Chapter 5

Standing in the Spotlight:

Presenting to the Class

In This Chapter

▶ Asking for answers

▶ Using visual aids

▶ Making sure that your students understand

▶ Expanding vocabulary

▶ Using proper grammar

Y

ou generally divide a lesson into three distinct parts – Presentation,

Practice and Production. This chapter concentrates on the Presentation

stage of the lesson and I show you what to include.

The Presentation stage of the lesson is the shortest stage, and happens right

at the beginning. The teacher explains the new words or grammar as thor-

oughly as possible using examples, definitions, pictures, tables and so on.

During this stage the students should get all the information they need to

use the new piece of language well and complete the tasks that follow in the

Practice and Production stages.

Eliciting Answers – Ask, Don’t Tell!

Eliciting means getting your students to tell you what they know by using

questions instead of simply giving them the information.

In your mind you need to be several steps ahead of the students throughout

the lesson. So the questions you ask should keep them mentally active and

move them along to the next step. Elicitation questions are generally short

and snappy. For example, ask the class how to spell words, for the meaning,

for examples, for similar words and opposites, what they remember about

a previously taught point, and so on. You can use props and pictures if they

help to clarify the meaning or add interest.