LESSON 53: A THING OF THE PAST

Here’s the first of two lessons that deal with the past form of regular and irregular verbs, as well as time expressions.
As you correct Etapa 3 and review the contents of their preparation, make sure they know which verbs are regular and which are irregular, make sure you confirm their understanding of the meaning and use of most of these verbs—through questions, that is—and do not overlook the importance of good pronunciation of the past forms of regular verbs. That ED sound is bound to be tricky, and the worst thing you can do is think you needn’t worry about it now; they’ll eventually come to terms with it; etc. Teach them now, practice now, and do it well. Use the board a lot and write the verbs in columns identified with the sound they contain at the end: either |d|, |t|, or |Id|. You can even do that in the form of a game—a quick one at that, of course.

As preparation for today’s Interaction, you’ll have to explain and model each of the three types of activities, dedicating the same amount of time and attention to each of them. No student is to start working until you’ve taken care of all three—that is important here. It is always important, sure, but all the more today, because they’ll have to work together and check out all three later on—regardless of their level.

Here’s an easy trap to fall into: turning your C1s and C2s into helpers or assistants or what have you. Sure they’re going to help, but do not limit their participation in today’s class to that role. Be sure to stimulate them and to encourage them. The activity is supposed to challenge them, to make them think, to make them learn. It’s easy to fall into that trap because we often fail to realize that they have their own task to do, and that task is just as important as helping out their lower level peers. Be warned, then.
When you move on to the Closing, you will talk about the importance of collaboration, cooperation, the whole nine yards. But you must do so in a way that you believe in what you’re saying—and that will make them believe in it too. Why do I say that? They’ve heard this speech plenty of times, that’s why. It’s got to have meaning, and it’s got to live up to its meaning. In order to do it well, put yourself in your students’ shoes and ask yourself these questions: Is this the learning experience I was seeking? Was this class as profitable for me as I would like it to be? Did I learn as much as I helped others learn?
If you do that, I guarantee you will talk to your students in a way that you will reach them a lot more successfully. Good luck and have a great class!

LESSON 54: STILL IN THE PAST

Here’s the second lesson in the sequence. Again, you will be dealing with past forms of both regular and irregular verbs.
When you’re going over their preparation and Etapa 3, much like you did last class, check their understanding of the verbs, their meaning, and their application. Don’t just focus on their ability to memorize the past forms of these verbs, though. Use the board aplenty and cover the structure of positive, interrogative, and negative sentences as well.

Now it’s time to explain and model today’s Interaction. In order to make it meaningful, as opposed to mechanical or drill-like, have your students add more information than just the question. They need a time expression there—or a context—in order to make the Simple Past make sense. If you fail to do that, they may confuse these questions with have-you-ever type questions, and while I know that in American English the did-you-ever format is a lot more commonplace, that is not the goal today, okay?

So make sure they ask such questions as, “Did you cry watching a movie last year?”, but not “Did you cry watching a movie this year?”, which would simply be inappropriate. Remember this is a class, so they must learn from it. “Anything goes” does not apply here. They need the function, yes, but you can’t overlook the importance of the form.
At the Closing, listen to what they have to say. Listen to everyone, those who have positive things to say and those who don’t, but don’t let the overall atmosphere turn into one of defeat and whining. Motivate them with your stories of falling and getting up again—linguistically, that is—and don’t forget to point out to them that, yes, there were moments in this class when things did go well.

Have a good one.