Pair Counting to Improve Grammar and Spoken Fluency

Pupils who write the past tense correctly often lose it when they speak, because their attention is on what they are saying. This short technique makes them watch one structure while they talk.

In pairs, one pupil talks for a minute on a prompt while the other counts how many times the target structure is used. The talker then speaks on the same topic again and tries to raise the count. The pair switch roles and repeat.

1. Model it first: talk for a minute yourself while the class tallies your past-tense verbs, then check the count together.
2. Pair the class into talkers and counters.
3. Talkers speak for a minute on a prompt such as "What did you do last weekend?" Counters tally the target verbs.
4. Repeat the same topic for the same time, aiming for a higher count.
5. Switch roles. Change the prompt to practise other structures - plans for the future, advice with should, everything in your bedroom.

It needs only paper and a watch, keeps the whole class busy at once - half talking, half listening hard - and gives pupils a score to beat, which they like.

It suits the tense units in Grades 7 to 11 and the spoken tasks in the O/L syllabus. With a large class, check results by a show of hands with eyes closed rather than asking pupils to call out their numbers.