A) types of exercises;

Types of exercises are various. I use the following exercises.

1. Recognition exercises – the easiest type for pupils. – Auditory and visual memory is at work.

2. Drill exercises are more complicated as they require reproduction on the part of the pupils. The pupils cannot assimilate the material if they only hear and see it. They must reproduce it both in outer and inner speech. The more often they say it the better they assimilate the material. These exercises should be a) repetitive drill ( after a teacher or a tape-recorder) b) substitution (Dogs are playing in the yard ( in the park, in the garden…) c) completion (complete the sentence) d) answering the teachers questions.

3. Creative exercises (speech exercises). They may be a) making statements (on pictures, on the objects). b) asking questions with a given grammar item. c) speaking about the situation offered by the teacher. d) speaking on a suggested topic e)making dialogues using the grammar item covered. f) dramatizing the text read g)commenting on a film h) telling the story i) translating into English j) participating in free conversation in which pupils are not to use the grammar item they have learned.

4. Grammar tests of different kinds: a) auditing b) speaking c) reading d) tests. Tests allow the teacher to evaluate pupils’ achievements in grammar. Tests in grammar may involve: filling in the blanks; opening the brackets; transformation (make it negative, put questions); extension; completion; making statements on the pictures given; translation.

3. b) grammar practice.

It is widely believed that practice is of vital importance in the teaching and learning of grammar. The following factors contribute to successful practice:

1) Pre-learning. Practice is more effective when new language is clearly perceived and taken into short-term memory by the learners.

2) Volume and repetition. The more language the learners are exposed to or produce, the more they are likely to learn. The learners should have plenty of time and opportunity to listen, speak, read and write.

3) Success-orientation. Practice is most effective if it is based on successful practice.

4) Heterogeneity. Practice should be able to elicit different sentences and generate different levels of answers from different learners.

5) Teacher assistance. Practice is most effective when teacher assistance is available, such as suggestions, hints and prompts.

6) Interest. Interest is an essential feature of successful practice. Learners who are bored find it difficult to concentrate and their attention wanders.

Grammar practice is usually divided into two categories, mechanical practice and meaningful practice.

Mechanical practice: Mechanical practice involves activities that are aimed at form accuracy. By doing mechanical practice, the students pay repeated attention to a key element in a structure. Substitution and transformation drills are most frequently used in mechanical practice.

Meaningful practice: In meaningful practice the focus is on the production, comprehension or exchange of meaning through the students “keep an eye on” the way newly learned structures are used in the process. Meaningful practice usually comes after mechanical practice.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1720