To do this exercise you need to know a language other than English reasonably well or to
be able to discuss the questions with someone who does (perhaps a student?). If you
don't know the language well, you may also find it helpful to refer to a 'self study' course
for learning that learner's language.
Choose a short text written in a language other than English. Also, if you have access to
one, consult a grammar of that language.
a. What is it about words or the contexts in which they are used which help you to
identify them as nouns?
b. Are there singular and plural forms of nouns? How are these distinguished?
c. Are nouns classified as being either countable or uncountable? What effects does
this have on other aspects of grammar? For example, do you have to choose
between different determiners such as much and many or between different forms
of verbs such as has or have?
e. Are collective nouns followed by singular or plural verb forms and pronouns?
f. Generalise about the differences between nouns in English and the language you
have chosen. In what ways (if any) does this influence the kinds of materials that
suit your learners?
Course materials
a. What (if any) explicit attention is paid to features of nouns? For example, are
there sections devoted to countability and uncountability?
Course materials
Choose a coursebook for each of two different levels or for different age groups. Consider
how much attention is paid to adjectives in each. You may find the following checklist of
points useful.
a. Are words taught in groups according to meaning? (For example, the book might
teach adjectives to describe aspects of personality such as cheerful, sentimental,
strong-willed or food such as tasty, delicious, salty, spicy.)
c. Are distinctions made between words with similar meaning (for example,
classic/classical)?
Exploring English
Gather three or four short written texts from very different sources, and ideally written in
different styles and for different purposes (for example, a letter from a friend; a serious
newspaper article; a recipe). Also listen very carefully to a brief extract of (preferably
unscripted) spoken English.
Consider:
b. what kinds of adverbs are used (for example, adverbs of frequency, attitude
markers)?
c. are there any instances of adverbs being used in ways that someone with a
conservative view of language might consider unacceptable?
Course materials
o as discourse markers?
d. Does the material pay attention to differing points of view about what is
acceptable? How consistently and at what levels?
e. To what extent are adverbs introduced and practised with particular items of
grammar? (For example, some courses introduce just, already, yet and ever at the
same time as introducing the present perfect.) If adverbs and grammar are
introduced together, how distinctly is the meaning of the adverbs treated, their
position in the sentence and their use with other forms of the verb?
Exploring English
a. how many of these indicate whether or not there is or isn't 'common ground' with
the intended reader or audience?
Select a short passage written by a learner of English or, if possible, record and
transcribe their speech. Analyse how they use or don't use articles and try to explain any
mistakes or examples of non-standard use.
Course materials
b. How accurate, comprehensive, clear and useful are the rules provided?
c. To what extent are the learners directed to explore how articles are used in texts?
d. What are the objectives of any practice activities and how well are these
achieved? (For example, do practice activities and exercises encourage learners to
internalise rules or practise making appropriate choices?)
Exploring English
Either:
• take a newspaper, a chapter from a book or a 15-20 minute stretch of someone
speaking (the task will be considerably easier if a recording is used as you can
stop this when you want) and scan the text for any use of quantifiers.
Or:
Make a list of the words and the contexts they occur in.
a. In each case account for the choice of word and the way it is used.
c. Look in particular at any instances of some and any to see what proportion of
these support the rule of thumb that we use some in affirmative sentences and
any in questions and negative sentences.
Course materials
a. Look in the Contents section and/or the Index. How easy or difficult is it to find
where quantifiers are taught?
c. How much information is given about the meaning of the words and the way they
are used?
e. How clearly does the material clarify the difference between closely related forms?
(For example, some and any; either and neither.)
f. What opportunities does the material provide for studying how quantifiers are
used in context? Are authentic materials used?
Read the following very quickly and use a pen to circle which of the three words (correct;
dubious; incorrect) best describes your immediate reaction to the underlined part of the
sentence. Try not to look back at your answers to previous items as you go through it
a. Study your responses to this questionnaire, and try to give reasons for any
sentences that you have classified as dubious or incorrect.
b. Ask two or three very competent users of English to complete the same
questionnaire or one that you devise to focus on points of particular interest to
you. Compare their responses with your own and with each others. Is there any
disagreement? How can you account for this?
Exploring English
EITHER:
Ask two or three very competent speakers of English briefly to compare two or more
objects, people, institutions or ideas. Record them doing so and subsequently transcribe
any relevant sections of the recordings. Do not tell them the reason for this experiment.
