A new approach to phrasal verb teaching at high school

1 Introduction 1.1 Rationale of choosing the theme Phrasal verbs present a difficult challenge for most students who study English as a second language Phrasal verbs are also often confusing for students, due to their idiomatic nature Unfortunately, there is no quick formula for students to learn and understand them There is no one rule for determining which preposition to use after the verb Each phrase has to be learned and understood individually So what is the best way for students to learn phrasal verbs? First, students need to understand that phrasal verbs cannot be accurately translated because of their idiomatic nature and the fact that they are compound phrases Phrasal verbs sound quite strange to non-native speakers of English However, once the student can understand the nature of phrasal verbs, they usually have an easier time using them 1.2 The aims of the study Teaching phrasal verbs is an inevitable step as students gain proficiency and aim for a more natural speaking style Native speakers use phrasal verbs frequently and it is likely that your students will have already asked about the meaning of common phrasal verbs, such as get out, fall off and break down, even before you make them a specific lesson topic The challenge with phrasal verbs is that it is often just as challenging for the teacher as for the student Today I am going to lay out the general attack plan I use to tackle phrasal verbs with my own students at Vinh Loc upper secondary school Firstly, I focus on teaching one-on- one lessons at high school and have developed a set of my own phrasal verbs resources that I use to teach at high school, though most of my strategy (and resources) can be adapted for an inperson or group teaching approach Secondly, teaching your student phrasal verbs is not a skill that you can cover in one lesson! You will need a series of sessions with your student before they feel comfortable weaving even basic phrasal verbs into their everyday speech I suggest introducing one grammar concept at a time then return regularly to lessons focused on phrasal verbs Lastly, you must introduce the necessary grammar with your students so that they can make sense of constructions Many teachers feel awkward answering students’ questions about phrasal verbs, and it is generally because many teachers not possess the knowledge of the grammar to answer the question Additionally, teachers not agree on the grammatical terminology (I actually prefer multiword verbs to phrasal verbs but I will not get into that here) Whatever you call this area of grammar, just be sure to know your terminology You need to pick a set of resources that you are comfortable with and stick with it 1.3 The objective of study This subject is concerned with ways of teaching grammar activities in the class - To introduce how to teach phrasal verbs, - To show ways of teaching grammar lessons, - To show ways of teaching phrasal can be designed for teaching English plans in grade 12 at Vinh Loc upper-secondary school, - To draw out what the learners understand phrasal verbs and apply them to their daily life through communicative activities 1.4 The limitation of the teaching phrasal verb strategy - Studying the process approach, - Finding out the difficulties and suggesting solutions to the problems, - Classifying types of phrasal verbs, - Applying skills to grammar test in the final exam 1.5 The methods of study - Researching in the process of teaching English 12 at Vinh Loc uppersecondary school, - Studying documents dealing with the strategies for teaching phrasal verbs, - Discussing with other ESL teachers, - Applying the study in teaching process, - Observing and drawing out experience Discussion 2.1 General views on teaching phrasal verbs 2.1.1 Important information about phrasal verbs A phrasal verb is the combination of a standard verb such as make or put with one or two particles In some cases the particle is an adverb such as away, together ; in others it is a preposition such as through, in Here are a few examples of the many hundreds of English phrasal verbs: pass away, pull together, fall through, make with, put down to 2.1.2 The difficulty of phrasal verbs Phrasal verbs are one of the most difficult aspects for learners of the English language There are three main reasons for this: In many cases the meaning of the phrasal verb cannot be deduced from its elements, i.e., it is being used idiomatically For example: a learner who knows that to tick is to make a checkmark may have difficulty in understanding the sentence The teacher ticked off the student for being late, in which the phrasal verb to tick off means to reprimand or to express disapproval Many phrasal verbs are polysemous; i.e., they have more than one meaning The phrasal verb to put down has the literal meaning of putting something down on the table or floor But it also has the idiomatic meanings: o to make someone feel small, to criticize and humiliate them o to kill as in the sentence I had to have my cat put down o to stop, quash, put an end to as in the sentence The police put down the riots with unnecessary brutality There are difficulties with the grammar of phrasal verbs, particularly with the