Teacher Training | Amy Karelitz

Teaching Noun Phrases to Beginner ESL Students

Overview

I am both the curriculum designer and the course instructor for a 120-hour Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) training and certification program. Native speakers can easily fix grammar errors, but they often struggle to explain the underlying rules. I designed this lesson to shift new teachers' focus from editing to explaining a common student error with noun phrase formation.

Learners

Participants in a TESL training and certification program. They have varying backgrounds and experience in education. They are novices at teaching ESL.

Problem

New teachers correct noun phrase errors by adding or removing the singular article "A/An" without explaining what the relevant noun requires. If students don't recognize what different noun forms require, they won't know when to use the singular article.

Outcome

Participants will explain a common noun phrase error in terms of the rules for noun phrase formation: Singular nouns require the article "A/An," and plural nouns cannot use "A/An."

Teaching Nouns (2:40)

Why do beginner ESL students use "A/An" incorrectly? I present a 3-step strategy for explaining this error and guiding students to correct it themselves.

Practice Activity

Can you find singular, plural, and noncount nouns? If you can do that, you can apply the rule. In this activity, you'll use real ESL student writing samples to practice identifying correct and incorrect noun phrase formation.

Infographic Takeaway

Teachers and students can refer to this infographic for a simple reminder of the category and rules for noun phrases.

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