English Teaching

ELT365 · Day 184 — Controlled Practice: The Purpose of the Cage

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Idea — Controlled practice limits what learners can say to focus attention on one language point. It is not natural language, but it reduces cognitive load while a new form is being automatised.

Example — Drill: “Where were you born?” — “I was born in…” Learners cannot vary the structure. The repetition builds procedural memory for the form.

Try — Write one controlled practice exercise for a grammar point you are teaching this week. Check: is there only one correct answer per item? If not, it is not controlled.

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