Guiding the 10 and 12th form students how to use articles in english

Guiding the 10 and 12th form students how to use articles in english 1 PART I INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the Study Nowadays, English is playing a very important role in the globle development Therefo[.]

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the Study.

Nowadays, English is playing a very important role in the globle

development Therefore, the teaching of English has been improved in method

of communicative.The importance of English is acknowledged by the Vietnamese government and as a result of the English language programes are made compulsory beginning at all levels of education

Articles are the important knowledge in English and perform many different functions at all levels These are really difficult topics how to use articles appropriately but interestingly if we take deep investigation into them Not only students but also many teachers are challenged by the uses of articles They appear in part E of Unit 13 of the textbook of English 10 and part E of Unit 8 of the textbook of English 12 – basic curriculum When teaching these points, I myself find it confusing to get students to memorize their usages The only way to keep them in our minds is to learn by heart and to practise regularly

It is enthusiasm and career passion that motivate me to write this experience innovation with the aims to share some of my opinions on topics related to articles for grade- 10,12 students as well as help both my colleagues and my students pratically remove the difficultlies when teaching related lessons For this reason I choose the theme : “GUIDING THE 10 and 12 TH FORM STUDENTS HOW TO USE ARTICLES IN ENGLISH”.

2 Aim of the Study.

The main aims of the research are:

- To provide teachers and students with full theory of “ARTICLES “ in

English

- To provide students opportunity to practise using articles efficiently

- To hope to provide reference materials for teachers or students who intend

to master the language of English

3 Method of the Study.

- Gather the information from the internet and reference books

- Teach some classes based on the experience as the result of the reality of the long time process of my daily teaching at school

- Asking for experiences from my colleagues

- Gather students’ results and evaluate

4 Objective and Scope of the Study.

The objective of the study is articles that are often used articles exercises, including chose the correct articles to complete sentences, fill in blanks with articles, do the tests about articles These exercises are collected from a variety

of kinds of material sources The study was carried on students in classes 10A3, 10A6, 12 A5 and 12A6 at Lê Hoàn high school

PART II: PROBLEM SOLVING

1 Theoretic basis of the problem.

As mentioned, articles play a vital role in learning English Anyone who does not know them well are not considered as advanced learners

Articles mainly occur around the textbook of English 10,12 and are the main contents of part E – Language Focus in English 10 at unit 13 and English

12 at unit 8 The only way to master them is to learn by heart the uses of articles and to practise them many times This research hopes to be a good material for both teachers and students in their teaching and learning

2 Practical basis of the problem

Lê Hoàn high school is one of the high schools in Thanh Hoa province People here are mainly farmers with average and low standards As a result, students have not had much good chance of studying and using English until recently Students (and even their teachers) do not have an English environment to practise Learning English here has not still been really important to students and people here Like other high schools in Vietnam, the students in this school have to take English as a compulsory subject in the curriculum and study it three periods a week for 37 weeks a year Therefore, the English teachers have so many difficulties in teaching English

Working as a teacher for more than ten years, I myself understand the nature of the problem and usually find it necessary to find out the ways to improve the situation I try my best to do this research with a view to getting

my students and other teachers to benefit from it by giving them more opportunities to practise and to better their English

3 Solutions to the problem.

After studying the content of the textbooks English 10 and 12 and ,especially the part E – Language Focus of units 13 and 8, and taking deep investigation into this problem, I have found out some useful measures to deal with this problem

Based on the reality of the issue, I would strongly suggest some solution to the problems :

- For students who have not mastered grammar, school leaders or teachers need to increase more periods out of the curriculum in school

- Teachers need more than an illustration which is accurate, concise and vivid for each grammar trait

- For homework, besides asking students to do exercises in textbooks, teachers should have available amount of tests related to language focus

- Teachers should promote the use of teaching utensils combining with new teaching methods to improve the quality of learning English

Here, I would like to give my strategies to simplify the related lessons in classroom