position of the particles Look at the following examples: He put down the book He put the book down The teacher put the student down The teacher put down the student The student put her bad grade The student put down her bad down to tiredness grade to tiredness 2.1.3 The importance of phrasal verbs Phrasal verbs are very important for learners because they are so prevalent in everyday spoken and informal written language Not only learners need to understand the more common phrasal verbs, but they will also need to use them themselves If they not, and use a more formal synonym, they run the risk of sounding pompous or ridiculous to native speakers Imagine, for example, your friend telling you “Oh, desist from talking! instead of Oh, shut up! “ or “Oh, belt up! or Oh, pipe down!” 2.1.4 The selection principles of phrasal verbs The phrasal verbs listed on this website are those that, in the opinion of the webmaster, are among the most useful for English learners to learn first Only idiomatic phrasal verbs that are likely to cause difficulties to language learners have been included The definition listed for each phrasal verb is generally very short and should be regarded as the first step in the learning process The example sentences are the second, more useful step in the process of understanding the verb and the contexts in which is is used The third step is to look at the additional information that is listed for some verbs A phrasal verb is a verb that is made up of a main verb together with an adverb or a preposition, or both Typically, their meaning is not obvious from the meanings of the individual words themselves For example: She has always looked down on him Fighting broke out among a group of twenty men I’ll see to the animals Don’t put me off, I’m trying to concentrate The report spelled out the need for more staff For instance, in the first example, the phrasal verb ‘to look down on someone’ doesn’t mean that you are looking down from a higher place at someone who is below you; it means that you think that you are better than someone Transitivity: Phrasal verbs can be intransitive (i.e they have no object): We broke up two years ago They set off early to miss the traffic He pulled up outside the cottage or transitive (i.e they can have an object): The police were called to break up the fight When the door is opened, it sets off an alarm They pulled the house down and redeveloped the site Word order: The verb and adverb elements which make up intransitive phrasal verbs are never separated: ✓ We broke up two years ago ✗ We broke two years ago up The situation is different with transitive verbs, however If the direct object is a noun, you can say: ✓ Theypulled the house down [direct object] ✓ They pulled down the house If the object is a pronoun (such as it, him, her, them) , then the object always comes between the verb and the adverb: ✓ Theypulled it down [direct object] ✗ They pulled down it 2.1.5 The features of phrasal verbs Phrasal verbs are multiword combinations of Verb + Adverb, Verb + Preposition, or Verb + Adverb AND Preposition that function like one-word verbs They can be transitive or intransitive What are phrasal verbs and why are they important? Phrasal verbs are multiword combinations of Verb + Adverb, Verb + Preposition, or Verb + Adverb AND Preposition that function like one-word verbs They can be transitive or intransitive One of the most important and challenging characteristics of phrasal verbs is that the meaning of the combination is often quite different from the meaning of the original verb by itself For example, the phrasal verb hang out, which means “to stay somewhere for a while without doing much,” has a completely different meaning from the verb hang Likewise, the phrasal verb pass out, which means “to fall asleep or become unconscious,” has a very different meaning from the verb pass Finally, the phrasal verb put up with, which means “to tolerate,” has little connection to the meaning of put The sentences below illustrate these differences Examples: hang out vs hang: The kids in the neighborhood hang out at the corner store He is going to hang the mirror on the wall pass out vs pass: They both passed out in front of the TV Stand here and don't let anyone pass put up with vs put: At this school, we will not put up with bad behavior Put the car in the garage 2.1.6 Multiple meanings Another challenging thing about phrasal verbs is that they often have more than one meaning The phrasal verb pass out, for example, can mean to fall asleep, as mentioned above, but it can also mean to distribute, as in this sentence: The teacher hasn't finished passing out the tests yet 2.1.7 The reasons of why phrasal verbs are important Phrasal verbs are important because they are extremely common in informal English, and unless you are familiar with their meanings, understanding informal language will be difficult In addition, learning to use phrasal verbs correctly will help you sound natural in casual conversation One last tip about phrasal verbs: When you are writing for a formal audience, keep in mind that phrasal verbs sound informal Instead of writing something like, “The patient had her tonsils taken out when she was ten years old,” you may want to write “The