How do you teach sentence pattern?

Answer 1

Of course, there is no one best way to teach a sentence pattern (SP). It all depends on the sentence you are teaching, the level of your students, how many students you have, etc. Below, however, is a general guide based on the PPP model that works great for new teachers. The PPP model has received a lot of criticism, but it is a great place for inexperienced teachers to start, due to it's simplicity:

PRESENT the language

Help students PRACTICE reading, writing, speaking, listening skills with the new language.

Encourage students to PRODUCE new meanings with the language.

Present the sentence to the class. This means showing them the meaning of the sentence, and the context in which it can be used. For example when teaching the sentence pattern 'Where is my _______?' you could start by looking for your phone while the students watch silently. By watching you walk around the classroom scratching your head, checking under things and looking puzzled as you ask: "Where is my phone?" some of your students will begin to get the idea that you are looking for something. By the time you have 'found' the phone (which to everyone's general amusement was in your pocket) and said "Oh! My phone is in my pocket!" most of your students will understand the meaning of the question, and at least one context in which it can me used. Reinforce this by searching for a few more things (and asking the question out loud) and the rest of your students should soon catch on too. While it isn't always as easy as this, there is usually some kind of scenario you can build to present the language without the need for translation.

Multimedia is also a great tool for presenting a sentence pattern. For example, if you were teaching 'He likes/doesn't like (activity).' you could show the students some pictures/videos of a boy doing various activities, and tell the class about his reaction to each. A boy on a roller-coaster looking terrified: "He doesn't like roller-coasters!" A boy playing football and really enjoying himself: "He likes football."

At this point it isn't important for your students to be able to use the language for themselves. So long as they understand its meaning, and the context in which it can be used, you have done a good job here. A few more things to keep in mind:

• Create positive feelings about what you are going to learn. Move around the classroom, avoid speaking in monotone, be genuinely interested in the content.
• Keep presentations short.
• Create curiosity by adding mystery and surprise
• Appeal to their humor
• Make presentations relevant (i.e. show them how and why the language is relevant to their lives)

Practice the new language. Once your students understand the meaning of the language, and the context in which it can be used, it is time to help them improve their accurate use of it. Without boring your students, you need to help them become familiar with the correct pronunciation, intonation, spelling, structure etc. of the new sentence. This can be done with drills and games.

I always start by doing a substitution drill of the SP with the whole class. A substitution drill is used reinforce student understanding of how words can be substituted into the SP to create new meanings. Just write the sentence up on the board (if you didn't already during your presentation) leaving a dotted line where you want to substitute words, read it out to the class, and have them repeat it along with you (you say everything twice). Remember that they should already know the meaning, now you are modelling fluent speech, and giving them a chance to compare theirs with yours. Drills are BORING, so only do this once or twice for each new vocabulary word (focus on the ones they are having trouble with).

After I drill, I usually play games for the remainder of the practice stage. Here are some examples taken with permission from the TESOL textbook.

Speaking Game - 'Tic Tac Toe'

Great for practicing a sentence pattern where two words can be substituted (such as 'He doesn't like baseball.' where 'doesn't like' can be replaced with 'likes', and Baseball can be replaced with any number of activities) Draw a 3x3 grid on the board. Now write three words down the left side. In this case I would write 'likes', 'doesn't like', and 'likes'. Do the same on the top, this time with three different activities. Once set up, get a student to choose a square for his team. Before the student can draw his naught/cross however, he needs to make a sentence with the two words corresponding to that square. For example if on the left is 'likes' and on the top is 'Badminton', they would make the sentence: 'He likes badminton'. Once they have said the sentence aloud (perhaps with help from you), they can take their turn. In larger classes where you may not be able to give all students a chance to play, make sure you have the whole class repeat the sentence after you so as to continue practice.

Listening Game - 'Correct the teacher'

A very simple game my students always enjoyed. Basically I stand in front of the class and make sentence after sentence using the SP of the class. The students all need to sit and listen carefully for any mistake I make, and be the first to stand when they hear one. To win the point, they need to tell me what I said, and what I should have said. For example If I said "He like Basketball." my students would all jump up, and the first would have to tell me something like: "Teacher, you said 'he like', but it's 'he likes'.

Reading Game - 'Beat the Bomb'

Another staple of mine. Great when teaching an SP with a list of vocabulary words. Basically you line all the words (written on paper) up in a row on the floor of a classroom, then designate one (secretly) as 'The Bomb' either mentally or by placing a picture of a bomb under one card. Students come up one at a time, and must move along the line and substitute each word into the SP. They must stop before they reach 'the bomb' and get extra points the closer they are. Again, you should have the sentence displayed on the board for reference by students.

Writing - 'Writing Relay'

Basically just team dictation (but don't tell your students that). You say a variation of the SP, and two teams of students compete to be the first to write it. One student one word. Very exciting for your students.

A few things to keep in mind where games are concerned:

Have fun yourself. Just as with the presentation, your mood has a big impact on that of your students. Reward the winner(s) and the losers. Stop playing the game before the students lose interest.

Produce the language. Now that you have improved your students' accuracy, it is time to improve their fluency with the new language, and their existing language skills. To do this, teachers create a scenario in which students interact with one another using English in a spontaneous setting. Some good examples:

• Information Gap activities
• Task-Based Activities
• Role-plays

To become TESOL qualified yourself, or for help finding work in China, visit the You Can Teach website.

Answer 2

When teaching sentence patterns, start by introducing basic sentence structures like subject-verb-object. Then, gradually introduce more complex patterns like compound sentences or complex sentences. Provide examples and practice exercises to help students understand and apply these patterns in their writing. Encourage students to analyze and deconstruct sentences to see how different elements come together to create various patterns.