Ok, maybe he didn’t ask me with THOSE EXACT WORDS, but you get the gist. I decided to give a present to a friend of mine who was on vacation but wouldn’t be able to travel. I was feeling like a Genie and the magic lamp and offered him 3 wishes regarding English learning. I said I’d teach him 3 lessons for free and asked him what he would he like to study or review.
Right off the bat he said:
“The present perfect, Mo. I don’t know how to use it.”
Students all over the world suffer from this grammatitis infection when they’re exposed to English as a school subject where they have to learn grammar points and vocabulary to pass exams. Period. Not to communicate. 
So I told David a story about Jesus and how he healed Peter’s mother-in-law from a terrible fever. 
We worked with rough sketches to represent Jesus in Capernaum.
Where is Jesus? In the synagogue. Going to peter’s house for lunch. 
Where is Peter? In the synagogue. Taking Jesus to his home.
Where’s Peter’s mother-in-law? At home. In bed.
What’s wrong with her? She’s sick. She’s ill. She has a fever.
And now… what has Jesus just done? He has healed her.
With that story I could introduce the grammar point I’m trying to teach (Present Perfect)
When teaching grammar, the first No, No is: don’t teach grammar ( on the other hand … don’t treat grammar as a 4-letter word)
How?
1. Avoid discussing aspects of grammar without a context. A dialogue, a story, even a song can add context.
2. Whenever possible give learners time to discover grammar for themselves. In the story about Jesus, what verbs can you see? How were they used?
3. Use games to teach and reinforce grammar. From hangman to tic-tac-toe , to board races.
4. Give learners time to practice grammar in a meaningful way, guide and supervise their practice.
5. Avoid rule teaching … otherwise, learners will focus on the grammar rules and won’t be able to speak it.
Remember that the goal of learning English is to reach a level of acceptable fluency and learner independence.
Cheers,
Mo
(P.S. – yes, he learned the grammar point but now it’s in his hands to notice it around him and use it).
The Americanoid Blog 