Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.

Language-Grammar

Correcting speaking 1
Different kinds of correction
make a difference between activities which focus on ACCURACY and those which
focus on FLUENCY-trying to speak spontaneously using any and all of the language
they know.
We tend to correct more during accuracy work.
When students are involved in fluency work, we are, perhaps, more careful about
when and how to correct. If we correct too much, we will stop the students expressing
themselves; we will stop the RETRIEVAL AND USE
Students correct themselves
If we use : FACIAL EXPRESSION (for example a raised eyebrow or other quizzical
expression);
GESTURE and/or body language to show surprise. = amusing, but also can be offensive.
can echo what the student has said using rising INTONATION.
can draw the student's attention to the actual mistake by stressing the part of the
sentence where the mistake was made
can also use explicit statements and questions to show incorrectness in the hope that
the students can correct themselves.
Students correct each other
can ask other students in the class to help the student who is having problems.
should be careful when using students to help each other.
After modelling new language, the teacher nominates the students in turn (usually with
a silent gesture).
The teacher then uses that student as a model until everyone else can say the new
language as well as the successful student
The students' reliance on each other is very powerful and forces them to pay attention
really carefully.
They may correct themselves - or at least notice the difference between what they said
and what the teacher says.
From correction to (re)teaching
Sometimes we have to break off from what we are doing and (re)teach something that
our students are having difficult with.
a teacher is not getting any response when she tries to correct students who are using
furniture as a COUNTABLE NOUN :
The teacher stops the sequence and puts two headings (Countable nouns, Uncountable
nouns) on the board. The teacher then reviews the rules for countable and uncountable
nouns before returning to the previous activity.
73.Exercises
1 For questions 1–9, match the descriptions with what they are describing A–I.
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

A Accuracy B Communicative speaking activities C Facial expression D Re-teach some

grammar E Reformulation F Repeat a word or part of a sentence G Retrieval and use H Rising
intonation I Students correct each other
1 By using our voice to do this we can show surprise or puzzlement. H
2 If many of the students are making the same kind of mistake, we may have to do this. D
3 If we make this happen appropriately (so that students don’t offend each other when doing
it), it can help the cooperative feelings in the group. I
4 PPP (presentation, practice and production) is one procedure which generally encourages
this. A
5 Sometimes we just do this – rather than correction – so that students can hear the right way
of saying something. E
6 We can do this so that students know where they have made a mistake. F
7 We can just do this (without saying anything) to show that we would like students to try and
say something again. C
8 We don’t usually over-correct during these because we want to provoke students to use as
much language as they can. B
9 When students are motivated to take part in a fluency activity they get practice at this. G
Reflect
3 Which correction technique from Unit 73 would you like a teacher to use when correcting
you? Does it/would it matter who the teacher was?
Back in highschool, I loved the fact that my history teacher used facial expressions to tell me I
was wrong about something. It’s funny that with her I felt comfortable and could think of an
answer but my chemistry teacher did the same. Unlike the first case, I felt ridiculed. Like she
was being sarcastisc, she raised an eyebrow too high and I felt like a complete idiot. My point
is that yes, depends a lot who is doing it and how is doing it.

74.Correcting speaking 2
COMMUNICATIVE SPEAKING ACTIVITY
students say that they want to be corrected at the exact moment when they make a
mistake = they generally become frustrated and the speaking activity is less successful.
They may have a strong MOTIVATION to speak correctly.
We have to decide how much to correct while a communicative speaking activity is
taking place.
if it is fairly easy to help the students out through correction - and this does not stop
the conversation - then we may decide to go ahead.
It is a good idea to ask the students when and how they want to be corrected and to
come to an agreement with them about how it will happen.
Correcting while the activity is taking place
will try to do so without disrupting the activity too much.
We can use REFORMULATION as a gentle reminder to the student who is speaking.
if the mistakes that are being made are having a bad effect on the activity, the teacher
may feel that they should stop the activity and do a bit of (re)teaching.
Making a record of what is being said
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