OR:
Find a written text which is making a comparison (for example, comparing two or more
products in terms of value to the consumer, comparing two recordings of the same piece
of music, comparing two towns, comparing a place or life in a place before and after
significant changes).
d. Do they make any use of 'non-standard' expressions (more bigger; more big)
e. How clearly do they pronounce the sounds which are normally 'weak' (for
example, er; than) or are often left out (for example, the final /t/ in est).
Course materials
Study two coursebooks, if possible from the same series.
h. How much opportunity is provided for looking at how these forms are used in
authentic texts or transcriptions of spoken English?
i. How much opportunity is provided for practice of these forms? How controlled is
this practice? How natural is it?
Exploring English
Listen to a few minutes of someone speaking naturally (for example, not reading aloud or
reciting a poem), and if possible record them so that you can repeat the listening. How
clearly do they pronounce the prepositions? How easy or possible is it to recognise them
on the basis of sound alone?
Devise a brief questionnaire to find out people's reactions to variant and/or non standard
use of prepositions. Make a list of short phrases and read these aloud to four or five other
proficient users of English. Ask them to respond immediately by saying 'normal',
'acceptable' or 'unacceptable'. The following is an example for you to use or adapt.
Course materials
a. At what stage in the course do prepositions first appear? Is attention paid to them
explicitly at this stage?
b. At what stage in the course are learners first required or asked to produce
prepositions? Are the prepositions simply contained in larger units of language (for
example, I come from ....... . might be taught as a functional expression) or are
they explained in their own right?
Comparing dictionaries
Use the following list of verbs or, if you prefer, write a list of your own.
Choose two or more dictionaries, preferably ones intended for learners. Look up these
words and concentrate on the grammatical information that is provided.
b. How clearly is this expressed? (For example, is a code used which refers the user
to some other part of the book, or is the information included in or beside the
entry?)
c. Which dictionary would you recommend to students who want information about
the grammar of individual verbs?
Exploring English
Choose short extracts from different kinds of text, for example, from a novel, a
newspaper article, an advertisement, an interview. Ask yourself the questions that occur
on page 103 (Language in context) about these texts. To what extent can you generalise
about how often we use different kinds of verb (for example, main v auxiliary; event v
state; no object v object)?
o the verbs
c. Ask them whether they are conscious of these categories when they read or listen
or express themselves in English. Do they think a conscious knowledge of these
factors is:
o useful?
o not useful?
o a hindrance?
Dictionaries
Look up 7-8 multiword verbs or verbal expressions in one or more general dictionaries for
learners of English and/or dictionaries of 'phrasal verbs' or of 'idioms'.
Try to include at least one very common and one very rare item.
a. How clearly are different uses of the same multiword verb or verbal expression
differentiated from each other? (For example, make up a story v make somebody
up.)
d. How clearly does the material deal with aspects of word order and which words
can go together?
e. Are examples given of the items in context? Are these authentic? How clearly do
they illustrate key features of meaning and form?
Exploring English
Choose three authentic texts, each of two or three paragraphs in length, >from very
different sources (for example one might be a transcript of unscripted discussion, one
might be a newspaper article and the other an extract from a novel or written
advertisement).
1. Does there appear to be any difference in the frequency with which these forms
occur in the three texts?
2. Could these forms be replaced by simple verbs? Would this affect the meaning or
the tone of the texts?
Course materials
Look carefully at one or two coursebooks for learners of English at different levels or at a
book which is primarily designed to teach multiword verbs.
a. (coursebooks only) Is it clear from the contents pages where attention is paid to
multiword verbs and verbal expressions? Is this in a limited number of special
sections or is this integrated throughout? Are multiword verbs and/or multiword
verbal expressions treated simply as vocabulary items/expressions as they occur?
b. Are multiword verbs classified and taught separately as phrasal and prepositional
verbs?
o meaning;
o frequency;
o style;
o literalness
d. Are multiword verbs and multiword verbal expressions grouped together according
to any of the following criteria:
o the verb (for example, multiword verbs and expressions with give)
f. To what extent (if any) are students asked/encouraged to work out the meanings
of these items either from:
o the meanings of their constituent parts?
g. How much use (if any) is made of authentic text in which multiword verbs and
multiword verbal expressions occur?
o in choosing items?
i. In general, how thoroughly and interestingly do you think this topic is dealt with?