patient had her tonsils removed when she was ten years old.” It will sound more appropriate 2.1.8 The number of phrasal verbs in English Most phrasal verbs consist of two words (verb + adverb or verb + preposition) but a few consists of three words Think of them as you would any other English vocabulary Study them as you come across them, rather than trying to memorise many at once 2.2 Definition and types of phrasal verbs As if there was not enough vocabulary for our students to learn, English has certain multi-word expressions that have a different meaning as a whole than the meaning of the separate parts The most common types of these expressions are idioms and phrasal verbs, and they can be difficult for students to master Because phrasal verbs are so prevalent in our culture, they are important to becoming fluent in English So what exactly are phrasal verbs? What is the best way to teach them? Read on to get some ideas, and feel free to share your favorite method in the comments section below 2.2.1 The definition of a phrasal verb A phrasal verb is a phrase with two or more words, usually involving a verb and a preposition (This is how most grammar books present it, and it is easiest for students to understand if you explain it in this way Technically speaking, though, some phrasal verbs involve a verb + adverb combination See my post Preposition or Adverb? for more information.) A regular verb + preposition combination has two meanings whereas a phrasal verb has one meaning For example, the verb look means to use your eyes to see something and the preposition up means the direction above, as in look up at the sky This is very different from the phrasal verblook up, which means to check, as in look up a word in the dictionary Make sure your students always write phrasal verbs as two separate words Phrasal verbs are never hyphenated or combined into one word, thoug h their noun or adjective forms often are 2.2.2 Types of phrasal verbs During this lesson you will learn about the five different types of phrasal verbs and how to use them in everyday situations 2.2.2.1 The first of the five types of phrasal verb are called Intransitive verbs Intransitive verbs: An intransitive verb has no object Examples: Get up: to rise from bed Get up, Mr Bean! You have to be at the airport in two hours The words highlighted are the phrasal verbs and they are on their own; they don’t take an object Slow down: drive more slowly or walk more slowly Slow down, Sally you are driving too fast 2.2.2.2 The second of the five types of phrasal verb are called transitive verbs A transitive verb has an object that can also be a moveable object Fill out: complete a form Can you fill out the application form using only a black pen please? Can you fill the application form out using only a black pen please? The verbs are highlighted black come the object (the application form) These verbs can come after the phrasal verb or they can be used in the middle of it Sometimes these phrasal verbs are called separable phrasal verbs, this is because you can separate the two parts of the phrasal verb fill and out with the object (the application form) 2.2.2.3 The third of the five types of phrasal verb are called transitive verbs with fixed object in the middle of the verb Transitive with fixed object in the middle of the verb When using these verbs, the object the object must always be in the middle of the phrasal verb Set apart: distinguish Mr Beans training as a special agent really sets him apart from the other agents around the world 2.2.2.4 The forth of the five types of phrasal verb are called Transitive with fixed object after the verb Transitive with fixed object after the verb: Transitive with fixed object after the verb the phrasal verb must always come before the You will sometime hear people call these verbs inseparable; this is because the parts of the phrasal verb must not be separated by the object Run into: Meet by chance Sally ran into Sarah the other day at her local cafe, she had not seen her since leaving school Warning: (DO NOT say ‘Sally ran Sarah into the other day at her local cafe, she had not seen her since leaving school’) 2.2.2.5 The fifth and last of the five types of phrasal verb are called Transitive with two objects, separable Transitive with two objects, separable: Put down to: Attribute to something Ann’s parents were really pleased and put her results down to plenty of revising The above example shows phrasal verbs that have two objects (‘her results’ and ‘plenty of revising’) The examples shows that the objects separates the verb (‘and put her results down to’) and the other comes after the verb itself (‘plenty of revising’) 2.3 The approach to phrasal verb teaching The following methods are some that I have tried over the years The third method is my favorite because my students seem to catch on and retain phrasal verbs better with it 2.3.1 From a list A lot of textbooks/classes will have a list of phrasal verbs that are relevant to the course, such as Business English, TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS, etc A long list like this can be overwhelming to students, so consider presenting five phrasal verbs a day or using fun vocabulary activities such as cutting up