It doesn't have to be difficult to teach prepositions to your ESL students. Granted, prepositions are a little bit harder because they are more of a concept than a mere vocabulary word. However, students are probably familiar with these words in their native language, so they can catch on quite quickly.
Here are five of my favorite ideas for teaching prepositions:
1. Use flash card games. You probably have some flash cards illustrating the different prepositions. If not, then you can easily print some out for free or make your own. You can use these cards to play bingo, memory, or any of your favorite games.
2. Say the Opposite. Most prepositions have opposites. It's a good challenge to have the students say the opposite. For example, if you say "in", they must say "out". It's extra challenging if you show them a card and have them say the opposite because your first reaction is to say what's on the card.
3. Place the toy. Give each student a toy. I like to use small plastic animals. Sit in a circle and, as a group, practice using prepositions by having everyone put the animal "in front of you", or "on your head". Then, tell each student to put their animal somewhere around the classroom--"under the chair" or "in front of the door". If your students are more advanced, you can have them tell another student where to put their animal.
4. As a Group. One thing that I have found to be very fun is to direct the students around the room. Say "Everybody stand next to the sink!" and when everyone has gone there, change to a new place. If you're very daring, and have fairly young students, you can instruct them to "Jump over me." or "Stand on me."
5. Create an Obstacle Course. Set up a small obstacle course around the classroom using tables, chairs, and anything else you might have in the classroom. Students enjoy getting active and being told to "crawl under the table" and "walk around the chair three times".
These are just a few of my favorite ideas to teach prepositions to your ESL students. Hopefully you'll be able to find something that works with your students.
Shannon Tani has many years of experience teaching ESL preschool in Japan. She writes and maintains Teach ESL to Kids, a resource for teachers of (very) young ESL learners.
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