Construct a brief questionnaire to use with a few native speakers or other proficient users
of English in order to find out how they use or perceive that they use modal verbs. You
could use or adapt the following, or could explore other aspects of modal verbs.
Example questionnaire
What differences, if any, are there between the meaning or use of the sentences in the
following groups?
Comparing dictionaries
Look each of these up in at least two learners' dictionaries. The aim of this exercise is for
you to decide which of these two dictionaries you would most recommend to learners at
different levels.
a. How clearly, accurately and fully do the dictionaries define and illustrate the
different meanings of the different verbs?
b. How clearly, accurately and fully do the dictionaries describe and illustrate the
formal and syntactic characteristics of the verbs?
Course materials
• which uses of which modal verbs might you expect to be taught at this level?
• how detailed and comprehensive would you expect the material to be in terms of
subtleties of form and meaning (including analysis of differences between different
modal verbs)?
a. How clearly does the contents page or the index enable you to find the relevant
pages in the book?
b. Are:
o the different meanings and functions of the different verbs all considered
separately?
How much contrasting of different uses and different verbs is there (if at all)?
c. How clearly, accurately and fully does the material define and illustrate the
different meanings and functions of the different verbs? How appropriate is this?
d. What sorts of opportunities does the material provide for the students to practise
using the verbs? Is there a main focus on choosing correct forms? Are there
opportunities for the students to use the verbs in order to understand or express
ideas and opinions, or to obtain or communicate information?
Course materials
Study the Contents pages and indexes of course materials that you use or have access
to.
a. How easy is it to find where attention is paid to infinitive and -ing forms?
f. Does the material guide learners to analyse the use of infinitive and -ing forms in
authentic contexts?
g. Does the material provide learners with the opportunity to choose appropriate
forms?
Devise a very brief test/questionnaire to discover how aware your students are of this
area of grammar, and devise a diagnostic test to discover exactly what kinds of problems
this area of grammar poses them. The awareness test/questionnaire might ask the
students to identify and correct typical mistakes (for example, * I advised him going...),
and to comment on how they recognise that these are mistakes. The diagnostic test
might consist of a list of sentences to demonstrate the main uses of infinitive and -ing
forms. In each case, the students have to choose which form is appropriate (for example,
I wanted him going/to go).
Over a period of time teach a range of the major uses of infinitive and -ing forms. Repeat
the diagnostic test and discuss the results with your students.
Exploring English
EITHER:
Ask someone to tell you about their daily life. If you have access to the necessary
technology, record this so that you can listen to it several times and even copy part of it
down.
Find a magazine interview with someone talking generally about themselves and their
daily lives.
a. Explain to yourself the choices the speaker makes with regard to present tenses.
Course materials
Choose two coursebooks and compare how they teach tenses which can refer to present
time.
a. What 'rules' are provided? How accurate, comprehensive, clear and useful are
they?
b. What kinds of texts are provided? Are these real or are they especially constructed
to provide examples of a particular rule? If they are especially constructed, how
natural are they?
c. Are learners guided to work out the meaning of the language for themselves?
d. Is the use of the present perfect to refer to present events clearly distinguished
from its use to refer to past events?
e. What opportunities are provided for practice of present tense forms? Do these
involve simple choices between verb forms? Do they involve more extended
creative speaking or writing? Do they provide opportunities for students to work
together?
Exploring English
Select an article or feature from a newspaper which makes reference to the future. Also
ask someone to talk about their plans (for example, for the evening or weekend) and, if
possible, record them doing so. Try to avoid giving away your interest in what forms they
choose to express future time.
a. To what extent could you predict the choices they make from the standard rules of
thumb for future tenses?
b. Account for any choices that don't follow these rules of thumb.
Course materials
Choose an English language course which covers a range of levels. Examine the material
which teaches ways of expressing future time.
b. Where one form has more than one future meaning (for example, we use going to
for both plans and predictions) are the different meanings considered together or
at different places in the course?
c. Are the different ways of expressing time presented under formal labels (for
example, present simple), under meaning labels (for example, plans) or are both
kinds of label used?
d. Are there exercises in which learners have to choose between different forms of
the verb according to the context (for example, gap-fill exercises or exercises in
which the verb is provided in its infinitive form and the learner has to 'put it into
the correct tense')? In these exercises, is only one choice always considered to be
acceptable, or is the student encouraged to consider whether other forms might
also be appropriate?
