Permission


Level

Elementary




Students already know

Present tenses and a wide range of vocabulary




The grammar

  • Can I .... + verb + noun

  • May I ...

  • Could I ...

  • Would you mind if I…

  • Would it be all right if I…





Lead-in


Ask one of your students if you can borrow / have something. Make sure all your learners hear each student's response. Get learners to ask each other. If a learner doesn’t understand you, get them to ask you the same question. Make sure that the learner takes the object for a specified time so your students understand the concept of borrowing. Don’t forget to include polite forms (please and thank you).

REMEMBER:

Concept Questions!

STT!

Classroom Management!


Presentation

It is always a good idea to have a few prompts especially for low-level learners. Notice that there are a variety of verbs.

Have / use your pen?

Eat your apple?

Borrow your dictionary?

Look at your book?

Read your magazine?

Look at your watch?

Can (could) you open the window?

Wear your jacket?



After eliciting the structure, show the form clearly on the board. Make sure that your learners understand that they should use 'polite' intonation when asking each other permission. Elicit a variety of different replies for both affirmative and negative responses.

Controlled Practice

Create a mix & match activity on a handout where the answer is appropriate to the item being borrowed (or not). You may have to pre-teach some vocabulary especially at Elementary level i.e. poor (I have no money), broken (the computer is broken) or fixed (repair). Here are a few examples: May I use the bathroom?/Can I opne the window?/Could I borrow some money from you?/May I play your guitar?


Production

Imagine that your learners are staying at a host family’s home in Britain or the US. Elicit situations where they would have to ask permission to do something. Try to get your students to come up with ways of asking permission, though it is always good for you as a teacher to have prompts ready:


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