the phrasal verbs and their definitions and having students match them up 2.3.2 In contex A fun way to teach phrasal verbs is in the context of a story Seeing the phrasal verb in context helps students grasp and retain the meaning I have seen some textbooks dedicated to idioms that are grouped into themes, and a lot of them include phrasal verbs 2.3.3 As groupings Grouping phrasal verbs into categories based on the same verb is another way to go This is my preferred method because it presents phrasal verbs in small, logical, and manageable groups I think students remember the phrasal verbs more easily this way Here are some common groupings to try with your students: Look after – take care of Look down on – think less of Look into – investigate, find more information Look out – be careful Look over – review, examine Look up – check, find Look up to – admire Take after – resemble Take away (from) – learn Take off – leave Take on – start Take out – take on a date Take over – replace Get along (with) – have a good relationship Get away – go on vacation Get away with – not get caught while doing something bad Get out of – no longer have to something Get through – survive, bear 2.3.4 Separable or inseparable Which phrasal verbs can have an object between the verb and preposition, and which cannot? For example, you can say I called on my cousin yesterday but you cannot say I called my cousin on yesterday, so call on is inseparable You can say I picked my cousin up at the airport or I picked up my cousin at the airport, so pick up is separable (Remind students that while noun objects can go between or after the phrasal verb, a pronoun object can only go between the phrasal verb E.g., I picked her up is correct I picked up her is incorrect.) 2.4 Teaching students to deal phrasal verbs which they not understand First, multiword verbs can belong to three main groups: 10 Phrasal Verbs – verb + particle look up, call off, run into, take off Prepositional Verbs – verb + preposition decide on, apply for, stand for, depend on Prepositional Phrasal Verbs – verb + particle + preposition put up with, look forward to, run up against A particle is not an adverb or a preposition, but yet, has the same form! I prefer the grammar terms used by Cowan in ‘The Teacher’s Grammar of English’, which define groups such as: Transitive or intransitive (transitive phrasal verbs require a direct object intransitive not) Separable or inseparable (for separable phrasal verbs, the direct object can come between the verb and the particle) At times, the grammar can feel a little intense As a teacher, the best practice for teaching phrasal verbs is to introduce only the most widely used ones and disregard obscure phrasal verbs that have become archaic or are rarely used During a typical class, introducing five to eight phrasal verbs at a time to students is productive Choose a small selection that falls into a logical group, either because they are paired with the same preposition, or they fit into the same topic After understanding the basic meaning of each phrasal verb, they should be practiced in a natural way through conversation Such conversation should be encouraged through role play and dialogues Students will greatly improve their English language ability, if they can utilize phrasal verbs Teachers and materials writers make use of various approaches to selecting and grouping phrasal verbs for teaching purposes These approaches are also reflected in the strategies learners use for learning phrasal verbs, associating them with each other, remembering them and/or writing them in their vocabulary notebooks R Gairns and S Redman are critical of the principle of grouping phrasal verbs formed from the same verb, since the items are likely to be unrelated in meaning, and not memorable for learners This is clearly a danger to be aware of However, such is not always the case Often there is a basic relationship of meaning shared by phrasal verbs of a common verb The ‘focus on the verb’ approach can be used to provide data for learners to look for common features of meaning in groups of phrasal verbs In a given group they should be able to see how the basic physical meaning of the verb is extended metaphorically by the preposition Gairns and Redman have the same reservations about using the preposition as an organizing principle The use of different verbs indeed changes 11 the meaning of a preposition They also note, however, that if the preposition “does perform a more consistent function with regard to its effect on the meaning of the root verb e.g ‘up’ adding a sense of completion then the approach is clearly more valid The implication is that, when grouping according to prepositions, it may be necessary to subdivide the phrasal verbs of a prepositional group according to a closer or shared meaning Focusing on individual uses of prepositions, and then perhaps at a later stage mixing different uses for comparison and contrast, can encourage learners to look for and identify systematic features of meaning in the way prepositions are used Gairns and Redman consider a third approach to be grouping by a contextual link Such a link “often allows the teacher better opportunities for further practice and possibly makes the verbs