Many moons in the past, I wrote a publish on the tenses and points I imagine English language learners ought to dedicate probably the most consideration to. One of many 4 tense points I nominated was the current excellent steady. With the significance of the current excellent progressive in thoughts, I’d prefer to share three current excellent steady workout routines which lecturers can simply implement within the classroom. These workout routines will allow college students to totally internalise the current excellent steady tense by way of talking and interplay.
Current Good Steady Workout routines to make use of with teams of scholars within the classroom
Listed here are three current excellent steady workout routines which lecturers of English can use with teams of scholars from intermediate degree to superior. All supplies and options, or doable options, might be discovered underneath the directions. They will also be present in this downloadable PDF.
Train 1. Explaining Current Experience or Data – Interviews
- I + have/’ve been + [present participle (root form of verb + -ing)] For instance:
I’ve been studying German for 10 years - Clarify to college students that one main use of the current excellent steady is to attract consideration to the repeated or steady nature of an motion or behavior which leads to current experience or data
- Define a number of job alternatives on the board. Every occupation requires a couple of space of experience. For instance: Tour information in Rome / English trainer at a summer time college for 7-9 yr olds in China / Copywriter for coaches (e.g. life coaches, well being coaches) / Waiter/waitress in a espresso home
- Put college students in pairs/teams of three. Inform them that they are going to be competing towards one another for the job they’re given
- Assign one job alternative to every group and provides them 5 minutes to make notes based mostly on a set of cues to talk about their experience. The data within the cues is for the aim of producing sentences within the current excellent steady tense solely. College students could add extra data that’s both associated or unrelated to the cues
- Encourage college students to concentrate on giving no less than three sentences within the current excellent steady which emphasise ‘expertise to date’. This can be an acceptable time to say that the previous easy and current excellent steady usually go collectively when speaking about expertise. Encourage college students to make use of the previous easy as effectively
- Perform the interviews. Enable college students in different teams to ask follow-up questions
- Enable college students in different teams to vote for the candidate they might give the job to based mostly on the very best speech and solutions to questions
- Make notes on any errors college students make and do error correction after every spherical of interviews
Cues for the roles
Job 1 – Tour information in Rome
Set of cues 1
– work in Vacationer Data Centre in Rome – 5 years
– drive buses – 8 years
– stay in Rome – 5 years
Set of cues 2
– give guided excursions in Rome – one yr
– be taught Spanish, French, German – since age 5
– stay in Rome – 4 years
Set of cues 3
– give guided excursions in Milan – 7 years
– research historical past of Rome – childhood
– shifting to Rome – just lately
Job 2 – English trainer at a summer time college for 7-9 yr olds in China
Set of cues 1
– take care of neighbour’s daughter – few years
– be taught main European languages – 15 years = ardour for languages!
– be taught Chinese language – 5 years
Set of cues 2
– train English to adults as a volunteer – 3 months
– stay Vietnam – 4 months
– be taught Chinese language – 1 month
Set of cues 3
– be taught Chinese language – 1 month
– work – language colleges in UK – 9 years
– train adults – final 5 years
Job 3 – Copywriter for coaches (e.g. life coaches, well being coaches)
Set of cues 1
– actual property copywriting – 4 years
– write self-published novels – 8 years
– supply life teaching providers – 6 months
– certified life coach
Set of cues 2
– search engine optimization copywriting – 6 years
– write scientific articles for varied journals – 2 years
– supply life teaching providers – 2 months
– certified life coach
Set of cues 3
– Digital copywriting – 10 years
– write way of life articles for varied newspapers – 2 years
– supply proofreading providers – 4 years
Job 4 – Waiter/waitress in a espresso home in London
Set of cues 1
– stay England – 6 years
– work cafes – 4 years
– be taught English – all life
Set of cues 2
– work quick meals eating places – 9 years
– stay England – 3 years
– be taught English – all life
Set of cues 3
– work resort restaurant – since day left college
– stay England – 2 years
– be taught English – all life
Pattern speech based mostly on the job alternative ‘English trainer at a summer time college for 7-9 yr olds in China’ (Set of cues 1)
I imagine I’m the best candidate for the job as a result of I’ve been taking care of my neighbour’s daughter, who’s seven, for just a few years. I actually like youngsters and I’m a pure with them.
I might not be a professional English trainer however I’ve been studying a number of main European languages, like German and Italian, for 15 years. I’ve an actual ardour for languages and I would like this to rub off on learners on the summer time college. The primary factor is – I do know the very best methods to be taught languages and I believe that this counts for greater than having an English language instructing qualification.
