The document provides techniques for teaching grammar in an engaging way without directly teaching grammatical terminology. It recommends giving grammar contexts through student experiences and examples, asking questions to promote critical thinking, assigning research for students to find answers collaboratively, and making lessons memorable through creative activities.

2. Some techniques to get away with grammar!
Use a context
Do not teach grammar as an isolated component in
your classes. Give it a context in which your
students can use it.
Ask questions
Foster critical thinking. Allow students to think
about the structures and their use so they can look
for the answers on how to use the expressions.
Use examples
Present grammar with examples that your students
can analyze and elicit examples from them.
Don’t use jargon
Avoid using all of the complicated names as much
as possible. It is more important they learn how to
use the structures. Once this is achieved, it would
be easier for them to learn the other part.

3. Some techniques to get away with grammar!
Promote research
Do not answer all of the questions they have about
the structures. Assign roles and give them time to
research and look for answers they can share with
their peers. Promote open discussion on the use of
the different strategies, difficulties when using
them and ways to overcome the problems.
Use life experiences
Make it personal. Take the time to tailor your
grammar activities to your students life. It is easier
if they see a connection.
Use creative thinking
Teachers are creative beings. Even those of you
who think you are not creative enough can make a
grammar activity memorable if you think of a twist.
Think of something crazy, take it to class and see
how it works.

4. Your mission should you choose to accept it is
to check the case files attached and use one of
the techniques we discussed in the workshop to
get away with grammar. As always, should you
or any of your fellow teachers be caught getting
lost in grammar, the agency will disavow any
knowledge of your actions. Good luck!!
Time to practice!

5. Case file # 3456 - Stoning to death
The passive voice
Describe procedures
Unknown
8th to 12th Century
Somewhere in England
None
On April 12th, 2015 the passive voice was
found dead in room 302. It is said that a
teacher whose name remains unknown
had been lecturing students on the
appropriate use of this structure in at least
5 different tenses. A student who asked his
name not to be revealed, reported the
following:

6. “It was a terrible morning. It was cold and it
had been raining all night. The teacher
arrived late and he asked us if we had
studied the past participle of the verbs. We
had a list with 125 verbs the teacher had
photocopied for us. The teacher started
calling names and asking for the correct
form of verbs like kneel, grind and other
stuff it is hard for me to remember. (At this
point student starts crying)
(Once he is calm we continue with the
interview) “After the had asked all of us, we
were given a chart with sentences in the
active voice. We were given 10 minutes to
convert those sentences into the passive
voice. We couldn’t talk to each other . . . it
was horrible.”
Special agent Willy S.

7. Case file # 8495 - Crucifixion
The past tense
Talk about experiences among
other functions.
Unknown
8th to 12th Century
Somewhere in Great Britain
None
Crime reported on May 5th, 2014. It is said
this tense had talked to other friend
structures about several assassination
attempts it had suffered from several
unknown individuals. Mr. past tense was
found crucified but still alive in room 204.
The remains of its body showed signs of
torture.

8. Interviews with witnesses described that
the perpetrator have asked students to
repeat chorally the correct pronunciation of
some verbs in the past tense. It was also
said that students were given a 2-page
document with sentences to be completed
by filling in the blanks with the correct form
of those verbs.
Even in the last moments of agony, the
murderer asked students to convert
affirmative statements, negative
statements and questions from the present
tense into the past tense.
Finally, students were given a quiz . . . after
25 minutes of resuscitation efforts, Mr. Past
tense was verbally declared dead.
Special agent Willy S.

9. Case file # 0427 - Burning
Possessive adjectives
Describe possession
To be established
8th to 12th Century
Somewhere in Great Britain
Unknown
As I arrived to the room I was able to talk
to one of the fire fighters who had put out
the fire and this is what she said:
“We got a phone call and made it to the
room within 5 minutes. There was smoke
coming out of all the students heads and
an individual whom I learned was the
teacher was sitting on the floor crying.

10. We put out the fire but it was too late. The
corpses of different possessive adjectives
were scattered around the room. The
teacher declared she didn’t understand
what had happened. She had carefully
prepared a guessing game with objects for
students to guess the owners. Everything
seemed to be Ok but after she asked the
students to listen to her favorite Frank
Sinatra song, fill in the blanks and then
report on things they and their relatives
owned, the fire started.”
The teacher was taken to the Colombo
facilities to be interrogated. The accused is
presumed innocent and she is awaiting
trial.
Special agent Willy S.

11. Case file # 0427 - Quartering
The present tense
Talk about routines
Extremely old
8th to 12th Century
A small town in England
None but many students had
died trying
This is indeed a senseless murder keeping
in mind the victim was one of the most
popular structures among students. On
Thursday, Feb 19 after an emergency call I
arrived to the crime scene: room 103. I had
never seen something like this in my 20
years as special agent. There were parts of
the tense all around the room.

12. The person who called said he was passing
by when he heard different people doing a
dictation. Once the dictation was over, he
heard a person or people asking the
students to underline all of the verbs in the
present tense. Students were asked to
translate the verbs into Spanish.
To finish, in an act of total madness
students were asked to use those verbs to
make questions using auxiliary verbs and
ask these questions to other people in the
classroom.
I suspect that this murder couldn’t have
been the act of a single individual. Suspects
are on the loose.
Special agent Willy S.