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Teach English in Xinxing Zhen - Weifang Shi

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The use of tenses in language is extensive and important. Tenses are key to communicating meaning, intention and purpose. Within the English language there are numerous tenses and the use of these tenses in the right place is key to ensuring the reader or listener is able to understand its meaning. When teaching tenses in a classroom a teacher must first establish the students’ ability and goals to better teach in a logical order. The teacher must devise plans for the progression of the students, but also for each individual lesson they teach. A teacher must periodically review the students to ensure the tenses are fully understood and also challenge the students to avoid stagnation. I believe the teaching of tenses should be approached slowly and methodically to avoid overloading the student which can lead to disinterest. The order in which I believe tenses should be taught in is: present simple, past simple, present progressive and future simple. The first lesson with a class should not be based around grammar or exercises, I believe this is a perfect opportunity to build rapport with the students whilst also understanding the class dynamics and language ability. The class may never have met each other before so using this initial time for people to get to know each other will lead to a healthier class environment in the future. At this stage, a teacher can also take mental notes of the students language abilities to help plan the following lesson. A simple game such as throwing a ball and asking the receiver a question is a good start. The teacher could ask the students to only ask questions relating to a specific time such as ‘ask each other what you did at the weekend’ or ‘ask each other what your next vacation plans are’. From here, a teacher will know where to begin the progression of tense learning. The second lesson should be devoted to a deeper understanding of the individual students’ needs and ability. A simple questionnaire including increasingly difficult questions can cement the capabilities of the students for the teacher. At the most beginner level, a teacher may not start with tenses straight away and focus on the alphabet, nouns and adjectives of the world around them. Following this, an understanding of pronouns should be established. After a basic grasp of English, a teacher can then focus on grammar and tenses. The first tense to teach would be present simple, with this a student can infer action or inaction, likes and dislikes – the foundations for expressing both facts and opinions. Starting with simple verbs such as ‘eat’, ‘like’, ‘have’, ‘do’, and ‘play’ a learner can explain what is happening around them and interactions with objects. The next tense to teach would be past simple, with this a student can describe things that have happened in the past. This is important, as what occurs in the past has effects on the present. The student is able to connect two time frames together and can explain a current action with a past reason. This causality can lead to complex language ability at more advanced levels and I feel is important to learn early. The third tense to teach would be present progressive, with this a speaker is able to communicate action happening at the time of speaking and also movement. It can also be used to describe an action which may happen in the near future, this is important as without teaching the future simple tense, a student can explain a present or future action with the present progressive i.e. ‘I am watching a movie later’. The final tense to teach a beginner student would be the future simple tense. This is a key tense for the student to learn so they can imply the intention to do something in the future or something that is likely to happen in the future. Alongside the previously taught tenses a student in able to express something that happened in the past which is affecting their present self and what they are going to do about it in the future. This complex cause and affect structure of a sentence can allow the students to create stories, which is a key aspect of language production. The tenses described are the just basis for teaching tenses. After teaching these four basic tenses, I believe a teacher can decide which tense is best to teach next depending on the needs of the student. Some business level students may want a stronger understanding of future tenses, whilst a student studying for an English exam may want more focus on irregular verbs and their tense structure. Overall, the teaching of tenses must be done stepwise, with the teacher focusing on the needs of the student and allowing them to be productive with the language. By providing materials which focus on all 4 aspects of language learning (reading, writing, speaking and listening), the teacher can help the students to understand the usage of tenses in all situations.


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