Present Tense ESL Teaching Activity The present tense is usually introduced first for English second language beginners. Although students will need to have studied this tense before they attempt these practice questions, a review is always a good idea. It may alert students to some small point of grammar that they haven’t previously noticed. Reviews […]
ESL Teaching Activity – the Past Tense Teaching Grammar to English as a Second Language students can be a deadly bore. We’ve seen student sigh and shut their eyes at the thought of it. We know that in many countries it’s considered a necessary part of learning a language. When we tried to teach English […]
The most common reference for English Usage is A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926) by Henry Fowler, or just ‘Fowler’s.’ Fowler is famous for such quotes as, Inversion: Writers who observe the poignancy sometimes given by inversion, but fail to observe that ‘sometimes’ means ‘when exclamation is appropriate’, adopt inversion as an infallible enlivener; they aim […]
ESL EFL Activity – The Present Perfect Tense Many of the English grammar tenses are not too difficult but others give students a lot of trouble deciding when to use them. Since we can’t think through a grammar rule as we speak, the best way is to participate in activities with other students, speaking orally […]
Students are studying English in most countries of the world. It has been our experience while teaching in Central Europe, Brazil and Hong Kong, that students have difficulty with the past tense. If some members of your classes need help, have them try these practice questions. This is part 1 – see part 2 here
The progressive tenses are fun to teach as they follow an easy rule. When your students have studied the simple present and past tenses they will be ready to learn and use the present and past progressive tenses. This article outlines the basic grammar and provides several talking activities. The progressive tenses show that something […]
Many students are concerned about learning the tenses of the English language. They have likely heard horror stories about the irregular verbs and the many exceptions to the rules. It is scary unless a method for approaching the tenses in a step by step fashion is introduced. Let’s start at the bottom and a pyramid that shows the similarities […]
We have found that the mention of the simple past tense scares students. The classroom loses its relaxed atmosphere with stressed and anxious students. It seems that in many cultures there is a belief that the simple past tense is very difficult. This article will offer some suggestions that may help to overcome this fear. […]