Less is More!

For a while, when I first started out teaching, one thing that kept my interest up when teaching the same class every day was the creativity a teacher can employ in making activities.  I used to think, "If an activity isn't super clever and creative, and doesn't involve tons of cut up paper and moving around the room, then it's not worth doing!"  I thought that if new grammar wasn't introduced in a zany, quirky way, the students wouldn't learn it as well.  Thus, I planned complicated routines for introducing every grammar point.  I did word-reordering activities, complete-the-chart activities, notice-the-grammar-in-a-song, exaggerated acting sequences, and so many others I can't remember them.  However, I found that sometimes, less is more and simple is best.

Why can't we just introduce time signal words, for example, by saying, "Look, when you talk about stuff that happens at different times, we use these words."  Then write them on the board.  That's it.  Maybe they read a paragraph and notice the words.  Forget all the "rearrange the sentences in the right order," "walk around the room according to the time words you see hung on the wall," and all that nonsense.  Sometimes students just want to be told something straight up, like grownups.  It's not fun?  Deal with it.

But what about those students who can't deal with it?