we will make a record of what they say so that we can give FEEDBACK and correct
them when the activity is finished.
We can 'eavesdrop' on what is happening = we listen without interrupting - and
without dominating the event.
we can make a note of anything that we want to talk about later - both mistakes that
we hear, and also things that students do or say well.
We can use a chart to help us record both the successful and the less successful aspects
of what we hear, such as the following:
Content Grammar Words and phrases Pronunciation
can use a microphone or video camera to record a speaking activity, though this will
only work if the microphone quality is good enough.
Correcting after the event
We will respond to the CONTENT of what the students said, not just the language
they used.
Positive feedback has a strong motivational effect.
we will not say who made the mistakes on the board because we don't want to make
any particular student feel bad.
We can watch or listen to our audio or video recordings with the class and point out
where things were successful or not successful.
We can ask the students to transcribe a short section of a video or audio recording.
We can then analyse the transcriptions and a) say what we like and b) make any
necessary corrections.
Correcting for the future
ORAL PRESENTATION, we can let them practise their presentation and give them
feedback (making suggestions and corrections).
DIALOGUES for acting out, we can go round the class helping them to say things in a
more correct and appropriate way.
74.Exercises
1 For questions 1–5, choose the best option (A, B or C) to complete each statement.
1 When students are doing a communicative speaking activity we can ________ on what they
are saying so that we can comment on it later. A eavesdrop B correct C think
2 When we give feedback ‘after the event’ we should concentrate just as much on the
__________ as on the form of what students say. A grammar B pronunciation C content
3 When students are doing a communicative speaking activity we can use __________ so that
they hear a correct way of saying something. A reformulation B correction C eavesdropping
4 When we reformulate what students say during a communicative speaking activity, we
usually __________ them to repeat what they said correctly. A expect B do not expect C
insist on
5 During a communicative speaking activity the way we react when students make mistakes is
often more like __________ than direct teaching during an accuracy stage. A correction B
evaluation C scaffolding
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

Reflect
3 If you gave a speech in a foreign language, would you like people to give you feedback?
Would you prefer praise or criticism? In what proportions? What does this make you think of
how you might give feedback to students?
Teachers need to be acutely aware of how much criticism their students are prepared and
ready to accept. I would like to be appreciate and also criticised for my speech. Why is that ?
Because appreciation makes me feel good, that I did something that was worth it and keeps
me going with my goals. Because criticism improves my language skills, I will know not to
repeat that mistake again.

75.Correcting writing
How much to correct
it is important to comment on the CONTENT of our students' work rather than just
focusing on the language that they use.
in PROCESS WRITING, we respond to their work and suggest ways that they can
improve it. This is rather different from giving correction.
corrected students' HOMEWORK or other written work, we want them to look at the
corrections and suggestions and, where possible, to rewrite their work correctly.
What to correct
correct everything = DEMOTIVATED by the number of corrections we make.
We can select what we are going to correct and tell the students before they do the
work.
can ask the students to choose what we should correct when we check their work.
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE students a list which includes grammar, vocabulary,
spelling, PARAGRAPH CONSTRUCTION, good text organisation (introduction,
argument, conclusion, etc.) and ask them to put them in order of importance.
We can give our students a writing checklist to use when they have finished their
writing.
Using correction symbols
to try to avoid too much 'red-ink' marking.
S= A spelling error. The asnwer is obvious. WO=A mistake in word order. G A grammar
mistake. T Wrong verb tense. I have seen him yesterday. c Concord mistake. WW Wrong
word. I am interested on jazz music. {} Something is not necessary. He was not {too} strong
enough. '?M The meaning is unclear. p A punctuation mistake. Do you like London, F/I Too
formal or informal. Hi Mr Franklin, Thank you fo r your letter ..
We need to train our students to understand our correction symbols.
a) getting them to find mistakes in sentences,
b) asking them to say what kind of mistake it is and
c) choosing a symbol for each type of mistake.
When our students submit work electronically, we can underline words and phrases
and put correction symbols in brackets.
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