I divide the theme into three main parts: Part A – Theory of articles , Part

B – Practising exercises with articles and Part C- Doing the tests about articles Part A consists of the definition of articles- definite and indefinite articles, the basic rules for using indefinite articles, the basic rules for using definite articles and the cases we do not use articles Part B gives students a chance to practise some exercises with articles at all levels And Part C tests the understanding

of students about articles

PART A : THEORY OF ARTICLES

1 THE DEFINITION OF ARTICLES.

1.1 Definition of Articles

An article is a word used to modify a noun, which is a person, place, object, or idea Technically, an article is an adjective, which is any word that

modifies a noun Usually adjectives modify nouns through description, but articles are used instead to point out or refer to nouns There are two different types of articles that we use in writing and conversation to point out or refer to

a noun or group of nouns: definite and indefinite articles

1.2 Definite Article

Definite article is the word 'the,' and it refers directly to a specific noun or

groups of nouns

Ex:

 the freckles on my face

 the alligator in the pond

 the breakfast burrito on my plate

Each noun or group of nouns being referred to - in these cases freckles, alligator, and breakfast burrito - is direct and specific

Ex: After the long day, the cup of tea tasted particularly good

By using the article the, we’ve shown that it was one specific day that was long

and one specific cup of tea that tasted good

1.3 Indefinite Articles

Indefinite articles are the words 'a' and 'an.' Each of these articles is used to

refer to a noun, but the noun being referred to is not a specific person, place, object, or idea It can be any noun from a group of nouns

Ex:

 a Mercedes from the car lot

 an event in history

In each case, the noun is not specific The Mercedes could be any Mercedes car available for purchase, and the event could be any event in the history of the world

Ex: After a long day, a cup of tea tastes particularly good

By using the article a, we’ve created a general statement, implying that any cup

of tea would taste good after any long day

2 THE BASIC RULES FOR USING INDEFINITE ARTICLES.

2.1 We use “a/ an” with a word that is singular Never use a or an with a

word that is plural (e.g books, trees) or uncountable (e.g water, advice):

Ex: I have a book.

I asked her for advice

2.2 Note that we use a in front of words that start with a consonant sound (a horse, a carrot) and an in front of words with a vowel sound: a, e, I, o (an apple, an elephant).

Ex: I often eat an apple and a banana every day

2.3 We use a/an to introduce a reson or thing for the first time This shows

that the listener or reader doesn’t know what we are referring to After this first

reference, we use the.

Ex: He was talking to a man The man was laughing.

She gave him a present The present was very expensive.

2.4 We often use a/ an before nouns of Jobs and professions

Ex: There are three people in my family My mother is a teacher, my father works as an engineer and I an a student

2.5 When we talk about things in general by using a singular now as an example with noun( meaning “any”or “every”):

Ex: A baby deer can stand as soon as it is born

2.6.We use a/an in front of two nouns that are seen as a single unit.

Ex: a knife and fork, …

2.7 We use a/anwhen we mean “any one of particular type of thing”

Ex: a cup of coffee, a paper clip,…

2.8 We use a/an with a unit of measurement( weight, quantity, time) or in

number and quantity expressions

Ex:

- a little

- a few

- a lot of

- a couple of

- a dozen

- a quarter

- a great deal of

- a large munber

- a wide variety of

- a great many of

- a piece of

- a cup/ glass of

- a bunch of

2.9 We use a/an instead of “one” in pattern a … of … with possessive or

before some number

Ex: a friend of mine, a huge number of …

2.10 We use a/an when following the words “many, such,…” and in

exclamations

Ex: Many a man has come to an end; I don’t like such a girl; What a lovely day!

2.11 We use a/an following an adjective when is mentioned by the words

“so, as, too, how”

Ex: She is not so big a fool as she looks.;He’s as intelligent a boy as you are

2.12 We use a/an before sb’s name to show that the speaker does not know

the person

Ex: There’s a Mrs Green to see you

2.13 We use a/an with a noun like house, engineer, girl, name refers to a

whole class of people or things We use a/an with a noun to talk about just one member of that class.(A/an means “one”)

Ex: a nice big house, an engineer, a girl,…

2.14 We use a/an in front of proper nouns( names spelt with a capital letter)

for:

 Members of a family

Ex: He’s a Forstyle.(= a member of the Forstyle family)

 Literature and art: It’s a Dickens novel;It’s a Brencht play Sometimes

we can use the name on it owns We can say “It’s a Rembrandt painting”

or “It’s a Rembrandt”

