About 3 years ago I started teaching grammar very differently than it is presented in the text book. It frustrated me that basic verbs were not taught until chapter 2 and er and ir verbs were not introduced until chapter 3! No wonder kids ended every verb with the ar verb endings. How strange I thought is was to start student with gustar (irregular) and ser (irregular) and have them get many verb that are irregular in that chapter 1 infinitive list: Ir, jugar, dormir, etc. This makes no sense!
So... I started teaching verbs (yes all verbs, ar, er, and ir) in the Para Empezar chapter. That's right I give a list of 20 verbs and the very first thing we learn (even before numbers and days of the week) are verbs and subject pronouns!!! How they conjugate, what all of the endings are...EVERYTHING!!!
What a difference this makes to students. They are able to communicate more authentically. Write better, speak better and most importantly understand the language better. Students now understand regular verbs and how they work in Spanish before they are exposed to irregular grammar concepts. In addition, by teaching all verbs at the same time, students don't overuse the ar verb endings!
Do many of you do the same thing? What are your thoughts on this?
