Graham Workman Concept Questions and Time Lines leony iaecch @ Chadburn PublishingKo N .— wine whalkr mw Al SLOG Graham Workman C Concept Questions & Time Lines Chadburn Publishing 2005 First edition May 2005, © Graham Workman 2005 Reprinted Fune 2005 ‘Second edition Aprit 2006 Permission to photocopy ‘The material in this book is copyright. However, the publisher grants permission to copy the illustrations of time fines in this book for use by individual teachers with their classes. No private or institutional copying which could be construed as re-publication is allowed without permission of the copyright owner. Acknowledgements of the anthor 1 would like to thank all those people who have tried out the materials and given feedback on them, and in particular: K. Starr Schoell, Sonta Fitzi, Jennifer Galloway, Nina Hajnal, Allan Dalcher, Wendy Germann and Catherine Hugener Special thanks must also go to Liz Strauli for proof-reading and commenting on the entire text and making useful and insightful comments. My sincere thanks and gratitude go to Simone Grob for her tireless and excellent work on typing, formarting and designing the layout of the whole book, along with producing all the illustrations. am greatly indebted to her. Special thanks go to Frances Chadburn, without whose encourugement, support and patience these materials would not have been printed. ‘The author Graham Workman is freclance English Language teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer He is also author of Popular Films for Language Use 1 (Chadburn Publishing 2004), and Popular Films for Language Use 2 (Chadburn Publishing 2006). Copy2Teach publications are developed hy “teachers for teachers”. ‘The aim and approach of Copy2Teach resource materials is to provide stimulating, hands-on and ready-to-use learning materials, Feedback on these materials Please feel free to send any comments or questions you may have on these materials to: Graham Workman [email protected] ‘Chadburn Publishing chadburn@ bluewin.ch. ISBN 3-033-00177-7 ISBN 978-3-033-00177-0 Chadburn PublishingConcept Questions & Time Lines Contents I CONTENTS 1 How to use this DoOK...............ecccscssesssssecscsesessessscnseenens . soesecesssenssesensenese 1 2 How to draw time limes.............s:csscscscssssesssncsssscssscsenssesssnscsscsssesesesecee 2-5 3 How to write concept questions...............cccssssosssssscessssscsssccsasseceacasees 6-12 4 Writing concept questions - FAQG.........scsccssccscssscsssssesssssotereserereee 13-14 5 Concept questions & time lines: photocopiable section: Concept questions with time lines OHT1 Present Simple (i) — habits and routines OHT2 Present Simple (ii) — timetable future OHT3 Present Continuous (i) — happening now OHT4 Present Continuous (ii) — diary future OHT5 going to (i) — expressing an intention OHT6 going to (ii) — making a prediction OHT7 Future Simple (i) — making a spontaneous decision OHT8 Future Simple (ii) — future as inevitable fact OHT9 Future Continuous — activity in progress at a future point in time OHT10 Future Perfect Simple — an action completed in the future OHT11 Future Perfect Continuous — future duration use OHT12 Past Simple — an action in the past OHT13 Present Perfect Simple (i) — Unfinished Past: unfinished period of time use OHT14 Present Perfect Simple (ii) — Unfinished Past: duration use OHT15 for vs since OHT16 Present Perfect Simple (iii) — Indefinite Past: result use OHT17 Present Perfect Simple (iv) — Indefinite Past: experience use OHT18 Present Perfect Continuous (i) — Unfinished Past: duration of activity use OHT19 Present Perfect Continuous (ii) — Indefinite Past: result of a recently stopped activity OHT20 Past Continuous — an action in progress at a past point in time OHT21 Interrupted Past Continuous — interrupted past activity OHT22 Past Perfect — sequencing two past actions © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn PublishingConcept Questions & Time Lines Contents II OHT22 OHT23 OHT24 OHT25 OHT26 OHT27 OHT28 OHT29 OHT30 OHT31 OHT32 OHT33 Past Perfect — sequencing two past actions Past Perfect Continuous — duration of an activity up to a past point in time used to — discontinued past habit by — meeting deadlines until — saying when the action stops remember to do — remembering before the action remember doing — remembering after the action stop to do — stopping one action in order to do another stop doing — stopping an action wish + Past Simple — present dissatisfaction wish + Past Perfect — expressing regret wish + would / wouldn’t - expressing annoyance, wanting change in the future Concept questions without time lines OHT34 OHT35 OHT36 OHT37 OHT38 OHT39 OHT40 OHT41 OHT42 OHT43 OHT44 OHT45 OHT46 OHT47 OHT48 OHT49 OHT50 OHTS1 OHT52 OHT53 to have something done have to / don’t have to / mustn't must be / can't be / could be must have / can’t have / could have + past participle should have + past participle It’s time + Past Simple needn't have done / didn’t need to do Present Perfect Simple + already Present Perfect Simple + yet Future Continuous for present deduction