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Developing language knowledge
Grammar 1. Revision, diagnostics, clauses and tenses
This document contains material that focuses on identifying trainees’ level of language
knowledge, so that sessions on the course can be tailored to their needs and prior
knowledge. There is material to suit both ESOL and Literacy trainees.
There is also a planned ESOL session which picks up on some areas of common
difficulty and then focuses trainees on the reason for learning about more complex
grammar, which is to prepare them to be able to teach at higher levels, especially
Levels 1 and 2. There is considerable scope for differentiation in this session, both in
terms of speed of completion and by providing more challenging tasks for some trainees
than for others – see [square brackets] in worksheet – or by giving some trainees more
time to research language teaching points.
Grammar 1 – diagnostic, self assessment, focus on clauses, tenses
Self-access work and 2 hour session
Self-access work
Materials
1.1 Pre-course work
Pre-course task including work on grammar, lexis and
phonology [ESOL trainees] or grammar [Literacy
Pre-course task
trainees]
(not included)
During first few weeks:
Self study of following chapters in Thornbury’s About
Language, using commentary in book to check own
Thornbury, S.
(1997) About
work.
Language
ESOL trainees:
Introductory unit
Cambridge: CUP
Ch11 – Word classes
Ch 12 – The simple sentence
Ch 13 – The complex sentence
Ch 16 – Time and tense
Literacy trainees:
Introductory unit
Ch 9 – Word formation and spelling – tasks 1–6 only
Ch11 – Word classes
Ch 12 – The simple sentence
Ch 13 – The complex sentence
1.2 Diagnostic [ESOL] and self-evaluation [ESOL
and Literacy]
Trainees complete diagnostic tasks and self-evaluation
during early part of course (PTLLS). Tracking grid can
be used by tutor to record strengths and areas for
development. Self-evaluations can be used to inform
individual action plans and content of future class
sessions.
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Diagnostic task
(pp.4-5 below)
Diagnostic
summary grid
(p.6)
Grammar selfevaluation (p.7)
Grammar 1 – diagnostic, self assessment, focus on clauses, tenses
1.3 ESOL Session
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the session, participants will have:
• revised sentence and clause types and be able to identify them
• identified variety of tenses and verb forms and have revised some of
their uses
• learnt how to divide sentences and clauses into SVOCA constituents
• researched a grammar point for teaching to L1 or L2.
Session pre-reading and tasks:
Thornbury, S.
(1997) About
Thornbury ch. 15 The verb phrase – complete tasks
Language
Cambridge: CUP
Time:
Session plan:
Materials
0.00
1. Introduction
What new terms have trainees learnt from Thornbury
work (ch 15)?
Check:
finite/non-finite
stative/dynamic verb


I feel obliged I discovered
0.20
1.00
Share objectives and outline session:
Practice on clauses SVOCA tenses  teaching
Levels1 and 2
2. Identification practice
Revision sheet – work in pairs ex. A. Differentiate by
getting some trainees to omit items in square brackets
Instructions: indicate items as follows:
Complex – underline
Compound – underline wavy
Non-finite subordinate clause – yellow
Finite subordinate clause – green
Relative clause – pink
Noun clause – blue
Feedback: Some examples on Ppt 2-3
[Put answer sheet on Moodle afterwards for checking]
3. SVOCA
• Start by referring to Thornbury ch. 12
• Identify sentence constituents on Ppt 4 and
answers on 5
• Ex B on revision sheet, in pairs
• Feed back and clarify – answers on Ppt 6
2
Ppt 1
Revision sheet
(p.8 below)
Highlighters
Ppt 2-3
Answer sheets
(p.9-11 below)
Thornbury
Ppt 4-5
Ppt 6
1.15
4. Time and tense
Example C&D on revision sheet
Feedback on relationship between time and tense
1.25
5. Teaching analysis and ideas
Pairs choose a grammar point from task sheet and
brainstorm, research, select, evaluate.
Feed back if time
1.55 –
2.00
Reflective journal
Trainees reflect and write about their learning and
possibilities for application of today’s session.
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Teaching
grammar at
Levels 1 and 2
sheet (p.12 below)
Course books,
grammar books,
etc, for reference
Ppt 7 as a prompt
Language analysis – diagnostic guide
Name: ………………………………….
A Terminology and identification
Read the text and then complete the task below.
Grammar in the classroom
It is important to remember that language teaching is a means to an end. The main objective is to
change the students’ behaviour, not the teachers’; language learning is more important than language
teaching.
