Some experiences to teach relative clauses in english 11 at quảng xương 1 high school

Moreover, if you do not understand relative pronounsand relative clauses, you will have a hard time using relative pronouns tocombine sentences as well as apply relative clauses to expre

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TABLE OF CONTENTS……… 1

PART A: INTRODUCTION……… 2

I Reasons for choosing the topic……… 2

II Aims of the study……….2

III Scope of the study……… 2

IV Method of the study……… 2

PART B: CONTENTS……… 3

I Theoretical background……… 3

II Factual situation of teaching and learning English……… 3

at my school( Quang Xuong 1 High School) 1 Factual situation……… 3

2 Results of this factual situation……… 4

III Implementing sollutions……… ……… 4

1 Instruct students on how to organize learning in pairs, ……… 4

groups and how to arrange desks and chairs during English classes 2 Guide and organize language game activities during English classes…… 6

2.1 "Lucky number" game (Find the lucky number)……… 6

2.2 ‘’ Jumbled sentences ’’ language game……… 8

3 Implementing some methods to introduce new materials……… .9

in a lively and attractive way From there, lead to teach knowledge about relative clauses 3.1 Identify the structure of relative clauses; understand………10

the definition of relative clauses 3.2 Distinguish defining relative clauses with non- defining relative clauses…10 3.3 how to use relative pronouns, relative adverbs……… 11

3.4 Distinguish relative pronouns, relative adverbs……… 12

(who, whom, which, that- where, when, why) with the Wh -words in the "Wh-questions" question 4 Direct students the methods of making exercises related to the……… 14

relative clauses 4.1 Exercises in sentence combination……… 14

4.2 Exercises in short form……….16

4.3 Exercises about filling appropriate relative pronoun into the blank……….17

PART C: CONCLUSION……… 19

I Results of the study……… 19

II Offer……… …… 20

REFERENCES………21

TOPIC: SOME EXPERIENCES TO TEACH RELATIVE

CLAUSES IN ENGLISH 11 AT QUANG XUONG 1 HIGH SCHOOL

PART A: INTRODUCTION

I Reasons for choosing the topic

In the trend of development and integration, mastering English tocommunicate with other countries in the world is an essential thing not only inVietnam but also in the world Currently, teaching and learning English is moreand more popular in Vietnam It becomes the number one foreign languagetaught and studied in high schools Therefore, the task of teaching and learningEnglish increasingly poses high and urgent requirements

After years of teaching the new English textbook program, I found thecontent in the textbook very practical and appropriate with the requirements ofthe language level of our country today But there are actually some verydifficult lessons for high school students in rural areas in general, at our QuangXuong I high school particularly Especially the grammatical contents, some ofthem are difficult, so the students are not stable, they feel confused and stuckwhen applying the theory to do some types of exercises In English 11, relativeclause is an important part of the graduation exams and university exams Inorder to do well it, students must master the basic issues related to relativepronouns, relative clauses Moreover, if you do not understand relative pronounsand relative clauses, you will have a hard time using relative pronouns tocombine sentences as well as apply relative clauses to express ideas From the

above reasons, I would like to boldly present " some experiences to teach relative clauses in English 11 at Quang Xuong 1 high school”.

II Aims of the study

Research for teaching relative clauses in English 11

III Scope of the study

Teaching relative clauses in English 11

IV Method of the study

During the initiative experience , I have used several research methods:

• Observation method

• Experimental method

• Methods of analysis , evaluation , synthesis

• Method of collecting student opinions , colleagues

PART B: CONTENTS

I Theoretical background

As we know, learning English is a trend of the age of technologydevelopment today However, English is a foreign language, not a mother one,English teaching has been a difficult task, but students acquire and applyEnglish into the reality of life is a more difficult thing In particular, duringEnglish classes, the grammar section is usually dry, dull, heavy andcomplicated Moreover, relative clauses section is one of the long, difficult,complicated and confusing grammar ones the knowledge of this lesson is oftenrelated to another lesson In English 11 program, relative clauses is a veryimportant part of knowledge, mentioned throughout most of the E (LanguageFocus) sections of the lessons in the second term Therefore, teachers need tocreate a lively lesson to help students become more and more excited duringclass, comprehend and acquire this grammar well At the same time, teachersalso have to use a number of methods to help divide, reinforce and improve thetheory and exercises for students This helps them have a solid knowledge of therelative clauses as well asrelative pronouns, helps them to do well the exercisesabout relative pronouns, use relative pronouns to combine sentences as well asapply relative clauses to express ideas

