Учебное пособие: The English grammar

The meaning

The exact meaning(s) you are concentrating on. This is particularly important to consider if a structure can be used to perform more than one function. For example, the past simple tense can be used to talk about the past (Last year I was in China ), to ask a question politely (What was it you wanted? ), to report what someone has said (Mary said it was her birthday tomorrow ).

2 The use

How and when the language item is appropriately used: in what contexts, by which people, on which occasions? Is the structure widely used in a range of contexts and situations or does it have a more restricted use? For example, compare Would you like to come to the cinema on Saturday? (an invitation) and Would you come with me? (an instruction).

3 Potential problems

o Are there any special difficulties related to the structure’s form or meaning? An example of a difficult form is should not have had , as in I shouldn’t have had that third piece of cake – with its number of ‘parts’ and the double name. There may be difficulties of pronunciation, depending on the first language of your students. Structures which contain problematic sounds such as /ə/ or /θ/ will need special attention. An example of a difficulty of meaning is needn’t have + past participle, especially when confused with didn’t need to : or I used to do … and I was used to doing …

o Can the language structure be confused with any other item in English, or with an item in the students’ mother tongue?

How do you decide what approach to take?

Once you have decided what structure to teach, the way you aid the students’ understanding and practice the language can depend on a number of factors:

o Whether the structure is completely new, is familiar to at least some of the students but has not been focused on before, or has been presented before and is now being revised. Generally, the less familiar the language item the more controlled practice you need;

o the nature of the language: for example, whether it is the meaning and use or the form which is complex. The use of the present perfect is difficult to grasp for man students (I’ve been here since 3 o‘clock – where in many languages it would be I am here since 3 o’clock ). On the other hand, it is the complexity of the form rather than the meaning of the third conditional, with its many ‘parts’, which generally causes difficulty (If my alarm clock hadn’t been broken I wouldn’t have been late for the lecture );

o Whether the structure is more likely to be written or spoken. Some structures are mainly found in the written form and do not lend themselves to spoken practice activities – for example, this sentence from a formal letter: I enclose ((the invoice/brochure/estimate ). On the other hand, the students need practice in saying such utterances as It’s a great (party/day/show), isn’t it?

o the student:

- their level;

- their age;

- whether you can or want to use their mother tongue for explanation;

- the attitude of the group – how confident the students are, whether they feel they already ‘know’ the language item, etc;

- their language-learning background and expectations of how language is presented – whether, for example, they expect ‘traditional’ teacher-centered approach;

- Their preferred language-learning style – for example, some students like to study grammar in an overt way while others (particularly children) are not interested in talking about the language and using such labels as gerund or demonstrative adjective .

What approaches can be used to present or revise language structure?

There are a number of different approaches. The factors mentioned in the previous section will help you decide what kind of approach to take – different ways may be suitable, depending on the students and the language being dealt with. One of the ways in which the approaches differ is in the amount and type of practice activities used: for certain language items and with certain students much more controlled practice is required, whereas on other occasions the practice can be freer. It’s also important to remember that a variety of approach is interesting and motivating for students – so it’s a good idea to try to vary the ways you present and practise language.

Visual/oral contexts

Pictures, mime and realia can be used to illustrate the meaning and to establish a context in which the target structure is set. Often the context is built up orally by the teacher with the help of visual aids and elicitation from the students.

Example

To present:

Structure : past simple – some irregular verbs: went, had, fell, broke, took, was/were

Function/use : telling a story/anecdote (about a skiing accident)

Visual aids : a postcard of a ski resort and a series of hand-drawn pictures showing ‘me’, the teacher (I went skiing/I fell/ I broke my leg/ They took me to hospital/ I was in hospital for Christmas ) and the scar on the teacher’s leg!

The teacher can introduce the topic by showing the postcard and asking if any of the students know the resort, etc, and by establishing that this happened in the past – last year, just before Christmas.