Choose two future tense forms, and compare how these are treated in two reference
grammars of English.
b. What use (if any) do the grammars make of authentic text to illustrate this?
c. How much attention (if any) do the grammars pay to factors other than meaning
that can affect the choices we make (factors such as personal preference,
formality or type of text)?
EITHER:
Ask someone to tell you about their career or life. If you have access to the necessary
technology, record this so that you can listen to it several times and even copy part of it
down.
Find a magazine interview with someone talking generally about their careers or lives
a. Explain to yourself the choices the speaker makes with regard to present perfect
and past simple tenses.
Course materials
Choose two coursebooks and compare how they teach the past simple and the present
perfect to refer to past time.
a. What 'rules' are provided? How accurate, comprehensive, clear and useful are
they?
b. What kinds of texts are provided? Are these real or are they especially constructed
to provide examples of a particular rule? If they are especially constructed, how
natural are they?
c. Are learners guided to work out the meaning of the language for themselves?
d. Is the use of the present perfect to refer to past events clearly distinguished from
its use to refer to present events?
e. Are the uses of the present perfect simple clearly distinguished from those of the
present perfect continuous?
f. What opportunities are provided for practice of the language? Do these involve
simple choices between verb forms? Do they involve more extended creative
speaking or writing? Do they provide opportunities for students to work together?
g. How much attention does the book pay to this aspect of grammar compared to
other grammatical topics? Do you think this degree of attention is appropriate?
Exploring English
Listen attentively to people talking about the past. Ideally this should be unscripted (for
example, friends talking or a radio or television interview), but if you don't have access to
this, you could also use part of a feature film. If you have access to the necessary
technology, record this so that you can listen to it several times and even write it down.
a. Identify examples of simple past, past perfect and past continuous tenses.
Course materials
Choose one of the tenses considered in this chapter (for example, past perfect simple),
and find the parts of two coursebooks in which this is taught. You may find that the
approach in the two books is similar, but you may also find that there are significant
differences.
a. What 'rules' are provided? How accurate, comprehensive, clear and useful are
they?
b. What kinds of texts are provided? Are these real or are they especially constructed
to provide examples of a particular rule? If they are especially constructed, how
natural are they?
c. Are learners guided to work out the meaning of the language for themselves?
d. Does the material suggest that we can choose between different forms, or does it
suggest that there is always one, 'correct' form in any context?
e. To what extent are the uses of different forms compared and contrasted? (For
example, is the past continuous compared with the past simple?)
f. What opportunities are provided for practice of the language? Do these involve
simple choices between tenses? Do they involve more extended creative speaking
or writing? Do they provide opportunities for students to work together? Does the
material include exercises which demand one answer when more than one would
be possible?
g. How much attention do the books pay to this aspect of grammar compared to
other grammatical topics?
h. Think of a particular group of learners. How far do you think this degree of
attention is appropriate?
Comparing languages
Look back at the verbs marked 4-6 in the text in 16.4.2. Mentally translate these
sentences into another language that you know well, or collaborate with a student who
can do this for you.
c. What implications does this have for people learning used to and would?
Exploring English
Study two or three pages of a biography or history and look carefully at the verb forms
used.
Does the writer appear to have a strong preference for either of these forms?
Course materials
c. How clearly does the material distinguish between the use of the two forms?
d. Does the material make it clear that use of these forms isn't obligatory?
e. What kinds of opportunity does the material provide for practice of these forms?
Exploring language
Find two or three short newspaper articles in which there is some reporting of what was
said and/or ask someone to tell you about a conversation that you know they have had
with someone else (if possible record and transcribe part of this). Study the reporting
carefully or listen carefully to language and answer these questions:
b. To what extent do they summarise and interpret what was said in the process of
reporting?
Course materials
Choose one or more coursebooks which teach aspects of reported speech and analyse
the relevant sections.
a. What use is made of texts in which speech is reported naturally (i.e. summarised,
interpreted or commented on by the person who is reporting)?
b. How strict or flexible is the material in requiring learners to apply mechanical rules
for changing:
o tenses?
o word order?