However, to organize well activities during English classes or introducenew materials in an attractive and lively way, teachers must be reallyenthusiastic, invest a lot of time to research and cultivate daily knowledge andfind appropriate ways to teach students

II Factual situation of teaching and learning English at my school( Quang Xuong 1 High School)

1 Factual situation

Our school is located in the suburb Living conditions of my schoolstudents are different from the ones for the students in the city They are rarelycommunicated in foreign language environment They do not have goodopportunity to exchange a foreign language The number of students in alanguage class is crowded This makes them difficult to study in groups in classand practise English Besides, the customs and traditions of the countrysidemake them become unconfident, even reluctant when speaking English in front

of people On the other hand, rural students are now concentrating on studyingnatural block The study focusing block D is rare Many parents and studentshave not seen the importance of learning a foreign language Therefore, foreignlanguage is a compulsory subject, it is only a "coping" subject to students Alimited number of students do not have background knowledge or their

background knowledge is limited from their junior high school years Someteachers sometimes still use traditional methods which is more theoretical thanpractical Because of this fact, some classes of teaching grammatical sections ofrelative clauses become inherently difficult and complicated to students Manychildren after finishing learning relative clauses still cannot determine definingrelative clauses with non- defining relative clauses, remember all the functions

of the relative pronouns, combine sentences using relative pronouns, etc… Thismakes teachers feel discouraged, hard to get excited while teaching, andstudents are afraid of learning English For those reasons, teachers need to create

a lively lesson and give appropriate homework instructions that make it easierfor students to remember and understand

2 Results of this factual situation

In fact, when I have not applied the experiences that I will present (insection B) below, the result of students feeling the excitement in the Englishclass follows :

III Implementation solutions

From the situation of studying English for students at our school which Ihave presented above, I would like to offer the following solutions to improvethe quality of teaching and learning about relative clauses in English textbook11:

+ Instruct students on how to organize learning in pairs, groups and how

to arrange desks and chairs during English classes

+ Guide and organize language game activities during English classes+ Implement some methods to introduce new materials in a lively andattractive way From there, lead to teach knowledge about relative clauses

+ Teach students how to do exercises related to relative clauses

1 Instruct students on how to organize learning in pairs, groups and how to arrange desks and chairs during English classes

One of the innovative methods to promote students' positive and toconsider students as the most important element is the arrangement of desks andorganization for students to work in groups Depending on the level of thelessons, I can have students work in groups or in pairs With the characteristics

of foreign languages, I often let them work in pairs or in groups of 3 and 4children because working in small groups helps them to discuss, practise andgive comments to each other easily It is also the best opportunity for allmembers of the class to participate in the lesson actively Moreover, I can let thechildren arrange desks and chairs in a circle, a square, a rectangle, and ateacher's desk in the middle Thus, it is possible to create freedom, comfort,satisfaction in the English classes It helps them to be active, confident andboldly express their own opinions Or the simplest way is to put two tables toface each other, to make students at two tables into one group, each groupshould only stop at 3, 4 children With this approach, I find that English lessons

in any skill can be applied Especially it is effective for grammar lessons aboutrelative clauses

Example 1: Unit 12– Language focus -Exercise 1 (page 144- English textbook

11)

Purpose: omission of relative pronouns

I divide the class into small groups of 6 students After that, I give eachgroup a hand out containing Exercise 1 (page 144- English textbook 11) and I letthem a time limit of 5 minutes When the time is up, I collect them The groupthat has the most right answers will win

