Universite d’antananarivo ecole normale superieure

1.2.4- Communicative techniques and activities for teaching conditional sentences

As we mentioned before, contextualization and use of real life situations are very important in communicative grammar. There are different techniques and activities that can be used to teach conditional sentences communicatively.

1.2.4.1- In the presentation stage

Contextualization and elicitation are interdependent in the presentation stage because they play an important role in communicative grammar teaching. Elicitation is a range of techniques which enable the teacher to get learners provide information than giving it to them. In grammar teaching, it is fundamental to the inductive approach or the rule-discovery path

since students are supposed to discover the rules themselves. Eliciting helps to develop learner-centered classroom and a stimulating environment. It is certainly not an excuse for not presenting conditional sentences in a clear context. Teachers can present conditional sentences in context through the use of:

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  Written or tapped passages (texts with illustrations or situational dialogues) that contain the conditional type to be taught
  
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  Visual aids (realia, pictures, objects, things for the students to look at in order to keep their attention and make the class more interesting). Showing visuals focuses attention on meaning and helps to arouse students’ interest.
  
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  Imaginary situations (the teacher gives a situation appropriate to the type of conditional, clear and easy to understand)