Introduction and Context:
Scenario 3 describes a group of middle-aged beginner students who are struggling to learn the ‘subject-verb’ agreement for the verb ‘to be’ and use this in simple sentences to describe family members. Some are hesitant to write because they are afraid of making mistakes. This activity is designed to incorporate repetitive tasks of subject/verb conjugation in a relaxed, non-judgmental environment with games to help learners become more comfortable. The learner-centered teaching approach is Communitive Language Teaching, shallow-ended (CLT-SE) which is an inductive approach with a focus on form (Thornbury 1999 pg. 22-24). Utilizing ‘noticing‘ and ‘chunking’ of the language (pro)noun/verb helps the combination become more automatic and less formidable to use.
Materials:
Whiteboard and colored markers. Paper and pencil for students.
Proposed grammar activity:
Part 1: ‘What/who am I’ game?
Tell students that we are going to play a guessing game. Write descriptions on the board and then read with the class. Ask the students to guess who or what it describes in the class. Write the answers beside the sentence.
Eg. It is red. It is round. It is good to eat. What is it? (Answer: It is an apple.)
Eg. He is tall. He is a father. He is a good driver. Who is it? (Answer: He is Ahmed.)
Eg. She is a baker. She is a mother. She is a grandmother. Who is it? (Answer: She is Maria.)
Eg. We are funny. We are smart. We are many. Who are we? (Answer: We are our class.)
Eg. I am a teacher. I am a woman. I am happy. Who is it? (Answer: She is the teacher.)
Noticing and Chunking (Inductive learning):
Have students pair off with person next to them to think about and discuss the following (one at a time) and asks for volunteers to answer, turning back to the whole group to report each time):
1) Ask the students what is the same in the three sentences of an examples? Then using their answers box off the subject/verb in a color-coded box.
2) Why do these words go together all the time? (who and what have to match with the verb)
3) In an example have volunteers come up and box the subject/verb combination and rest of sentence in other examples using color coded boxes.
4) What pronoun or name can we replace he, she or it with? (names of things or people) Does the verb change? (Examples: Ahmed is tall. The apple is red. Ask for other examples like this.)
5) Do you remember any others that go together? What about the verb for ‘they’ and ‘you’? Write student answers on the board and ask for consensus on the correct answers.
6) Ask for the pair groups to try and make up one set of questions for guessing, like the example, and use these in the game to continue.
7) Optional: For further repetition to enhance learning: the game in the appendix can be used and repeated over the week with several different sets and moved around the groups.
Rationale:
This activity utilizes the instructional method of Communicative Language Teaching shallow-ended (CLT-SE) (Thornbury 1999, pg. 22). This is an inductive method that provides both for experiential learning and the 'discovery' of the language, focusing on form and critical thinking. This draw attention to the rules of grammar, and then allows application of them. Some guidance with rules of the language provide a scaffold for learning the language. It is a more balanced approach in learning and encompasses a wider range of the way individual students learn.
In this activity the students are asked to ‘notice’ the language form (conjugation of ‘to be’), so students retain it from samples of writing. ‘Chunking’ of language (groups of words) is used to help learners remember more easily (Conti 2017). The activity chunks the conjugation of the subject/ verb to help remember. The repetition helps so that they think of the words together instead of remembering the pronoun/noun and verb separately.
Re-focusing the learning to a more fun, game-like lesson and with pair groups, may help students reduce their fear of making mistakes, build confidence and increase learning by ensuring they are in a non-judgmental environment.
Summary of Research
CMT can liven up classes and generate interest in the class when they are actively involved in discovering and using the language (Bowens and Strawbridge n.d.). My mentor teacher uses it regularly and suggests it is a ‘common sense’ approach that works well, especially for students who may be afraid of making mistakes (P. MacRae personal communication May 28, 2020).
Thornbury (1999) suggests noticing and chunking of the grammar words helps learners remember and feel more comfortable with its application in communication. MacRae uses this technique regularly and also suggests it is especially important because there is no corresponding verb in many L1s and it helps with memory and automaticity (P. MaRae personal communication May 28, 2020).
Gamification is a useful technique in CMT (Smith 2019; ONTESOL n.d.). Older adults often have more difficulty remembering, and sometimes need much more repetition in order to retain information (Justa 2018). Teaching verbs takes time, and results are sometimes slow, and much repetition is needed (Smith 2019). Therefore, the repetition in the game is useful for learning. The optional game activity can also be used repetitively over the course of the week to reinforce the learning. MacRae also adds it is good “for developing the ability to use the academic foundation skills of analysis and sorting (including visual organizing, such as boxing and colour-coding) as a means to retain information (P. MaRae personal communication May 28, 2020).
Older adults feel more comfortable in smaller groups than having to respond in large group settings (Joyce B. n.d.), so this may be part of their apprehension about making mistakes. Using pairs of students to discuss the questions in the activity allows the opportunity to self-check with a partner before replying in large group. MacRae suggests “the quality of the relationship between a student and those with whom they are interacting” is most important for comfort levels, and we must work hard to create good relationships (P. MaRae personal communication May 28, 2020.
References:
Bowens, T. & Strawbridge, J. (n.d.) Get ’em Talking: Communicative Language Teaching Lesson
Plan Ideas for Any Classroom. Fluentu. Retrieved May 28 2020 from
Conti, G. (2017, April 23). Why you should change your approach to grammar instruction.
change-your-approach-to- grammar-instruction/
Joyce B. (n.d.) What every teacher should know about reaching older learners. Busy Teacher.
Retrieved (March 28, 2020) from: https://busyteacher.org/10791-how-to-teach-older-learners.html
Justa (2018) My tips for teaching English to senior learners (60+). ESL Brains. Retrieved from:
ONTESOL (n.d.) How to use the communicative approach. Retrieved May 28 2020 from:
Smith, Q. (2019) Teaching verbs: 5 Activities to improve your ESL lessons. ESL
Authority. Retrieved from:https://eslauthority.com/resources/tips/teaching-verbs/
Thornbury, S. (1999). How to teach grammar. Essex, UK: Pearson Education Limited
Appendix:
Optional Flashcard Game (application of knowledge to extend the activity)
This game applies the rules of conjugation that the students have just ‘noticed’. The activity is done in pairs or threes. The students create sentences describing a series of given pictures of people and objects. They use word flashcards with color coded noun/pronoun, verbs and adjectives/descriptors. Each sentence would need a green red and yellow element.
(eg. He is a father. She is small. They are happy. Anna is a mother. She is a doctor./ The doctor is a woman. The ball isblue.) On the back of the picture are possible answers. Give an example before starting.
Examples:
Possible answers: He is a father. She is small.
Possible answers: The woman is a doctor. The doctor is a woman.
Use a generic board game path and dice for the students to work through. Taking turns, they roll the dice, and move the number of spaces if they get the answer correct. If wrong, they can ask for help from their partners.
Formative assessment: Watch the groups as they are making the sentences to see their progress, and any difficulties.
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