'Getting the right tense' tutor notes

The aim of the 'getting the right tense' topic area is to revise the formation and use of the present simple and continuous, the past simple and continuous and the future tenses.

How does this tie in with the curriculums?

• England
  Rs/L1.1 - 'Use implicit and explicit grammatical knowledge ... to predict meaning, try out plausible meanings and to read and check for sense.'
  Ws/L1.2 - 'use correct grammar ...e.g. correct use of tense'
  'understand that it is easy to change tense unintentionally while writing and that it is important to check for the correct tense...'
  
• Wales
  As England.
• Northern Ireland
  As England.
• Scotland
  See www.aloscotland.com for details of the Scottish curriculum.

In the Skillswise module you'll find:

Getting the right tense - worksheets
There are six printable worksheets (with answersheets where appropriate) in this section. The first worksheet compares the past and present tense and asks students to fill the gaps using the past tense. The second worksheet is another gap-fill, but this time the learner is asked to use the present tense. This worksheet also asks learners to complete a few sentences using the present and past tenses about how their life has changed over the past 10 years. Worksheet 3 looks at 'Annie's holiday' and practises using the present and future tenses, whilst worksheet 4 asks learners to use the 3 most common ways of talking about the future to dream about things they would like to do in the future. In worksheet 5 there is a tenses table where learners have to write the past, present and future tense of verbs. Worksheet 6 is a letter written to a potential pen pal. Learners have to select the correct tense of the verbs.
If you have a great worksheet for practising tenses, or if you think we haven't got it quite right, tell us about it!

Getting the right tense - game
This module uses a version of the 'Treasure Hunt' game for learners to practise their tenses.
The game has 3 levels. At level 1 learners have to type the word(s) they think make up the verb in the given sentence into the text box. At level 2 learners are presented with 4 options to fill a gap in a given sentence and they have to chose the right one. Each option is in a different tense (and there are occasional examples of the imperative at this level). Level 3 is the hardest level and involves learners re-typing a whole sentence in a new, given, tense. At this level learners must get everything right - the use of the tense, plus all their spelling and punctuation (although the feedback is quite 'intelligent' and will be able to tell a learner whether their error was in the use of the tense or in their typing). For each level, when a learner is right they are taken to the treasure map for a chance to uncover all the hidden treasure.

If there is anything about this game you really like or dislike, please do let us know! Contact us via our feedback page.

Getting the right tense - quiz
3 levels of multiple-choice quiz to test tenses skills. The learner can choose their level. Level 'A' is the simplest and asks learners to say which tense a verb is written in (mostly through 'true' and 'false'). At levels 'B' and 'C' the learner must decide which sentence is correct.
We have now put in place a system that will allow the student to print out a certificate if they score 50% or more in the quiz. This will appear as a link on the results page - click on the link and the certificate will appear in a new window. A student can write their name in once the certificate is printed.

Getting the right tense - factsheets
There are 5 factsheets in this section. The first one looks at the present simple, the second at the present continuous, the third at talking about the past using the simple past and the fourth at using the past continuous to talk about the past. The last factsheet looks at the 3 most common ways of talking about the future (the future tense, the present continuous and 'going to').
Tenses is quite a complicated area and all of these factsheets are designed to be revision resources. They give a brief overview of the formation of the tense and details of where it is appropriate to use it.

Technical help:

To get the most out of this topic area you need the following 'plug-ins':

• Flash
  The game in this topic section uses Flash. This is free to download and should only take a few minutes. You can follow the BBC WebWise instructions to download it to your machine.
  Find out more.

If you don't have Flash the same learning points are covered in the quiz and in the worksheets and factsheets.
If you are new to the web, why not try the BBC WebWise online course, Becoming WebWise? It's free, you can do it in your own time from any computer and it will take you through everything you need to know to use the web successfully in your teaching.
Get WebWise.

You can find out more about the technical requirements for Skillswise in our Help - Technical Information section.

Taking it further:

Here's a few suggestions of other places on the web that you might find useful resources that you can adapt for teaching tenses.

• BBC Learning English
  This is the BBC World Service site that aims to help EFL students improve their English. Here you can find a past tense quiz and a language bank that includes answers to tense questions. While you're there, why not delve into the music of the 70's, 80's and 90's in Retro English and use the text and audio descriptions to practise talking about the past?
• Tutor recommended!
  Many thanks to Jo who emailed us to recommend this ESL / EFL English grammar site, 'Englishpage.com'. It's free, easy to use and has a large number of resources built around tenses. There's plenty of overview material (with a great 'quick fix' grid at the bottom of the screen), backed up with interactive exercises.
• Games galore!
  This is the British Council website, so it is aimed at students of English as a foreign language. This page links you to lots of games that practise various tenses. The games are built in JavaScript, so they should work on most machines (you don't need the Flash plug-in). Most of them involve using the mouse to 'drag and drop' and are fairly simple to follow. However, they are not always that legible!
• Lesson plans and ideas
  Dave's ESL cafe is a famous resource in ESL circles and you'll find a feast of ideas here. All the ideas are sent in from ESL teachers from around the world.
• First time in England
  Written by a TEFL teacher from Hove, this site is a free resource. It's the story of two Spanish students coming to England for the first time to attend college. The story is divided into chapters and is written in simple English. Some chapters have exercises attached, but otherwise these might be passages that you could print out and adapt. Chapter 2 looks at the present simple and continuous, Chapter 14 looks at the irregular simple past.
• Flash games - type in the right tense
  Another ESL site, this is part of a project organised by the Internet TESL Journal. There are quite a few tenses games here, including a very simple but effective game where learners have to type in the right version of the verb.

Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of other websites.

Do you know of any great online resources for practising tenses? Or do you have any resources we could add to the Lesson Plans section to share with other tutors? Tell us about them!