Teaching tag question for class 11a3, cam thuy 3 high school

CONTENTS:
1. Opening
1.1.
Reason for the study
1.2.
Aims of the study
1.3.
Objects of the study
I.4.
Methods of researching
2. The main contents of the study.
2.1.
Theoretical basis
2.2.
Teaching situation
2.3.
Solutions
2.4.
Testing, Evaluating …
3. Conclusion, Proposals
3.1.
Conclusion
3.2.
Proposals

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1.
1.1.

OPENING
Reason for the study

English has been an important subject in schools. However, many students often
have difficulty in learning this language in regards to both practicing skills and
grammatical rules. Cam Thuy 3 High School is situated in a remote and
mountainous area, which makes the teaching and learning English in the school
become much more difficult than in many other schools in the province. Therefore,
a teacher in the school is always expected to update his teaching methods and to
adjust them in such ways that they can be more suitable to his students too.
‘Tag questions’ is a grammar lesson of Unit 15, ‘Tieng Anh 11’. The students
are expected to be able to use a kind of questions in English which may often
appear in daily communication as well as in some important written tests of
English. However, a lot of students often find it hard to practice the lesson as well
as to do the written tests because the lesson is related to the forms of verbs in
different tenses. From my own teaching experiences and observing other teachers’

lessons, I have learned that the only solution to have been used to the situation is
revising the forms of verbs in different tenses. However, this often takes a lot of
time. Moreover, many students, especially those with average and under average
levels still find it hard and often get confused when determining the auxiliaries. As
a result, the teaching and learning the lesson in our school have not been effective.
It is vital that a new teaching technique should be used to help the students,
especially the students with low levels, learn and practice the lesson. The situation
has inspired me to study the way of TEACHING TAG QUESTIONS FOR
CLASS 11A3, CAM THUY 3 HIGH SCHOOL.
1.2.

Aims of the study

The research is aimed to find out the suitable method of teaching ‘Tag
questions’ for the students of class 11A3, Cam Thuy 3 High School. The lesson will
help most of the students, even those with low language acquisition, be able to do
exercises and solve the questions in written tests.
1.3.

Objects of the study

The objects of the research are the students in class 11A3, Cam Thuy 3 High
School, with different levels: excellent, good, average, weak, and poor (58.97%
students are at average and under average levels). The study is concerned with how
to help the students understand the forms of tag questions and be able to do related
exercises in a more effective way. The effectiveness of the study is checked by the
practice exercise while teaching and a mini test after the lesson in compare with the
result of class 11A4, Cam Thuy 3 High School.
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1.4.

Methods of researching

To carry out the study, I have chosen the following methods:
+ Studying books, referring from the internet to get knowledge about tag
questions
+ Collecting exercises and questions in written tests about tag questions.
+ Observing the teaching lessons of other teachers in the school.
+ Studying by using tests, analyzing statistics to determine the result of the
study.
2. THE MAIN CONTENTS
2.1.
Theoretical basis

OF THE STUDY

‘Tag questions’ is a grammar lesson in Language Focus, Unit 15, ‘Tieng Anh
11’. This kind of questions is often used in daily communication as well as in
written tests of English.
• The question can be divided into two parts separated by a comma:
+ Main clause: is a statement (in affirmative or negative form)
+ Question tag: is formed with: Auxiliary – S (personal pronoun).
• If the statement is affirmative, the auxiliary is negative and on the reverse.
Ex: - Mary is an excellent, isn’t she?
(RP: Yes, she is/ No, she isn’t)
- You didn’t meet Peter yesterday afternoon, did you?
(RP: Yes, I did/ No, I didn’t)
- Paul will become a famous singer soon, won’t he?

(RP: Yes, he will/ No, he won’t)
• Meaning:
If the speaker rises his voice at the end of the question, he wants to get
information from the listener; otherwise, if his voice is down, he expects the
agreements from the listener.
• Some notes for special cases:
+ I am ………………., aren’t I? But: I am not ……………………, am I?
+ If the statement contains hardly, seldom, rarely, never, no one, nobody, nothing,
no – Noun, neither of …, none of …, without …, the auxiliary is affirmative.
Ex: You paid no attention to what he said, did you?
+ If the S in the statement is someone or somebody, anyone, anybody, no one,
nobody, none of …, neither of …, everyone, everybody, the S in the question tag is
they. And if the S in the statement is something, or nothing, everything, the S in the
question tag is it.
Ex: Someone is waiting for me in the office, aren’t they?
Everything is ready now, isn’t it?
+ If the statement is in imperative form, the question tag is will you?
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Ex: Study harder for the coming exam, will you?
Never repeat the mistake again, will you?
+
Let’s ……………., shall we?
But: Let me ……………, may I?
Ex: Let’s go to the stadium this Sunday afternoon, shall we?
Let me pay for the meal, may I?
+ If the statement contains 2 clauses like: I(we) think/ believe/ suppose/ figure/
assume/ fancy/ imagine/ reckon/ expect/ seem/ feel – S – V – , the question tag is
formed according to S – V –

