Thursday, January 31, 2008
past 3
This Smith's School of English lesson focuses on the past particle grammar usage which ultimately leads to the very popular "Have you ever_________in your life" question. I always try to incorporate a mini lesson for past participle review especially for lower level students. This means I write some verb examples the board like eat/ate/eaten or see/saw/seen. I find this sets a good example so the students can easily identify the grammar point in this lesson.
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The "have you ever___?" question is indeed very popular, especially to talk about food. Beyond all manners of Japanese food that students like to ask the blue-eyed teacher if she's tried, I often ask and get asked about stranger things, such as kangaroo, crocodile, and caterpillars. I like your way of reminding the students of the past participle... something to think about in future lesson. Also, when I do this lesson I like to write up the question as "Have you ever (in your life)?". This is to emphasize that most people would usually not include the last part in conversation, but leaving it in the brackets reminds the student what the question is about.
I agree with you, Ria, that the "Have you ever...?" questions are quite interesting to play with. Everyone is curious about what kind of strange or exciting experiences their peers have had. This is doubly true because the students only encounter each other once a week - on average. Judging by the questions they are capable of coming up with, I'm quite sure that they enjoy discovering little tidbits of information abou their fellow classmates.
I sometimes hear questions like, "Have you ever eaten a grasshopper?", or, "Have you ever gambled?", or, "Have you ever met someone famous?" The answering part is just as entertaining because the students usually try to compete with each other to see who can come up with the most outlandish answer.
When a student answers positively to an unusual question, I usually follow it up with further questions. For example, one student admitted that he had eaten a grasshopper before. I asked him how it had tasted and if he would like to eat it again. Expanding on something of interest really shows the student that there is an active audience listening to them and holds them accountable for whatever information they may share. They appreciate the chance to be able to talk more about themselves as well so it works well for both the teacher and student.
At the beginning the students look at many pictures and answer basic formated questions including "What have you/has she/have they been doing?" By this time all the students have a confident mind set. So this provides a good lead in for the "Have you ever______in your life?" question. The simple word cards used to form this question are effective and easy to understand for all levels.
By the end of this lesson you often find students asking each other this question confidently and with lots of joy. I sometimes add yes frequency answers for higher level students to make it more challenging. These include "Yes I have once/twice/a few times/many times/too many times to count" Then depending on the time left and the student chemistry I try to incorporate a truth or lie game based on the answers given. Time permitting this seems to be the most enjoyable part of the lesson. Most students excel during this period just before you present the one point. It is here you find that beginner level students have amazingly progressed beyond your expectations in only 40 minutes time. Watching this progress unfold makes this lesson and the coach teaching experience at Smiths School such a rewarding experience.
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