teaching-tips-youmove
09.02.2012
Lessons 57 & 58
Por Fábio Santos.
LESSON 57: ALL AT THE SAME TIME
This is a lesson that shows your students when and how to use the Simple Past and the Past Continuous. It’s rarely a big deal but there are certain precautions that need to be taken in order to ensure a job well done.
When you’re correcting Etapa 3, for instance, don’t just label sentences as right or wrong, but ask them questions to make sure they understand the concept of continuity. Here’s what I mean: if a student came up with a sentence like, “Between 10 and 11 a.m. I was calling my girlfriend,” would you say he got it right or wrong? Wrong, naturally. In this particular sentence, CALL does not lend itself to continuity. You either called your girlfriend or you didn’t, period. You must then guide your students to conclude that “Between 10 and 11 a.m. I was talking to my girlfriend on the phone” makes a whole lot more sense.
If you do things right, then Interaction will work like a charm. Be very particular about their use of WHILE and WHEN. Although the TG tells you correcting Etapa 3 is as good as modeling the activity, don’t take things for granted and, guess what? Model it again, involving them in the process, asking them to help you out with your constructions, testing possibilities and hypothesis and what not. Ask them stuff like, “Can I use WHILE here? No? Why not?” and so on. Make sure you demand a little more from your higher level students: paragraphs instead of sentences out of context. Chances are, if you don’t, they’ll find the activity dull and their participation unchallenged.
Your Closing should be easy and smooth, provided you did everything you needed to before you got to it. Most likely, your students will be at ease and willing to talk about today’s class. If that is not the case, however, share a couple of your own stories—from when you were a student—to motivate them and get them going.
And that’s that.
LESSON 58: SCARY SITUATIONS
Here’s an extension of last class. Your students will have another go at WHEN and WHILE, among other very important things, like the Simple Past and all.
Much like you did last class, correct Etapa 3 making sure you ask them questions to verify that they understand which actions are continuous and which are not. Ask them questions even if their sentences are perfectly all right. They might be all right because they got the point, but, then again, it could be beginner’s luck. If you talk to them—and give them a chance to talk to you—about their sentences, then you can do no wrong.
Today’s Interaction is a miming game, and in my experience, even students who resist the idea at first, end up surrendering to the fun. This activity presents them with a chance to practice verb forms, to deal with WHEN and WHILE again, as well as acquire vocabulary. All through observation and collaboration. All you have to do is model the activity right and make sure they come up with meaningful sentences before you let them take command. Next, sit back and enjoy the ride. Oh, and take notes, of course. Please.
It is now time to help them cool down a bit. After all the action and the excitement, it’s time to talk about the learning experience that this game has provided. Remember: the Closing is yours and their opportunity to assess their progress, their feelings towards it, and their needs. Take the chance to emphasize the importance of thorough class preparation and you’re done. Next, cover their assignments—instructions AND modeling, remember—and that’s that.
Have a great class.
1 COMENTÁRIOS
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16.02.2012 | 15H02
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Livia - YM Barra Funda
I feel like my students are teaching this class and it's fun fun. They always get involved in miming and writing on the board.
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Second Language Acquisition Research
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