Sharing materials is awesome!! :D

Hello fellow blogger!

First of all, I would like to begin this post by apologizing because I haven’t been able to post as many things as I would’ve liked to share.

Now, let’s go straight to the point!During the last five years I’ve been learning about the different approaches, methods and techniques for SLA. I’ve also studied the roles teachers and students take according to each theory. My teachers have always pointed out several facts, some of them are:

v  Not all students acquire language at the same speed
v  All students have different methods which suit them best
v  Don’t “marry” with the first method you learn (you could do it but you’d have to define the reasons why you’re choosing that specific method over all the others; and you should be faithful to that method)v  MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL: every teacher should make a balanced mixture of all the approaches, methods and techniques to bring an appealing lesson to the students.

A few years ago I witnessed a lesson and now I would like to share my experience. The teacher introduced the Simple Present. I know this grammatical structure generates difficulties for some students so it takes a lot of time and work to help them to acquire it. The teacher in this particular case started the explanation by contrasting the Simple Present with the Present Continuous. Immediately after that she introduced the third person rule. I couldn’t believe it because it was the first time students were exposed to this structure and at the exact time the teacher expected them to produce sentences following the third person rule. On top of that she had only provided three examples of particular cases.I’ve had the experience of teaching Simple Present last year. I planned my lessons having read material extensively and knowing the tips my teachers gave me. So I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the lessons I delivered in case someone is struggling with this particular structure. Always keep in mind that adapting the material to our learners is a key point for it to be successful and that this is just my point of view.

Finally, I would like to say that I know it is hard to plan in this way and that it is more demanding and time-consuming, not only for the teacher but also for the students, but it is totally worth it. When you see the final results you understand the importance and the huge difference that planning can make. In my case students were able to produce the language without difficulties. If you choose to use the plans I’m sharing take into account that they were prepared for children of around eleven years old.

Remember that no matter how hard it gets, if you work hard enough you’ll get your reward! And of course…keep updated!!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1efDZQnvVvYhv9SpXpoyWqwCfcZy8mGmrcd5KpeOG4eU/edit?usp=sharing