Verbs are the skeleton of any language. Most ESL learners know the basics:. ‘eat,’ ‘go’, ‘play‘ etc., but expanding this list is vital to those working towards achieving a higher level of both spoken and written English.
In my classroom, I introduced a method I call ‘verb of the day’. It’s pretty simple but effective.
Every day I spend a few minutes introducing a new verb and ask my students to use that verb in a sentence. In a few weeks, my students progress from using standard verbs: ‘I eat‘ ‘I go’ & ‘I like‘ to the more advanced: ‘I climbed’, ‘I jump’, ‘I travelled‘.
The more creative you are at introducing the verb (you could use a song, dance and games), naturally the more the class will learn. For the smaller kids, acting out the words can be very effective.
A list of verbs I use to teach in kindergartens – elementary school are as followings:
– stretch
– push
– pull
– visit
– bend
– think
– cry
– rush
– throw
– move
-chase
– bite
The older or more advanced the students the further you can go:
– quit
– shake
– whisper
– scare
I find these Verb Flashcards from Amazon super helpful in my online and brick and mortar classroom:
tefltravelling 
you will be shocked i never knew what is a verb , even many years after i spoke fluently in English.
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You know now! 🙂
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ha ha
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Is grammar still taught in schools?
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Reblogged this on The Indie Contractor and commented:
What an awesome way to speak about access to language. It’s so true! When I travel to Mexico (which I do far more often than can excuse my not knowing the language) I find myself either stuck in a singular tense or without the words to really convey how I feel. I’m always stuck on my verbs. Thank you for this post, great work!
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