If pupils need the grammar item for reading, the teacher should start with reading and writing sentences in which the grammar item occurs. While preparing for the lesson at which a new grammar item should be introduced, the teacher must realize the difficulties pupils will meet in assimilating this new element of the English grammar. They may be of three kinds: difficulties in form, meaning, and usage. The teacher thinks of the ways to overcome these difficulties: how to convey the meaning of the grammar item either through situations or with the help of the mother tongue; what rule should be used; what exercises should be done; their types and number. Then he thinks of the sequence in which pupils should work to overcome these difficulties, i. e. , , from observation and comprehension through conscious imitation to usage in conversation (communicative exercises). Then the teacher considers the form in which he presents the grammar item– orally, in writing, or in reading. And, finally, the teacher plans pupils’activity while they are learning this grammar item (point): their individual work, mass work, work in unison, and work in pairs, always bearing in mind that for assimilation pupils need examples of the sentence pattern in which this grammar item occurs.

    Types of Exercises for the Assimilation of Grammar.
    The following types of exercises may be suggested.
    Recognition exercises which are the easiest type of

exercises for pupils to perform. They observe the grammar item in structures (sentence patterns) when hearing or reading. Since pupils only observe the new grammar item the situations should be natural and communicative. For example:

Listen to the sentences and raise your hands whenever you hear the verbs in the Past Simple.

Mike lives in Pushkin street. I lived there last year. Ann gets up at 7 o’clock in the morning. She got up at half past seven yesterday. , etc.

It is desirable that sentences formed should concern real situations and facts.

Pupils listen to the teacher and raise their hands when they hear a verb in the Past Simple. The teacher can see whether each of his pupils has grasped the sentence.

Read the sentences and choose the correct form of the verb. The following sentences may be suggested:

    I (go, went) to school yesterday.
    Tom (takes, took) a bus when he goes to school.
    She (got, gets, gets) up at 7 o’ clock every day.

Pupils should read the sentences and find the signals for the correct choice of the form. Since the necessary form is suggested in each sentence they should only recognize the one they need for a given context.

Recognition exercises are indispensable as pupils retain the grammar material through auditory and visual perception. Auditory and visual memory is at work. Drill exercisesare more completed as they require reproduction on the part of the pupils. In learning a foreign language drill exercises are indispensable. The learners cannot assimilate the material if they only hear and see it. They must reproduce it both in outer and inner speech. The more often they say it the better they assimilate the material. Though drill exercises are those in which pupils have only one difficulty to overcome, they should also be graded:

(a) Repetitive drill. Pupils pronounce the sentence pattern after the teacher, in imitation of the teacher, both individually and in unison. For example:

    Teacher: They are dancing in the park.
    Class: They are dancing in the park.
    Individuals: They are dancing in the park.

Or pupils listen to the dialogue and say it after the speaker.

    -Is Ann dancing now?
    -No, she isn’t.
    -What is she doing?
    -She is watching television.

Attention is drawn to the correct pronunciation of the sentence pattern as a sense unit, as a statement ( sounds, stress, and melody).

(b) Substitution. Pupils substitute the words or phrases in a sentence pattern. For example:

    The children are dancing in the park.
    The children are dancing in the garden.
    The children are dancing in the street.
    The children are dancing in the yard.
    The children are dancing in the hall.
    The children are dancing after classes.
    The children are dancing at the party.

A pupil substitutes a phrase, the rest may say it in unison. Then they are invited to replace the worddancing with other words.

    They are singing in the park.
    They are working in the park.
    They are walking in the park.
    They are playing in the park.
    They are running in the park.
    They are talking in the park.
    They are watering flowers in the park.
    They are planting trees in the park.
    They are helping the workers in the park.

The use of a particular verb is stimulated with pictures (or a Russian word). Quick revision is achieved with a small expenditure of effort. In this way they review many words and phrases. As pupils have only one difficulty to overcome the work does not take much time. Or pupils are invited to replace the words in the dialogue with those given in columns

    (see the dialogue above).
    Kate
    Your sister
    This girl
    They work in pairs.

There is one more advantage in performing this type of exercises—pupils consolidate the grammar item without thinking about it. They think of the words, phrases, but not of the form itself, therefore, involuntary memory is at work.

(c) Completion. Pupils complete the sentences the teacher utters looking at the pictures he shows. For example:

    Teacher: Look at the picture.
    Mike is ...... ....
    Pupil: Mike is getting up.
    Class: Mike is getting up.
    Teacher: Mike is ...... ....
    Pupil: Mike is dressing.
    Class: Mike is dressing.

Attention should be given to the use of is in this exercise. The teacher should pronounce Mike is .... to prevent the typical mistake of the pupils (Mike dressing). This is essential structural element of the tense form of the Present Continuous; Russian-speaking pupils, however, do not feel any necessity to use it.