I’ve additionally been studying Chinese language for 5 years so I imagine that this can assist me to attach with youngsters in the event that they know that I’m ‘certainly one of them’ to some extent. My Chinese language language abilities will even allow me to translate sure phrases or phrases if it’s troublesome to clarify one thing solely in English.
This train was considerably tailored from an thought I noticed in:
Aitken, R., (1995). Instructing Tenses: Concepts for presenting and practising tenses in English, Harlow: Longman Group Ltd, p.30
Train 2. Explaining the Current State of affairs – Practising the third type
The following of our current excellent steady workout routines will get college students to practise the third type of the tense. Primarily based on a set of photos they’ve to reply to a query concerning the look of the character within the sketches and recommend why the character is doing what he’s doing or seems to be like he does. The character’s look outcomes from the exercise he’s simply been engaged in.
- Pre-teach or elicit the third type of the current excellent steady: He/she + has been + [present participle (root form of verb + -ing)]
- Briefly clarify using the current excellent steady associated to this train. In essence, this tense can be utilized as a proof for the current state of affairs or the looks of the speaker or another person, brought on by the current and ongoing nature of the exercise. This exercise could or might not be accomplished. For this train, we could assume that the exercise has just lately stopped or simply stopped.
- Share the six photos [below and in the document in the link] with college students within the type of a handout or on the projector display screen if there’s one.
- Nominate one scholar to ask a query with ‘Why is …’ or ‘Why are ….’ based mostly on the photographs. For instance, ‘Why is he so soiled’?
- Elicit solutions within the current excellent steady: He’s been taking part in soccer
- Encourage college students so as to add any further data: He’s been taking part in soccer on a very muddy pitch
- This train could also be accomplished as an entire class exercise
1.
Doable query:
Why is he so soiled?
Doable solutions:
He’s been taking part in soccer
He’s been taking part in soccer on a muddy pitch
He’s been taking part in soccer on a moist pitch
He’s been taking part in soccer within the rain
2.
Doable questions:
Why is he so exhausted?
Why is he slumped in his armchair?
Doable reply:
He’s been working actually laborious all day
3.
Doable questions:
Why is he/she so glad?
Why is he/she so completely happy?
Why is he/she carrying so many baggage?
Doable reply:
He’s/She’s been procuring
4.
Doable questions:
Why is he so exhausted?
Why is he sweating a lot?
Why is he so scorching?
Doable reply:
He’s been gardening
He’s been doing the gardening
He’s been digging within the backyard
He’s been planting greens
5.
Doable questions:
Why is he so exhausted?
Why is he out of breath?
Doable reply:
He’s been working
6.
Doable questions:
Why is he/she so glad/completely happy?
Why is he/she so soiled?
Why’s he/she obtained oil on his/her face?
Doable reply:
He’s/She’s been fixing/repairing/mending his/her automotive
3. Current excellent steady and previous easy – Blended tense free observe
It’s actually value engaged on current excellent steady workout routines with college students which mix observe with the previous easy tense. It’s because the 2 tenses usually go hand in hand with each other when talking about hobbies, for instance.
- Train two sentences – one within the current excellent steady and one up to now easy – and clarify the makes use of of the tenses along with the everyday adverbials which are inclined to accompany the tenses. Doable sentences:
I’ve been doing ballet for 5 years
My first ballet class WAS at a ballet college within the centre of London
- Point out that college students will make give a brief speech about certainly one of their hobbies which can mix using the current excellent steady and previous easy tenses
- Inform college students that they need to make brief notes to assist them talk about their interest
- Present them an instance set of notes:
+ learn books – WW2 – 7 years
+ begin – after go to to Auschwitz – college journey
+ first ebook – Anne Frank’s Diary
+ research historical past – uni
+ final ebook – A British Soldier’s Story of Imprisonment in Auschwitz
- Check with the brief speech within the supplies attachment if essential
- Give college students a couple of minutes to make notes
- Hearken to the scholars’ speeches. Notice down any errors and do a brief correction session on the finish of every speech
Summing up
I’ve shared these current excellent steady workout routines with you as they get college students to verbally and interactively practise the tense. Hole-fill workout routines are maybe supreme for self-study and never to be used within the classroom.
It’s very important that college students are given the possibility to personalise grammar gadgets and tenses. Subsequently, I designed train 3 for this categorical objective. Furthermore, proficient audio system of English mix tenses of their utterances and that’s the reason this train is of the blended tense free observe selection.