There have always been arguments about the best way to teach languages. At one time
explanation followed by example and practice was considered the ‘obvious’ way to do things; at another
time students were presented with examples and simply expected to follow the model, without
explanation. Much modern thinking suggests that breaking the language down into small, separate
pieces may not be the best way. What ever method is adopted, however, students inevitably ask their
teacher Is …also possible?, Why can/can’t I say…? Teachers cannot avoid the fact that exploring and
understanding patterns and important semantic distinctions is part of language learning. Often, however,
the way they answer these questions is counter-productive. It is easy to confuse, instead of helping the
student. Efficient language learning must reflect the nature of language, and the nature of learning.
Teachers often feel that explaining grammar is an important part of their job. Such a view must
be a mistake – it is placing the emphasis on the teacher, instead of on the student. The teacher’s task is
not to tell the student how the language works, but to find good questions to ask students about
examples, so that students may discover for themselves.
Rules and explanations have a part to play in the language classroom. But it is a part which is
often smaller than language teachers think. Some things do not need to be explained at all and some
need to be explored again and again, through a combination of explanation, example, diagram and
discussion. Understanding in these areas needs to be seen as a process which carries on from lesson to
lesson, and even from year to year as students deepen their understanding.
Lewis, M (1986) The English Verb Thomson Heinle p.15
From Lewis, M. The English Verb, 1E. © 1986 Heinle/ELT, a part of Cengage Learning, Inc. Reproduced by
permission. www.cengage.com/permissions
For each of the following, find an example from the text above and write it in the space.
Verb and noun structures
1. Present perfect tense ..........................................................
2. Passive verb ..........................................................
3. Modal verb expressing possibility ........................................................
4. Modal verb expressing obligation ........................................................
5. Modal verb expressing deduction ........................................................
6. Phrasal verb ........................................................
7. Uncountable/mass noun ........................................................
Clause types
1. Relative clause ........................................................ ........................................................
2. Sentence with a subordinate clause (complex structure). Underline the subordinate clause.
........................................................ ........................................................ ........................
3. Sentence with coordinating structure (compound structure) ..............................................
...........................................................................................................................................
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Text organisation and cohesion
1. Ellipsis (omission) ........................................................
2. Backward pronoun reference ........................................................
3. The topic sentence in paragraph 2 ....................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
4. The supporting ideas in paragraph 2 (underline them in the text)
B Student errors
Look at the errors in the following examples and explain why they might have occurred. Use separate
paper.
1. *It was a fantastic show. However I enjoyed it very much.
2. *I rang up so I booked the tickets.
3. *My children are waiting. I must pick up them from school.
4. *Dear Sir.....I want you to sort out my problem.
5. *Will you borrow me your dictionary?
6. *My sister was wounded in a car crash.
7. *Suddenly there came a friend to me.
C Phonology
1. From the list of strong and weak forms,
choose the most likely pronunciation for
each of the given words in the
conversation below. Write it in above the
words, in phonemic script.
strong form
weak form
but
/bʌt/
/bət/
me
/mi:/
/mɪ/
and
‘She said she didn’t know about
she
me, but he must have told her.’
he
should
‘What do you think you and he
do
should do?’
must
have
/ænd/
/ʃi:/
/hi:/
/ʃʊd/
/du:/
/mʌst/
/hæv/
/ən/
/ʃɪ/
/ɪ/
/ʃəd/
/də/
/məs/
/əv/
2. What happens to the pronunciation of the following in fast speech?
I don’t know ...........................................................................................................................
ten-pin bowling ......................................................................................................................
six students ...........................................................................................................................
I saw him yesterday ...............................................................................................................
3. In what context would you stress the word ‘in’ in the utterance: “I live in Blackburn.”?
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Language analysis – diagnostic summary
A Terminology
and identification
Names
Verb and noun
structures
Clause types
Cohesion
Paragraph
organisation
B Student errors
Linking words
B1 and 2
Multi-word verbs
and register
B3 and 4
Vocabulary
B5 and 6
Existential there
B7
C Phonology
Strong and weak
forms
C1
Phonemic script
C1
Connected speech
C2
Contrastive stress
C3
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Grammar self assessment
Topic
Name:
Good
understanding
Date:
Some
understanding
I need to work
on this area
My top 4
priorities
Sentence structure
and type – simple,
compound, complex
Terminology for word
classes
Clause and phrase
structure, incl.
subordinate clauses
Conjunctions
Marked and unmarked
forms
Noun phrase, incl.
modification and
determiners (articles
etc)
Verb phrase, incl.
transitive, intransitive,
finite, non-finite
Modals
Voice (active and
passive)
Aspect (e.g. perfect)
Tenses
Adverbial element
Word order
Prepositions and
phrasal verbs
?
Which elements of grammar do you enjoy teaching and feel you teach successfully?
Which elements of grammar do you avoid teaching or feel you teach less
successfully?
