Anne Robinson shows that it is possible to study and practise grammar with young learners and make it relevant, meaningful and fun at the same time!
What is grammar?
Let’s find out what the Cambridge English Dictionary says:
Can young learners study grammar rules and then use them?
Yes! Knowing rules can help students learn faster and make learning easier. Of course, the content and focus must be suited to our students’ age and level.
One thing to consider is if young learners are studying grammar in their first language and how similar to English their language is. I mainly teach Spanish children, who start learning about grammar at around seven years’ old and there are a lot of shared concepts (and differences!).
Let’s look at 5 ideas for focussing on grammar.
Idea 1: Getting creative with compound nouns
In the sets of flashcards for Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers, there are pictures of several compound nouns.
Suggestions for Pre-A1 Starters level: playground, armchair, table tennis, bedroom, football, meatballs, board game, tennis racket
- Show learners the flashcards for a few seconds and ask them what they saw.
- Write the words on your board or screen, highlighting the 2 words in each compound in different colours.
- Ask learners what they notice. (They’re all made from 2 words.)
- Explain that in English, we often make words in this way.
- If your learners share the same first language, you could compare this with their language.
The ‘rules’ of compound nouns
Spelling
Some compound words are written as 1 word (football, bedroom). Others are written as 2 (board game, tennis racket). This is important for learners to notice and remember when they learn new compound nouns.
Usually, the first word is singular (toothbrush, table tennis, football) with the exception of a few words like sports and clothes (sports equipment, clothes brush).
Pronunciation
Usually, the first word (or part of the word) is stressed:
Getting creative with compound nouns!
Invent a new word! Get learners to draw a cloudbow, or a sunbow.
Invent a new thing! For example, a neck brush or an elbow brush.
Idea 2: Find pictures, write your own challenges
It’s useful. It gets learners to think about the order that words need to go in.
In the second exercise, learners add very or really to sentences.
Again, a good way of focusing on rules but it’s not very personal or meaningful!
To make this more relevant, meaningful and fun, ask learners to find pictures for the 5 sentences in their coursebook. I easily found pictures for all of them in my book!
And/or, learners write their own very nice, really cool sentences. Then, they jumble their sentences for a classmate to unjumble.
Idea 3: Sentences about a picture
Fun Skills A1 Movers poster
This poster can be used to practise finding the differences and matching definitions to pictures, 2 tasks in the A1 Movers Test. You can see there is a mixture of sentence structures in the colour squares on the poster.
Why not use the poster to focus on a particular structure?
Present continuous: A girl is wearing a green sweater. A boy is holding a comic.
There is/there are: There are five people in both pictures.
But: In the top picture, a clown is giving the girl a ticket but in the bottom picture, a pirate is giving the girl a ticket.
This is something: This is something you can read when you are bored. This is something you need to buy when you go to the cinema.
Someone has… (*A2 Flyers level): Someone has put two bottles of juice in front of a rock.
Idea 4: Your own sentences – with a twist!
To make sure that learners use these conjunctions correctly and that they see their relevance, we can get them to write their own sentences.
I like to add a little twist or extra challenge. Here are 2 suggestions:
Which is false?
Two of the sentences are true, one sentence is false. Their classmates read them and decide which two are true and which sentence is false.
Me, my family, my friend
One sentence is about the learner, one about a family member, one about a friend. Their classmates read them and decide which sentence is about which person.
Idea 5: Grammar as a springboard for discussion
In this activity, learners work in pairs to complete sentences about the things and people they like and practise using relative clauses. Then, learners share and discuss their sentences.
You could use this for other grammar areas, like:
Superlatives: The best place to go at the weekend is the park. The most interesting subject at school is science.
Comparatives: Dogs make better pets than cats. Maths is more difficult than history.
Should: Everyone should learn two languages. No one should have to wear a school uniform.
Adverbs of frequency: My room is always tidy. In class, I never turn round and look at the back.
I hope I’ve shown that it is possible to study and practise grammar with young learners and at the same time, make it relevant, meaningful and fun!
Watch Anne share 5 ideas for teaching grammar to young learners in our Catch Up FUN series.
If you enjoyed this blog, make sure to check out Delia Kidd’s article about developing early literacy in very young learners.