Flashcard games as a teaching aid to contrast the use and structure between the simple past and the present perfect.

Abstract

I have took driving lessons 2 months ago. Several mistakes are found in this sentence, right? It seems to be explicitly wrong written; unfortunately to the student, it is not. This has been a recurrent situation since my first 4-monthly term as an English teacher at Universidad Interamericana para el Desarrollo, better known as UNID. Fortunately for a teacher, this multiple mistake posed the challenge to find a cure for this serious disease. The medicine at disposal was too bitter for the patients: grammar explanations and more grammar exercises. Such medication worked only for a minority while the majority remained in bed. As a concerned doctor, this teacher spent some time thinking about a remedy that it would be sweet enough to make patients forget the bitterness of the heavy drugs that were to be taken. The research was not easy as several symptoms arose. Manifestations such as incapability to digest base and past and participial verb forms, and patients’ inability to distinguish indefinite time from definite time were diagnosed. Although, a breakthrough was made: it was a systemic disease. ‘Break it apart!’ He thought. One day, he ran across a bit heterodox idea: flashcards games could be sweet enough to smooth grammar intake and strong enough to illustrate and isolate the symptoms.