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Grammar revision
A. In the following extract, find examples of the following [more advanced items in square brackets]:
• complex sentence, compound sentence, finite subordinate clause, [non-finite subordinate clause],
relative clause, [noun clause];
• verb forms: present continuous, past continuous, present perfect continuous, passive (various
tenses)
• auxiliary verb, [stative verb], dynamic verb;
• time adverbial phrase, time adverbial clause, conditional clause, purpose/result clause, reason
clause
‘Living language learning’ Paul Bress (2006) English Teaching Professional 42
Having just returned from a couple of weeks in Italy, I have been thinking again about how I learn (and like to learn)
foreign languages. On this particular occasion I came away thinking that the whole process is a very messy business –
and all the better for it! I found my Italian coming along in leaps and bounds without there being any semblance of
system in my learning. In fact, the way I learnt was almost diametrically opposed to the way languages are taught in
some classrooms.
Here are some examples of what didn’t happen to me in Italy:
• I didn’t learn all the reflexive pronouns in 45 minutes.
• I didn’t learn one preposition, and then seven more because ‘that was what we were doing that day’.
• I didn’t learn how to say seventeen, and then all the other numbers between ten and twenty, because ‘that was on the
syllabus’.
My awareness that I was not having to endure this process reminded me of the need to mimic L1 acquisition in
the L2 classroom, something that has always felt right to me subjectively. If we do try to mimic the L1
acquisition process, then we are encouraging the holistic learning process. In other words, we are encouraging
language to be learnt not in the suspended animation of the pick ’n’ mix classroom, but in a way that is part
and parcel of living itself. So I’m using holistic learning here to mean ‘learning to do things in a foreign
language’.
However, it’s one thing to make the case for holistic learning, but quite another to say what it constitutes.
Here is my attempt to do so.
This article from English Teaching Professional is reproduced with the permission of the
publishers, Pavilion Publishing www.keywayspublishing.com
B. Sentence constituents – mark these sentences with SVOCA (See chapter 12 of Thornbury, S.
(1997) About Language, Cambridge: CUP)
The whole process is a very messy business.
I didn’t learn all the reflexive pronouns in 45 minutes.
So I’m using holistic learning here to mean ‘learning to do things in a foreign language’.
C. Look at the seven underlined verb forms in the text. Discuss which meaning of that form they
represent and why that form was chosen.
D. Time and tense – read the following sentences. What is the tense of each verb in bold? Does the
verb refer to the present, the past or the future? (See Thornbury, About Language ch. 16)
1. My son is graduating next year.
2. When you have finished your marking, how about going out for a while?
3. Hello, I didn’t know you worked here!
4. Mary tells me that you’re looking for a new job.
5. It’s time you were moving on!
6. I’ll email you as soon as I get to work.
7. If nobody turned up for next week’s session, what would you do?
8. I’ll open that door for you!
From this exercise what conclusions can you draw about the relationship between time and tense?
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Grammar revision – answers (some highlighted and some in italics)
A. In the following extract, find examples of the following:
• complex sentence, compound sentence, finite subordinate clause, [non-finite subordinate clause],
relative clause, [noun clause];
• verb forms: present continuous – I'm using, past continuous – was not having, present perfect
continuous – have been thinking, passive (various tenses) – are taught, to be learnt
• auxiliary verb – having, didn't, stative verb – felt, dynamic verb – returned;
• time adverbial phrase, time adverbial clause, conditional clause, purpose/result clause, reason
clause
‘Living language learning’ Paul Bress (2006) English Teaching Professional 42
Having just returned from a couple of weeks in Italy, I have been thinking again about how I learn (and like to learn)
foreign languages. On this particular occasion I came away thinking that the whole process is a very messy business
– and all the better for it! I found my Italian coming along in leaps and bounds without there being any semblance of
system in my learning. In fact, the way I learnt was almost diametrically opposed to the way languages are taught in
some classrooms.
Here are some examples of what didn’t happen to me in Italy:
• I didn’t learn all the reflexive pronouns in 45 minutes.
• I didn’t learn one preposition, and then seven more because ‘that was what we were doing that day’.
• I didn’t learn how to say seventeen, and then all the other numbers between ten and twenty, because ‘that was on
the syllabus’.
My awareness that I was not having to endure this process reminded me of the need to mimic L1 acquisition in
the L2 classroom, something that has always felt right to me subjectively. If we do try to mimic the L1
acquisition process, then we are encouraging the holistic learning process. In other words, we are encouraging
language to be learnt not in the suspended animation of the pick ’n’ mix classroom, but in a way that is part
and parcel of living itself. So I’m using holistic learning here to mean ‘learning to do things in a foreign
language’.