We can get the students to try correcting each other's work using correction symbols.
Other kinds of correction
When we correct written work that has been submitted electronically, we can write our
own comments (in different colours) or use reviewing tools (such as Track Changes)
to add comments.
AUDIO or VIDEO FEEDBACK, with a mixture of comments, corrections and
suggestions. Students can listen/watch as they read through their own writing.
75. Exercises:
1 For questions 1–9, underlined the mistake(s) in the sentences and match them with the types
of mistake A–I.
F Too informal A Concord G Word order B Punctuation mistake H Wrong verb tense C
Something missing I Wrong word D Something not necessary E Spelling
1 I would do never something like that.
2 I arrive late to class this morning and the teacher was angry.
3 The news are very depressing.
1E 2F 3H 4
4 It is very important to do homwork often.
D 5I 6B 7A
5 You must not to arrive late to class.
8C 9G
6 It was impossible to do the exercise, but I managed in the end.
7 Good morning Mr President. You OK?
8 Do you want speak to me?
9 This is not a good Idea.
2 For questions 1–9, match the symbols with the types of mistake A–I from Exercise 1.
Reflect
4 If you were studying a foreign language and you had to do some homework, how would you
like the teacher to ‘mark’ it? Think about the following options. 1 All mistakes identified, but
no grade 2 A grade, but no mistakes identified 3 A grade with a comment about content 4
Comments about the writing, but no grade
What are the reasons for your choice?
I chose the first option because I would like to learn from it. If my teacher gives me a certain
grade I would tend to be disappointed or happy about it. Either way I will be more focused on
that. The purpose of the evaluation is to make me see my mistakes and not repeat them. That
is why I prefer my teacher to show me where I did not get it right.

11.Introducing adverbs
What is an adverb?
modify verbs = how, when or where a verb happens.
yesterday, happily, productively, enthusiastically, later, truly and never.
ADVERBIAL PHRASES: in front of the rest of the class, back over the Bosphorus
and at a conference.
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

ADVERBS OF MANNER describe how something is done (Her students were

working happily and productively, called her over in a loud voice).
ADVERBS OF PLACE describe where something is done.
ADVERBS OF TIME say when something is done.
FREQUENCY ADVERBS say how often something is done (She often gives them ..)
ADVERBS OF CERTAINTY say how sure it is that something is done (she could
possibly practice).
ADVERBS OF DEGREE say how much something is done (I like doing drama very
nzuch).
How to make one-word adverbs
can make one-word adverbs by adding -ly to ADJECTIVES:
productive+productively; happy + happily; enthusiastic + enthusiastically possible -+possibly
Where we put adverbs
at the beginning of a sentence (Yesterday Isil asked her students ... ),
in the middle (She often gives them short extracts ... )
at the end ... she could possibly practise ... at school
but not between a verb and its object
Adverbs of place and manner usually go at the end of sentences
Her students were working happily and enthusiastically.
Adverbs of time do not usually go in the middle of sentences.
Frequency adverbs often go in the middle of sentences (She often gives them, she had
never spoken), immediately before the LEXICAL VERB (but after the AUXILIARY
VERB).
usually, normally , often, frequently, sometimes and occasionally at the beginning of
sentences (Occasionally lsil goes on holiday to Bodrznn), but we don't usually do this
with always, ever, never, rarely or seldom .
Teaching ideas: adverbs
frequency adverb:s by showing graphs of how often people do things.
adverbs of manner: by showing our students a short playscript: angrily, sadly, happily
Using drama in the classroom
Drama is a very good way to get students to repeat the same phrases over and over
again (in performance and in the rehearsal stage).
to train students to speak and act really well, using good STRESS and
INTONATION so that their English sounds wonderful.
11.Exercises
1 For questions 1–7, match the words and phrases in italic in the text with the grammatical
terms A–G.
A Adjective B Adverb of degree C Adverb of manner D Adverb of place E Adverb of
certainty F Frequency adverb G Adverb of time/Time adverbial
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

Maureen had a plan to change her school’s placement tests. She talked about it to the other
teachers (1) in the staff room.
She explained her new idea as (2) carefully as she could.
(3) Later that evening she went home and found her husband in front of his computer. He was
(4) definitely too busy to cook dinner so she did it, even though she doesn’t (5) usually cook.
It was a very (6) late meal, but her husband liked it (7) a lot.

1D 2C 3G 4E 5F 6A 7B
2 Sentences 1–6 were written by students. Decide whether they are correct (C) or wrong (W).
If they are wrong, re-write them so that they are correct.
1 Sometimes I really love studying English.
2 I don’t enjoy doing usually homework.
3 I do in the evening my homework.
4 Always I find English spelling difficult.
5 I do my homework very carefully.
6 Frequently I forget my homework and the teacher is unhappy.
1C
2 W (I don’t usually enjoy doing homework. / Usually I don’t enjoy doing homework.)
3 W (I do my homework in the evening.)
4 W (I always find English spelling difficult.)
5C
6C
Reflect
4 How could using adverbs help students to ‘sound better’ in English, and what are the
dangers of overuse, do you think? Do you use a lot of adverbs in English?
I think that is very important to know adverbs in English. I would not say it helps you sound
better but it does help you sound fluent and very confident of your level of English. I use
adverbs when I see it necessary and can be very useful for the interlocuter to better understand
your meaning.