more memorable for the students” but can lead to “the inclusion of verbs which are either of little practical use or are inappropriate to the level” The fourth approach is to gather together different meanings of one verb Gairns and Redman consider that this approach “is perhaps best suited for revision purposes with more advanced students.” At lower levels, the different meanings are unlikely to be equally useful All four approaches have merit if used judiciously Here are a few additional principles of teaching/learning phrasal verbs that can be invoked: As well as phrasal verbs, not forget to teach phrasal nouns, such as “outlay” and “layout,” and phrasal adjectives, such as “outstanding” and “mixed-up” Use similar approaches to verbs composed of a compounded preposition and verb, such as “outlast” or “upset”, and to the nouns and adjectives derived from them, not forgetting that the same principle of combining preposition and verb has also created thousands of words So provide learners with opportunities to investigate the meanings of elements, such as pro, con, di and gress, for example, progress, congress, digress, etc Foster an awareness of any similarities between English and the learner’s native language Many languages share words derived from Greek or Latin or Hebrew, while the meanings may vary in different languages Start right from the beginning Teach plenty of phrasal verbs at the elementary level, in the context of general vocabulary teaching Do not suddenly try to start teaching hundreds of them all together at higher levels 12 Do not isolate phrasal verbs from other types of vocabulary Encourage learners to look for similarities of meaning in sets of vocabulary items, for example, the various usages of the verb “to get” Similarly, in working on phrasal verbs associated with a theme or topic or situation, mix them in with other useful, relevant vocabulary Look for opportunities to illustrate abstract phrasal verbs in cartoons; some learners will produce good ones themselves For instance, come up with a good idea could be illustrated by a cartoon of a diver coming up to the surface with a shining light bulb representing the good idea And, of course, bear in mind all the general recommendations for the teaching and learning of vocabulary: the importance of exposure, recycling, personalization and so on By implementing these suggestions, we can help learners to understand and use particular phrasal verbs, and also to appreciate the hidden, systematic quality behind the apparent chaos of forms and meanings, and thereby become more independent in dealing with unfamiliar phrasal verbs It remains true, nevertheless, that the meanings of some phrasal verbs are not at all obvious, and that learners will in some cases have doubts about word order, stress patterns and register, so that good reference sources are essential Phrasal verbs should be introduced in the context of hypothetically real situations You may be tempted to present each with a synonym or a definition, but this may not give students a clear understanding of how each is used For example, let’s say you want to teach phrasal verbs in a business context To present a phrasal verb like “take over”, try the following: Did you hear about X Company? This past week they bought the much smaller Y Company X took over Y If you supply real company names and real examples, so much the better, particularly if you are teaching English to high school students They will really appreciate the examples and will easily understand the phrasal verb and how it is used Follow up by asking them the meaning of “take over”, in this case Can they supply other examples of companies that were taken over recently Do the same with “go under” Supply an example of a company that has filed for bankruptcy Have any of your students heard about another company that has gone under recently From such examples the students may figure out the definition for themselves, or if they are having a bit of trouble with it, help them guess Give them lots of examples Use the names of real companies, people and places Above all, help them understand the phrasal verb, beyond the mere memorization of a definition Do not forget this essential clarification: students must understand that phrasal verbs are more informal and are thus used more often in spoken rather than written English, although they may be used in informal, written communication like emails to family or friends 13 There are a number of ways in which students can practice their new phrasal verbs Worksheets are a standard, traditional option One worksheet may emphasize phrasal verbs using the preposition “up”, while another stresses the use of “on” or “in” These may be downloaded from the internet, or the teacher could write his or her own worksheet Whether the exercise is “fill inthe blanks” or “matching”, give your students plenty of practice Games, such as “Bingo”, “Tic Tac Toe, or a board game of your own design, may also be effective Just give the students the synonym, for example, “postpone” and ask them to come up with the right phrasal verb, in this case, “put off” The goal for the teacher is to help students go from very controlled activities or exercises to using the new phrasal verbs on