Presenting a structure At primary level we teach

Presenting a structure

At primary level we teach simple structures through intense practice and recycling. The structural objectives for the first year of teaching english are rather limited. Here are some examples of structures and their functional objective from "ABC World". Structures should not be taught independently from the whole language context. Structure lesson presentation practice communication

Presenting a structure At the presentation stage the teacher uses ostensive means and shows the form and the meaning of structure. «This pencil is pink.»

Presenting a structure For practicing they answer teacher's questions ,using the structure and some other exercises, which refer to guided practice. A substitution drill in the usual follow up to this step. The aim of substitution drill is to give pupils practice in using a structure mechanically. All the learners are engaged into these exercises, they listen to the structural pattern again ,having a chance to learn it by heart. Each pupil in turn asks a question or makes up a sentence on the model. P1: «Find a pen. Take it» P2: «Find a bal. Take it.»

Presenting a structure As soon as we see that our pupil, have grasped the form of the structure, we pass to meaningful practice. The aim of this phase is to have the pupils use this structure more communicatively. The following activities. may be proposed for this purpose: 1) The teacher asks questions on the pictures using the structure: „What colour is the dog"? P: « The dog is white»

Presenting a structure 2) Pair work: pupils work in pairs asking each other questions about the colour of their clothes. P1: «What colour is your blouse?» P2: «It is white.» P1: «What colour is your skirt?» P2: «It is green.»

Presenting a structure 3) Pupils work individually making up their own sentences with the help of word or picture prompts. 4) Role plays and learning games, such as "Twenty Questions", "Hide and Seek" may be used for practicing structures.

Presenting a structure The teacher has to work again and again with the same structure integrating it into the recycling of the previous ones, using first familiar, then new vocabulary. If the pupils can read and write the teacher may show them the written form of the structure after its presentation in oral form. For this purpose the teacher puts it on the blackboard, underlining its key features: “ The pencil is pink”. Then the learners repeat the sentence in chorus, put it down into their copy-books and pass to practicing.