Mar 4

Teaching the present perfect with Chat GPT

A grammar practice activity...

Is this the future of language teaching?

Watch this and see if you notice anything different.
Teaching the present perfect - Video script

Watch this and see if you can spot anything unusual.

[Intro music plays, as Jo Gakonga appears on screen sitting in front of a whiteboard. Cut to her smiling face as she greets the viewers.]

Jo Gakonga: Hello everyone and welcome back to ELT-Training.com! Today, I have a fantastic activity to share with you all, which is perfect for teaching the present perfect for unfinished time. This is a crucial aspect of the English language, and I'm sure your students will love it. So, let's get started!

[Jo stands up and starts writing on the whiteboard.]

Jo Gakonga: For this activity, you will need a whiteboard or flip chart, markers, and a timer. Divide your students into groups of 4-5 and give each group a whiteboard and markers. Then, write the following prompt on the board: "What have you done this week?"

[Jo turns back to the camera, smiling.]

Jo Gakonga: Next, set the timer for 2 minutes, and ask the students to brainstorm as many things as they can think of that they have done this week. Encourage them to use the present perfect tense, and to work together to come up with as many examples as possible.

[Cut to the students working together, discussing and writing on their whiteboards.]

Jo Gakonga: When the timer goes off, ask each group to share their list with the class. You can also have a bit of fun by seeing which group has the longest list. This will not only get your students speaking in English, but also get them practicing the present perfect tense.

[Cut back to Jo, who nods approvingly as she speaks.]

Jo Gakonga: I hope you all enjoyed this activity, and I'm sure your students will too! Don't forget to like and subscribe to our channel, and visit ELT-Training.com for more useful material for English language trainees and teachers. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you all in the next video!

[Outro music plays as Jo smiles and waves goodbye.]

What do you think? Did this strike you as the same kind of material that I usually put out? Did you notice anything different? I used Chat GPT to write the script and to suggest the activity. It’s not particularly inspiring, but it’s useful enough … It also took me very little time- this was the prompt I put in-

Write a script for a two minute video (300 words) to show English language teachers an activity to teach the present perfect for unfinished time. Include an introduction from Jo Gakonga, a teacher educator and CELTA tutor and assessor who has a website at ELT-Training.com with useful material for English language trainees and teachers. Remind viewers to like and subscribe and visit the website.

…and then I modified it a bit with some extra commands.

AI is clearly going to change everything. It feels to me like a quantum leap forward rather than a gradual evolution. I’m not sure I’m going to completely rely on it to write my scripts from now on, but it’s certainly a great way to get some ideas quickly.

Have you used Chat GPT yet? Let me know in the comments what you’ve used it for and if you’re thinking that you need to know more about grammar terminology or about how to teach grammar effectively, check out these courses on my site – the links are just below)

Grammar for Language Teachers

Teaching Grammar Communicatively