Exploring language
Over a period of time, jot down conditional sentences that you come across listening to
the radio and television or reading books, magazines, newspapers and advertisements.
a. What proportion of these are two-part conditional sentences which conform to one
of the four basic 'types'?
d. What other features which don't conform to one of the four basic 'types' do you
come across?
e. Can you generalise about any differences in the kinds of conditional sentences
that occur in different kinds of speaking or writing (for example, newspapers as
opposed to novels, formal interviews or informal 'chatting')?
Course materials
c. To what extent do they teach the basic elements of all conditional sentences (for
example, the meaning of if and the tenses we use to express 'unreal' meaning)?
e. Do they include exercises and materials to help learners identify and get their
tongues round awkward combinations of auxiliary verbs?
f. Compare one of the books from this series with a book from another series. What
differences are there in the way they teach conditionals?
Exploring English
Select two or three texts or extracts from texts of different types, each of 6-8 lines.
Ideally, at least one of these should be a transcription of spoken English (if you have
access to recording facilities, you may be able to make the transcription yourself).
a. As far as you can, divide the texts into clauses, and the identify main clauses.
c. Count the number of times each of the 5 types of verb (object, object
complement etc.) occurs in the texts. Which types are most common? Does this
vary from text to text?
d. Compare the ratio of simple noun phrases (for example, one word) to complex
ones (a number of words). Does this vary from text to text? Are complex noun
phrases more common in subjects, direct objects or indirect objects?
Comparing grammars
Different grammars use different categories and different terms for identifying the basic
constituents of sentences. Compare two reference grammars.
a. What similarities and differences are there between the way the two books
analyse and describe the structure of sentences?
b. What similarities and differences are there between these analyses and
descriptions and those in Section 2 of this chapter?
c. How much attention does each book pay to aspects of word order and the basic
constituents of sentences?
Course materials
a. What explicit attention is paid to word order and the basic constituents of
sentences?
b. How clearly do the Contents section and the Index identify the material which
deals with these topics?
d. What opportunities are provided for learners to practise ordering words and basic
sentence constituents?
Exploring English
Study two or three pages of a magazine, newspaper or book. Look carefully at each
sentence.
a. What proportion of adverbials occur at the end of a clause, at the beginning or in
the middle? Is this affected by whether the clause includes one or more
adverbials? Is this affected by the type of adverbial (for example, their length,
whether the phrases begin with a preposition or a noun, whether the adverbials
refer to place, time or manner)?
b. Are there any instances of either there or it used as a dummy subject? Why are
these used to 'push' new information to the end of the clause?
c. Are there any other instances of fronting or spotlighting information? How would
meaning or emphasis be affected if the standard ordering of constituents were
followed?
Course materials
a. How much attention is paid to ways of fronting information, pushing it back and
putting it under the spotlight?
c. What kinds of guidance are given to learners in choosing and using variants on
the standard order of sentence constituents?
b. Does it teach that there is a pattern that underlies all question forms?
Extension Exercises
Exploring English
Mentally or on paper, translate the following sentences into a language that you know
well so that they sound natural and idiomatic. (If you don't know a language other than
English sufficiently well, try to enlist the help of an advanced learner.) Then answer the
questions which follow.
vi. It is believed that the attacker was a man of about 20, with long, fair hair, worn in
a pony tail.
a. Is there one form in the foreign language which is equivalent to the passive in
English or are you obliged to use different forms? If you are obliged to use
different forms, what determines the way you choose among these?
b. Did translating these forms present any particular problems or lead to any
particular insights? What?
Course materials
Locate those sections in the books which deal with passive constructions, and then
answer the following questions.
a. Is this topic dealt with in one section or are different aspects of it dealt with
separately?
e. How much opportunity is provided (if at all) for learners to study the use of
passive forms in authentic texts? Do these texts include spoken use as well as
written?
g. What opportunities are provided for learners to use passive constructions naturally
i.e. where the instructions or the task doesn't dictate that they use these?
Arrange to interview two or three learners of English who are at an intermediate level or
higher. If possible, ask them to write something in which you would expect passive
constructions to be used (for example, how some kind of manufactured goods are
produced - perhaps car tyres, socks or books), or ask them to talk about the subject and
record them doing so.
Ask them some questions about the use of passive constructions in English, for example,
Ask them to compare the use of these in English with any equivalent forms in their own
language(s).
