OMG! This time was more challenge than the previous ones because I taught
Grammar. “I read about how to teach grammar without showing rules”, I decided to apply some
of the activities I read about but I was wondering if they would work well, if
my tutor would notice that I would be teaching grammar and not developing another
part of the lesson plan because I would not be teaching at the front, writing
at the board and giving patterns. But I started with the warm up, I used two dice. One big with some
categories on it and one little dice with numbers, the students passed the two
dice at the same time and when I said stop the person who had the categories
dice, rolled it and got one category and the person who got the number dice
rolled it and got a number so the person with the category dice had to say
things about it and according to the number the other student got.
The presentation was about showing a picture of a man at the
supermarket; I asked what he is doing there, what he is going to buy, etc. Then
I gave them a piece of paper containing a reading about a man who spent 60
dollars at the supermarket; I followed the traditional steps for the reading.
Here comes the part that I liked the most. Since
we are accustomed to teach grammar at the front and writing on the board, I
felt estrange teaching without following the traditional way to teach grammar.
I read that we can include activities, even TPR activities, to teach grammar
including sentences about what is going to be taught, instead of including
grammar rules and patterns. Also, it is too important to avoid telling the
students what they are studying or going to study at the moment of the
activity, the students notice it by themselves; I could prove it today with the
first activity I did for teaching “countable and uncountable nouns”. I found out that students really like
listening to “true” stories that contain common names from their country so I
did not write about the topic on the board, instead I started telling them
that I would tell them something that happened to one of my friends, Mary, she is
married with Juan. Once, she asked her husband to go shopping to the
supermarket and she gave him the shopping list… (I brought the shopping list on a chart and
pasted it on the wall, I asked one student to read what Mary wanted Juan brings
from the supermarket. Then, I continued with the story; Juan went to the
supermarket and bought everything, he came back home and told to Mary, my
sweetheart I am back with all groceries can you check them, please? Mary
checked the groceries by saying aloud what Jun bought… (I brought on a chart the list of things Juan
bought and pasted it on the wall, I asked the students to read together the
list. Then, I asked them if Juan did everything ok, the students told me that
Juan made a lot of mistakes and they mentioned the mistakes. (At that moment I
realized that the students were paying attention to what would be the grammar
and that make me feel confidence because I was like practicing a new technique,
at least for me, to teach grammar).Then, I continue with the story. I asked
them to think about what Mary did and said when she looked that Juan bought
just one right thing. I asked to one girl to act as Mary with her own reaction and
a boy to be Juan; they improved the little dialogue at the moment. While they were talking they repeated the shopping list (the grammar structure). Then, I told
them that Juan did not copy the shopping list, he just read it that is why when
he was at the super market he did not remember what to buy, finally I told the
end of the story by telling them that Mary asked Juan to take the shopping list
with him and go back to the supermarket and not to come back home until he buy
everything ok!
In another chart I brought some sentences with some spaces, and without
taking out the previous charts from the wall so they could check the answers, I
gave them some pieces of paper with the missing words, which were the key words
from grammar part, and they pasted them on the correct sentences.
I felt everything went good since the students identify what they were
studying; I listened to some of them telling “ah! They are countable and uncountable nouns”, they also were taking
notes and that mean they identified that those structures were part of the grammar.
But I think we cannot do a radical change from one day to another and I felt
really important to emphasize those structures by writing at the board. (I
really was trying to avoid this step because I thought If I write at the board
or explain the grammar structure, the previous activities would be a wasted of
time or would be some more activities that could go on the “less controlled
practice” since I would be turning back to the traditional way of teaching
grammar)
But I had to teach another grammar structure “used to / would” I brought
some pictures about when I was a child, a teenager and when I was at high
school. I read students pay more attention and look more interested at the
class when listening about teacher´s personal life and it was so! I showed to
them the pictures, in order from childhood until the high school, while telling
some sentences per each one, they looked really interested and surprised about
it (and I thought “eh! Look how I have them! Hahaha). After, I wrote at the
board some sentences I said and between parenthesis I wrote the name of a color
since I brought some paper balls with the color between parenthesis) I had them
repeat the sentences and shall the color. After, some time of repeating I
erased the sentences and asked them to stand up and pass the 5 color paper
balls and when I said stop the persons who get the balls had to tell me a
sentence, according to the color between parenthesis, he/she remember from the
board. It worked ok because they had already noticed that they had to use “used
to” but there were something missing, they didn´t know when use it, and I was
going to explain it at the board, again but time was not enough! :(
In my feedback I realized that my tutor liked my
activities to teach grammar however at the beginning he did not understand why
I was doing that. He thought it was like a presentation for the topic. I
explained to him that I was afraid that way to teach grammar would not work
well; he told me that it is nice to improve the ways to teach but it was
necessary to explain grammar like the traditional form. :( immediately I thought about my grade, I thought
it would go down just for my invents however I said to myself : do not worry myself! (Hahaha) what
you have to do is try to improve and continue trying to teach in different
ways!
My tutor helped me to see that the seating arrangement did not work
well, this time. Also he told me he liked the activities about teaching
grammar. And he gave me some more good pieces of advices. I´m worried about my
grade because I do not know it since I forgot the evaluation sheet :´(
If I teach grammar with these techniques again I would try to avoid
writing at the board and giving rules. But I would really like to have some
pieces of advices from you in order to polish these techniques and not to
explain with rules. What can I do?
