TEFL Language Patterns: Experiences with the present perfect

90 conversations prompts categorised for the teaching and elicitation of phrases to discuss personal experiences, including:

I have seen…

I have tried…

I have been…

I haven’t done…

What have you…? (Who/Where/How…)

These cards allow learners to practise talking about their experiences in a natural way, without direct feeding of language by the teacher. The prompts encourage free production and the noticing and acquisition of grammar patterns. They have been organised so that certain patterns and language points are noticed and developed before or after the activity, allowing their use for a variety of teaching methodologies.

These cards can be divided in several ways: by the main verb used (be, do, eat, try, see) and question forms, by common collocations, and by other patterns, and several ideas have been included for teachers.

Made for a variety of levels, it is encouraged that teachers of lower-level students first select from these cards the prompts they feel are most appropriate for the abilities and interests of their students.