>>WCC INFINITIVE OF PURPOSE VISUALS<<    (edit as necessary, the pictures moved a little in posting this!)   

>>WCC INFINITIVE OF PURPOSE<<   

This is an activity I use to introduce the Infinitive of Purpose, i.e. “I went to the ocean to relax“.  The first attachment is visual, with pictures to elicit a story about a WCC student who is taking ESL classes to improve her English.  She also wants to take a computer class to get more computer skills” and so on.  It’s helpful to project this on the screen to focus the whole class on the story.   It can be done in present tense, but often I use it to review past tense:  “Silvia took ESL classes to improve her written English, to learn how to find jobs online, to type her resume and send it to companies, etc.  (other uses of the infinitive naturally pop up for a great review of the uses of infinitives)

After eliciting the general story, I pass out the handout so they can work in pairs to complete each sentence.   I try to encourage the students to see how this relates to their own lives and why they are studying English as well as resources that their college campus offers.  When I did this, I was able to  show the students on WCC website about the upcoming Career and Financial Aid Workshop.

A follow-up homework could be to write about their experience job searching or at an interview, or just to describe a job they have or a job they would like to have after improving their English at their community college!  After their journal writing, they could talk about their experiences in small groups.

Heyjude

I started teaching EFL in Mexico in the 1970s and stayed for 11 years! My BA is in Latin American Studies, which I did at La Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico.  After moving back to the U.S., I got my Master’s at SFSU in TESOL and American Literature.  I’ve taught ESL in to  refugees and in community colleges in CA since 1987.  I’m currently teaching at ARC, WCC and Davis Adult School.