Articles- "the" & "a"
 

I am an English teacher in Korea. I don't have a lot of teaching experience and have a group of TOEFL students. I want to teach them about the use of articles and am struggling to find lessons or good rules to give them. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

Re: Articles- "the" & "a"
 

I think it depends on the level of the students. Beginners should just get used to the specific / general rule, though. The Japanese language doesn't use articles, so this point proves really difficult for English learners here to master.

general vs. specific nouns: I want an apple. / I want the apple that is on the table.
previously mentioned items: I have a dog. The dog's name is Spot.
no article with generalizations: I love apples.

Re: Articles- "the" & "a"
 

One word of warning: this is a very difficult topic and native-like accuracy with articles is one of the last stages acquisition. Many people with excellent English never acquire it, yet are able to communicate perfectly well. What I'm saying is, I wouldn't spend too much time on the nuances, as you could probably make more progress elsewhere. Having said that, making sure they understand the broader rules is certainly worthwhile.

my 2 cents

Re: Articles- "the" & "a"
 

Dave is correct. If you want a solid primer on this awkward question, check out Cambridge University's Grammar in Use series.

Re: Articles- "the" & "a"
 

+1

The first post responds just as well.

Re: Articles- "the" & "a"
 

Practice, practice and practice till you die. That's how to get a mastery of definite and indefinite articles. Dave's right. Here are some games I created which you can use. ESL Articles Snakes & Ladders and Articles Basketball Game

Re: Articles- "the" & "a"
 

Hello,

Print out a paragraph or a short story and white out all of the articles. List the articles on the board and break the class up in groups of fours. Have them read the story and insert the correct article where it has been whited out. As a group they can discuss which article is appropriate for the sentence. Good luck!