What Worksheet Can Do !

The task of teaching a foreign language is not an easy one. Therefore, as teachers we should device ways to ease the learning process for students. The course book which I use to teach indicates in a particular lesson that students are required to write a paragraph of composition of their childhood memories. This proved to be difficult for them considering their level of English. Contemplating solution to this problem led me to use worksheet to simplify their task. In this article, I will discuss some of the usefulness of the worksheet.

According to Longman dictionary, worksheet is a piece of paper with questions and exercises for students. From this definition, we deduce that worksheet is an effective tool of practicing English. It is from this perspective, that I used the work sheet to help my students to write about their childhood memories in a very easy and interesting way.  The following are the features of the worksheet which I used according my own evaluation:

–It is suitable for group work: Bringing students together to work as a group contains lots of benefits like sharing ideas and be more motivated to overcome the learning challenges they may encounter

–Provision of specific guidelines: This can be compared to a scenario where students are in a bus going to a designated destination. They will need a road map to guide them to their target. The most suitable tool that offers this guide is the worksheet. Because it indicates the necessary points and expression needed to compose a paragraph.

–It provides the needed vocabulary: Students may come across difficulty to write a composition as a result of lack of adequate vocabulary. In a worksheet the necessary vocabulary are readily available; this makes it easier for students to use them.

–It contains illustrations: Worksheet with pictures and diagrams enables students to understand faster; especially for visual learners. They can easily make connection between pictures and diagrams to construct meaningful sentences and ideas.

–Simplification of the teaching and learning process– Worksheet allows the teacher explore wide range of creativity in terms of introducing diversified mind maps and diagrams. Furthermore, it makes explanation easier for the teacher and students are able to grasp the lesson quickly. The bottom line of all this is an effective usage of time in the teaching and learning process. Any comments in this connection will be well appreciated.