Prepositions on the spot

Activity title:

A gap - filling activity where students complete sentences with the correct preposition

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Skill(s):

Candidates are required to draw on their knowledge of the structure of the language and understanding of the text in order to fill the gaps. In this part, as there are no sets of words from which to choose the answers, candidates have to think of a word which will fill the gap correctly.

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Level(s):

B2

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Exam part:

Related to Reading and Use of English open cloze part 2

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Aim(s):

To practise prepositional phrases
To practise skills related to the open cloze task

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Materials needed:

One copy of the activity for each pair

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Preparation:

This copy should be cut up into Student A/Student B worksheets

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Procedure:

Step 1. Divide the class into pairs and give each student the half of the activity sheet.

Step 2. Tell students that they and their partner each have a different set of sentences, but with the same phrases with gaps missing the prepositions. Students must first work individually to fill in the gaps in their own set of sentences with the correct prepositions. Set a time limit of four to five minutes.

Step 3. When both students have completed their sentences, Student A reads aloud his/her completed sentence 1. Student B confirms that he/she wrote the same preposition in the gap in his/her first sentence. If not, Student B reads aloud his/ her completed sentence and Student A accepts or rejects Student's B answer. If they are unsure, students can check with you or confirm answers at the end of the activity.

Step 4. Students continue taking turns reading out their sentences and checking that they have used the same preposition.

Step 5. Have a whole class feedback session to check answers and deal with any queries.

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Variation(s)

Such activity type can be also used to practise phrasal verbs, prepositions after adjectives and nouns

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Reflections

The focus is on awareness of dependent prepositions after verbs as well as students' collaborative work, students are able to learn from one another, and the activity is student-centered, it allows teachers to increase student-talking time.