Fantastic activities for EFL teachers who want to teach the Present Continuous Tense

Here's a list of ten fantastic activities for EFL teachers who want to teach the Present Continuous Tense:

1. Mime Time: Write a variety of present continuous action words on slips of paper. Students take turns selecting a slip and mime the action for the class to guess. For example, if the slip says "running," the student mimes running. Encourage the use of present continuous sentences like "He is running."

2. Find Someone Who: Create a "Find Someone Who" activity sheet with present continuous statements, such as "Find someone who is reading a book" or "Find someone who is wearing blue." Students mingle in the class and ask their peers questions to find someone who matches each statement.

3. Role Play Interviews: Assign students specific roles and have them conduct interviews using the present continuous tense. For example, one student can be a reporter interviewing a celebrity about what they are currently doing. This activity encourages creativity and conversation.

4. What's Happening? Picture Prompts: Display or distribute pictures depicting various scenes or activities. Students describe what they see in the pictures using the present continuous tense. Encourage them to be as detailed as possible, describing ongoing actions and activities.

5. Action Flashcards: Create flashcards with different action verbs. Show each flashcard to the class and have students form sentences using the present continuous tense to describe what the person in the picture is doing. For example, "She is dancing" or "He is cooking."

6. Present Continuous Puzzles: Create sentence puzzles by separating present continuous sentences into subject and verb phrase cards. Students work individually or in pairs to match the subject with the correct verb phrase to form coherent sentences.

7. Weather Reporter: Assign students the role of weather reporters. They use the present continuous tense to describe the current weather conditions in different cities or countries. Encourage them to use weather-related vocabulary and expressions, such as "It's raining" or "The sun is shining."

8. TPR (Total Physical Response): Use Total Physical Response techniques to engage students in using the present continuous tense. Give commands using present continuous verbs and have students perform the actions accordingly. For example, say "Raise your hand" or "Jump up and down."

9. Picture Story Writing: Provide students with a sequence of pictures depicting a story. They write a short story using the present continuous tense to describe the ongoing actions and events shown in the pictures. Encourage them to be creative and use descriptive language.

10. What's in the Bag? Mystery Objects: Prepare a bag with a variety of small objects. One student takes an object from the bag and describes it to the class using the present continuous tense. The other students try to guess the object based on the description.

These activities offer interactive and engaging ways to teach the Present Continuous Tense in an EFL classroom. Adjust the level of difficulty and complexity based on the students' proficiency and learning objectives.