1. This will be a fun and interactive learning practice session:
Building a Story:
The trainer/teacher starts by saying a sentence which has all the three artices, and then explains the
following: The concept is very simple where each trainee in the class needs to form sentences using all the
three artices and narrate his/her part of the whole story and then name the next trainee who will continue
the story from there, and hence forth we create a new story; the trainer/teacher will end this story playing
by the same rules. So we have a new and interesting story.
Larissa
You can use a quiz. Divide students into teams and each of them must create questions and
answers with no articles. The opposing team must find the right places for the articles and answer
the questions.
Summary
To teach students how to identify articles - a, an and the. Students will
learn to use a before nouns beginning with a consonants and an before
nouns beginning with a vowel.
Lesson Objectives
• To show students the difference between using the articles - a and an.
• Have children write the proper article before each noun.
• Reinforce that articles point to a noun.
Articles in English are very important, as we use them all the time. The three articles in English are
a, an, and the. Here are some basic rules for understanding how to use these articles:
The is the definite article. It is used before singular or plural nouns that are specific or particular.
Here are some examples:
"The girl who lives next door to me is really cute." This refers to a particular girl: the girl who lives
next door.
"The president is a busy man." There is only one president, so we are referring to a specific noun
here.
"I love the books you gave me." Again, we're talking about particular books, the ones you gave me.
A/an are the indefinite articles. We use a/an before general, non-specific nouns or to indicate
membership in a group. A/an can only be used with countable, singular nouns. Here are some
examples of how to use a/an:
2. "Let's go see a movie tonight." Here we aren't talking about a specific movie, as we haven't said
which movie we want to see.
"Cassie is an interpreter." Here, Cassie belongs to a group: interpreters. We use "an" instead of "a"
because "interpreter" begins with a vowell.
"I hope I get a car for my birthday." This refers to any car. We don't know which car yet because
we haven't gotten the car.
Finally, all articles in English are invariable, meaning that they do not change if the noun is singular
or plural, male or female. There are no other forms of the, an, or a.
No article is used in generalisations :
*I like music.
*Caviar is expensive.
Exceptions :
*I watch television but I listen to the radio and I go to the cinema.
*I don't play tennis but I play the piano, the guitar, etc.
No article is used for place names (towns, countries, mountains):
*London, Spain, Mount Everest
except if plural :
*The Greek Islands, The United States, The Alps
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The lesson presents the article definition and general rules for the use of definite and
indefinite articles in the English language.
The article is an auxiliary word in the English language. It is used before a noun and identifies it. If
there is one or several adjectives before a noun, then the article is placed before all adjectives.
There are only three articles: „a‟, „an‟ and „the‟ - in the English language.
There are two types of articles:
indefinite article - „a„ and „an„
definite article - „the„
It‟s important to know when the article is not used.
The indefinite article “a/an” originates from the word “one” and is therefore used only with
countable singular nouns. It is used in case you speak of a certain object for the first time, or when
somebody doesn‟t know what you are talking about. It is also used to point out the fact that the
object belongs to a certain type of objects.
The definite article “the” originates from the word “this” and is used with different nouns. It is
used with objects or concepts that are already familiar to everybody.
Articles usually refer to a noun, but if there are attributes in front of a noun then the article precedes
all attributes.
The article may be replaced by a pronoun:
Definite article - with demonstrative pronouns: this, that
Indefinite article - with pronoun: some
3. The table shows the general use of English articles::
singular – countable plural of countable nouns, non-
nouns countable nouns
before a consonant
a no article
indefinite sound
before a vowel sound an no article
definite the the
Example:
a pen - (any) pen
the pen - (some) pen
The youngest boy brought books and an apple.
There is the definite article before the “youngest boy” in this example, because the listener knows
about the boy in question. “Books” and “an apple” are mentioned for the first time; therefore they
are used with an indefinite article. With the “books” in plural the indefinite article is not used.
Many advanced students still have problems with articles, so if this is hard (difficult) for you, watch
and learn!
