Since March I have been teaching a group of students who were supposed to be at intermediate level. However I soon found out that they have many problems typical of beginners, such as adding -s to adjectives, putting the adjective after the noun (interference from their L1, Portuguese) and not remembering the past form of irregular verbs.
They have just taken their first test and most of the students are likely to fail the course. I really would like some help on how to deal with this situation. Should I focus on grammar, even though it means that students will spend less time taking part in fluency activities? What kind of exercises should I assign them?
This quesion is from Mariana Mourente Miguel, Brazil
I am also experiencing the same problems with my intermediate students. I hope I can get some help too.
This question is from Gabriel Sales, Brazil
Can you help Mariana and Gabriel? Have you had similar experiences? Contact us.
Comments
rebecca1
Dear Mariana,
I think the problems you have just mentioned are made even by native speakers who have been speaking this wonderful language for ages. I think you can focus on grammar and at the same time foster your student's fluency by choosing the correct activities. You can have your students tell stories, organise the story by giving them the parts of it and then give a report to the rest of the class. Finally, I would like to tell you that if your students make these mistakes, it doesn't mean that they are not at an intermediate level. Your role as a teacher is to give them the chance to practice that weak point because remember that the only way to master something is by using it as many times as possible.
Elisabeth Bilien, France
I know how you feel Mariana. One answer is that pupils should be aware of their mistakes to "auto-correct" them.
They can correct their friends. So they should be able to pay attention to their own production. Insist on that, ask them for a full correction of each paper and have the corrections listed on a special cardboard sheet, which they will use to assess their faults and learn from them. They might do the same with oral expression with the help of their fellow-students (who will have to listen to their classmate's production to fill it in properly.) And as time goes by, those lists of problems will be reduced.
But then, making mistakes is not such a big deal, as long as we can make ourselves understood. Don't you think that the criteria of exams are not always as valid as they pretend to be?
Nina Koptyug, Russia
First of all, it's important to know that you are not alone, no matter what the problem is. I've got four classes this year, they were all supposed to be the same Upper-Intermediate level. However, three classes of the four, which came to me from another teacher, seemed to have had no grammar lessons at all. One of those classes seemed at first to be at zero level in all the four skills.
I decided I should forget about the "level" which they were supposed to have had, and simply concentrate on whatever problems each class had. Naturally this meant a lot of extra work, but it could be organized with the help of many materials and ICT. When you identify the problem, no matter how big or small it is, like adding -s after adjectives, give them very small drills on this very problem, say five sentences. Be sure they know which day which lesson they are to have the drill, and don't give grades for that, only the top one to the one student who has done everything correctly.
Invent like so! I use 'Golden Rules' charts, make sure all the students have them in their notebooks, and allow them to use the charts until they feel they can do a test without the chart. For example, we wrote the Golden Rules about the Passive, which is seldom used in Russian, and made drawings to show how the change from active to passive back to active is made. It took a while, but now all I have to do is make a schematic drawing on the board, and they all know what's to be done. Once you try to work out your own ways and means, you will solve the problem. Last but not least, it is wise to remember that there are always a few students who won't learn no matter what. Remind yourself that you are not a genius in, say, geometry, and don't let them get discouraged.
Adam, UK
My first thought is don't worry! I have had 'advanced' students who forget the third person 's'; they know the rule, but using it is something else.
I think it comes down to how language is learnt. Just because the teacher 'does' the present simple one lesson, doesn't mean that now all the students understand it and are able to use it. Learning the 'form' of a language takes time and remember that all the students are at different stages in this process.
None of this really helps you I know, but it is a fact every teacher has to live with. I think all you can do is to carry on recycling the grammar you have been teaching. Keep the activities interesting and varied. Maybe let the more able students take over the presenting of grammar points. Encourage students to revise work at home and to help each other. Good luck
Cecilia, Argentina
Mariana, I hope I can help you with your problem.
What I generally do is: First I try to give my students a kind of guide to help them see how things work (although it may sound very accuracy oriented, it is necessarily so) then I give them exercise to practise that, and later some exercises to correct the mistakes or correcting their own mistakes. When it comes to fluency, try to make them correct themselves by repeating what they have just said using different intonation so that they realize that they have made a mistake! Hope this can help you!