in case should — future probability try to do / try doing (don’t) mind + -ing be used to doing get used to doing Zero Conditional First Conditional Second Conditional Third Conditional ve © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn PublishingConcept Questions & Time Lines Contents III See 6 Grammar Reference and Practice Materials A Futures — Grammar Reference Sheet B will vs going to Cc Futures D Future Continuous E (i) + E@i) Present Perfect Simple - Grammar Reference Sheet F for vs since G Different Categories of Use for the Present Perfect Simple H(i) + H@ii) The “Have you ever ...?” Game I Present Perfect Simple vs Past Simple JG) + Ji) Present Perfect Continuous — Grammar Reference Sheet K Present Perfect Simple vs Present Perfect Continuous Answer Key for Exercises Answer Key for sections 2 and 3 Answer Key for Section 6.........ccccccssscsssssssssstsscsccsesssesesssssacsscevessaccee © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing1 How to use this book 1 This book is designed to be an introduction to the design and use of concept questions and time lines. The exercises on concept questions in Section 3, “How to write concept questions”, are there to provide practice in producing them yourself. The answers are given so you can check your answers. When you are familiar with how time lines and concept questions work, you are ready to use the photocopiable materials provided in this book. This section provides materials for language forms that are often dealt with on language courses. Below is a simple procedure for using them. i Select the relevant photocopiable pages you require. These are the pages which contain the time line, concept and concept questions for the language point you are teaching. They are marked OHT (Overhead Transparency). Copy the pages onto overhead transparencies. Using an overhead projector, gradually reveal the different sections of what is on the transparency. This is best done by placing a piece of paper under the transparency as this will allow you to read what is on it without revealing it to your audience. Show the time line first, ask the accompanying concept questions to check understanding, and then reveal the box which contains the description of the concept. Learners can copy the time lines and concept definitions into their books or you can give your learners a copy of the transparency for reference purposes. You are free to choose if you want the learners to have a copy of the concept questions as well. If you don’t want to copy these, simply cover them with a piece of paper when photocopying the page. Remember that time lines and concept questions are designed to check understanding of meaning — they don’t teach meaning. You have to illustrate the meaning first, either with a situation, an example sentence, or a contextualised sentence from a reading passage, and then use the time lines and concept questions to check that learners have understood correctly. There are some related follow-up grammar reference sheets and practice materials in Section 6 that you can copy and use with your learners. The relevant practice materials and handouts are indicated at the bottom of the photocopiable OHT pages. eee © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time Lines2 How to draw time lines 2 What are time lines? They are lines and drawings that provide a visual representation of different verb forms, showing when things happen or are happening in the present, past or future. How do you draw them? The basic drawing is a horizontal and a vertical line. The horizontal line represents time while the vertical line represents now, the present moment. Everything to the left of this vertical line represents the Past, while everything to the right represents the Future. NOW PAST FUTURE There are certain conventions for representing actions on time lines. Across is used to show a single, complete action: “T saw a good film last week.” NOW “He will be thirty on Friday.” NOW Friday © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time Lines2 How to draw time lines 3 A wavy line is used to show a continuous action: “T was watching TV.” NOW PW A straight line is used to show the duration of an action: “T’ve lived here for 4 years” NOW 4 years A curved line with question marks is used to show an action that does not have a specific point in time: “I’ve found someone’s keys.” NOW Why use them? The visual channel is being used to convey understanding of abstract concepts. This can be more memorable than just explanations, and is particularly effective with visual learners. © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time LinesDrawing time lines: exercises 4 Exercise 1 Match the sentences below with their corresponding time lines. NOW 1. Have you ever been there? A. 10 years ago NOW 2. When John arrived I left. B. i 1985 1995 NOW 3. I’ve been studying French for 10 years. c. born NOW 4. While John was cooking, I was watching TV. —D. re > last year NOW x 5. He worked there for 10 years. E. Past 6. She was cooking when he arrived. FE 7. T’ve been to France twice this year. G. NOW 8. I went there twice last year. H. © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time Lineswm Drawing time lines: exercises Exercise 2 Make time lines for the following sentences. 