2.16 We use a/an with illnesses.

Ex: a cold, a headache, a sore throat,…

3 SOME EXCEPTIONS IN USING INDEFINITE ARTICLES- A/AN.

- a uniform

- a university

- a one- eyed man

- a one- way road

- a useful way

- a union

- a unit

- a European

- a universal

- a euphemism

- a eucalyptus

- an hour

- an heir

- an honest

- an SOS

- an M.P

- an M.A

- an honorable man

- an honor

- an herbal

4 THE BASIC RULES FOR USING DEFINITE ARTICLES.

THE DEFINITE THE: used to refer nouns which are definited We use “ the”

in the following cases:

4.1 Nouns which were mentioned(= this, these, that, those) or have already mentioned:

Ex: A boy and a girl were sitting on a bench The boy was smiling but the girl looked angry

4.2 Nouns which are definited by the situation

Ex: Please take there letter to the post office

4.3 Used when a noun before a phrase limiting the meaning of it

Ex: the center of the city;…

4.4 Used to say or explain person or thing you mean

Ex: You are the third person ask me

4.5 Used with adjectives to build a collective noun

Ex: the rich, the poor,…

4.6 Used with adjectives to build an abstract noun

Ex: the beautiful(=beauty)

4.7 Used to refer a whole family or a married couple

Ex: Don’t forget to invite the Jordans

4.8 Used when we know that there is only one of a particular thing

Ex: the sun, the world, the travel industry,…

4.9 Used to refer to the things in a general way

Ex: the weather, the sky, the wind,…

4.10 Used to say that somebody or something is unique

Ex: Sydney is the capital city of New South Wales

4.11 Used to give a person’s job title, or their unique position

Ex: Dr Simons has taken on the position of Head of Department

4.12 Used before a superlative adjectives followed by a noun or defining phrase

Ex: the biggest, the most expensive,

4.13 Used with a unit of measurement to mean “every”

Ex: These apples are eight to the pound

4.14 Used with a singular countable noun in generalizations(but not with plural or uncountable nouns) This is common with the names of scientific instruments and inventions, and musical instruments: the violon, the piano, Ex: The telephone is a most useful invention; The horse is an animal

4.15 These common expressions have a general meaning and before parts of the day: the town, the country,…; in the evening;…

4.16 Used to refer to things that are unique:

- Organizations: the United Nations

- Ships: the Titanic

- Documents: the Constitution

- Public bodies: the police, the Government

- Titles of books and films: the Odyssey

- Climates: the President

- The people of the country: The French,The Dutch

- Political parties: the Labour Party

- Beliefs: the gods

4.16 Used in front of the names of public places

Ex: The cinema, the zoo, the park, the station, the post office, the airport… 4.17 Used in front of the names of three countries: The USA, The UK, The Philippines

5 THE CASES WE DO NOT USE ARTICLES ( NO ARTICLES- X).

5.1 Nouns refer to subjects

Ex: To me, English is much more interesting than any other subjects

5.2 Nouns refer to the name of sports

Ex: The boys are playing football in the park

5.3 Before the indefinite plural nouns

Ex: I do not like cats

5.4 Before uncountable nouns

Ex: I often drink milk in the morning

5.5 Before means of transportation, but after “by”

Ex: Although my father has a car, he often goes to work by bus

5.6 Nouns refer to color

Ex: Red is not my favourite color

5.7 After possessive adjectives

Ex: My friend is very friendly.

5.8 Before the nouns refer to meals

Ex: My mother always gets up early to make sure that we have had breakfast before going to school

5.9 Before dates, months, years, seasons.( if they are indefinites)

5.10 Before the names of nations, continents, mountains, lakes, streets

Ex: China is the country which has the largest population in the world

I wish to travel around Europe for a month

Known as the highest mountainin Vietnam, Fansipan mountain is also glorified as the roof of Indochina by the height of 3143m

5.11 Before abstract nouns

Ex: Two things you can not buy with money are love and health

PART B: PRACTICE ON ARTICLES

I Exercises for the 10 th form students.

Exercise 1: Choose the best answer.

1 The Atlantic is

2 youngest boy has just started going school

3 eldest boy is at college

4.She lives in top floor of an old house

5.She had very bad night, she didn’t sleep wish

6 person suffering from shock should not be given anything to drink

any

7.You’ll get , shock if you touch live wire with that screwdriver

the

8.Mr Smith is old customer and honest man