use of target grammar while
they complete the activity, but only interrupt if a student is
consistently making the same mistake over and over. You can give
feedback to the whole class after the activity is over.
Big Mistake!!
Don't run out of time! These activities include an estimate for how
long they take, but the estimates do not include time for set-up or
instructions. A great 20-minute role play can become a rushed and
unsuccessful exercise in frustration if you don't budget enough time
for getting everyone going. How long will it take to put students in
groups? To distribute the materials? To go through instructions? Get
the most out of these activities by setting aside enough time for them.
Want Some More?
These activities come from Fun with Grammar, by Suzanne Woodward, and were designed for the Azar-Hagen Grammar Series. You can download the entire book for free from www.azargrammar.com
Want Even More?
Talk to your Pearson Longman representative about the Azar-Hagen Grammar Series, or request a free copy using this form.
|