1 She had Jeft when I arrived. 2 She’s been to Paris. 3. Oh look! It?s been snowing. 4 She?Il_be having dinner at 8 o’clock. 5 VlLhave finished the book by Friday. 6 He stopped to have a drink. 7 He'd been swimming in the sea for two hours when they rescued him. 8 He used to smoke. © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time Lines3 How to write concept questions 6 What are concept questions? They are questions that are designed to check learners have understood the meaning of a piece of grammar, an item of vocabulary or a functional expression. The word “concept” is used to signify the essential meaning of a piece of language. Why use them? Firstly, because they are an efficient and effective way of checking learners have understood something. They are more effective, for example, than asking learners “Do you understand?” because a) learners may think they have understood something correctly but in reality they have not, and b) learners may be reluctant in a classroom setting to say out loud in front of their peers that they have not understood something since this may expose them to ridicule. Secondly, because concept questions always work. The concept questions for an item will always be the same since the essential meaning of a piece of language does not change. There may be some examples when the meaning is partly dependent upon the context, but simple adaptation of the concept questions will take care of this. Once you know the concept questions for the use of a particular tense, for example, they will never change and will always work, whatever the example sentence. Thirdly, because they are a tool for developing the language awareness of teachers. By learning to design and use concept questions, teachers learn to think closely about the meaning of items of language in a systematic and thorough way. In other words, they can be used to develop a teacher’s language awareness skills. When do you ask them? Concept questions can be used on two occasions. The first is when a new piece of language is introduced and the teacher wants to check that all the learners have understood the meaning. They are therefore used during the “Checking understanding” stage of a lesson, or at any time a new piece of language comes up and needs checking. They are particularly useful when the item of language is complex, or does not exist in the learners’ language, or is used in a different way, or is a false friend. Secondly, they can be used as a correction technique, either to remind the learner of a concept they have forgotten, or to get the learner to think about the concept of a piece of language they are using. For example, if a learner says “I visit my aunt at 3 o’clock on Saturday”, you may want to check if the learner wants to talk about a regular habit (ie something the learner does every Saturday at this time) or whether the learner wants to talk about a definite arrangement for this Saturday at 3pm. By asking the learner “Is this something you do every Saturday?” and “Ts it a definite arrangement?” we get the learner to think about the difference in meaning and the correct form that is needed. How many concept questions do you ask? It depends on the meaning of the item being checked, but usually it will be somewhere between one and five. If you find that you are asking a lot more questions than this, it probably indicates that you are asking some questions which are either superfluous or irrelevant. © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time Lines3 How to write concept questions 7 How do you make them? Look at the sentence below: He used to play football. Firstly you need to break down the meaning of this sentence into a number of statements. 1 He doesn’t play football now. 2 He played football in the past. 3 He played football many times in the past. These three statements are a complete description of the meaning of “used to” (Past Habit) in the example sentence. All that needs to be done now is to turn the statements into questions. 1 Does he play football now? (No) 2 Did he play football in the past? (Yes) 3. Did he play once or many times?(Many times) Notice that the answer we expect learners to give is written in brackets. If, for example, the learners answer “Yes” to the first question, we know that they have not understood correctly and clarification is needed. There are also several other design features that need to be considered. Notice that the language used in the concept questions is simpler than the language being checked. The answers that the learners are required to give are short and simple. Furthermore, we do not use the item itself in the concept question. We do not, for example, ask “Did he use to play football?” since it is possible to answer “Yes” without understanding the meaning of “used to”. All the rules for the design and use of concept questions are summarised below. Rules for the design and use of concept questions any Break down the concept of the item into a series of statements of meaning. A dictionary may be helpful if the item is a piece of vocabulary. Make sure the statements of meaning are expressed in simple language. Turn the statements into questions. The questions should be concise and simple. The language you use must be simpler than the language you are checking. The questions should not normally use the language you are checking. Sort the questions into a logical order. Write down the correct answers you expect the learners to give. The answers should be short and simple. If they answer incorrectly, state the correct answer and provide clarification. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 The same procedure applies for checking the concept of vocabulary items and functional exponents, though with these you will need to take into account other features such as register, style and connotation. For example, for the following sentence: “Could you open the door for me, please?” The concept questions are: 1 Is this an order or a request? (Request) 2 Am being polite or impolite? (Polite) Concept questions are an excellent way of checking understanding and an extremely useful device for getting learners to think about language. © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time LinesHow NOT to write concept questions: exercise 8 Exercise 3. What is wrong with these concept questions? 1 Dmseeing the doctor on Friday. a) Am feeling well? (No) b) Am TI going to see the doctor on Friday? (Yes) c) Will I see the doctor on Friday? (Yes) d) DoT want to see the doctor? (Yes) e) DoT have a date with my doctor? (Yes) 2 Tlisee him at 7.00. a) Will I see him at 6.00? (No) b) Willi I see him at 7.00? (Yes) 3 I should have told her. a) Would it have been a good idea if I had decided to tell her? (Yes) b) What might have happened, had I told her? (I don’t know) 4 Another cowboy bites the dust. a) Does the cowboy chew the dust? (No) b) Does the cowboy eat the dust? (No) c) Does the cowboy bite the dust? (Yes) 5 didn’t know if | was coming or going. a) Was Icoming? (I don’t know) b) Was I going? (i don’t know) c) Did I know if I was coming or going? (No) 6 Ihave to leave early. a) Is it incumbent upon me to make an early exit? (Yes) b) Is there an external obligation upon me which is forcing me to undertake an action which will take place prior to the time I would normally choose to do it? (Yes) 7 He managed to open the window. a) Did he manage to open the window? (Yes) 8 hedge a) Is it really a hedge? (Yes) b) How do you know? (7777) 9 wardrobe a) Is ita chest of drawers? (No) b) Is there one in your house? (No) 10 wardrobe What is wrong here? Teacher: Who knows what a wardrobe is? Student: I know! I know! It’s a kind of fish. Teacher: Well, you’re almost right. © Graham Workman 2005 Concept Questions & Time Lines Chadburn PublishingChecking understanding :exercise 9 Exercise 4 What is wrong with the following ways of checking understanding? 1 “Do you understand?” 2 “You all know what a plaster is, yes?” 3 “OK, you all seem to have understood that, so we’ll move on.” Exercise 5 Look at the following concept questions and say if they are good or not, and why. 1 floor a) Where am I standing? b) Is the floor inside or outside? c) Can you stand on the floor outside? 2 chest of drawers a) Is it made of wood? b) Where do you find a chest of drawers? c) What do people usually put in a chest of drawers? 3 The water is boiling. a) What is happening to the water? b) Is it very hot? c) How hot? 4 This meat is tough. a) DoT have to chew it a lot before I can swallow it? b) Is the meat expensive? c) Is it easy or difficult to cut? 5 kettle a) Do you make tea in it? b) What’s it for? c) Do you boil water in it? 6 She felt embarrassed. a) Did she do something wrong? b) Did her face go red? c) Was she ashamed? © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time LinesWriting concept questions: exercises 10 Exercise 6 Concept questions with time lines Think of situations to illustrate the meaning of the sentences below. Then write concept questions for them and draw a time line that will help to clarify the meaning. 1 I’m seeing the doctor on Monday. 2 Lm going to see him on Monday. 3 “Can you see Mr Smith on Friday?” “No, I’m busy on Friday. [’ll see him on Monday.” 4 Look at those dark clouds. It’s going to rain. 5a) b) b) c) I lived in London for ten years. I’ve lived in London for ten years. The students were leaving when the bell rang. The students left when the bell rang. The students had left when the bell rang. 7 “Goodness! You’re covered in paint.” “Yes, I’ve been painting the kitchen.” b) b) c) 10 a) b) She’ll_be having dinner at 8.00pm. ’l_have finished the book by Friday. T wish I had a car, T wish I had told her. T wish you wouldn’t smoke in here. I remembered to pay the bill. I remembered paying the bill. © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time LinesWriting concept questions: exercises ul Exercise 7 Concept questions without time lines Think of situations to illustrate the meaning of the sentences below. Then write concept questions for them. . 