Lesson: The Definite and Indefinite
ArticleMaterials: Power point, board game
Audience: Intermediate +Procedure:A.
MotivationThe teacher will ask the students to encircle the word “a” and box the word “the” in
the paragraph and the word it modifies.I am from Seattle, Washington. Seattle is a city in
the
United States. It is near the border of Canada in the northwest corner of the USA. I live in
a
town called Olympia which is on thePuget Sound. I live in a house in a street in the countryside.
The street is called "Bear Street"and the house is old - more than 100 years old! I am an English
teacher at a school in the center of the town. I like books and taking photographs. I usually have
lunch at school. I usually gohome by car. We have all kinds of food in Olympia. I like Italian food
4. very much. Sometimes, Igo to an Italian restaurant in Seattle. The restaurant is called "Luigi's".
Italian food is great!B. Lesson Proper The teacher will discuss about the definite and indefinite
article.a = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects)
withconsonants
She has a dog. I work in a factory.
•
an = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) withvowels
(a,e,i,o,u)
Can I have an apple?She is an English teacher.
•
the = definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking and the listener know)
The car over there is fast.The teacher is very good, isn't he?
•
The first time you speak of something use "a or an", the next time you repeat that objectuse "the".
I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms. I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The
restaurant was very good.
•
DO NOT use an article with countries, states, counties or provinces, lakes andmountains except
when the country is a collection of states such as "The United States".
He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier.They live in northern British Columbia.
•
Use an article with bodies of water, oceans and seas -
My country borders on the Pacific Ocean
•
DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about things in general
I like Russian tea.She likes reading books.
•
DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about meals, places, and transport
He has breakfast at home. I go to university. He comes to work by taxi.
C. ActivityThe teacher will have a game with the students.
Directions:
Move your token along the board 1 square at a time. Write the sentence on aseparate piece of paper.
If you get the sentence right, you can stay on that space. If it iswrong, you will go back to the
previous space.D. Evaluation:The teacher give an exercise of definite and indefinite articles to the
students.Underline the correct answer.
1. Are you shopping for
a
/an/ the /no article needed
health club to join so youcan get in shape?2. Shop wisely! You could end up choosing
a/ an/ the/no article needed
wrong cluband losing more money than pounds.
3. You may find out too late that
a/ an/ the/ no article needed
health clubs aren'tfor you.
5. 4.
a/ an/ the/ no article needed
San Diego fitness experts recommendthoroughly checking out several health clubs before you join
one.
5. First, know what you want and need in
a/ an/ the/ no article needed
fitnessfacility, and don't pay for what you'll never use.
6. If you only want exercise classes,
a/ an/ the/ no article needed
exercise studiowithout weight machines and locker rooms may work for you.7. If you're looking for
a/ an/ the/ no article needed
place to only dobodybuilding, you'll be happy in a basic gym.
8. You may be in
a/ an/ the/ no article needed
market for a full-service healthclub; then, make sure it offers lots of activities.
9. Look for a place near your house, and check out
a/ an/ the/no article needed
exercise instructors and personal trainers.
10. They should be educated in physical education or certified by
a/ an/ the/ noarticle needed
organization such as the American Council on exercise.
Reference:Freeman D. (2004).
Essential Linguistics: Teaching Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar.
Washington D.C.: Heinemann Publishing.
Answer Key:B. Motivationthe united statesthe boarder the northwest corner a townthe Puget
Sounda housea streetthe countrysidethe streetthe housean English teacher a schoolthe center an
Italian restaurantthe restaurantC. Activity1.a2 . t h e , t h e , t h e 3 . a ,
a 4 . t h e , a 5 . t h e 6 . a n 7 . a , a 8 . t h e ,
t h e 9 . t h e , t h e 1 0 . a , a 1 1 . t h e 1 2 . a 13.an, an14.the, the1 5 . t h e
D . E v a l u a t i o n : 1. the2. the3. no article needed4. the5. a6. the7. a8. a9. the10. an