Repetitive Practice
Of course, students must fully understand how a new structure works. However, if they only practice using very repetitive activities, they will not learn how to use it in real English interaction. They also might feel bored!
When students are using a new structure for the first time, you can use some guided mechanical practice such as completing sentences or filling in the blanks with the correct form of the verb. But once the students feel comfortable with the structure, try something fun, interactive, and creative.
For example, let's imagine that your students are practicing the simple past. When you first teach them about the uses and structure of this tense, you can do some mechanical practice. But don't stop there!
You must make the grammatical structure useful for students by applying it to real situations that make sense in the students' lives.
Here are some ideas:
When students are using a new structure for the first time, you can use some guided mechanical practice such as completing sentences or filling in the blanks with the correct form of the verb. But once the students feel comfortable with the structure, try something fun, interactive, and creative.
For example, let's imagine that your students are practicing the simple past. When you first teach them about the uses and structure of this tense, you can do some mechanical practice. But don't stop there!
You must make the grammatical structure useful for students by applying it to real situations that make sense in the students' lives.
Here are some ideas:
- Ask your students to work with a partner and talk about what they did last weekend. They should ask each other follow-up questions to get more details.
- Have the students write funny stories using the simple past tense. Give them cards with places, characters, and some verbs. When students can be creative, they will have more fun.
- Ask the students to have dialogues about everyday situations. This is a great way for them to practice contractions. Give them model dialogues to practicebefore they create their own.
Visit the teaching center to find more ideas about how to make your classes creative and interactive. Your students will enjoy practicing with real, fun examples and advance much more than they will with just repetitive exercises.
