Roger Hartopp​

How lazy are you? Question 10

 

10. Can you do this question?

 

Read the following short story. There are seven mistakes in the text. Can you underline the errors and correct them?

 

I remember my first lesson as a student learning English, but my teacher was very experienced; he had been learning English for fifteen years. The lesson began when he asked us to speak about ourselves. I said him that I had 36 years, and that I had a husband and two children. During the lesson we had many new words to learn, and I asked the teacher to explain me one of them. I said, ‘How you say this word in English?’

 

 a) Of course. Give me time and I’ll do it

b) Not now, because we actually don’t have much time for it!

c) Do I have to?

d) No, because it’s a waste of time and how am I supposed to underline something on a monitor?

e) No, because I really could not be bothered because it means I’ll have to get another piece of paper out and write things

 

TEACHER'S NOTES: Explain to students that they do not have to do the exercise; the question is about whether they have the desire at this point to actually do the exercise, and to choose the answer that best suits their feelings at that moment. Be careful about asking students about how often they do their homework and whether they enjoy doing these kinds of grammar exercises. Safe ground would be to ask them what kind of English activities they do enjoy.

 

For those who are doing the exercise, the answers are: 

 

I remember my first lesson as a student learning English, but my teacher was very experienced; he had been teaching English for fifteen years. The lesson began when he asked us to talk about ourselves. I said him that I was 36, and that I was married and had two children. During the lesson we had many new words to learn, and I asked the teacher to explain one of them to me. I said, ‘What is this word in English?’