    (d) Answering the teacher's questions.
    For example:
    Teacher: Is Mike getting up?
    Pupil: Yes, he is.
    Teacher: Who is getting up?
    Pupil: Mike is.
    Teacher: What is Mike doing?
    Pupil: He is getting up.

Drill exercises may be done both orally and in written form. Pupils perform oral exercises during the lesson and written ones at home. For example, they ate told to write five or seven sentences on the model given. During the next lesson the work done at home is checked orally. In this way pupils have practice in pronunciation while reading their own examples, and in auding while listening to their classmates.

Creative exercises(speech exercises). This is the most difficult type of exercises as it requires creative work on the part of the learners. These may be:

(a) Making statements either on the picture the teacher shows, or on objects. For example, the teacher hangs up a picture and asks his pupils to say or write three or five statements in the Present Continuous.

(b) Asking questions with a given grammar item. For example, pupils are invited to ask and answer questions in the Past Indefinite.

(c) Speaking about the situation offered by the teacher. For example, one pupil gives commands to perform this or that action, the other comments on the action (actions) his classmate performs.

    Pupil 1: Go to the door, Sasha.
    Pupil 2: Sasha is going to the door.
    Pupil 3: Open the door.
    Pupil 4: Sasha is opening the door.

(d) Speaking on a suggested topic. For example, a pupil tells the class what he did yesterday.

    (e) Making dialogues using the grammar item covered.
    (f) Telling the story (read, heard).
    (g) Translating into English.

(h) Participating in free conversation in which pupils are to use the grammar item they have learned. E. g. , pupils have learned sentence patterns with the impersonal it. (It's cold. It's late. It's winter).

Teacher: What's the weather like, children? Is it cold today? Do you like it when it's cold?

Through these questions pupils are stimulated to speak about the weather and use the grammar item they have learnt.

All the exercises of the creative type are designed for consolidating grammar material pupils need for hearing and speaking.

    All the exercises mentioned above are designed:

(1) to develop pupils' skills in recognizing grammar forms while auding and reading English texts;

(2) to accumulate correct sentence patterns in the pupils' memory which they can reproduce whenever they need these patterns for speaking or writing; (3) to help the pupils to produce sentences of their own using grammar items necessary for speaking about a situation or a topic offered, or writing an essay on the text heard or an annotation on the text read.

Grammar tests. A check on the assimilation of grammar material is carried out through: (1) auding (if a pupil understands what he auds, he knows grammar); (2) speaking (if a pupil uses the grammar item correctly, he has assimilated it);

(3) reading (if a learner understands what he reads, he knows grammar); (4) tests.

Tests allow the teacher to evaluate pupils' achievement in grammar, that is, how each of them has mastered forms, meaning, and usage. Tests in grammar may involve: filling in the blanks; opening the brackets; transformation (e. g. , make it negative, change into plural, etc. );

extension (e. g. , / like to read books — I like to raid English bocks in our library); completion (e. g. , When I came home .... ); making statements on the pictures given; translation.

During my practice I examined the group of children of 9-10 year old. The children have been studying English for two years (the 3d form). I used the test to receive some results and to point out the level of the forming of grammar skills on theme “the degrees of comparison of adjectives”. The test consisted of 5 tasks.

    Task 1
    The aim: to control the listening comprehension.
    Listen.
    Agree or disagree.
    The elephant is the biggest animal.
    the biggest cat is the tiger.
    The monkey’s tail is longer than the cat’s.
    Dogs are clever than cats.
    Cats are funnies than monkeys.
    Task 2
    The aim: to control the reading skill and the level.

The passage from “Why Rabbits have Got Short tails” (p. 211 “English I” I. N. Vereschagina, T. A. Pritykina, Москва; Просвещение, 1994) Read and translate

Once there lived a Rabbit, His name was Bunny. He was grey and big, bigger than his brother Bonny. But he had no tail. And he wanted to have a long tail, longer than that of Mrs. Fox.

    One day Bunny went for a walk. He saw Mrs. Fox.
    “Hello, Mrs. Fox”, he said, “Where are going? ”
    “I’m going shopping. ’
    “What are you going to buy? ”
    “I’m going to buy a tail. ”

“But you’ve got a tail! I think it’s the longest and the most beautiful tail! ” “Well, but I want a new one, alonger and more beautiful one than my old tail. ”

    Task 3
    Complete the table.
    Positive
    Comparative
    Superlative
    …
    …
    The kindest
    …
    Slower
    …
    Big
    …
    …
    Popular
    …
    …
    …
    Better
    …
    Dry
    …
    …
    Beautiful
    …
    …
    Task 4
    Compare these funny fellows (picture 1)
    Nick and Rick make statements on the given picture:

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