Ask them how easy or difficult they have found it to:
Compare what they have to say about using passive constructions with the way they
used them in the initial exercise
Extension Exercises
Exploring language
Listen carefully to two people talking and, if possible, record this so that you can
transcribe a section of 20 or 30 lines. Also look at a page or two of some kind of textbook
(for example, dealing with history, politics or art).
d. Where do the various discourse markers occur in the sentences and paragraphs?
Course materials
Choose a book or part of a book that aims to teach 'conversational English' and one that
aims to teach writing skills.
a. How much space does each give to the use of discourse markers?
c. How precisely are broadly similar markers differentiated in terms of meaning and
function?
Exploring English
Choose a newspaper article and a page from a novel which includes a lot of dialogue - or,
if you have access to the necessary technology, record someone talking or a conversation
which you can then analyse.
a. Identify examples of ellipsis and substitution in these texts.
b. Identify any instances where opportunities for using ellipsis and substitution have
not been taken, and the language is consequently more 'wordy' than is necessary.
d. If you are able to do this, choose similar texts in a foreign language that you know
well. Identify examples of ellipsis and substitution. What kinds of words are left
out? What kinds of words are used as substitutes? How does this compare with
ellipsis and substitution in English?
Course materials
Choose course materials you are familiar with and, if possible, some that you don't know.
Analyse and compare them bearing in mind the following questions:
a. How easy is it to locate material which deals with the topic of ellipsisand
substitution? (Look at the contents page, 'map of the book', index orgrammatical
summary.)
g. Evaluate the materials in terms of the amount of attention paid toellipsis and
substitution and the effectiveness of this treatment
Extension Exercises
Exploring English
Skim through some pages of any book or magazine to identify adverbial clauses and the
use of conjunctions.
b. What proportion of the subordinate clauses precede (or follow) the main clause?
c. Can you identify any sources of difficulty for a learner in reading and
understanding the text?
Course materials
Choose one or two coursebooks and look at those parts which teach conjunctions and the
use of adverbial clauses.
a. Are the learners given the opportunity to notice and analyse how these are used
in real text?
b. Does the material clearly distinguish between conjunctions which can only be used
after the main clause, and those which can be used to introduce subordinate
clauses before the main clause?
c. Does the material help learners to decide what order to use for the main and
subordinate clauses where this is a matter of choice?
Exploring English
Skim through some pages of any book or magazine to identify noun clauses.
b. What proportion of these clauses use question words, if, whether or that as
conjunctions?
c. How often is that used (and not used) to introduce 'that clauses'?
d. Are there cases where that is left out which might cause difficulties of
comprehension for learners of English? (If possible, test this out by showing the
text to learners and asking them to identify any difficulties or potential
difficulties).
Course materials
Choose one or two coursebooks and look at those parts which teach noun clauses (you
may need to look under reported speech or indirect speech).
a. Are the learners guided to notice and analyse how these are used in real text?
b. Does the material deal with the use of noun clauses other than in reported
speech?
c. Does the material help learners to decide whether or not to use (or to leave out)
that?
Exploring English
Choose five or six pages of any written text. Skim through these pages and identify all
the examples of relative clauses.
a. How often are relative pronouns used in contexts where they could be left out?
b. How often is that used in contexts where another relative pronoun (for example,
who, whom, which) could be used?
c. Would any of these relative clauses pose particular problems of comprehension for
your students?
Investigate the difficulties your students have with relative clauses by carrying out one or
more of the following tasks. (You may also want to devise and use additional or
alternative tasks.) These tasks all presuppose that your students have a reasonable level
of English already.
a. Ask a class to carry out an exercise in constructing relative clauses. Use materials
from the students' coursebooks if they have these. Alternatively, you could ask
them to:
o complete sentences with gaps (for example, fill the gap with a relative
pronoun if one is necessary: I saw a child ______ was crying).
Ask them to indicate which answers (if any) they are:
b. Over a period of time analyse the compositions that students in one of your
classes write.
o to tell you when we use relative clauses and how we construct them;
o what problems they are aware of in understanding sentences which include
relative clauses;
Course materials
Choose materials which aim to teach or practise relative clauses. You may need to look
through a coursebook or a series of coursebooks in order to identify those parts which
deal with this aspect of grammar.
a. What attention does the material pay to the reasons for using relative clauses?
c. Are relative clauses introduced bit by bit over a period of time or are they
considered as a single, major, topic?
d. Does the material make it clear that we use relative clauses in spoken as well as
written English? Are there spoken as well as written practice activities?
h. Does the material deal with defining and non-defining clauses separately from
relative clauses?
i. Does the material encourage learners to use relative clauses other than in
controlled practice activities? How?
