Mind map in English at times. Mental maps as an intensive method for developing students' thinking in English lessons. Past Continuous Tense

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Mind maps are a great way to help us visualize grammar and vocabulary structure. We offer you a past tense mind map that will help you understand this topic and learn how to use the Past tenses correctly.

Mind map - Past Tenses (map increases by clicking)

(Full size can be downloaded)

Past Simple Tense - Past Simple Tense

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Most English learners know how to use this time correctly, namely, to describe completed actions and states (We considered this time in detail in). We usually know when the action happened - either it is indicated in the sentence, or we guess from the situation.

Completed activities
- I did all the lessons yesterday - I did all the lessons yesterday
Habitual actions in the past
- In my childhood I was interested in collecting stamps - As a child, I was interested in collecting stamps.
Actions that follow each other
- I returned home, changed my clothes, had dinner and watched TV - I returned home, changed clothes, had lunch and watched TV.

What you need to pay attention to in this tense is the pronunciation of the ending -ed, with which the past tense is formed. regular verbs(for example, kicked /t/, decided /id/ played /d/), as well as learn irregular verbs, which are not so few (go - went, buy - bought, tell - told) (List irregular verbs you can find ).

Past Continuous Tense - Past Continuous Tense

The form of the past continuous tense can sometimes confuse English learners (Read more about this tense). We use this time in the following cases:

The action continued at the specified time in the past
- I was cooking dinner at 12 o'clock yesterday - Yesterday at 12 o'clock I cooked dinner
Several activities continued in parallel at the same time
- He was sleeping while I was doing my homework - He was sleeping while I was doing my homework.
Introductory information
- He was trying to call you but there was no reception in the area - He tried to call you, but he didn’t pick up the phone in that area
An ongoing action in the past interrupted by another action expressed in the simple past tense
- I was watching television when the phone rang - I was watching TV when the phone rang.

We often use adjectives of time such as “ while”, “when" And " as” in the past continuous tense, which means that “ something happened while something else was happening».

While/when they were checking the test-sheets they discussing some educational questions. while they were checking test papers, they discussed some issues of education.

BUT if you mean " as soon as something happened, or as soon as someone knew something”, is used only by “ when” with past simple tense (Past Simple).
- He got angry when learned about his son's behavior - When he learned about his son's behavior, he got angry.

past simpleorPast continuous?

Sometimes we can use any of these tenses to describe a situation. The simple past tense suggests single, completed action, while the Past Continuous tense emphasizes duration of action.

We discussed each item separately and then made a decision - We discussed each item separately and then made a decision.
We were discussing each item separately for two hours and then made a decision - We discussed each item for two hours and then made a decision.

Past Perfect Tense - Past Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect tense is used primarily in writing, in colloquial - less often. It is used when you have two completed actions in the past and you want to emphasize that one event happened before the other in the past. The action that happened first will be expressed in the Past Perfect tense. Compare the two examples below that describe the same situation:
1. We came to the theater at 19:15. The performance began at 19:00. (both verbs in simple past tense)
2. When we came to the theater the performance had begun (the first time action is expressed by Past Perfect)
In the first example, the two activities exist separately from each other, while in the second example, there is a strong connection between them. The past perfect tense indicates which tense happened first.
The past perfect tense is often used with verbs that convey the workings of our brain -know(know), realize(realize) remember(remember), be sure(sure),think(think).
- When I approached the office I worked at I realized that I had not put on the scarf - when I approached the office where I worked, I realized that I forgot to put on a scarf.
- He was sure that Mary had invited his friend to the party, but asked just in case she hadn't - He was sure that Mary had invited his friend to the party, but asked in case not.
Times that are often used in the Past Perfect are just, after, once, by, already, never, and meanwhile. The word still is often used in a negative sentence.
- She had just set to work when somebody knocked the door - He just got to work when someone knocked on the door.
- It was midnight and I still hadn't completed my work. It was midnight and I still hadn't finished my work.
- Everything had been sold out by 4 o'clock. Everything was sold by 4 o'clock.

USEDTO/ WOULD + INFINITIVE

used to describes actions that were habitual or repeated in the past, but are no longer performed (see for more details).
- I used to drink much vodka three years ago - I drank a lot of vodka three years ago (but I don't drink now)
- With his girlfriend John used to go to restaurants every Saturday - With his girlfriend, John used to go to a restaurant every Saturday.
used to describes a state or state of affairs in the past that has changed.
- I used to have much money but now I own nothing - I used to have a lot of money, but now I have nothing.
- I used to be a motorman, but now I am an engineer - I used to be a minder, but now I'm a mechanic.
in negative and interrogative sentences used to changes to use to:
- You didn't use to cook soup - You usually didn't cook soup.
Did he use to go to sleep late? Did he go to bed late before?

Would + infinitive used in the same way as used to, but this construction simply describes repeated actions in the past, and NOT the state or position of a person. She's a little more formal.
— Before they opened an underground station in our area, it would take me two hours to get to my office. Before a metro station was opened in our area, it used to take me 2 hours to get to the office.

