Open-ended grammar exercises

Grammar exercises in coursebooks tend to be close-ended or controlled, leaving little to no room for creativity. The main reason for this is that such exercises are easier to check, whether in class or at home, where students can correct them by looking at the answer key. Today I would like to explore how to turn close-ended grammar exercises into open-ended ones and also take advantage of Gen.AI to create examples for the students. I will be focusing on the elementary level.

Take this typical exercise on comparisons.

– Scotland is ….. than Spain. (wet)

– Spain is … than Scotland. (sunny)

We could ask students: “Which country do you prefer and why?” instead for open-ended answers. The beauty of this approach is that we will get a range of answers, from simpler and more obvious sentences, such as “I prefer Spain because Scotland is colder than Spain”, to more elaborate ones from more advanced students, such as “I prefer Spain because it is livelier than Scotland”. This is a great way to cater to all language abilities in the classroom and encourage students to step out of their comfort zones.

Then we can ask Gen.AI –I will be using Gemini this time- to do this for us as well, exposing learners to more examples of the focal grammar point. Prompt: Compare Scotland and Spain using adjectives of comparison for elementary students of English. Why would someone prefer one country over the other? Write 5 sentences.

·  Scotland is cooler than Spain. It has beautiful mountains, lochs, and cool weather.

·  Spain is hotter than Scotland. It has sunny beaches, warm weather, and delicious food.

·  Scotland is more historical than Spain. It has ancient castles, historic cities, and legends of brave knights.

·  Spain is more modern than Scotland. It has big cities, fast trains, and lots of new technology.

·  Scotland is more peaceful than Spain. It has quiet countryside, friendly people, and beautiful nature.

We could even have a competition where students have to try to anticipate and guess Gemini’s answers. Here we have some very good examples suited to the language level to reinforce comparison formation rules (e.g., the suffix –er, double consonant in hotter, use of more for three-syllable words and for two-syllabe words not ending in –y).

Let’s have a look at ‘can/can’t’

– We … use our phones in class. (can/can’t)

This time we could tell the class: “You can’t use your phones in class. What other things can’t you do in class?” We can have the students brainstorm sentences while we take a short moment to write this prompt into Gemini. Prompt: Write 5 more examples of ‘can’t’ sentences for elementary students of English based on this sentence: “We can’t use our phones in class”. What other things can’t students do in class?

·  We can’t run in the hallways.

·  We can’t eat in the library.

·  We can’t talk loudly during the test.

·  We can’t bring toys to school.

·  We can’t leave the classroom without permission.

Once again, in addition to examples provided by the students, we can read a few more from the board at the front.

Let’s have a look at the simple past tense now.

– It was a beautiful day. They …….. to the beach. (go)

Instead of –or in addition to- having students complete the gaps with the past simple form of the verb, we could say: “It was a beautiful day. They went to the beach. What did they do on the beach on such a beautiful day?” Prompt: It was a beautiful day. They went to the beach. What other things did they do on the beach on such a beautiful day? Write 5 sentences.

·  They built sandcastles and splashed in the waves.

·  They flew a kite high up in the sky.

·  They had a picnic lunch under a shady tree.

·  They collected seashells and colorful pebbles.

·  They watched the sunset and listened to the sound of the ocean.

So after students have brainstormed possible sentences, we can then read these sentences from the board at the front and draw attention to the pronunciation of regular past of verbs (four examples with 3 distinct pronunciations there), examples of irregular forms and any generally interesting bits of language relevant to the language level.