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OUTCOMES

From this lesson you will be able to:

understand other students experiences o learning a second language

understand the use o time phrases in simple present and simple past tenses.

understand the use o the simple present and simple past tense

identiy word orm and grammar errors

write about your experiences as language learners using simple present andsimple past tenses with appropriate time phrases.

Learning a new language: other students experiences

Listening

Listen to these six students talking about their experiences oflearning a second language. In their responses, there are someword form and grammatical mistakes.Identify, record and correct the mistakes in the chart below. One

has been done for you.

Student Wrong form Grammar error

1 exciting

(excited)

2

3

4

5

6

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Grammar

Tenses: Simple past and simple present

1. Look at the transcripts for the first three students.1. Identify the verbs they use.2. Are the verbs in the correct tense for their purpose?

Student 1When I started learning English two years ago I elt very worry about to learn anew language. But I soon got used to the working.

Student 2I was a little worried about it at rst because it was a lot o work and I was anxiousabout being passing. But it was an importance chance or me.

Student 3I want to exploring Australia, so last year I started learning English. At the start Ielt a little scary because English is dicult sometimes, and I had to work hard.

The student speakers in the listening are talking about past events, e.g. when they started learning a secondlanguage. The correct verb tense to use in this context is simple past tense.We use the simple past tense to talk about many kinds of past events: short, quickly finished actions andhappenings, longer situations, and repeated events, e.g.:John broke a window last night.He moved into the house in 1985.I spent all of my childhood in Australia.The simple past is common in story-telling and when we are telling people about past events, e.g.:One day the princess decided that she didnt like staying home, so she told her father that shewanted to get a jobThe simple past is often used with references to finished periods and moments of time, e.g.:I saw John yesterday morning. He told meIn general, the simple past tense is the normal tense for talking about the past; we use it if we donot have a special reason for using one of the other past tenses.

Using time phrases

One of the keys to correct tense usage is understanding which time expressions or indi-cators are used with which tenses.The following time phrases are used with the simplepast tense to indicate an event that was completed in the past.period of time + agoShe moved to Sydney three years ago.They visited their parents two weeks ago.last week / month / year / April, June, etc.Tim began university last month.Jennifer started her course last April.yesterday / last night / the day before yesterdayWe saw that new film the day before yesterday.She had lunch with Tony yesterday afternoon.at first / in the beginningIt was easy for me at first2. Identify the time phrases used with the simple past tense by the first three speakers.

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3. Look at the transcripts for the second three students.1. Identify the verbs they use.2. Are the verbs in the correct tense for their purpose?

Student 1When I started learning English two years ago I elt very worry about to learn anew language. But I soon got used to the working.

Student 2I was a little worried about it at rst because it was a lot o work and I was anxiousabout being passing. But it was an importance chance or me.

Student 3I want to exploring Australia, so last year I started learning English. At the start I

elt a little scary because English is dicult sometimes, and I had to work hard.

Simple Past Tense

The simple present tense is used to describe:habitual actions (e.g., I usually start lessons at 8.30am. / I always brush my teeth in the morning).

personal facts (e.g., I study English in my home. I am a student)facts which indicate general truth (e.g., English is the most common second language.)

Using time phrases

Notice that we often use usually sometimes or always when describing habitual ac-tions. Other time signals can be used to indicate repetition:every day, each morning, in the morning, on Mondaysand frequency:twice a month, monthly, annually

5. Identify the time phrases used with the present simple tense by the second threespeakers.

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Grammar

1. For each of the following sentences, choose the correct tensefor the verb.

When I (begin/began) studying last year, I (am/was) nervous about how long it would take to nish the course.I (receive/received) the brochure two weeks ago. I (like/liked) the course and so I (enrol/enrolled) straight away.I still (ound/nd) it dicult to study beyond 10 oclock as I usually (get/got) tired by then.At rst I (nd/ound) it dicult to manage my time because I (have/had) a job in a supermarket, but afer I (leave/lef) myjob, it (becomes/became) a lot easier to nd time to study.

I (pass/passed) all o my nal exams so now I (can/could) look orward to being a translator.I always (do/did) my studying beore dinner. Tat way I usually (have/had) time to relax aferwards.

Writing

Your own experiences of learning a second language

1. Think about your own experiences of learning a second lan-guage then write sentences that answer these questions. Use timephrases to support your verb tenses.How did you feel at the beginning?

How do you feel now?Do you think your experiences are common to all students?2. Discuss your answers with a partner.