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Activity: Practicing Grammar, Vocabulary,
and Pronunciation
I enlarged and photocopied the picture
of Rosa and Manuel Castillo standing in front of a for-sale
house in How to Buy a Home in the United States on
page 1. I left
out the questions in the enlargement so that the students
could focus mainly on the picture. We discussed the difference
between “for sale” and “on sale,” which
had not been previously clear to all of the students.
We jotted down as many words as we could
that had to do with the theme of the picture. We talked
about the word “sign” as a noun, as in the “for
sale” sign, and “sign” as a verb, as in to
“sign” your name. “Sign” as a verb led
to the word “signature.” The students then again
reminded me of how irregular English is. For example, the
word “sign” is pronounced with a long “i”
and silent “g,” compared to the word “signature”
in which the “i” becomes short and the “g”
is fully pronounced. We then answered the questions below
the picture, which I found to be very helpful and comprehensive.
Next I enlarged and photocopied the picture
at the beginning of Lesson 1 of Unit 1, “This apartment
is too small.” I asked the students to call out the
different things they saw in the picture (e.g., “bookcase,”
“books,” “lamp”). This one simple exercise
worked very well because it showed me what vocabulary the
students already knew and which words/synonyms they needed
to learn. Vocabulary quizzes are something my students particularly
enjoyed, and I had plenty of material right there that would
serve as the basis for our next quiz.
A student in our class, Jacqueline, has
come a long way. She started the class as a beginner, not
knowing the meaning of “How are you?” She soon
was aceing each and every quiz given to her. The quizzes
helped all of the students to retain essential information.
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