Ex: I think he has been working very hard, hasn’t he?
+ There – be – N, … there?
Ex: There are over 40 students in your class, aren’t there?
+ If the statement is This (That) – be – N –, the question tag is formed according to
the N and be
Ex: This is a very beautiful cave, isn’t it?
Since I started my teaching work is school, I have been concerned about how to
help the students access the knowledge and do exercises in tag questions in the
easiest way because this is an important lesson in ‘Tieng Anh 11’ and in addition,
tag question often appears in some important written tests (GCSE, University
Entrance Examination, …).
Some examples of tag questions in some written tests:
+ Mary rarely uses social networks, ______?
A. isn't she
B. does she
C. doesn't she
D. is she
(From the GCSE 2018, Code 401)
+ Canned food is not as healthy as fresh food, ______?
A. isn’t it
B. doesn’t it
C. is it
D. does it
(From the GCSE 2016, Code 168)
+ There has been a great increase in retail sales, ______?
A. hasn’t there
B. isn’t it C. isn’t it D. doesn’t it
(From the University Entrance Examination 2013, Group D, Code 359)
In fact, the lesson may not cause problems to the excellent students; however,
for students with lower levels, especially average and weak levels, they can get

confused when choosing the right forms for each question because tag question is
related to the use of auxiliaries in different tenses.
To help the students with different levels learn and practice the lesson
effectively, I have decided to study ‘Teaching tag questions for class 11A3, Cam
Thuy 3 High School’.
2.2.

Teaching situation

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Cam Thuy 3 High School is located in a mountainous area with most students
from ethnic minority communities. The teaching and learning English in the school
has been known to be in difficult situation. Most students enter the school with low
levels of English. They often find it hard to practice the skills and to learn grammar
lessons. Therefore, they are often unable to meet the requirements of the lessons if
these lessons are not adjusted in some certain ways. As it can be seen, the grammar
lessons in high school are mostly based on revising the topics from secondary
school; however, for most students in mountainous areas in general as well as in
Cam Thuy 3 High School, these lessons must be treated as new lessons instead of
revision ones. Consequently, the students often have difficulties when learning the
lessons that require related topics such as reported speech, passive voice, and tag
questions, etc.
From my own teaching experiences and observing other teachers’ lessons, I
realize some problems for the students when learning this lesson as followed:
+ Most students cannot determine all the auxiliaries, therefore, the teacher often has
to spend time to give examples in almost every cases. As a result, they don’t have
much time for the special cases and practice in a 45-minute lesson. And they need
an extra lesson to use tag questions correctly as well as do exercises.

+ Students often get confused when the statement is in the affirmative form of
present simple and past simple.
+ If the statements are classified according to the names of the tenses, it will take
time, the presentation will get longer, and many students may make mistakes when
determining the tenses.
For the problems mentioned above, many students still find it a difficult lesson
and the result of the tests in this section is not high. In fact only the excellent and
some good students can do well. This has been proved by the tests after unit 15 and
the final semester tests containing tag questions that have been used in Cam Thuy 3
High School for years.
2.3.
Solutions
a. Presentation:

In the hope to better the situation, I have presented the lesson in the following
way:
+ The teacher gives 2 or 3 examples, which help the students and the teacher
analyze the notes(time needed: about 10 minutes):
- Mary is an excellent, isn’t she? (RP: Yes, she is/ No, she isn’t)
- You didn’t meet Peter yesterday afternoon, did you?
(RP: Yes, I did/ No,
I didn’t)
- Paul will become a famous singer soon, won’t he?
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+ The teacher gives suggestions for the students (the excellent and good students)
to sate the notes. If they have difficulty, the teacher may help them directly.
• Meaning:
If the speaker rises his voice at the end of the question, he wants to get