1 Thad my car repaired. 2 a) Ihave to start work at 7.00am. b) I don’t have to get up early on Sunday mornings. c) You mustn’t smoke in class. 3 She should have locked the door. 4 He must be drunk. 5 a) I saw him swim across the river. b) I saw him swimming across the river. 6 Don’t ring now. She?ll be eating. 7 a) He needn’t have got up early. b) He didn’t need to get up early. 8 She should pass the exam. 9 I'm getting used to driving on the left. © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time LinesWriting concept questions: exercises 12 Exercise 8 Concept questions for vocabulary and expressions Think of situations to illustrate the meaning of the vocabulary items and expressions below, and then write concept questions for them. 1 It’s acosy room. 2 The play was a flop. 3 Ididn’t know if I was coming or going. 4 He hesitated before jumping. 5 She makes do with very little money. 6 “You'll lose your job if you’ re not careful.” “I don’ ” 7 She has a hectic life. 8 Would you mind if I smoked? © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time Lines4 Writing concept questions - FAQs 13 When do I write my concept questions? Before the lesson. They will help you to analyse the meaning of the language you are teaching and anticipate any possible difficulties your learners may have. How can I get help with writing them? Firstly think about the way you use the item and some situations in which it would occur naturally. A dictionary can sometimes help by providing you with a useful description of the concept, as well as some examples of use. Do concept questions teach meaning? No, they don’t. Concept questions only check understanding of meaning, so you will need to illustrate the meaning of the item before you can use them. How many should I ask? If you have done the exercises above, you will have noticed that there are usually between one and five concept questions for each item. Remember that concept questions check the essential meaning of an item, so take care not to focus on unnecessary elements. What are the most important characteristics of good concept questions? They are simple and concise. They should use language that is easier than the item that is being checked. They should require learners to give very simple short answers like “Yes”, “No”, “We don’t know”, or something from the context that was used to illustrate the meaning. It also helps if you write down what you expect learners to say in response to your questions. What do I do if learners don’t give the right response? Tell them their answer is wrong. You know they have not understood, and you need to illustrate the meaning again. Is there anything I shouldn’t do? Yes, you shouldn’t use the language of the item in your concept question. For example, if you are teaching “TI used to play football”, you can’t ask “Did I use to play football?” because this question contains “used to”, which is the item that is being checked for understanding. However, as you will see from the exercises, you can sometimes use the word or expression in the concept question if it is a vocabulary item. © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time Lines4 Writing concept questions - FAQs 14 Anything else I should consider? Yes, remember that with some expressions and lexical items you may need to check the style, eg “Is this formal or informal language?” “Do I say this to a friend or to someone I don’t know?” You might also need to check what function the language is performing, eg “Am I making a request or giving an order?” Is it always best to use concept questions? Can’t I just tell them the meaning? Yes, on some occasions it can be more effective to simply tell the learners the meaning, especially if the item is simple and straightforward, but with more complex and unfamiliar examples of language they are almost essential. Remember also that concept questions have the advantage of getting the learners to think about meaning and hi ghlight the essential concepts of a language item. Above all they are useful for finding out if learners really have understood something. Do I use concept questions only when I am presenting new language? You can also use them as a correction technique to get learners to think about what they have said and to guide them towards the correct form or item. Learners have to think about the meaning, and this can make the item more memorable than simply telling them what the rule or correct meaning is. Are concept questions the only way of checking understanding? No, there are other ways. For example, you can get learners to do any of the following: * — match words with definitions * respond to commands (“Hand over that bag” and the learner does it) * give you example sentences using the language * do the exercises that are provided in course books and other published materials and see if they produce correct answers. ——— © Graham Workman 2005 Chadburn Publishing Concept Questions & Time Lines