their own Here are a couple of activities that may help Give every pair of students two to three phrasal verbs that they must use in a conversation The students must come up with a dialogue, put it down on paper, and then act it out in front of the class Without covering some grammar you will have difficulty eventually explaining that these sentences are correct: – I completed my assignment and handed it in on time – The policeman let him off – The children picked on me While the following are incorrect: – I completed my assignment and handed in it on time – The policeman let off him – The children picked me on I would like to introduce one grammatical concept to a student at a time, such as the properties of separable transitive phrasal verbs, and introduce some common phrasal verbs definitions and examples in context We then take a break from the topic, and come back to attack the next section of grammar and common phrasal verbs definitions and examples A good dictionary is vital to understand and use phrasal verbs for your students This can be either an online resource or a regular hardcopy dictionary 2.5 Applying the research of teaching in the field 2.5.1 Demonstration of teaching Unit 14 International organizations, Part E: Language Focus, Grammar: Phrasal verbs, English 12 textbook for 12-grade students at Vinh Loc uppersecondary school 14 Period: 89th Class:12C9, 12C10, 12C11 Unit 14: INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS E - Language Focus I Objectives Knowledge By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: - practice speaking in the falling tune - revise how to use phrasal verbs Skills - Students know to speaking in the correct tune Students use the grammar point to exercises Education aims - Students have positive attitude towards learning II Methods - Integrated, mainly communicative III Anticipated problems: No problems IV Teaching aids - Teacher: picture , board, chalk, textbook, handouts, tape, cassette - Students: textbook, workbook, pen, pencil, etc V Procedures Teacher’s activities Pronuciation: Students’ activities Pronuciation: + Ask Ss to look at the Intonation + Explain how to use falling tone to make a statement and WH-questions + Modeling + Ask Ss to listen and repeat + Call some Ss to repeat individually + Ask S to practice in pair in ms + Walk around to supervise and help S if necessary + Call some Ss to speak out + After Ss finish, give them comments Very good But next time remember to lower your voice when you want to make a statement + Look at the Intonation (p.147) + Listen attentively to the T + Ss listen to the T and read after the T + S practice in pair S1: The World Wild Fund was established in 1961 S2: The United Nation works for international development S3: All small country is equal to a large country in the UN S4 What does WHO stand for? S5: How many goals are set by the UN? S6 In what situation you think we need WHO? S7 Don’t go away 15 Grammar: Phrasal verbs Exercise + Ask Ss to look at Grammar + Call one S to repeat the instruction to make sure that they are clear about what they have to + Ask Ss to work in pair to complete the sentences in ms + Walk around to observe and give help if necessary + Call some Ss to write the answers on the board + Check the answers give up fill in turn on take off wash up look up turn off fill in continue 10 put on Exercise + Ask Ss to make sure that they all understand the instruction + Ask Ss to work in pair to complete the sentence + Walk around to observe and give help if necessary + Check the answer: in Up Out Round On Up down Away Down 10 on Exercise + Ask the Ss to make sure that they all understand the instruction + Give some examples “Instead using the verb ‘arrives’, you may use the phrasal verb ‘turns up’” +Ask Ss to work in pair to complete the sentences + Call some Ss go to the board to write the answer Key: 1, turns up 2, look after 3, takes after 4, got over 5, held up 6, try out 7, went off Consolidation: S8 Come in and sit down S9 Hurry up It’s late Grammar: Phrasal verbs Exercise + Look at Grammar (p.135) + One S stand up and repeat the instruction Using the word from the box to complete the sentence + Work with partner to complete the sentences + Repeat the instruction Using the right word from the box to complete the sentences Exercise + Listen carefully to the instruction + work in pair to complete the sentence Exercise + Repeat the instruction Replace the word in brackets with suitable phrasal verbs + Listen to the teacher attentively + Work in pair to exchange the answers 16 - Summarize the main points of the lesson Homework: - Students summarize the main points of the lesson - Review the points that have been - Students review the points that covered in the lesson and learn by heart have been covered in the lesson the new words and learn by heart the new words * Adjustment: - So as a summary, you must introduce grammatical terminology to allow a student to reach high proficiency with phrasal verbs However, go slowly Introduce the grammatical properties one at a time, and then introduce a number of common phrasal verbs that possess the property Move from controlled to free activities slowly And most importantly, return again and again to the previous grammatical