Teaching "Used to" to ESL Students
by: Keith Taylor
Here's a way to introduce the structure "used to" to your ESL students.
1
Find or draw on the board a picture of someone who looks like they could have just won some money.
A photo from a magazine of someone driving an expensive car, or sitting in a luxurious room, for example, would work well.
Give the person a name, and set the scene for your students of someone who has just won the lottery, or elicit it from them ("Why is Jane driving an expensive car?"; "How did she afford her expensive clothes?" etc.)
2
Ask students about Jane's life after winning the lottery.
Depending on the imagination of your students, you might have to prompt them a little ("Where does she live?"; "Does she have a job?"; "Is she happy?"; "Where does she go on holiday?" etc.)
Then ask students to describe how Jane's life was different before winning the lottery ("Where did she live?"; "Was she happy?"; "What was her job?")
After you have built up some facts about Jane's life before and after her lottery win, put your picture to one side and tell them to remember Jane because you will be returning to her later in the class.
3
Next, as a group, brainstorm important inventions in history.
Take one suggestion (it doesn't matter which one, as this is just an example to model the exercise which will follow). Elicit what life was like before this invention, and how life changed with the invention.
For example: "The internet.
Before the internet, most people wrote letters, but now most people send emails."
4
Now put students into pairs and have them think of three more important inventions, what life was like before the invention and how life has changed with it.
When they have done this, have each pair
share one of their ideas with the class, but this time introduce "used to" by rephrasing their ideas as they give feedback. For example:
Student: "The aeroplane. Before the aeroplane, people travelled long distances by ship. Now they fly."
Teacher: "Good!
So, people used to travel long distances by ship, but now they fly."
5
After the first round of feedback, students will be starting to catch on, so now do a second round, asking students to use the new structure with their second invention. They will probably still need some prompting, but by the third round of feedback, using their third invention, they should be producing "used to" without too much help.
6
Use one or two of the students' ideas to highlight the written form of the structure on the board. Don't forget the question and negative forms!
7
Now it's time to go back to your picture of Jane. Ask the students if they remember Jane and why she is driving her expensive car. Then ask them once again to tell you about her life before and after winning the lottery, this time using "used to". ("She used to live in a small flat, but now she has a mansion"; "She used to work, but now she doesn't").
Be sure to give students plenty of practice with the question and negative forms as well. You could have one student ask another a question about Jane's old life, and ask some questions yourself that require a negative response.
8
For further controlled communicative practice of "used to", you could devise a questionnaire about students' childhood for students to use in pairs. This could contain some prompts, such as "go to school"; "live". One student in each pair must then form a question ("Where did you use to live?") and the other must answer ("I used to live in Paris").
And there you have it, an easy way to introduce "used to" to your ESL students.
About The Author
Keith Taylor is the founder of http://www.eslbase.com/ providing resources, information and advice for TEFL teachers, as well as a directory of TEFL courses and current TEFL jobs worldwide.
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How to Find Lower Interest Rates Using the Internet
How to Find Lower Interest Rates Using the Internet
by: John Mussi
If you're looking for information about interest rates for a loan and find yourself getting frustrated by not finding rates that are in the range of what you'd like, you might be overlooking a valuable resource.
Since the advent of the internet, various banks and lenders have been working on making the internet a viable medium for banking information and research.
A number of lenders now exist exclusively online, offering loans based upon home equity or other collateral at surprisingly low interest rates to individuals with a variety of credit ratings.
If you haven't considered using an online lender or are wary about searching for a loan online, the information below might help you to decide that the internet is both a safe and obvious place to look for lower interest rates on your loans.
Searching for Online Lenders
One of the best ways to search...
How to Find Lower Interest Rates Using the Internet
Student loans > How to Find Lower Interest Rates Using the Internet
Learn How To Fix Your Credit & Debt Problems ? Before Buying Your Next House!
Learn How To Fix Your Credit & Debt Problems ? Before Buying Your Next House!
by: Kris Bickell
Most people think ? mistakenly ? that if you have credit problems, you have to wait 7 years for them to go away. Well, that's not always true.
Credit repair can help you...once you know how to do it. The time to clean up your credit and pay off your debts is RIGHT NOW, before you start looking for houses and applying for mortgages. Cleaning up your credit and lowering your debt will help you:
? get a better interest rate
? borrow more money
? and save lots of money in interest
Clean Up Your Credit Report
These days, getting credit is easy. Unfortunately, so is getting into debt or financial trouble.
But just because you?ve had some money problems does NOT mean you can?t get a mortgage and buy a house. There are all kinds of loans:
? loans for first time homebuyers
? loans for people with bad credit...
Student loans > Learn How To Fix Your Credit & Debt Problems ? Before Buying Your Next House!
Why "Do It Yourself Credit Repair" Is The Best Option
Why "Do It Yourself Credit Repair" Is The Best Option
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Having a good credit rating is one of the essential tools to leading a successful economic life. Although most people don't give their credit reports much thought, good credit allows for many things that are usually taken for granted: credit cards, car rentals, hassle free loans and apartment rentals etc. . . Every time you miss a payment to a creditor, the creditor will report this to a credit bureau, and it will be added to your credit report. If you do this too often, or let loans go into default, you will find yourself needing to engage in credit repair, as you will be consistently turned down for credit cards and most other types of loans.
If you turn to the internet or classified ads when beginning your research into credit repair, you'll likely notice many, many offers from companies offering credit repair services. Most of them market themselves aggressively, and...
Why "Do It Yourself Credit Repair" Is The Best Option
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Debt Consolidation Loan
Debt Consolidation Loan
by: Jennifer Hershey
Wouldn?t it be nice to make just one payment per month instead of several? Most of us not only have a mortgage payment.
We have car payments, credit card payments, student loans, etc.
If you have been living in your home for a reasonable amount of time and you have acquired enough equity, you might want to consider a debt consolidation loan.
A debt consolidation loan is using the equity you have acquired in your home from monthly payments and appreciation to pay off all of your outstanding debt, leaving you with one monthly payment instead of several.
Consolidating your debt has the potential to save you a lot of cash on a monthly basis if you have accumulated a lot of debt.
The interest rates on credit cards alone are considerably higher than that which you would receive on a mortgage.
Another benefit is the interest you pay on your debt consolidation loan is tax...
Debt Consolidation Loan
Student loans > Debt Consolidation Loan
A Beginner's Guide to Investing in Local Companies
A Beginner's Guide to Investing in Local Companies
by: John Mussi
With all of the fluctuations that can occur in stock investments, many people find themselves wishing that there was an investment alternative that allowed them to keep their money close to home while making sound investments in companies that they trust. If you happen to be one of these people, you might want to consider looking into making investments in some of the companies and businesses in the area in which you live and work. A number of businesses offer local investments, allowing their investors to know firsthand the sort of business that they're putting their money into.
To help you to decide whether local investments might be a good investment for your money, the information below should answer some of your questions and set you on the right path to finding the answer to other questions that you might have.
Finding local investments
Obviously, the first...
A Beginner's Guide to Investing in Local Companies
Student loans > A Beginner's Guide to Investing in Local Companies