7/27/2019 Producing Your Own Grammar Activities

1/2

Producing your own grammar activities

teachingenglish.org.uk /print/3253

Producing your own grammar activities

Submitted by TE Editor on 9 December, 2008 - 10:23

There are many ways of revising and consolidating grammar, but I've found it's often useful to give students shortpassages containing grammar mistakes which are characteristic of the student's level, nationality, and what the

teacher may have identified as areas of particular strength or weakness.

What kind of grammar?

I've been teaching in Italy for several years, and Italians characteristically use the Present Perfect to describe the

past. Thus, Yesterday, I have bought a new computer,' is a very typical mistake, even for Italian-speakers at an

upper-intermediate level, because it's a direct translation from the Italian to English. I've used the example passage

included below, (Carl Smith'), with many intermediate level Italian students. It contains several instances where

Present Perfect is used erroneously instead of the simple past. The intention is not to catch the student out, but to

identify and focus attention on areas of difficulty which may still be problematic.

Other characteristic and problematic grammar points at this level for Italian speakers include the use ofgoing toand present continuous to describe plans and intentions, rather than will, the position of ad jectives before the

noun, the use of articles, comparative and superlative constructions: as...as...etc, conditional

st ructures - which are constructed and used somewhat differently in Italian, and, of course, verbs with irregular

past f orms. These problems are universal, but as I say they often present particular difficulties for Italian speakers

at the intermediate level, (and above)

Use your imagination!

Writing these kinds of passages can be good fun and an opportunity for the teacher to exercise her/his creative

writing talents. Use your imagination: write about yourself, Britain, your country, someone you know, customise what

you write to fit the needs and personal characteristics of the student, but remember to keep it relatively simple: it's a

grammar test, not Middlemarch'. Keep the subject matter familiar and close to home, and the vocabulary

straightforward - if the student is struggling to understand the sense of the text, the obstacle is probab ly one of

general comprehension, not grammar. If you don't feel confident enough to write your own materials, why not try

setting your students a composition for homework, compiling their most frequent mistakes and then creating a

template from work they have produced for you.

Range and appropriateness

It should go without saying that it's necessary to keep the grammar within the appropriate range: don't invent'

grammar mistakes which are totally out of keeping with the mistakes students usually make in the normal run of

things. Also, it's probably not a good idea to introduce an erroneous third conditional structure into a passage

you're intending to use with an elementary group. By the same token, if you've got advanced level students, it's

probably better to assume they already know to add s' to the end of verbs in the third person when using simple

present.

Harry Gibson is a teacher for about ten years and he is working in typical comprehensive school near of Manchester....'

Good.

Harry the Gibson will has been of going to went a school hence Manchester...'

Probably a bit to much

How to use the passage

The passages can be used by students working alone, or in pairs or small groups. Set a time limit - I usually allow

a maximum of fifteen minutes, reinforcing the need to keep things relatively simple. These are essentially revision

exercises - not a way o f trying to introduce students to new grammar. At the end of the exercise, go through thepassage with the student(s), correct the mistakes they've overlooked, re-teach stuff you think it's necessary for them

to have learned by that point in the course, refer them to the appropriate unit in the grammar book - if you're using

one to supplement the course.

Conclusion

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/print/3253

7/27/2019 Producing Your Own Grammar Activities

2/2

From experience, I've learned to limit these exercises to a couple of hundred words, and to insert between twenty to

thirty grammar mistakes into each passage. I've used these exercises at the beginning of courses in order to test

levels, identify particular areas of grammatical difficulty, as warmers at the beginning of lessons as a way of revising

and consolidating grammar, as progress tests, and most particularly as homework exercises. Students like them,

and given the choice they often ask me for one of these passages instead of a piece of writing, or exercises from

the workbook etc - especially if you can exercise your imagination and perhaps introduce a bit of humour.

Written by David Done

British Council, 10 Spring Gardens, London SW1A 2BN, UK

BBC World Service, Bush House, Strand, London WC2B 4PH, UK