information from the listener; otherwise, if his voice is down, he expects the
agreements from the listener.
• The question can be divided into two parts separated by a comma:
+ Main clause: is a statement (in affirmative or negative form)
+ Question tag: is formed with: Auxiliary – S (personal pronoun).
• If the statement is affirmative, then the auxiliary is negative and on the
reverse.
• The auxiliaries in different tenses/forms: The teacher asks the excellent or
good students to present the notes, helps them if necessary.
+ S – V/Vs(es) – ................., don’t/doesn’t – S?
don’t /doesn’t – V – ……………………., do/does – S?
+ S – Ved/2 – ……………………., didn’t – S?
didn’t – V – ………………, did – S?
+ S – have/has/had – Vp2 – …………….., haven’t/hasn’t/hadn’t – S?
haven’t/hasn’t/hadn’t – Vp2 – ………………., have/has/had – S?
+ S – will/can/could/… – V – ………………, won’t/can’t/couldn’t/… – S?
won’t/can’t/couldn’t/… – V ………………, will/can/could/… – S?
+ S – is/are/was/were – ………………., isn’t/aren’t/wasn’t/weren’t – S?
isn’t/aren’t/wasn’t/weren’t – …………………., is/are/was/were – S?
(I am …………………….., aren’t I? but I am not …………………, am I?)
• Depending on the time, if there is not much time left, the teacher may choose
some important notes for special cases to present (about 10 minutes). For
class 11A3, Cam Thuy3 High School, there is enough time to present all the
notes:
+ If the statement contains hardly, seldom, rarely, never, no one, nobody, nothing,
no – Noun, neither of …, none of …, without …, the auxiliary is affirmative.
Ex: You paid no attention to what he said, did you?
+ If the S in the statement is someone or somebody, anyone, anybody, no one,
nobody, none of …, neither of …, everyone, everybody, the S in the question tag is
they. And if the S in the statement is something, or nothing, everything, the S in the

question tag is it.
Ex: Someone is waiting for me in the office, aren’t they?
Everything is ready now, isn’t it?
+ If the statement is in imperative form, the question tag is will you?
Ex: Study harder for the coming exam, will you?
Never repeat the mistake again, will you?
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+
Let’s ……………., shall we?
But: Let me ……………, may I?
Ex: Let’s go to the stadium this Sunday afternoon, shall we?
Let me pay for the meal, may I?
+ If the statement contains 2 clauses like: I(we) think/ believe/ suppose/ figure/
assume/ fancy/ imagine/ reckon/ expect/ seem/ feel – S – V – , the question tag is
formed according to S – V –
Ex: I think he has been working very hard, hasn’t he?
+ There – be – N, … there?
Ex: There are over 40 students in your class, aren’t there?
+ If the statement is This (That) – be – N –, the question tag is formed according to
the N and be
Ex: This is a very beautiful cave, isn’t it?
Practice:
Exercise 3 (Textbook, page 177): (6 minutes)
The teacher asks the students to work in groups of 4 or 5. The students discuss
and some present their answers in front of the class:
Expected answers: 1. doesn’t she
2. haven’t you
3. wasn’t it

4. didn’t
we
5. won’t we
6. can’t you
7. mustn’t it
The teacher gives some explanation while giving feedbacks if necessary.
• More exercise: (14 minutes)
The teacher prepares some exercise printed in handouts and asks the students to
do individually in 12 minutes:
b.
•

Complete each of the following questions with a suitable question tag:
1. Kate is collecting stickers, ………………………….?
2. You have cleaned your bike, ………………………….?
3. John and Max like Maths, ………………………….?
4. Peter played football yesterday, ………………………….?
5. These children are going home from school, ………………………….?
6. She didn't do her homework last Monday, ………………………….?
7. Terry will come tonight, ………………………….?
8. The bank lent him the money, ………………………….?
9. She looks tired, ………………………….?
10. There is a cinema near the station, ………………………….?
11. This house was built a long time ago, ………………………….?
12. Nobody has got to leave early, ………………………….?
13. Let’s go camping this weekend, ………………………….?
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14. They had left when you arrived, ………………………….?

15. I think it is going to rain, ………………………….?
Answer keys:
1. isn’t she
2. haven’t you
3. don’t they
4. didn’t he
5. aren’t they
6. did she
7. won’t he
8. didn’t it
9. doesn’t she
10. isn’t there
11. wasn’t it
12. haven’t they
13. shall we
14. hadn’t they
15. isn’t it
The teacher goes round to observe and give suggestions if necessary and then
collect the students’ work to check their performances. The teacher can give some
feedbacks, and then move to ‘Consolidation’ of the lesson’.
The result of class 11A3, Cam Thuy3 High School after checking:
Total of the correct answers
Number of students
Percentage
0
0
0
1
0
0

2
0
0
3
0
0
4
0
0
5
1
2.56
6
0
0
7
2
5.13
8
6
15.38
9
7
17.95
10
4
10.26
11
8
20.51

12
2
5.13
13
4
10.26
14
3
7.69
15
2
5.13
Total of students tested
39
c.

Self-evaluation after teaching:

The solutions mentioned above have brought about some improvements to the
situation:
+ It supplies the students with the notes about the use of auxiliaries which can
cover a wide ranges of tenses, voices (passive, active), and even with modal verbs,
without having to spend a lot of time to revise the forms of verbs in different
tenses, which enable the students to have more time to practice. By using these
notes, the students can easily find out the answers to do exercises related to tag
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questions, which helps inspire them to practice, especially for the average or weak
level students.

