My third practice with the group was satisfactory, as I developed lots of activities. In order to engage students and diagnose whether they knew about simple present & present continuous, I used daily routines flashcards, asking what the people were doing and then to turn that answer into a simple present statement. They quickly got a general idea, answered chorally when I asked and the warm-up served its purpose effectively.
I gave a concise grammar explanation, contrasting both tenses for the class. I talked about their most common uses, and converted sentences from one tense to another, so the difference would be clarified. I also gave them tips for them to differentiate gerunds from present progressive.
Students worked on a multiple-choice reading activity, in which they were to circle the right option, choosing between simple present or present continuous according to the context. They got most answers right, and I explained those cases that were more troublesome.
I combined a TPR activity: "miming" with "guessing". The class got in pairs and got one strip of paper containing a prompt like "to walk". Then one of them would mimic and the partner had to guess the action by using the present progressive: "you are walking". Furthermore, they wrote a sentence using the same prompt, but in simple present tense.
Then, I wrote two possible discussion topics on the board, and they were to discuss using the two tenses from the class. I tried to relate the topic to national context: "What is happening at the Coatepeque lake?", and the other question was: "What are your parents doing right now/what to they do on their daily routine?".
Some new vocabulary was introduced as usual, using synonyms, providing definition, explanation of meaning, writing example sentences on the board, etc. In conclusion, the teaching dynamic is alright with this group, and I intend the last class with them to be a meaningful experience as well.
It is pretty important to use visual aids in the class and in that way, students get the things better. For example when you are going to introduce new words, instead of using L1, you can use flashcards. It is also very important that you are concerned with the things happening in our country, especially in Coatepeque's lake. The topic perfectly suited with the grammar you were explaining.
ResponderEliminarI like when you combine and contrast the tenses because it makes students develop their critical thinking. In this way, you can see if students have understood. I think you are working hard, and that is why you are getting good results. Congrats!
ResponderEliminarA class in which you convine techniques and you use flashcards, tends to be more meaningful for the students.You stop them from getting confused when you have them contrast two tenses. They love TPR activities and it's good that you develop those fun activities. I think that English teaching is great because we can learn as we have fun.
ResponderEliminar