12.Introducing nouns
Different kinds of noun
sugar, milk, coffee, mail, postcard, letter, conference, email, meal and daughter
Roberta, Francisco, Rio and Sarah are all PROPER NOUNS. They give the name of a
place, person or thing.
Proper nouns start with a CAPITAL LETTER.
Supermarket, dinner, postcard, school, conference, game and daughter are all
COUNTABLE NOUNS (sometimes called COUNT NOUNS).
Sugar, milk, coffee and mail are all UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS (sometimes called
NONCOUNT NOUNS).
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

Introducing nouns
when we say two sugars we are talking about things (spoonfuls of sugar, not the
sugary mass) = the same word can sometimes be either countable or uncountable,
depending on the exact meaning that it has.
Family is a COLLECTIVE NOUN. It describes a collection of things.
postcard and football are all COMPOUND NOUNS = two nouns (e.g. post and card)
are joined together to make a new noun (postcard).
News is a PLURAL NOUN, but we always use it with a singular verb (The news is
terrible).
The English is an example of an ADJECTIVE which turns into a collective noun when
we put the definite article in front of it and use it to talk about people or things in
general (the rich, the poor, etc.).
Pronouns
PERSONAL PRONOUNS: • She, they,I, you, it and we.
OBJECT PRONOUN: them and her
Her, his and their are POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES because they pre-modify nouns by
saying whose it is/they are.
Herself , herself are REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS. (myself, yourself, himself, itselj;
ourselves, yourselves and themselves.) = to emphasise that we did something
ourselves (I cut myself, Did you write this composition yourself?).
Where and which are RELATIVE PRONOUNS which introduce RELATIVE
CLAUSES. Other relative pronouns are whose, where, that and whom.
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS (this, that, these and those).
The pronoun gender problem
English has no gender-neutral pronoun I
If a teacher doesn't plan his or her lessons, he or she may have problems.
If a teacher doesn't pion their lessons, they may have problems.
If teachers don't pion their lessons, they may have problems.
12.Exercises
1 For questions 1–6, match the words in italic with the types of noun A–G. There is one extra
option that you do not need to use.
A Collective noun B Adjective used as a collective noun C Compound noun D Countable
noun E Plural noun F Proper noun G Uncountable noun
1 Karmelija is a teacher. 2 She walked into the room carrying her bag and a pile of books. 3
The class looked at her enthusiastically. 4 She switched on the data projector. 5 ‘I have news
for you – and it is not good,’ she said. 6 ‘The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting
poorer.’
Exercise 1 1 F 2D 3A 4C 5G 6B
2 For questions 1–6, match the words in italic in the text with the types of pronoun A–G.
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

A Demonstrative pronoun B Object pronoun C Possessive adjective D Possessive pronoun E

Reflexive pronoun F Relative pronoun G Subject pronoun
When Karmelija walked in the sitting room (1) she realised that something was wrong. The
computer (2) which she had left on the table was turned off, but she was sure that she had left
(3) it on. Of course she always argued with her son about it – he said it was (4) his, but she
pointed out that since it was (5) her money that bought it, it belonged to the family. He said
that he was going to buy a laptop (6) himself, just as soon as he had the money. (7) ‘That’ll
be the day!’ she told him.
1G 2F 3B 4D 5C 6E 7A
Reflect
4 Does your first language (or another language you are familiar with) have countable and
uncountable nouns in the same way as English? How easy do you find it to teach countable
and non-countable nouns?
There is no logical way to learn countable or non-countable nouns so you have to learn them
by heart. If as a teacher you start early to teach them step by step it gets easier throughout
time. We need to explain them straightforward with the exceptions and make them clear to the
students.