HAND OUT: Complete each of the following sentences, using a suitable

sentence in the box to make a relative clause without a relative pronoun

we had it for lunch we met him this morning

John told them he invited them to the birthday partyYou lost it I bought it yesterday

1 Have you found the bike ?

2 Most of the classmates _ couldn’t come

3 The short story _ were very funny

4 The dictionary _ is expensive, but very interesting

5 I did’nt like the man

6 The beef _ was really delicious

Suggested answers:

1 Have you found the bike You lost?

2 Most of the classmates he invited to the birthday party couldn’t come.

3 The short story John told were very funny.

4 The dictionary I bought yesterday is expensive, but very interesting.

5 I did’nt like the man we met this morning.

6 The beef we had for lunch was really delicious.

Example 2: Unit 11– Language focus -Exercise 1 (page 131- English textbook

11)

Purpose: Shorten the relative clauses

I ask students to work in pairs Each pair makes 3 sentences Time forchildren to work in pairs is 3 minutes They discuss with each other to find theanswer in the exercise After 3 minutes, I ask them to stop working in pairs Idemand two pairs to present their answers

How to do the following: a child reads the original sentence, the otherstill reads the shortened sentence This method can help them practise speakingEnglish, train their confidence when speaking in large numbers, change theatmosphere of class, promote learning and teaching methods in thecommunication direction

EXERCISE CONTENT: Rewrite the following sentences, using a

present participial phrase

1 The boy who is playing the piano is Ben.

2 Do you know the woman who is coming toward us

3 The people who are waiting for the bus in the rain are getting wet.

4 The csientists who are researching the causes of the cancer are

making progress

5 The fence which surrourds our house is made wood.

6 We have an apartement which overlooks the park

Suggested answers:

1 The boy playing the piano is Ben.

2 Do you know the woman coming toward us

3 The people waiting for the bus in the rain are getting wet.

4 The csientists researching the causes of the cancer are making

progress

5 The fence surrourding our house is made wood.

6 We have an apartement overlooking the park.

2 Guide and organize language game activities during English classes

Language game activities are a tonic to treat students' boredom duringgrammar class because using language game activities is a way to help children

"learn to play, play to learn" Therefore, they are very excited about participating

in the game I have used some of the following games during the grammarlesson related to the relative clauses

2.1 "Lucky number" game (Find the lucky number)

How to do the following: I prepare a hand out with from 5 to 7questionnaires Among the questionnaires, there is always a "Lucky number"vote (it means that whoever gets it will not have to answer the question but maystill get points or get a gift, or be able to shake hands with teacher, class leader,etc.) I then ask a volunteer to play this game When I have found enoughplayers, I let them ask questions They have to answer the question they havedrawn Those who answer correctly will get good points If you get a "Luckynumber" vote, you will not have to answer the question but may still get a highscore because this is your luck.

Example 1: Unit 10– Language focus -Exercise 2 (page 122- English textbook

11)

Purpose: relative pronouns with prepositions

I write four questions into six votes two of which are "Lucky number" Ipresent the rules of the game and let students draw questions After that, I askstudents to answer the question that was drawn Those who answer correctlywill get good points If you get a "Lucky number" vote, you will not have toanswer the question but may still get a high score because this is your luck

EXERCISE CONTENT: Combine the following sentences, using

preposition + whom or which

1 The movie is fantastic They are talking about it

2 I’ll give you the address You should write to it

1 The movie which t hey are talking about is fantastic

2 I’ll give you the address which you should write to .

3.( Lucky number) → students don’t have to answer it.

4 The man whom I told you about works in the hospital

5.( Lucky number) → students don’t have to answer it.

6 The picture which she was looking at was beautiful

Example 2: Unit 9– Language focus -Exercise 3 (page 109- English textbook

11)

Purpose: Combine the following sentences using relative pronouns.Similar to example 1, I write five questions into seven votes two ofwhich are "Lucky number" I present the rules of the game and let students drawquestions After that, I ask students to answer the question that was drawn.Those who answer correctly will get good points If you get a "Lucky number"

vote, you will not have to answer the question but may still get a high scorebecause this is your luck.

