Let us look at two terms which we will use frequently – ‘Grammar games’ and ‘ grammar practice activities’.
Grammar Games (GG)
The concept of grammar games is to make the learning of grammar interesting and fun. The practice in various areas of grammar is done with the help of games. So while playing games, students also indulges in practicing and learning grammar.
Grammar Practice Activities (GPA)
Grammar practice activities are those activities which are especially designed for students to practice grammar, but they differ from the traditional grammar exercises as they are interesting and fun and not monotonous and mechanical. Also grammar practice activities also provide students an opportunity to use grammar in their communication and other language skills. Both grammar games and grammar practice activities help learners to engage themselves in using their grammatical skills in their communication. These give them opportunity to involve in communication which makes them able to speak, listen, understand and thus improve their communicative competence.
Grammar Practice Activities
Let us now look at some of the grammar practice activities which are useful and interesting.
1. Level: Secondary
Grammar: Present Perfect (Passive)
To make the activity happen, teacher should draw two pictures of classroom on the board. One of the pictures should have things in state of disorder, e.g. children all over the place, furniture’s in state of disorder, blackboard with lots of thing written all over, papers all over the place. The second picture should show everything in place.
Now teacher should ask the students to identify the changes which have taken place in the second picture and tell them.
Example:
(a) The blackboard is clean in the second picture.
(b) The students in organized manner.
(c) The floor of the room has been cleaned.
This activity provides students with natural context for the use of present perfect and passive form of the language.
2. Level: Secondary
Grammar: Gerunds as object
Procedure: Teacher should ask students to remember their last birthday and tell what all they remember about it. For example:
I remember Inviting lots of friends
Getting lots of gifts
Delicious dinner
An amazing party
This will make students use gerund in natural and real context.
3. Level: Secondary
Grammar: Articles and Preposition
Procedure:Teacher should think of different telegraphic messages and ask students to expand them in continuous
sentences. This activity will help students to make use of articles and preposition wherever necessary.
For example:
Examination postponed. Reschedule ticket.
The examination which was supposed to happen next week has been rescheduled for next month; therefore please make necessary arrangement to reschedule the ticket accordingly.
Example:
Arriving London, 22nd September. Book Hotel.
I am arriving in London on the 22nd September; therefore please make the arrangement for my stay in hotel.
This activity can also be used for other areas of grammar like conjunction.
4. Level: Secondary
Grammar: Future Simple/Reported Speech
Procedure: This activity is interesting as it involves an interesting look in to the future, hypothetical though, but still interesting. Teacher should the class in two groups. And ask one the group members to be the fortune teller and step aside. Now every student of groups will go their respective fortune teller and would ask questions like – What will I do in my career? How my married life is going to be? They should note answers in their notebook and report to the rest of the group members.
For example:
He said that I am going to become a pilot.
He said I will become a stockbroker.
He said I will become a doctor.
He said I will get married at the age of 34.
