Friday, July 24, 2020

Famous Landmarks for Practicing Present Perfect and Past Simple

(TESOL Worksheets--Present Perfect, Past Simple, Teacher Training)
Google: docs, pub
Notes: This worksheet has two purposes.  As a student facing worksheet, it can be used to practice the present perfect and past simple.  Students ask each other which famous places they have been to (present perfect for experiences) and then talk about what they did there (past simple for the specific details).
I've also used this same worksheet for teacher training, doing an activity modeled on a workshop I observed a colleague doing.  In order to illustrate the range of control possible in setting up practice grammar activities, this worksheet is used to illustrate a successive number of activities.
1--The trainer supplies the questions and answers (e.g. "You say "Have you ever been to Paris?" and you answer "No I haven't")
2--Trainer supplies the content but not the exact words (e.g. "You ask him if he's been to Paris, and you answer in the affirmative)
3--Trainer supplies the question (e.g. "You ask him if he's ever been to Paris, and you answer whatever is true for you")
4--Participants ask each other if they've ever been to various places on the worksheet, and supply answers that are true for them.
5--Take away the worksheet.  Participants ask each other about various places they have been to.  Their goal is to find places that they and their partner have both been to, and then to compare their experiences there.
Participants usually get sucked into the conversation at stage 5.  After the activity, they reflect on what grammar points they were using in the conversation (usually present perfect and past simple).
The point of the demonstration is to illustrate that grammar practice activities are more enjoyable when they are personalized, and when they have a communicative goal.
All the images were taken from a Google Images search and are not my own.

No comments: