ren vanMeenen ren vanMeenen

Present perfect
Intermediate level

Description

In this lesson, students extend their practice with the present perfect tense, continuous and simple, through practice, reading, and speaking about texts related to the preparations for a party (and one provided in an earlier lesson). The lesson starts with a discussion picking up on a previous lesson about the form and use of this tense. This is followed by two controlled practice exercises: one identifying sentences as continuous or simple, and one where students create the correct present perfect form with given verbs. This is followed by a controlled practice exercise where students study a picture and produce sentences in the present perfect continuous tense in a competitive team format. Finally, there is a freer speaking practice where students discuss changes in their hometowns, relating back to the initial reading from an earlier lesson about the stages of life and changes over time.

Materials

Abc Checking matching sentences to definition of tense
Abc A Story about a Party
Abc Speaking exercise for Group A
Abc Speaking exercise for Group B
Abc Checking fill-in-the-verb answers

Main Aims

  • To provide review and practice of the TL: uses and function of the present perfect tense, continuous and simple

Subsidiary Aims

Perhaps the most important element of any plan is the part where we say what our aims are.Jeremy Harmer in The Practice of English Language Teaching

Procedure

Warmer/Lead-in (5-6 minutes) • To set lesson context and engage students

WELCOME and re-introductions (names) WARM-UP: Using full sentences, elicit responses from each student to at least two of these four questions on the WB: How long have you been studying English? (use FOR) How long have you been studying English? (use SINCE) What have you been doing for the last hour and a half? How are you feeling right now? (First, model a sentence) Elicit brief discussion of differences in tense and meaning LEAD-IN: Elicit recall of story of Maria from earlier today and pose questions about her past and current life.

Exposure (3-4 minutes) • To provide context for the target language through a text or situation

Present vocab for this exercise: "emphasis" and "duration"--first writing on WB and eliciting definitions from students and providing those that are necessary. Review present perfect continuous and present perfect simple tenses using headers on colored paper strips pasted onto the WB. These headers (extracted from the checking/answer key) define and outline different uses of present perfect continuous and present perfect simple tenses.

Focus on TL-meaning (8-10 minutes) • To clarify concept and prepare students for more meaningful practice

Students in groups of 2-3 decide which sample sentences in present perfect tense (on colored paper strips) fit under which headers (posted on WB) and post them on WB. We then check answers and correct.

Controlled Practice (6-8 minutes) • To concept check further and prepare students for more meaningful practice

This builds on practice with sentences. Present vocab for this exercise: "anniversary," "enormous," "invitation," "suspect" (v), "outfit," and "persuade"--first writing on WB and eliciting definitions from students and providing those that are necessary. Read paragraph and discuss who might have written it and what they are planning. In groups of 2-3, students fill in the correct form of the verbs. We then check answers. (Any early finishers can share their answers on WB)

Semi-Controlled Practice (5-8 minutes) • To provide students with semi-controlled practice of the target language

This builds on students identifying sentences and changing verbs to present perfect tense in each of the two previous exercises and gives more agency in producing their own examples of this tense. Present vocab for this exercise: "competition" and "compete"--first writing on WB and eliciting definitions from students and providing those that are necessary. Students study a picture of people getting ready for a party. Students write full sentences describing what the people are doing, using the present perfect continuous tense (model given first). This is a competition: student teams of 2-3 are competing with each other to write the greatest number of sentences in a fixed amount of time (4 minutes). They should write on paper first so as not to influence other teams and then rush to WB to complete. The lists can then be compared. NB: If time is short, skip the WB step and finish with the lists as they exist on paper.

Freer Practice (5-6 minutes) • To provide students with freer practice of the target concept

Post list of "useful language" on board. Students in Group A and B (divided as necessary by number of students) respond to questions relating back to reading from previous lesson that was touched on at the beginning of this lesson. They can address all 6 questions or focus on one that elicits the most discussion. End with a student from each sharing one interesting thing shared by someone else in their group.

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