However, it’s one thing to make the case for holistic learning, but quite another to say what it constitutes.
Here is my attempt to do so.
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Grammar revision – answers [continued]
A. In the following extract, find examples of the following:
• complex sentence, compound sentence, finite subordinate clause, [non-finite subordinate clause],
relative clause, [noun clause];
• verb forms: present continuous – I’m using, past continuous – was not having, present perfect
continuous – have been thinking, passive (various tenses) – are taught, to be learnt
• auxiliary verb – having, didn't, stative verb – felt, dynamic verb – returned;
• time adverbial phrase, time adverbial clause, conditional clause, purpose/result clause, reason
clause
‘Living language learning’ Paul Bress (2006) English Teaching Professional 42
Having just returned from a couple of weeks in Italy, I have been thinking again about how I learn (and like to
learn) foreign languages. On this particular occasion I came away thinking that the whole process is a very messy
business – and all the better for it! I found my Italian coming along in leaps and bounds without there being any
semblance of system in my learning. In fact, the way I learnt was almost diametrically opposed to the way
languages are taught in some classrooms.
Here are some examples of what didn’t happen to me in Italy:
• I didn’t learn all the reflexive pronouns in 45 minutes.
• I didn’t learn one preposition, and then seven more because ‘that was what we were doing that day’.
• I didn’t learn how to say seventeen, and then all the other numbers between ten and twenty, because ‘that was on
the syllabus’.
My awareness that I was not having to endure this process reminded me of the need to mimic L1 acquisition
in the L2 classroom, something that has always felt right to me subjectively. If we do try to mimic the L1
acquisition process, then we are encouraging the holistic learning process. In other words, we are encouraging
language to be learnt not in the suspended animation of the pick ’n’ mix classroom, but in a way that is part
and parcel of living itself. So I’m using holistic learning here to mean ‘learning to do things in a foreign language’.
However, it’s one thing to make the case for holistic learning, but quite another to say what it constitutes.
Here is my attempt to do so.
B. Sentence constituents – mark these sentences with SVOCA (See ch. 12 of Thornbury, S. (1997)
About Language, Cambridge: CUP)
The whole process is a very messy business.
I didn’t learn all the reflexive pronouns in 45 minutes.
So I’m using holistic learning here to mean ‘learning to do things in a foreign language’.
C. Look at the seven underlined verb forms in the text. Discuss which meaning of that form they
represent and why that form was chosen.
• have been thinking – recent activity, continuing, relevant to present
• learn – habitual activity
• is – general truth
• learnt – past completed activity at a specific time
• are taught – habitual activity, passive because agent is assumed (‘by teachers’)
• are encouraging – current activity going on during a specific (temporary) time period
• am using – current activity at this moment
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D. Time and tense – read the following sentences. What is the tense of each verb in bold? Does the
verb refer to the present, the past or the future? (See Thornbury, About Language ch. 16)
1. My son is graduating next year. present continuous/future reference
2. When you have finished your marking, how about going out for a while? present
perfect/future ref.
3. Hello, I didn’t know you worked here! simple past/present ref.
4. Mary tells me that you’re looking for a new job. simple present/past ref.
5. It’s time you were moving on! past continuous/present ref.
6. I’ll email you as soon as I get to work. present simple/future ref.
7. If nobody turned up for next week’s session, what would you do? simple past/ future ref.
8. I’ll open that door for you! ‘will’ future/present or very near future ref
From this exercise, what conclusions can you draw about the relationship between time and tense?
No one-to-one relationship can be assumed.
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Teaching grammar at levels 1 and 2 (mostly verb phrase issues)
Choose one of the following areas, and with your partner:
1. Brainstorm what you know about this topic, how you could teach it, etc.
2. Look it up in course books and grammar books to find out the key uses, problem
areas, etc.
3. Decide which contexts would be most suitable for teaching this item and what
order you would do things in
4. Evaluate the material you have looked at for use with a Level 1 or 2 class
 Modals for possibility and probability
 Modals for deduction
 Modals for obligation
 Conditionals
 Present perfect simple and continuous
 Sentence linking – contrast, reason, result clauses (although, however, in spite
of, because, so that, etc)
 Future forms
 Tenses in time clauses (when, as soon as, etc)
 Gerunds and infinitives
 Relative clauses
 Passive
 Indirect questions and reported speech
 Participle clauses
 Focusing with noun clauses (it clauses, what clauses)
This resource has been produced as a result of a grant awarded by LSIS. The grant was made available through the Skills
for Life Support Programme in 2010. The resource has been developed by practitioners. The contents should not be
compared with commercially produced resources, although in many cases it may have comparable or better learning
outcomes.
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