EXERCISE CONTENT: Combine the following sentences, using relative

pronouns

1 Some people were arrested They have now been released

2 A bus goes to the airport It runs every half an hour

3.( Lucky number)

4 A man answered the phone He told me you were away

The man

5 A waitress served us She was very impolite and impatient

6 A building was destroyed in the fire It has now been rebuilt

7.( Lucky number)

Suggested answers:

1 Some people who are arrested have now been released.

2 The bus which goes to the airport runs every half an hour.

3.( Lucky number) → students don’t have to answer it.

4 The man who answered the phone told me you were away.

5 The waitress who served us was very impolite and impatient.

6 The building which was destroyed in the fire has now been rebuilt.

7.( Lucky number) → Stusents do not have to answer it.

2.2 ‘’ Jumbled sentences ’’ language game

How to proceed: I give a number of sentences in which the words arejumbled I divide the class into two groups Then I require two groups to sendrepresentatives to rearrange them to make complete sentences I let them a timelimit of 5 minutes The group that finish first it and do it correctly will be thewinner

However, depending on their level of knowledge after completing theexercise, I can correct their mistakes and give the structure once again Aftereach correction, I ask the individual to repeat the rearranged sentences (ofcourse, the two sentences will be deleted)

Example: Unit 11– Language focus -Exercise 1 (page 131- English textbook

11)

Purpose: Shorten relative clauses

After allowing students to do quickly the first three sentences, I redesignthe last four sentences of the exercise for studenrs to play the following game:

I give the sentences in which the words are jumbled I divide the classinto two groups Then I require two groups to send representatives to rearrangethem to make complete sentences I let them a time limit of 5 minutes.The groupthat finish first it and do it correctly will be the winner

EXERCISE CONTENT:Rearrange the words to make the meaningful

sentences:

1 wet./ in the rain / waiting/ The people/ the bus/ are / getting/ for

2 the causes / making / The sientists/ researching / of / are / the cancer/progress

3 surrourding / The fence is / our house wood./ made

4 have / We /overlooking the park./ an apartement

Suggested answers:

1 The people waiting for the bus in the rain are getting wet.

2 The sientists researching the causes of the cancer are making

progress

3 The fence surrourding our house is made wood.

4 We have an apartement overlooking the park

3 Implementing some methods to introduce new materials in a lively and attractive way From there, lead to teach knowledge about relative clauses

Teachers must know how to introduce new language to make thegrammar lesson about relative clauses lively and interesting This helps the class

to be lively, students to like learning English more Since then, they have theopportunity to promote creativity, self-study; avoid being passive andmemorizing grammatical structures mechanically, only writing without saying itinto sentences

When teaching the definition of relative clauses, defining relativeclauses, non- defining relative clauses, I used some of the following ways tointroduce content of the lesson:

+ I often give examples, actual situations or create context from thesurrounding environment with the purpose of making students understand andremember easily

+ Sometimes I can use pictures or visual tools to introduce grammarcontent of the lesson The purpose of this approach is to help students access thecontent of the lesson in a lively and interesting way

From there, I can explain and analyze to help students to identify thestructure of relative clauses; understand the definition of relative clauses;distinguish defining relative clauses with non- defining relative clauses; knowhow to use relative pronouns and relative adverbs; distinguish relative pronouns,relative adverbs (who, whom, which, that- where, when, why) with the Wh -words in the "Wh-questions" question.

3.1 Identify the structure of relative clauses; understand the definition of relative clauses

Definition of relative clauses: Relative clauses are subordinate clauses

connected to main clauses by relative pronouns (who, whom, whose, which,that) or relative adverbs (where, when , why) Relative clause is used tocomplement the noun that stands right before it (prefix) Its function is like anadjective, so it is also called an adjective clause Thus, the relative clause alwaysfollows closely the noun (prefix) that it complements

Ex: - The man who is standing overthere is Mr Hung.