Coursebook activity
Two friends bump into each other in the street. Read their conversation, then answer the questions which follow.
1. SARA: Hi, Jane. Where are you going?
2. JANE: The gym – I'm trying to get fit for my holidays, Sara.
3. SARA: Oh, good for you, Jane. Are you doing a class?
4. JANE: Yes – body balance twice a week and I'm taking swimming lessons too.
5. SARA: Oh, that's a good idea. Listen, I need to get fit. I'lI come with you.
6. JANE: That's great, Sara. By the way, I'm dieting too.
7. SARA: Really? I won't join you on that!
In lines 1–4 and 6, Sara and Jane use the present continuous form. Why?
In lines 5 and 7, Sara uses the will form. Why?
Is it possible to reverse this, i.e. use will in lines 1–4 and 6 and use the present continuous in lines 5 and 7? What would the effect be?
The coursebook exercise that you've looked at can help learners to notice grammar in several ways.
- It shows language use in context.
- It contrasts the two tenses to show the different meanings.
- It uses guiding questions to help learners to notice how the present continuous and will are used in the dialogue.
- It specifies the tenses to help learners focus on use and meaning.
- By asking questions rather than simply giving the rules, it requires learners to think about the forms and notice how they're used.
Noticing in your teaching
There are lots of different ways teachers can help learners notice grammar.
- You ask learners to highlight past simple and past continuous forms in a story and decide why each one is used.
- You ask the learners to answer questions that analyse the target language in context.
- You ask learners to highlight articles in a text and think about their use.
What is the grammar focus?
It's important to know which use of a form you're focusing on and ensure your activities only practise that use.
Do you highlight similarities or contrasts?
Presenting contrasting ideas in tables, highlighting the patterns or asking learners to group according to similarities and differences can help noticing.
Are you using questions to guide noticing?
Questions can draw attention to the use of the language in its context and help learners' understanding.
This analytical approach might also lead to learners developing the habit of questioning language use.
How do you support learners in remembering?
It's important to allow stages and time in your lesson plan to consciously help learners learn. This could be writing conclusions in their notebooks or just reflecting on activities.
Noticing or practising?
When you think about grammar activities for your lessons, it's important to distinguish whether the task is encouraging noticing or just practising a grammatical structure.
Example activities
You're going to look at three example activities. For each one, answer the questions to help decide if the focus is more on noticing or practising.
Exercise 1: Using "much" and "many"
Much:
We don't get much help with our homework.
I haven't got much time for studying.
Many:
How much money have you saved for your holidays?
How many teachers are there in your school?
There are too many tests in our school.
How many brothers and sisters have you got?
Can you count homework?
Can you count time and money?
Questions:
What is the answer to each question? Is it a number?
Can you count teachers and tests?
When do you use much and when do you use many?
Complete the sentences with much or many:
I haven't done much studying recently.
There aren't many computers in our library.
I don't know how much money the book costs.
Your own sentences:
I haven't had ______ sleep this week.
We have so ______ work to do before the deadline.
Do you have ______ experience in this field?
