If you are a language instructor, you possibly by now use head maps to assist your pupils learn vocabulary. These thoughts maps are occasionally referred to as “vocabulary networks” or “term maps”. 1 well known use of these types of head maps is organising vocabulary groups, e.g. your central topic is “foods” and your sub-themes are “meat”, “fruit”, “veggies” and many others. Another way may be to affiliate the many nouns, adjectives and verbs with your central concept, e.g. tv, programme, movie, swap on, check out, exciting, boring…
But have you considered using head maps for instructing grammar factors? Any individual with a TEFL qualification will be acquainted with employing concept inquiries to help college students recognize a tough ingredient of grammar in English. For illustration, when giving guidance, an English speaker invariably utilizes the modal verbs need to or ought to. There are most likely no equal verbs in your students’ language, so you would question idea questions to check out that they have recognized:
you must see a health care provider
- Is it an obligation to see a physician? – no
- Is it a great idea to see a health care provider? – yes
By answering these two queries, the learner has a fantastic idea of when to use need to. But placing these queries into a brain map will assistance your learner to both equally visualise the principles and keep them for long term use. In my courses, I publish up two issues aspect by aspect and circle them. The issues are, “Is it required?” and “Is it permitted?” I then start off to make my brain map by composing the only two attainable solutions, sure or no? I then consider to elicit the modal verbs, should, mustn’t, have to, really don’t have to, can, can’t, according to the reply, and produce them in the suitable area on the brain map.
Possibly my explanations right here usually are not genuinely distinct. Which is just why thoughts-mapping is a improved way to support your students visualise the principles. You can attempt to describe until finally you might be blue in the face, but a easy diagram does the trick promptly and successfully. You can see an example of a head map that I produced on my web site – truly, a picture does paint a thousand phrases!
Imagine about what details of grammar you are acquiring difficulty teaching and start acquiring notion issues that you can place into a head map. For my French learners, the current great results in no end of confusion, for the reason that they use the exact same construction to speak about completed previous steps – yesterday, I have been to the cinema. What strategy concerns do you think could support them see the distinction between “I went” and “I have been”? It is up to you to use your imagination!