Language Related Task
“I’ve been waiting here for 20 minutes ”
We often use the present perfect progressive to talk about actions continuing up to now, especially when we say how long they (the action) have lasted.
But after teaching present perfect continuous to the students, we need to check the concept very carefully. Some students might have problems understanding present perfect continuous tense because they will be confused between using present continuous and present perfect continuous.
As the present continuous is easy to use, some students may use present tense to express their ideas. But the problem is we do not use present tense to say how long the action has lasted. For example:
Instead of saying, “It has been snowing since Tuesday”, they might say, “It is snowing since Tuesday”.
Context: Adam and his friends want to watch a movie. Adam is waiting in front of the cinema. His friend Thomas sees him:
Thomas: “Hey mate; where is sue?”
Adam: “I don’t know. I’ve been waiting here for 20 minutes”.
That’s why we really need to ask them some concept questions to be certain that they really understand the meaning of the sentence. If we understand what the meaning is and can focus on it in simple and clear ways, then it is obviously more useful to the students than when we explain at length, fail to pinpoint the essential components of meaning and use complex language.
By asking concept question we can also establish whether students are clear about the meaning or not. For the above target language if we ask the concept questions-
1. Am I still waiting? Ans.– Yes.
2.When did I start waiting? Ans.– Before 20 minutes.
But if they say ‘No’, that means the meaning is not clear to them.
‘We wouldn’t have missed the train if we had taken a taxi’
Students most often have problems with conditional sentences. They don’t have a clear idea of when and how to use the conditionals. The conjunction
We often use the present perfect progressive to talk about actions continuing up to now, especially when we say how long they (the action) have lasted.
But after teaching present perfect continuous to the students, we need to check the concept very carefully. Some students might have problems understanding present perfect continuous tense because they will be confused between using present continuous and present perfect continuous.
As the present continuous is easy to use, some students may use present tense to express their ideas. But the problem is we do not use present tense to say how long the action has lasted. For example:
Instead of saying, “It has been snowing since Tuesday”, they might say, “It is snowing since Tuesday”.
Context: Adam and his friends want to watch a movie. Adam is waiting in front of the cinema. His friend Thomas sees him:
Thomas: “Hey mate; where is sue?”
Adam: “I don’t know. I’ve been waiting here for 20 minutes”.
That’s why we really need to ask them some concept questions to be certain that they really understand the meaning of the sentence. If we understand what the meaning is and can focus on it in simple and clear ways, then it is obviously more useful to the students than when we explain at length, fail to pinpoint the essential components of meaning and use complex language.
By asking concept question we can also establish whether students are clear about the meaning or not. For the above target language if we ask the concept questions-
1. Am I still waiting? Ans.– Yes.
2.When did I start waiting? Ans.– Before 20 minutes.
But if they say ‘No’, that means the meaning is not clear to them.
‘We wouldn’t have missed the train if we had taken a taxi’
Students most often have problems with conditional sentences. They don’t have a clear idea of when and how to use the conditionals. The conjunction
References: 1. Learning Teaching The Essential Guide to English Language Teaching, Jim Scrivener. 2. How English Works A Grammar Practice Book, Michael Swan & Catherine Walter. 3. The Lexical Approach, Michael Lewis.