Resource 3: Develop your own English
Here is some language you could use in your classroom when teaching grammar:
- This sentence is in direct speech. Can you tell me how to put it in reported speech?
- Yes, that’s a good start. Can anyone help?
- OK, very good. Now let’s look at the next example. Can another student tell me how to put this sentence in reported speech?
- Can you find an example of the past tense in this passage?
- There is an example of simple past in the third paragraph.
- The person in this sentence is ‘my mother’. What form of the verb ‘have’ do you need’ to use in this sentence?
- We use past tense when we are writing about something that happened at a specific time in the past. It is finished now.
- Which letters do we usually add to a verb to talk about the past?
- Why does the word ‘replied’ have the letter ‘i’ in it?
- ‘We was going to Basra.’ Is that correct?
Here are some tips for developing your own knowledge and use of grammar:
- Identify the mistakes you often make, or the grammar points that you want to improve. Make a plan of how and when you are going to work on these points.
- Obtain or arrange access to a grammar reference book (or find an online resource). Refer to it whenever you have a question about grammar.
- Read as much as possible in English and pay close attention to the grammar. This is also very useful for developing your vocabulary.
- Discuss grammar points with colleagues.
- Try grammar practice exercises, either in a grammar book or online. See below for some useful links.
Here are some links to websites where you can learn about and practise grammar:
- English grammar: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/ en/ english-grammar [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
- Quick grammar reference: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/ en/ quick-grammar
- Grammar exercises: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/ en/ grammar-exercises
- The internet grammar of English: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ internet-grammar/
- Grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ worldservice/ learningenglish/ language/
Resource 2: Extract from a textbook