PRESENTATION

”The study of grammar will help people become better users of the language, that is,

more effective as listeners and speakers, and especially as readers and writers.”(Weaver)

From a teacher's point of view teaching and testing auxiliary verbs is not an easy task

based on course-books. He or she has to take into consideration the level of the students, their

previous knowledge of English grammar and their age particularities. It is also known that

auxiliary verbs are frequently used in common English.

These are the reasons why I have chosen as topic for my work ”Teaching and testing

auxiliary verbs”.

The work is intended to be useful for those who are interested in expanding their

knowledge of English grammar.

The purpose of this research is to gain theoretical insight in the ”teaching and testing

auxiliary verbs”; to provide methods through which auxiliary verbs can be taught and to apply

the knowledge acquired to teaching these verbs to intermediate learners of English as a foreign

language.

The paper is divided into three chapters.

The first chapter introduces some theoretical insights into the analysis of auxiliary verbs.

For this chapter I have based my arguments on the research work of Angela Downing, Michael

Swan and on „ The Oxford English Grammar”.

The second chapter investigates strategies and approaches used to teach grammar,

especially auxiliary verbs to intermediate learners but also investigates ways of testing grammar

in general and auxiliary verbs in particular. For this chapter I have based my arguments on the

work of Penny Ur and Jeremy Harmer.

My contribution to the theoretical discussion of ”auxiliary verbs” is included in the third

chapter, in which I suggest several types of activities and exercises meant to help students learn

and better understand „auxiliary verbs”. On the other hand I present different types of tests in

order to check the students awareness of auxiliary verbs knowledge. This chapter also includes

an evaluation of the textbooks used in class for teaching ”auxiliary verbs”. Then I include two

models of lesson plans which I hope will prove useful in teaching and testing auxiliary verbs.

I hope that this work will achieve its goals, that is to enrich the theoretical aspects of

auxiliary verbs, to serve as a methodological guide for the younger teachers and to offer a

collection of supplementary materials, tests and become a useful tool for my students to whom it

is dedicated.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Downing, Angela, Locke, Philip. 2006. English Grammar. Taylor & Francis e-Library

Greenbaum, Sidney. 1996. The Oxford English Grammar. Oxford University Press

Harmer, Jeremy. 1991. The Practice of English Language Teaching New Edition.

Longman Publishing

Swan, Michael. 1984. Basic English Usage. Oxford University Press

Ur, Penny. 1999. A Course in Language Teaching . Cambridge University Press