Teaching Demonstrative Pronouns the Easy Way

In this post, we will talk about teaching demonstrative pronouns. We’ll talk about what they are and how to teach them. As well, we’ll introduce a targeted lesson plan to help clarify the concept for your ESL students. If your students need extra practice with demonstrative pronouns, continue reading below!

Download the lesson plan here

What are demonstrative pronouns?

Demonstrative pronouns – this, that, these, and those, are used to replace nouns in sentences. Demonstrative pronouns are tricky for English language learners for many reasons. First, they all start with th-. Second, they are used in relation to the speaker, which can add to the confusion. However, if an English language learner wants to improve their fluency, they must learn to use them with ease.

A summary of the lesson plan

Off2Class has created an easy-to-follow, teacher-led lesson plan to help you teach demonstrative pronouns to your ESL students. The lesson starts with a short recap of countable and uncountable nouns and moves into a variety of matching exercises. It also discusses the use of this/these with time and provides gap-fill exercises. Your students will have ample opportunity to practice the various ways we use demonstrative pronouns. Use it in your online ESL class or in-person in your screen-enabled classroom.

How to teach (and review) demonstrative pronouns

For those of you who subscribe to Off2Class, this lesson plan pairs perfectly with This, that, these, those – Making Choices, a listening lesson available on the Off2Class website. The key is to practice until demonstrative pronouns become second nature. I love to incorporate parts of this lesson plan into my warm-up activities so I always keep this lesson plan handy for future drills! Give it a shot and watch your students’ fluency improve dramatically.

Take it to the next level

If you’re teaching demonstrative pronouns and want to assign homework or access the helpful teacher notes for this lesson plan, don’t forget to sign up for your FREE Off2Class teacher account! As well, browse the ESL Lesson Plan Library and check out the hundreds of other lessons available. You are just a few clicks away from more ready-to-teach ESL lesson plans! Leave the hard work to Off2Class, and spend more time teaching the subject you love. 

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