Unit 4 - Practising Grammar

[Magda Fenarova]

Task No.1
Yes there are many games which are used to practise grammar, to make practise activities more interesting and motivating for students.
I like "Find somebody who". Have you ever visited + different countries?
after Christmas - Have you eaten carp? + other questions about Christmas
Did you .... at the weekend?
Do you + everyday routine, interests, sport...
Sometimes I do not organize it Find somebody who, but just answer the questions with your partner, report about your partner.
I like using diggerent quizes, crosswords etc.
It is necesssary ti make the lesson more enjoyable, more interesting
Task No.2
i very often use pair work (more than group work, my experience, students do not want to speak in a group, some of them can relax), or work in three people. After a set time I ask some of the students, I do not ask about them, but about their partners, so everybody has to talk in the pair. If there is an exercise in our coursebook good for personalising we do it, the best way is to talk about our own experience. For teachers it is necessary to know something about students, their families, friends adn hobbies, plans etc. When we star a similar exercise I can start answering questions, students should know something about me as well.
E.g. At the weekend I did.... What did you do at the weekend? Practising past simple (was/were, regular, irregular forms, ..).
Very often I use gap-filling exercise, correcting mistakes exercise (more difficult), which are written productive-practise exercises. Feedback is usually organized in pairs first, then class checking.

[Admin]

Hi Magda, thanks for doing the tasks. Yes, Find someone who.. is an excellent way to practise a particular grammar item. Usually it is done as a milling exercise, with everybody on their feet, changing partners repeatedly. This can also be a disadvantage, especially adult students who come to English class after work may prefer a less energetic activity! But if it isn't overused this can be fun and useful.
You then say that sometimes you don't organise it, you just get students to ask the questions in pairs. I totally agree with that, there is no better language practice than putting students in pairs with a couple of questions to answer. However the nice thing about Find someone who.. is that there is a definite task they must achieve, which helps to focus the practice on the target language.
You could do something similar in the pairwork. For example the instructions could be: "In your pairs ask each other the following questions: How do you get to work? How long does it take? etc. Find similarities in your journey to work. Report the similarities to the class like this: We both....... "
By providing the students with a definite task, or a reason why they are asking the questions, rather than just having a chat, the activity is more focused, less aimless, there is less chance of students getting off the language aim.
You also say you like to use quizzes and crosswords to practise grammar. Can you give us an example? Seems to me that crosswords are more useful for practising vocab, or am I wrong?
Take care and see you again soon,
Piet