Aim: to help students avoid making the mistake of using the present simple when talking about past events.

This engaging past simple activity requires that students help each other fixing the very common mistake of switching to the present tense when talking about events, situations or anecdotes related to their pasts.

In this activity, students work in pairs.

Display the first prompt. Student A will talk while Student B will listen. Every single time, Student A slips to the present simple when referring to the past, Student B will stop him by saying: " Hey! Hold on!"

At this point, student A will need to start again.

Points: Every time the student needs to start again, he will score -1 point :(

Fun: every time a student slips to the present simple, he will have to quickly stand up and sit down :) This also allows you, as a teacher, to see who needs more help

Allow about 3 minutes and emphasize that even though they don't make a mistake, they'll need to talk for the entire three minutes. This will prevent stronger students from finishing before the 3 minutes are over and will challenge them to keep talking by elaborating on their stories.

When the three minutes are over, display a new prompt and ask Student B to do the talking and Student A to help him by paying close attention to the tenses he uses and stopping him using the "Hey! Hold on" technique.

After both Student A and B have talked, ask them to stand up and choose a new partner. Display a new prompt and repeat procedure.

Ready? Let's start!