This is an activity to help students consider the differences in pronunciation of regular past verbs. It allows students to find the solutions themselves, making the language more memorable. My students particularly enjoy this activity as everybody has a chance to try out the sounds, whilst I can step away from the board and observe the class at work.

Preparation
You will need to produce a set of around 12 cards, with a (regular) past simple verb on each. Make sure they're large enough to be seen from the back of the room.

Verb cards 50k

Procedure

• I start by holding up the cards, for students to tell me what the words have in common. Once they've identified that they're verbs/past simple/regular (i.e. All with '-ed' endings), I drill the verbs.

• I then write up three categories on the board:
  

  -ed= / t /	-ed= / d /	-ed= / Id /
  liked	learned	wanted

• I point out that these represent different sounds and ask the class to read them out. I then show the first card, e.g. like, ask students to say it aloud, and decide which category it goes in.

• Once they indicate the correct category, I stick the card to the board. If necessary, I over-emphasise the 't' sound to highlight that it corresponds to the '-ed' ending. I repeat this for a second card, e.g. wanted.

• I then elicit that the two verbs, like and want have the same past simple ending, but the pronunciation is different. I tell the students that I'm going to give them the cards to put in the right category. Depending on the size of the class, I hand out two cards per pair / group.

• I then sit at the back of the class and observe as the students decide where their verb goes. I remind students to say the verb aloud to help them.

• Usually, within minutes, one of the more confident students goes to the board; the others soon follow.

• Once I feel students have done what they can, I tell them how many verbs are not placed correctly. Note: I don't say which ones, just how many, e.g. '3 verbs are not correct'. I then encourage students to make changes. Again, I comment, e.g. 'Now, 2 verbs are not correct!', so students know how to proceed.

• Once changes have been made, I ask the class to read the verbs aloud. I praise them for successfully completing the task!

• With older or more analytically-minded students, the rule for when the verb is pronounced / Id / (i.e. When the verb already ends in a / t / or / d / sound) can now be elicited. As regards the / t / and / d / distinction, I find that students produce this quite naturally (being a question of which sound is easier) - a better option than trying to work out complex rules.

• Students then have a few minutes to copy their work to their notebooks, adding one verb of their choice to each category.

Marta J. Sabbadini, British Council, Cameroon

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