13.Articles
What are articles?
INDEFINITE ARTICLE a (he was a teacher of English)
DEFINITE ARTICLE the (he was listening to the radio).
ZERO ARTICLE -which means the times when we don't need to use an article at all
(People will have to go looking for work).
Using the indefinite article
CONSONANT (a teacher, a native speaker)
VOWEL (a university).
We use an before a word that starts with a vowel-like sound (an idea, an interuiewer).
before singular COUNTABLE NOUNS which refer to something in general, rather
than something specific (Steve had an idea .. .)
before certain professions (He was a teacher of English)
before some QUANTIFIERS (He had a lot of ideas).
Articles
Using the definite article
describing something specific (the idea that changed his life)
before a noun that has already been mentioned: Then he remenzbered a friend
of his. The friend had done a teacher training course.
people will know what 'thing' we are talking about, e.g. the radio.
when what we are talking about is unique e.g. the Prime Minister.
a group of people who are clearly plural, e.g. the unemployed
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

some proper names (the Great "Wall of China, the Kremlin).

No article I zero article
don't generally use a or the when we talk about general (rather than specific) things
when we talk about abstract concepts and/or uncountable nouns in general
don't use a or the when we talk about plural nouns in general, e.g. Steve likes radio
programmes.
when we talk about institutions in general, e.g. Steve was at universiry or about meals,
e.g. Steve had lunch at one o'clocle.
Native speaker or non-native speaker? ·
the best language teachers are NATIVE SPEAKERS (people who acquired the
language as a first or HOME LANGUAGE)
What is a native speaker7 For example, if you have a German mother and an English
father and at home they speak to you in German and English, but you were born
Madrid, are you a native speaker of Spanish?
Some native speakers are really good language teachers; others are notl
Some are fantastic teachers; some are not!
native speakers can be good language models, too, and students may be interested in
how they speak and the cultural information they bring.
13.Exercises
1 For questions 1–8, complete the sentences with the, a, an, or X (= nothing).
1 Tim had __a___ teacher at school who used to make him laugh a lot, so he decided to
become a teacher. 2 _The____ teacher who Tim remembers best was his Spanish teacher – he
was very inspiring. 3 We call people like Tim __-___ native speaker teachers because English
is their home language or mother tongue. 4 Tim has just arrived in Beijing to teach English so
he needs to learn __-___ Mandarin. 5 He has already visited ___The__ Great Wall of China
twice. 6 He got a good teaching job even though he does not have _a____ university degree. 7
But many people think that you don’t need to be university trained to teach __-___ children. 8
Tim teaches lessons which last for __an___ hour and __a___ quarter.
1a 2 The 3X 4X 5 the 6a 7X 8 an, a
2 For questions 1–7, match the beginnings of famous English proverbs with their endings A–
G.
1 A fool and his money are often parted. = if a person acts foolish with their money, then it
won't last very long.
2 A friend in need is a friend indeed. = a person who helps at a difficult time is a person who
you can really rely on.
3 A rolling stone gathers no moss. = a person who does not settle in one place will not
accumulate wealth or status, or responsibilities or commitments.
4 A stitch in time saves nine. =  timely effort that will prevent more work later.
5 The customer is always right. =  if the customer is unhappy about a product, the business
will try to fix the problem and make the customer happy
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

6 The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. = that the things
other people have or their situations always look better than your own
7 The proof of the pudding is in the eating. = said to mean that you can only judge the quality
of something after you have tried

A saves nine. B is a friend indeed. C is always right. D is in the eating. E are often parted. F
on the other side of the fence. G gathers no moss.
Reflect
5 According to some research, the is the most commonly-used word in English. A is the sixth
most common word in English, but an is not one of the most common 100 words (although it
is in the top 1000). What conclusions for teaching can you draw from this?
Clearly articles are very important. An is not as common as the and a because there are fewer
nouns which start with a vowel (or vowel-like sound) than there are nouns which start with a
consonant. Clearly we need to teach the and a/an early and constantly – especially for those
students whose home language doesn’t use articles in the same way.

