A lesson on there is / there are is useful for low-level students for many reasons. It uses the simple present, a very common verb tense. It demonstrates subject-verb agreement. It introduces students to prepositions of place (since we often mention a location in this type of sentence). And students will also learn vocabulary on food and containers in our There Is / There Are lesson! (more…)
So many prepositions, so little time! English language learners tend to struggle with prepositions because of the wide variety of meanings and uses. Breaking prepositions up into types can help! The focus this week is on prepositions of place in our Word Bank lesson on Prepositions.
This lesson contains eight beautifully illustrated pages that include a colorful picture dictionary, matchup, word choice, word search, word scramble, and spelling bee. Discussion questions at the end allow your students to practice prepositions in context! (more…)
This week’s Spotlight lesson is our new Simple Present – Be lesson, where language learners can get a lot of practice introducing themselves. Introductions are one of the first things students need to learn to do in a new language. Feeling confident and comfortable doing so can go a long way to making language learning an enjoyable experience.
Like most (if not all) languages, there are a variety of ways to introduce ourselves in English, and we don’t want our students freezing up in the real world if they hear a variation from what they practiced in class. That’s why dialogues that show possible variations (such as the free, printable dialogue below) are great—students can see other ways of saying the target phrase and repeat the basic conversation several times without getting bored.
For listening practice and as a model before the students try it themselves, play the audio clip at the bottom of this post or ask for two volunteers. (more…)
We are excited to present our NEW lower-level, simple present lesson on the verb “to be”! We’ve come up with a brand new template for this lesson, and we’d love your feedback! Please let us know what you think (what was useful, what was missing, etc.) in the Comments section below or through the Contact page on our website.
Introducing yourself in English is one of the first things students should learn. Our Simple Present – Be lesson in the Basic Grammar Structures section of the Grammar School gives students plenty of chances to practice this! (more…)
Do your students get confused by all of the different quantifiers in English? There are many ways to indicate the amount of a noun, including using words like many, much, a lot, lots, some, several, a few, a couple, etc. The common term some is used when we want to indicate an amount that is not too much and not too little. But can we use some in all types of English sentences, including positive statements, negative statements, and questions? Sometimes we need to use any instead, and that can be a source of confusion for English language learners! Teach your students the differences using the tips below, and get them to try the practice exercise below.
In English, we usually use some in positive sentences. Some is used with both count (countable) and non-count (uncountable) nouns.
Examples: (more…)
The past progressive (also called the past continuous) is used when comparing two past actions where one is longer than the other. The past progressive is often used when describing emergencies and natural disasters. February 1, our featured story on an earthquake, provides plenty of examples of this tense in a natural context.
All of the readings in our Library section can be done on paper or online, so teachers can choose how to present the reading and comprehension questions. Have your students do it on paper or in a computer lab during class, or assign it for online homework and do the follow-up activities in class the next day. This lesson also includes a grammar exercise, a word search puzzle, and an interview activity.
Other past progressive resources: (more…)
English language learners study the Be verb early on, and they learn about adjectives soon afterward—adjectives usually appear in simple sentences with the Be verb (e.g., I am happy and That is a big house). This week’s featured lesson was on Adjectives that describe feelings, so I thought a blog post on the grammatical structure of adjectives would be useful for your students!
What do our students need to know about adjectives? First of all, we should explain that adjectives are used to describe nouns. Adjectives can describe the shape, color, age, details, etc. of a noun, and they can describe the emotions associated with a person or thing.
There are two things to “master” about adjectives: the sentence patterns and the suffixes. Once your students learn both, they’ll have adjectives in the bag! (more…)
How are your students feeling today? The useful “Be verb + Adjective” structure is something students usually learn early on that allows them to express feelings. Our Adjectives lesson in the Basic Grammar Structures section of the Grammar School gives students plenty of practice with this structure! (more…)
One of our subscribers recently asked me to blog about count and non-count nouns, and with our lesson of the week on food, I figured it was the perfect time to do so! Lower-level students need to learn about the differences in nouns fairly early on so that they can use plural forms and articles correctly. Non-count nouns aren’t so difficult for students if you present them in a certain way. Try the method below, and count on a good result!
1. WHAT ARE COUNT NOUNS?
In English, most nouns are count nouns (also known as countable nouns). They have this name because they can be counted. You can say one apple, two apples, three apples, etc. (more…)
The present progressive, also called the present continuous, is a very common verb tense in English. It is natural in speaking since a lot of conversations start with “What are you doing?” It’s also useful when talking about sports and actions. Since the Lesson of the Week this week is our coloring activity about Baseball, I thought it would be a good time to review this grammar tense. The method below is one I’ve often used with my students for presenting the present progressive. Next week, I’ll blog about comparing the simple present and the present progressive. Being able to use each one in the correct context is the ultimate test of your students’ understanding.
BE + -ING Verb
Remind students that the BE verb must be conjugated according to the subject (I am, you are, he/she/it/third person singular count nouns/non-count nouns is, we are, you (pl.) are, they/third person plural count nouns are). (more…)
