Understanding the grammar progression

One of the teacher’s priorities should be to be familiar with the grammatical content of the courses taught in the academy. Each course follows a progression aligned with CEFR levels, where grammar is introduced gradually and expanded year by year.

This progression can be seen in the Jolly grammar posters, which represent the main grammatical structures expected at each level. These posters provide a visual overview of what students should know and help teachers understand how grammar develops across the different courses.

Ideally, teachers should become familiar with these structures. However, each course book also includes a grammar appendix at the end, where the structures taught in the course are summarised. Each unit corresponds to a section of this appendix.

By reviewing the posters and the grammar appendix, teachers can clearly identify:

• what students should already know

• what grammar is being introduced in the current level

• what structures will be developed in later courses

This helps teachers maintain the appropriate level of complexity in their explanations.

Grammar learning is cumulative: students build new knowledge on structures learned in previous years. Teachers must therefore be aware of both the current level and the grammatical foundations from earlier courses.

Understanding grammar progression through levels

Grammar concepts often require knowledge of previously learned structures.
For example, when teaching conditional sentences, students need to handle different verb tenses before they can understand how these sentences work.
In primary levels, conditional structures are usually not formally introduced. However, when students reach secondary levels, they can begin working with simple conditionals.

A typical progression could be:

• Zero conditional → uses present simple in both clauses

• First conditional → introduces future forms

• Second conditional → introduces hypothetical situations

Each new structure builds on previous knowledge. Teachers must therefore be aware of which grammatical tools students already possess and which ones are being introduced.

Preparing a grammar lesson

Before starting a new unit, teachers should review the grammar content of the course book and identify the structures that will be taught.
When preparing a lesson, it is important to:

• identify the grammar point of the unit

• review related structures students have already studied

• plan how previous knowledge can support the new concept

New grammar should be introduced through language students partially recognise, allowing them to reach new understanding gradually.

For example, the sentence:

“If I were rich, I would travel around the world.”

may be difficult at first. Instead of explaining the rule immediately, the teacher can guide students with questions:

“Am I rich?”
Students answer: “No.”

This helps learners understand that the sentence refers to an imaginary or hypothetical situation, allowing them to discover meaning through guided interaction.

This approach combines eliciting and concept checking to help students construct understanding rather than simply receiving rules.

Working with examples and checking understanding

Once the grammar point has been introduced, the teacher should carefully analyse the examples provided in the course book.
At this stage, teachers should use Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) to verify that students understand the meaning of the structure.

After confirming understanding, the next step is personalisation. Students should use the target grammar to answer questions related to their own lives. This increases engagement and helps transfer the structure from controlled practice to meaningful communication.
For example, if the grammar point is conditionals, students might answer questions such as:
“What would you do if you had a million euros?”

Personalisation encourages participation and ensures students actively use the language.

Selecting and prioritising activities

It is not necessary to complete every exercise on a page. When planning a lesson, teachers should prioritise activities and decide how much time will be allocated to each one. Quality of practice is more important than quantity.

Teachers should therefore:

• select the most relevant exercises

• plan time limits

• ensure students have enough opportunity to practise the structure meaningfully

Good planning helps maintain a clear pace and prevents lessons from becoming repetitive or rushed.

Managing grammar exercises effectively

Small classroom strategies can make exercises more dynamic and engaging.
For example, if an exercise contains eight sentences, students may normally complete them individually while others finish early and become disengaged.
Instead, the teacher can introduce a challenging time limit.

Rather than giving eight minutes for eight sentences, the teacher might give three minutes. Stronger students will likely complete most of them, while others will complete fewer, but all students remain focused and active during the same period of time.

This approach maintains energy and prevents early finishers from becoming bored.

Correcting grammar activities

There are different effective ways to correct exercises.

One option is to check answers sentence by sentence, but starting with students who are less confident. This allows them to participate without feeling intimidated and ensures everyone has an opportunity to contribute.

Another option is to display the answers on the board or screen. Students correct their own work first, and then selected sentences are read aloud.
This approach reduces anxiety about making mistakes while still allowing the teacher to focus on pronunciation, accuracy and reinforcement of the structure.
During correction, teachers can reinforce learning by revisiting previously introduced strategies such as:

• Concept Checking Questions (CCQs)

• Personalisation

• Eliciting

These techniques help transform simple correction into another learning opportunity.