14.Quantifiers
What are quantifiers?
are words which tell people how many things (or how much of a thing) we are talking
about. In the story about Brittany, the quantifiers are a bit, a few, enough, a lot of, all,
any, many, most, no, none and some.
Quantifiers, nouns, sentences and questions
A bit of (I'll have just a little rest).
We use a few (a few minutes later, a few of them were carrying) with COUNTABLE
NOUNS.
few (without a) with countable nouns, it has a negative meaning
a lot of (there were a lot of people outside) with both countable and UNCOUNTABLE
NOUNS. Lots of is more informal and is normally used in conversation or speaking-
like writing.
All is used with countable and uncountable nouns (all of them were wearing) .
Any (she didn't have any time) is used in NEGATIVE SENTENCES and in
QUESTIONS (Did she have any time?).
Quantifiers
Enough (she had enough stars) is used with uncountable and countable nouns.
Every is used with singular nouns (every day, every week, etc.).
many with countable nouns (many others).
many in negative statements and questions, Quite a lot of people left early.
much in questions, especially with How (How much do you want?).
no (there was no time left) with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

Some (she had wanted to put on some lipstick) is used vrith countable and
uncountable nouns and has a positive meaning in sentences like Some people are nicer
than others!
some in OFFERS and REQUESTS such a Would you like so'fne ten? Could I have
some sugar, please?
Quantifiers plus!
of + PRONOUN in phrases such as Most of them were colleagues and a few of them
were carrying. This is a common way of talking about specific things.
a quantifier + of+ pronoun/the + noun in phrases such as none of her colleagues.
any and much are often used with so ... that ... in sentences such as Then were so many
people that they didn't fit in the house and She ate so rnuch chocolate that she felt sick.
Nobody (paragraph 2) and somebody are not strictly quantifiers, but we make a
number of words with any, every, some and no + body, thing, place, where
(everybody, nobody, something, anything, everywhere, somewhere, nowhere, etc.).
Praise, medals and rewards
PRAISE (Well done! Fantastic! You are so clever! etc.)?
Praising students too much - and for no particular reason - probably doesn't work. may
even have a negative effect. But not praising them isn't the answer.
We look at appropriate praise and teacher FEEDBACK in .
14.Exercises:
1 For questions 1–12, decide whether the sentences are correct (C) or wrong (W). If they are
wrong, re-write them so that they are correct.
1 A lot of people came to the first lesson of the year. 2 Can I have some more sugar, please? 3
Every day is a new adventure. 4 Everybody have problems trying to learn to speak correctly.
5 Few teachers enjoy really noisy classes. 6 I didn’t get many sleep last night. 7 I’ll have just
a little milk, please. 8 I’ll try any new method of language teaching if it will help me have
success. 9 Most of children study at least one language at school. 10 Much people do not find
language learning easy. 11 Not many people find language learning easy. 12 There were so
much noises at the lecture that I couldn’t hear the speaker.
1 C 2 C 3 C 4 W (Everybody has problems …) 5 C 6 W (I didn’t get much sleep …) 7 C 8 C
9 W (Most children …) 10 W (Many people …) 11 C 12 W (There was so much noise …)
Reflect
3 When you teach some and any to beginners, would you tell them about all the ways they are
used, or just some? Why?
Most teachers think that it is easier to focus beginner students’ attention on some basic facts
rather than telling them too many things all at once. That is why beginner students are often
taught that we use some in affirmative sentences, and any for negative sentences and
questions. This is, of course, only partly true and so we have to make sure that students know
that we are only telling them part of the story.

15.Introducing adjectives
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

ADJECTIVES describe NOUNS.

better, careful, cheerful, delicious, first, good-looking, great, green, happy, hot, late,
mad, Mexican, new, red, spicy, uncomfortable, well and world-famous.
Some words can be both adjectives and ADVERBS.
We said we would have a late dinner – adj
But in the phrase I got here late = adverb
He seemed well and happy, well is an adjective.
She plays the clarinet well, well is an adverb because it is modifying a verb.
Making adjectives
Adjectives can be single words or made up of two words such as good-looking
(adjective + PARTICIPLE)
Introducing adjectives
world-famous (noun + adjective).
adjective/noun + PREPOSITION (rolled-up sleeves, a cast-offjacket)
noun + participle (a life-changing event).
joined by a HYPHEN
with AFFIXES: comfortable uncomfortable, dis (agreeable -> disagreeable), less
(clueless) and ful (careful).
COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES. (nice -> nicer, young-> younger).
If the adjective ends in y, we change they to i (spicy -> spicier, noisy --> noisier).
If the adjective ends in VOWEL + CONSONANT, we double the last consonant
(:wet --> wetter, thin -> thinner).
more+ adjective (more cheerful, more expensive), though some words can be said in
both ways (clever -> cleverer, more clever).
irregular (good-> better).
SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES. (nicest, youngest)
With longer adjectives we add most. There are also irregular superlative forms like
good--> best.
How adjectives work
more than one adjective before a noun, we separate them with commas
more than one adjective after verbs like be and seem, we usually put and before the
last adjective (He seemed well and happy).
a sequence of adjectives, we usually put general qualities (such as big) before
adjectives which describe the specific type (such as red).
GENERAL ADJECTIVES usually appear in the sequence size (big), physical
properties (heavy), age (new, young) and shape (square).
SPECIFIC ADJECTIVES appear in the sequence colour (red), origin (Japanese),
material (silk) and purpose/use (musical).
Superlative adjective forms are often used in phrases such as the most ... I have ever
seen/tasted, etc. (the most delicious taste I have ever experienced).
general nouns (e.g. the blind, the rich, etc.).
Do you like being corrected?
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