Look for a short section of text which contains a number of non-finite clauses and, as far
as possible, a variety of non-finite clause types. (You can choose one of the examples
used in section 4 of this chapter.)
Use the text with a class of learners with a good level of English, concentrating on
general reading skills. When you are satisfied that they understand the main points in the
text and much of the key vocabulary, ask them very specific questions to test whether
they understand the function of the non-finite clauses in the text, and ask them to write
down their answers so that you can collect them in and analyse them. For example, if
you used the text about Czech beers on page 374, you might ask:
Then point out the non-finite clauses and ask the learners to underline them. Ask them
whether they see these as presenting any problems of comprehension.
• What are the problems?
• Do they use non-finite clauses in their own English? How much? What types?
Ask a group of students with a good level of English to write a composition. Prepare the
activity so that they are motivated to write, and so that they have sufficient ideas and
vocabulary for this not to be too difficult.
The aim of this exercise is to analyse what they write to see if and how they use non-
finite clauses, and so you may want to encourage them to do this by reminding them
explicitly to use the clauses. Alternatively you may want to do this more indirectly. You
can give them a text to read which includes a lot of non-finite clauses, and you can ask
them then to put this on one side and to express what the writer said in their own words,
adding their own opinions and reactions to the topic.
Analyse their compositions to see how much use they make of non-finite clauses.
• If you have carried out Exploring how learners use language 1 with the same
learners, to what extent are their impressions about how they use non-finite
clauses confirmed in these compositions?
Course materials
Choose a coursebook or series of coursebooks and identify where non-finite clauses are
taught. You may need to look under different headings to find the relevant materials (for
example, participle clauses or -ing clauses or infinitives).
e. How much attention is paid to appropriacy of use (for example, whether the
clause is appropriate in spoken or written English, whether its use is particularly
formal)?
g. For example,
Exploring English
a. Underline:
o phrases in apposition
o prepositional phrases
d. Are commas used to separate non-defining clauses from the main clause?
Course materials
Choose one or two coursebooks and look at those parts which teach defining and non-
defining clauses and phrases.
a. Are the learners encouraged to notice and analyse how these are used in real
text?
b. Does the material deal with phrases and clauses other than relative clauses?
e. Does the material suggest that we always separate non-defining clauses and
phrases from the rest of the sentence by a comma, or does it acknowledge that
we are flexible about this?
f. Does the material acknowledge that it is not always clear whether phrases are
defining or non-defining?
Find a piece of authentic written English on a topic that you think will be of interest to
one of your classes. Look specifically for a text which includes complex sentences that
you think will cause difficulties of comprehension for many of students.
After using the text in class for general comprehension purposes and/or discussion of the
topic, ask the students to pick out any sentences whose grammar makes them difficult to
understand and ask them to explain where the difficulties lie.
If the students don't focus on the sentences you had anticipated, draw their attention to
these, and ask them to explain them to you.
What insights or knowledge do you gain through carrying out this activity?
Choose a class which has already studied and practised aspects of constructing complex
sentences in English.
In class, prepare the students to write a composition by discussing the topic and
providing some help with vocabulary and expressions which will be useful to them. Tell
the students that in correcting the composition you will focus in particular on the
construction of sentences and will give credit for appropriately constructed complex
sentences.
Before you collect in the compositions, ask students to mark on the composition in a
different coloured pen any sentences or parts of sentences that they either feel they have
constructed particularly well, or that they feel particularly unsure about. Ask them to add
a written comment to explain their markings.
a. What specific strengths and difficulties are characteristic of your students' writing?
b. What is the relationship between these strengths and difficulties and the particular
aspects of sentence construction they have studied?
c. What is the relationship between these strengths and difficulties and the way
sentences are constructed in their first language(s)?
f. Is there any other way in which you can account for differences between
individual students with regard to their ability in this respect?
If possible, ask a colleague or some colleagues to carry out a similar activity so that you
can compare and discuss the results.
Course materials
Choose some course materials which your students use to study English. Consider the
following specific questions:
a. How much guidance and practice is provided in identifying and unravelling the
meaning of complex sentences and badly-expressed sentences?