terms and properties covered - In no time at all your student will understand that let someone off is a permanently separated transitive phrasal verb - The best way to learn how a phrasal verb is to look it up on Learners Dictionary.com and read the example sentences that show how it is used The example sentences have been selected to illustrate the correct use of these words - One more thing, phrasal verbs less appropriate in formal language If you are writing a formal document or an academic essay, try to avoid using phrasal verbs and use more formal alternatives instead You can find alternatives in the dictionary 2.5.2 Finding and comments Up to now, I have applied strategies for teaching phrasal verbs to teach students at many classes In school year 2018-2019 this research is applied to grade 12 - students at class 12C9, 12C10 and 12C11 The result after applying the research in teaching Total of students 115 (100%) Excellent-good grade 35 (33.3%) Average grade 65 (52.5%) Weak-bad grade 15 (14.2%) The comments from my colleagues: According to them, this was a effective teaching grammar lesson All of the steps were explained in detail The lesson also helps students develop their knowledge of using phrasal verbs 17 The results from my students: During learning process, most of the students felt motivated At the end of the lesson, after marking and analysing the result, I felt quite satisfied as about 85 percent got excellent – good and average grade Conclusion and recommendations 3.1 Conclusion of the study The success of this study is giving students opportunities to express their understanding of the reading orally, allow them to learn from each other and to integrate the content of reading material into their knowledge base Ideally it promotes the notion of an exchange of information, helps to break down traditional teacher-centredness, and begins to establish a variety of interaction patterns in the classroom It is also fundamental to the inductive approach to teaching language and to learning through tasks and self-discovery, and a simple and effective way of getting learners to produce language 3.2 Recommendations In fact, each teacher has their own activities to teach grammar lesson Whatever teaching styles are used the suggestions which may help teachers are followings: - Teacher has to think about the context in real situation where the vocabulary and grammar might be used in order to relate learning language to real life and also promotes high motivation - Because of students‘ limited English level, teacher has to explain again and again and or even in Vietnamese This is a proof to find that students‘ limited knowledge (vocabulary, phrases, expressions, etc) is a big obstacle for implementing grammar lesson activities - Teacher should give them some assignment by telling them to read, watch films, listen to songs etc and note the useful word It is a good way to produce the target language by themselves - Teacher must see that the personality of students affects the quality of post- grammar lesson a lot If the student is an active and out-going person, she / he is willing to work with other people and he/ she knows how cooperate with them - The teacher spends seven minutes or nine minutes at the end of the grammar lesson and the teacher tries to change the type of activities to avoid the boring atmosphere The post-grammar lesson are varied: role play, continuing the story, retelling the story or games - Teacher has to prepare grammar lesson activities carefully and anticipate the possible problems they may encounter - Teacher has to give students clear instructions so that they can easily take part in the activities 18 - Teacher has to monitor what activity he/she is going to in order that students can focus ont it - Teacher has to think about how to check students' understanding and encourage students to use positive comments Through studying documents involving the study, exchanging teaching experience with my colleagues, I have applied this aproach to teaching 12-grade students how to learn phrasal verbs effectively I personally think that my students can use phrasal verbs in the lesson quite well I hope my contribution will help students develop their English Despite my best efforts, mistakes are unavoidable, I would be very grateful if I can get comments from you and other English as a second language teachers./ THE CONFIRMATION OF THE HEADMASTER Thanh Hoa, May 15th 2019, I hereby declare that this my experience initiative and no parts of the initiative have been copied or reproduced by me from any other’s work with acknowledgement Writer MA Nguyen Thi Ha Vu Xuan Tuyen 19 ... then take a break from the topic, and come back to attack the next section of grammar and common phrasal verbs definitions and examples A good dictionary is vital to understand and use phrasal verbs... what situation you think we need WHO? S7 Don’t go away 15 Grammar: Phrasal verbs Exercise + Ask Ss to look at Grammar + Call one S to repeat the instruction to make sure that they are clear about... phrasal verbs 2.1.1 Important information about phrasal verbs A phrasal verb is the combination of a standard verb such as make or put with one or two particles In some cases the particle is an adverb