Do you teach the difference between "a" and "the" in conversation class?

Does teaching articles (a, an, the) make sense in a conversation class?

Context matters.

Conversation class should encourage English students to express their ideas, practice familiar words and syntax, and develop greater confidence in effectively communicating in English. Content remains king. Given how little most of our ESL students speak English outside of classes, we need to provide many speaking opportunities for them to develop greater fluency.

Starting from these assumptions, I generally prefer indirect correction of student errors during conversation class. I often circle around a class, listen in, join small discussion groups, and make a few notes. If I hear some grammatical error, I usually demonstrate correct language – but without explicitly or publicly correcting the student.

This indirect correction – modeling the correct syntax – seems especially important with adult students with limited academic backgrounds. I prefer encouraging these sometimes reluctant, shy and often insecure students to insisting on perfect grammar.

Yet article errors matter in English, and provide what native speakers consider significant information. Just as some languages divide nouns or adjectives into masculine and feminine, English highlights the difference between a definite (or known) member of a group and an indefinite (or unknown) member of a group. Article errors are also very common – even with immigrants who have lived in the United States for 20 years.

After collecting overheard student errors during conversation lessons, I tend to pick one “good mistake” and give several examples when the class comes back for a general discussion. It is here, more for college students and future college students, that I remind students of the differences between articles “a”, “an” and “the”. Because I teach in the United States, I often pick examples from current events to make the general grammar point before focusing on the precise errors made in class.

One example that I often use comes from the Iraq war. Some Iraqi citizens believe Islam be a source – one of many sources – for Iraq’s laws and constitution. Other Iraqi citizens believe Islam should it be the one and only source for Iraq’s laws and constitution. Another group of Iraqi citizens, and apparently a small minority, believe Islam should play no official role in Iraq’s laws and constitution. This explanation helps students understand the importance of and distinctions between “a” and “the”, connect a grammar point to current events, and provides memorable examples.

Finally, I’m also far more likely to spend precious class time on this advanced grammar point with current college students or academic ESL classes than with typical adult education classes. Students planning to take standardized exams like the TOEFL or TOEIC have far more need for this type of focused attention on grammar. I tend to tailor my approach to error correction, in both conversation and writing classes, to student needs. Minimum wage workers, street vendors, and elderly immigrants learning English in their spare time have less immediate need for extended grammar points in a conversation class. Or so it seems to me.

Context, as so often in teaching English, matters.

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