They are a major tool in teaching English. They have their place at all levels of teaching but more suitably for beginners.
They are Prompts & Cues!
They can be used to:
- Get students to change the mode (e.g. from “Asking a question” to “Repeat” or vice-versa)
- Introduce certain new responses (e.g. short answers that have little relationship to the form of the question or cannot be anticipated by the student at all).
Example for using the “Prompts & Cues”:
T: Is this a book or a table? (Say “Book” or show a picture of a book)
S: It’s a book.
T: Is this a book or a table? (Say “Table” or show a picture of a table)
S: It’s a table.
T: Is this a table? (Hold up your hand to stop the student from speaking and make him listen) … Yes, it is.
T: Yes … (Make “Come along” gesture)
S: Yes … it … is
T: Good! … Yes it is! (Make another “Come on” gesture or put your hand behind your ear to get the student to repeat with more confidence)
S: Yes, it is … Yes, it is.
Now, what do you think of this tool? Do you use it? Would you mind sharing another example to use it? Let me know your thought.
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