Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Dependent Prepositions

This is a grammar activity I came up with in the late nineties where students can systematically practice using prepositions.  First, the students do a matching activity where they link the sentences together based on the prepositions.  Then the next page is a chart with a bunch of words that require prepositions such as 'similar TO' or 'Angry WITH/AT'.  The students must first choose the correct preposition and then ask a question or make a sentence using the word correctly.  The other students or teachers respond to the question or statement and they try to talk as long as they can as a chance to practice and develop fluency.  There are some words like 'discuss' that do not require a preposition, but a preposition is commonly added by non-native speakers of English so it gives the teachers a teaching opportunity to go over common mistakes made with prepositions.  I have taught this activity successfully with large groups, small groups and one-to-one situations in traditional and virtual classrooms.

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