Most of us don't particularly like it when people tell us we are wrong.

The language classroom is no different, and yet we frequently have to tell students
when they make mistakes and help them to CORRECT themselves.
15.Exercises
1 Make as many different adjectives and adjective forms (including comparative and
superlative forms, affixes etc.) as you can from the following five adjectives.
1 (more/most) agreeable, (more/most) disagreeable 2 (more/most) comfortable, (more/most)
uncomfortable 3 (more/most) fair-skinned, (more/most) fair-haired, fairer/fairest, unfair
(unfairer, unfairest) 4 (more/most) intelligent, (more/most) unintelligent 5 (more/most) polite,
(more/most) impolite 6 happier, happiest, unhappy (unhappier, unhappiest)
2 Correct sentences 1–5 by putting the adjectives in an appropriate order.
1 It is the freshest, most delicious food I have ever tasted. 2 It was an important, terrifying,
life-changing experience. 3 It’s a big, unfriendly, cold English classroom. 4 She bought a fast,
new, red convertible car. 5 She wore a new blue, red and green Mexican scarf.

16.What comes after nouns?

Before and after
In the PHRASE the small room at the end of the corridor we describe the NOUN room
with an ADJECTIVE before it (small) and a phrase after it (at the end of the corridor).
Describing nouns
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES - a PREPOSITION + a group of words - in phrases
such as a laptop with a lot of new features, her online work with her students, the
switch at the back of her computer, all the news about her friends.
RELATIVE CLAUSES : the computer she had bought, a special site she had created
for her students, a video site which her friend had told her about .
PARTICIPLE PHRASES: a PRESENT PARTICIPLE (the email messages waiting fo
r her answer) and a PAST PARTICIPLE (the homework posted on a special site).
Participles (and gerunds)
Present participles and GERUNDS are both formed with the BASE FORM of the
verb.
What comes after nouns?
-ing form is part of a verb or behaves like a verb, it is a participle: going into the small room
-ing form can be replaced by a NOUN - and is being used like a noun -it is a gerund: teaching
is a wonderful occupation or listening to music is one of my favourite things.
Participles can also be verb-like adjectives (e.g. a crying baby, a loving husband).
I am boring (= that's my character) / I am bored (= that's how I feel) .
Technophile or technophobe?
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

BOARD and a book.

computers, INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS (IWBS) or more mobile technology,
such as SMART PHONES, TABLET COMPUTERS and various forms of e-reader.
In some countries, access to the INTERNET is free for all and many children are
taught using computers and on line resources rather than using books, etc..
Technology - from old-fashioned boards to modern internet resources - can help, but
it's not what we use that matters, but how we use it.
it is important for teachers to keep up with new developments in educational
technology so that they can take advantage of new and exciting possibilities if they are
appropriate.
Teaching ideas:
post-modification = is about the words that come after the noun; words that come
before the noun.
We can put objects all over the classroom and get the students to move them around
using no pre-modification (so they can't use colour adjectives, etc.) For example, Put
the box with the flowers on it next to the book about history
16.Exercises
1 For questions 1–5, put the words in order to make correct sentences. Then decide whether
the sentences include a prepositional phrase, a relative clause or a participle phrase.
1 Graciela is an experienced teacher from Puebla in Mexico. (prepositional phrase)
2 She teaches at a school which was started by her friend. (relative clause)
3 The school is in a freshly-painted building in the middle of an attractive park.
(prepositional phrase)
4 Last week a student gave her some homework covered in little drawings. (participle phrase)
5 It was a letter explaining why she liked studying at the school. (participle phrase).
2 For sentences 1–5, match the words in italic to the grammatical terms A– C. You will need
to use some of the grammatical terms more than once.
A Participle B Gerund C Adjective 1 C 2C 3A 4B 5B
1 Most teachers feel very fulfilled when a lesson goes well. 2 Learning a language can be very
frustrating sometimes. 3 Philip enjoys teaching advanced students. 4 Teaching is one of my
favourite activities. 5 Walking into a new class at the beginning of a semester can be quite
scary.
Reflect
4 All over the world students often mix up the two participles and say things like I am boring
when they mean to say I am bored. Why do you think they do this?
Partly it is because they are both adjectives and so difficult to tell apart, and also because the
difference in the morphemes is very detailed. It may come from a confusion with their home
language. Or, in some cases, it may just be an accidental ‘slip’.

