When learning any new skill ,there will always be a sticky point - an area you just can't master no matter how hard you try ,how many times its explained or illustrated for you - it just won't go in . Learning English is no different....
Articles - easy enough ,basic English skill BUT knowing the rules is one thing .Applying those rules consistently is a different 'kettle of fish'. Even the most advanced learner has errors in this area .
Prepositions - so many to choose from !! So easy to make mistakes....students need to learn which verbs are followed by which prepositions ...
depends is always followed by on for example ...
here are some more to learn...
argue with /about
ask for
believe in
belong to
care for /about
insist on
know about
object to
retire from
suffer from
talk to /about
vote for
worry about
the list is almost endless.....
Adjectives - used to describe nouns but can be 'tricky' if using more than one in the same sentence.
They have an order to follow...general opinion / specific opinion /size /shape /age /colour /nationality /material
for example - Chinese food delicious becomes delicious Chinese food -
The second issue with adjectives is the 'endings' when it comes to describing how we feel about something -when to use the 'ing' and when to use the 'ed' endings? Its a fairly straight forward answer really which is good news for the student!
I am bored - how I feel
This film is boring - the reason I feel the way I do.
A task! Classify the following adjectives into descriptive /general opinion and specific opinion....
good ,French ,silly ,red ,clever ,horrible,green ,awful ,
old ,lovely ,friendly ,beautiful ,delicious ,bad ,intelligent
Plural nouns - another area where students often get 'mixed up' . As a teacher I often hear ,for example , childrens when I should be hearing child .Or persons rather than people.
Comparatives and superlatives - some things just have to be learned - using the rules and knowing the irregular verbs is an important part of being able to use both comparative and superlative structures.
In everyday life ,a non native speaker making mistakes in the above areas will almost always be understood so its not a huge problem.However ,if a student is planning and preparing for an exam its a different matter.These areas are of importance in any exam situation.
As a teacher , I keep a focus on these parts of English regardless of the students intentions with their learning . Business ,General , Conversation or exam English - I want my students to be fluent confident users of the language .
Articles - easy enough ,basic English skill BUT knowing the rules is one thing .Applying those rules consistently is a different 'kettle of fish'. Even the most advanced learner has errors in this area .
Prepositions - so many to choose from !! So easy to make mistakes....students need to learn which verbs are followed by which prepositions ...
depends is always followed by on for example ...
here are some more to learn...
argue with /about
ask for
believe in
belong to
care for /about
insist on
know about
object to
retire from
suffer from
talk to /about
vote for
worry about
the list is almost endless.....
Adjectives - used to describe nouns but can be 'tricky' if using more than one in the same sentence.
They have an order to follow...general opinion / specific opinion /size /shape /age /colour /nationality /material
for example - Chinese food delicious becomes delicious Chinese food -
The second issue with adjectives is the 'endings' when it comes to describing how we feel about something -when to use the 'ing' and when to use the 'ed' endings? Its a fairly straight forward answer really which is good news for the student!
I am bored - how I feel
This film is boring - the reason I feel the way I do.
A task! Classify the following adjectives into descriptive /general opinion and specific opinion....
good ,French ,silly ,red ,clever ,horrible,green ,awful ,
old ,lovely ,friendly ,beautiful ,delicious ,bad ,intelligent
Plural nouns - another area where students often get 'mixed up' . As a teacher I often hear ,for example , childrens when I should be hearing child .Or persons rather than people.
Comparatives and superlatives - some things just have to be learned - using the rules and knowing the irregular verbs is an important part of being able to use both comparative and superlative structures.
In everyday life ,a non native speaker making mistakes in the above areas will almost always be understood so its not a huge problem.However ,if a student is planning and preparing for an exam its a different matter.These areas are of importance in any exam situation.
As a teacher , I keep a focus on these parts of English regardless of the students intentions with their learning . Business ,General , Conversation or exam English - I want my students to be fluent confident users of the language .