+ The students have more time for further practice.
+ With the help of the teacher, the students with high levels can learn the lesson
actively while they can help those with low levels learn and practice the lesson.
+ Most students are confident to do the task even the students with low levels.
Some students might do the work mechanically but they can still give their own
answers and if they have chance to practice more, they can do quite well. This is
also a good chance for them to practice using auxiliaries in different tense, voices.
+ The result of the exercise of class 11A3 in the table above tells us that most
students understand and practice the lesson: Only 3 (7.69%) are under average
whereas 48.72% are at good or excellent levels.
2.4.

Testing, evaluating the effectiveness of the study.

To test the effectiveness of the study, I have designed a 15-minute test for the
two classes: 11A3 (with the new method) and 11A4, Cam Thuy 3 High School:
a.

The Test:

Complete each of the following questions with a suitable question tag:
1. The car isn't in the garage, ………………………….?
2. She went to the library yesterday, ………………………….?
3. He didn't recognize me, ………………………….?
4. Mr. Pritchard has been to Scotland recently, ………………………….?
5. The trip is very expensive, ………………………….?
6. He sometimes reads the newspaper, ………………………….?
7. There are no apples left, ………………………….?
8. He will never know the truth, ………………………….?
9. I think, he is from India, ………………………….?

10. They often watch TV in the afternoon, ………………………….?
11. Let’s go camping this weekend, ………………………….?
12. Your father doesn’t like coffee, ………………………….?
13. Susan can’t swim, ………………………….?
14. They haven't seen him for ages, ………………………….?
15. He had never been to China by last year, ………………………….?
16. You weren't at the party last night, ………………………….?
17. Read carefully the instructions, ………………………….?
18. There is a museum in this city, ………………………….?
19. You have never been to Beijing, ………………………….?
20. He will give up smoking, ………………………….?
Answer keys:
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1. is it
6. doesn’t he
11. shall we
16. were you

2. didn’t she
7. are there
12. does he
17. will you

3. did he
4. hasn’t he
8. will he
9. isn’t he
13. can she

14. have they
18. isn’t there 19. have you

5. isn’t it
10. don’t they
15. had he
20. won’t he

b. The results of the test:
The result of the 15-minute test:
Class
Students
0-3
tested
11A3
39
0
11A4
40
2 (5%)

3.5 – 4.5

5-6

6.5 - 7.5

8 -10

2 (5.13%)

8 (20%)

15 (38.46%)
16 (40%)

13 (33.33%)
10 (25%)

9 (23.08%)
4 (10%)

The result of the two classes at the end of the first term:
Class
Excellent
Good level Average level Weak level
level (8-10) (6.5 – 7.9)
(5 – 6.4)
(3.5 – 4.9)
11A3 (39)
3(7.69%)
13 (33.33%) 17 (43.59%) 6 (15.38%)
11A4 (40)
2 (5%)
12 (30%)
18 (45%)
8 (20%)

Poor level
(0 – 3.4)
0

0

From the results mentioned above, we can see that the two classes with the
nearly similar quality of students (the result of the two classes at the end of the first
term), class 11A3 with the new teaching method has more students to perform
better. Only 5.13% students are under average in compare with 25% from class
11A4, and 56.41% students are at good or excellent levels whereas those of class
11A4 are 35%. It can also be seen that the students performed better than their
result at the end of the first term in terms of both the number of students at good or
excellent levels and the number of students at weak level.
The study has helped improve the quality of teaching and learning English in
Cam Thuy 3 High School. It helps encourage the students, especially the students at
average or under average students, to learn and practice.
3. CONCLUSION,
3.1.
Conclusion:

PROPOSALS

In conclusion, the new teaching way mentioned has been written from my own
teaching experiences and from observing other teachers’ lessons, as well as
referring from books and the internet. It has obviously been applied successfully in
class 11A3, Cam Thuy3 High School. Most students, especially students with
average or under average levels can practice the lesson or do the related exercise
with confidence. They also have more time to practice in addition to the exercise in
the textbook. For classes with many students at low levels, students will need to
revise the forms of verbs in different tenses, which can take time and easily make
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the students confused, however, the notes from the new teaching method can help
them solve the problems, and do the related exercises.
I believe that the study will continue to be used in teaching English in Cam
Thuy3 High School. I will help improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning
English in the school.
3.2.

Proposals:

The study should be applied to other classes in Cam Thuy High School and
other high schools that have many students at average or under average levels. It
can help them to learn the forms of tag questions easily and do the related exercises
with more confidence.

Thanh Hoa, April 27th, 2019
I assure this teaching experience is
written from my own experiences, not a
coppy from other people.

CONFIRMATION OF THE HEADMASTER

Phạm Xuân Giang

•

REFERENCES:
Tieng Anh 11 (Textbook, and Teacher book)
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•
•

GCSE 2016, 2018 and University Entrance Examination 2013
Other books and the internet

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