Hello colleagues, Have you ever thought about why we have so many irregular verbs in English? Here's an interesting and quick video that explains this phenomenon, Why Do We Have Irregular Verbs?.
How do you approach teaching irregular verbs? I hope to get some creative ideas to support my own teaching with beginners this summer!
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, English Language Acquisition
Comments
Susan I use texts and pumarosa to teach the most common irregular verbs right after I teach the regular verbs in the past tense with an emphasis on the pronunciation of the three groups. I explain that irregular verbs do not like to obey the rules, just like the irregular verbs in Spanish. I also put them on flashcards and made a video.
http://www.pumarosa.com/ingles/past_tense/irregular_verbs_nm/load.htm?f
Thanks for sharing this link, Paul. I always recommend your website to the Spanish speakers in my class. I'll draw their attention to this page when we study irregular verbs.
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, English Language Acquisition
Susan, It is good to know that your students can use Pumarosa, which can now be accessed via smart phones., Also included is a section on the irregular past participles. I focus on the most common verbs first, mainly so that the students can begin to practice right away and memorize a little more easily, as a base.There is an extended section in my workbooks which can be found on inglesconprfoepablo.com - Libros de Trabajo.
I have seen how students gain a lot of confidence when they "dominate" problem areas like irregular verbs.
Paul