Welcome, language teachers, to an exploration of a dynamic corner of teaching tenses in English Language Teaching (ELT). One of the most crucial grammar knowledge that students must master is about tenses which act as the language's personal time machine guiding us to show the time through the past, present, and future of our stories. Teaching that kind of grammatical field requires English teachers to be creative to stimulate learners to engage and be inspired instead of considering it as a daunting task. Are there any effective techniques to teach tenses to make lessons more intriguing? This blog post may help you to find practical solutions to apply in your class!
1. Tense timelines
In order to indicate the concept of time and tense usage, visual aids like tense timelines can be useful. Each event that takes place in a timeline (past, present, future) can be labeled with a different point and accompanied by related examples. Teachers can utilize picture slides designed by PowerPoint, Canvas applications, or whiteboard to visualize events they want to illustrate. Then, teachers can motivate learners to interact with the timeline by placing actions in the right tense slots.
2. Storytelling
Choosing to tell a story not only makes the lesson more engaging but also helps students identify the tenses used in it. Teachers can choose a short text from a story, a dialogue from a famous movie or newspaper article, or even a student's everyday conversation as an example. Then, it is essential to emphasize the verb and tense form in the example by underlying, bolding, or reading it out loud. After that, students take turns reading the text and work in groups to share what should be focused on the text. This activity stimulates students to construct knowledge on their own and reinforces their understanding through active engagement.
3. Picture Prompts
Another way that teachers may take this into account is by showing pictures of myriad actions or situations to students to describe what is occurring. For instance, by showing a picture of someone eating at a certain time, the teacher asks students to describe it using the present continuous tense: The girl is eating at 7 p.m. Another typical example of the present simple tense is showing pictures about a daily routine of a person and requiring learners to express them in the right tense (e.g: I go to school after breakfast every day).
4. Real-life Contexts
One of the most useful and practical methods to help learners remember for the longest time is to put tenses in reality.
One of the most useful and practical methods to help learners remember for the longest time is to put tenses in reality.
Teachers should connect tense instruction to real-life circumstances which students are associated with. The simpler and more interesting the examples in life, the more attractive they are to learners. They will relate situations used in everyday life and understand the nuances and contexts in which they can be used appropriately. Specifically, if the teacher ponders to teach the past simple tense, it will be practical to ask students to talk about their memorable events from the past such as a birthday party, a vacation, or an exam. While doing this, the teacher can supply them with a structure or template to help structure their narrative, including sections for the introduction, main events, and conclusion or a sample. By using personal stories for practicing the past simple tense, students are able to connect the language learning to their own experience, making the learning process meaningful and unforgettable.
Let's continue to contemplate more techniques in teaching tenses to make them more attractive and draw student's attention. If you have any ideas or other approaches, don't hesitate to share them to create a collaborative environment to learn and teach effectively.