17.Teaching the noun phrase

Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

Elements of the noun phrase

A NOUN PHRASE can be
a) just one NOUN such as love,
b) a noun w.ith something in front of it -such as an ADJECTIVE - to describe it, such
as romantic love, or
c) a phrase in which the noun has, for example, ARTICLES, QUANTIFIERS and
adjectives before it and extra description after it, e.g. The extraordinarily strong love
which he suddenly felt.
the noun at the heart of the phrase (in this case love).
1 Countable and uncountable nouns
a picture of a shopping basket. They first have to match words such as milk, sugar,
bananas, juice, hamburger, etc. with the items in the basket. Next, they listen to an
audio in which someone is talking about their shopping. They have to decide whether
they are COUNTABLE NOUNS or UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS and put them in the
correct place in the chart on the left. Finally, they use the words to talk about what
they like to eat and how it is made.
to say what Maggie is going to get at the market. They have to choose whether to say a
(COUNTABLE) or some (UNCOUNTABLE).
Possessive pronouns
can create a lost property office and fill it with a range of objects.
The students have to.guess who has lost what using POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS.
Prepositions
by showing them a picture of an adventure trail/obstacle course. and then complete the
sentences with the correct preposition from this list:
Making noun phrases
Adjective order
favourite object - many adjectives as they can think of to describe it - including size,
colour, price, where it comes from, what it is used for.
Pictures to make an information gap We can show pairs of students two different
pictures to create an INFORMATION GAP. They have to find differences between
the two pictures in order to practise such things as PREPOSITIONS (A: In my picture
the girl is sitting opposite the boy. B: A1y picture is different. The girl is standing in
front of the boy) or clothes vocabulary (A: In my picture she is wearing trousers. B: In
my picture she is wearing a skirt).
The never-ending sentence: sentence - expand it by using as many words and phrases
as possible.
Definitions from the dictionary : 'Call my bluff'
= write three DICTIONARY definitions for a difficult word or phrase
One of the definitions is true but the other two must be false.
Students in Team A read their definitions. Team B must decide which is the true one.
Seminar 6: D. Managing learning and teaching + A.Language-Grammar

a student from Team A gives a page number, column number and word number (e.g.
the sixth word). A student from Team B finds the word and reads out the definition.
Can the Team A student identify the word?
17.Exercises
1 For questions 1–7, match the activities with the language they are practising A–G.
A Articles B Comparative adjectives C Countable and uncountable nouns D Noun phrases E
Possessive pronouns F Prepositions G Superlative adjectives
1 People compare different people and things. 2 People say where things are. 3 Students
decide whether they need to use the or a in sentences. 4 Students describe things using
articles, adjectives and clauses, etc. 5 Students do a general knowledge quiz about the most
impressive natural features in the world. 6 Students put words in different categories
depending on whether they take singular or plural. 7 Students talk about people’s belongings
without mentioning the people’s names.
1B 2F 3A 4D 5G 6C 7E
Reflect
3 What games or puzzles can you think of that appear in newspapers and magazines (e.g.
crosswords, spot the difference, etc.)? What language do they practise? Which of them do
you think students you know would enjoying doing?
All games and puzzles are extremely useful for those who learn a certain language. But we, as
teachers, must bare in mind that not all of our students enjoy these kind of activities. We need
to give them and then see how it works then draw conclusions. How was it? Was it helpful?
Was it difficult?