Present Perfect Tense - Present Perfect Tense

On our mind map, you also see the Present Perfect tense. Although it belongs to the Present group, it denotes an action that happened in the past. In our post "" we examined in some detail the use of Present Perfect and its difference from Past Simple.

If you really want to better understand how to use these tenses correctly, you need to see them in context. Reading texts in English - The best way feel how to use them. So read as much as you can - no matter what - and we're sure using tenses will be as easy for you as two times two makes four.

Today I will talk about one of the simplest and most reliable ways to increase the return on language learning (and at the same time digestibility of texts) - the use of mental maps.

In order to use this technique, you will need three things:

A small text in a foreign language.
Getting to know . In this case, especially for beginners to learn a language, it will be more convenient to draw a map using a computer - for example, in Mind42.
A convenient dictionary with voice acting - for example Yandex.

Your level of language proficiency will play a big role in the technique of using mental maps. Therefore, I will give two instructions - for beginners and advanced.

A. Instruction for beginners

Break the text into paragraphs, number them, and do the following with each paragraph.

Place the number of the paragraph in the center of the card.
Draw the main branches diverging from the center - the serial numbers of the sentences in the paragraph (combine short sentences with those closest in meaning).
Now from each branch denoting a sentence, draw sub-branches - the words of the sentence. When you have finished drawing a branch with a sentence, organize the words in it by meaning - for example, the main branches can be the subject or the predicate, and the words associated with them already depart from them (see the example below).
For each word, write a translation using a dictionary, and listen to how this word sounds in the same place. Modern dictionaries are able to determine most of the derivative forms of a word and return the original to you.

Example: my mental map of the first paragraph of the Grimm fairy tale Die vier kunstreichen Brüder.

Original text:

Mind map (click to enlarge):

As you can see from this map, even one paragraph of text contains much more information than we think.

B. Instruction for advanced

Break the text according to its meaning into small passages and do the following with each passage.

Choose a central theme for the passage, label it with a keyword, and place it in the center of the map.
Draw the main branches radiating from the center - the main thoughts contained in the passage.
Now, from each branch, draw sub-branches - keywords, arranging them according to meaning, until you reach the level of detail you need.
Incomprehensible words accompany the translation.

Example: my mind map instructions for creating mind maps from Tony Buzan's book Use Your Head: How to unleash the power of your mind.

What to do next with this?

In fact, you have already completed the main part of the work. As a result, you have a set of mental maps, each of which not only lists the words used in the text, but visualizes them in a semantic and thematic context, thereby significantly increasing their memorability. In addition, using these cards, you can restore the content of the text and repeat new words at any time.

Periodically reviewing the mind maps you have created will make the results even better, because memorability is very much dependent on repetition. Tony Buzan, the author of the idea of mental maps, recommends refreshing the studied material in memory 10 minutes after finishing work, and then after a day, a week, a month and six months. In this case, as he claims, one hundred percent assimilation of the material is ensured.

Another interesting use of the resulting cards for language learning is the game of catena, which I will talk about next time.

A few notes

Reading is the easiest way to learn a language that we have at our disposal. It naturally motivates us to find out what's next, and at the same time gives us the opportunity to stop at any moment to delve deeper into the text or work with new words. However, the problem is that reading in a foreign language requires some effort.

Paradoxical as it may seem, mental maps turn out to be not an additional load here, but, on the contrary, a means of reducing it. Visualizing the content of the text in a specific pattern helps to slow down reading, thus giving us a breather, and at the same time switch attention from the internal, mental reproduction and translation of the text to its external, visual fixation, which is much easier. Among other things, fixing the text in the form of a mental map eliminates the need to constantly keep its contents in mind - we can always remember where we left off.

Someone might argue that you can just write out new words in the process of reading without any mental maps. There is one subtle point here. Our memory is arranged in such a way that information is remembered in context (I wrote about this in detail). If we try to memorize new words out of their context, we have a low chance of success. Creating a mental map is fixing the context, the framework on which new words are easily strung.

Mind Maps as an intensive method for developing students' thinking in the classroom in English in middle school Guchok Irina Grigorievna, English teacher GDO " high school№6 Zhodino»

A head filled with fragmentary, incoherent knowledge is like a pantry in which everything is in disorder and where the owner himself will not find anything; the head, where only the system without knowledge, is like a shop in which all the boxes have inscriptions, but the boxes are empty K.D. Ushinsky

The history of the creation and development of the methodology

Recording system

Linear

Mind Maps

Who was Robin Hood? Test 1
It is not often that we make a hero of a robber, but Robin Hood somehow seems to be different. Everybody knows it is wrong to steal, yet Robin Hood is admired. The reason for this, of course, is that he stole from the rich and gave to the poor.
Was Robin Hood a real man? We know that he was a favorite figure in the ballads and stories of England in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. We also know that according to these stories he lived in the twelfth century. In the year 1521, there appeared a Latin history which mentioned Robin Hood.
This is what it said: “About the time of Richard I, Robin Hood and Little John, the most famous of robbers, were hiding in the woods and stealing only from rich men; they killed none except those who resisted them or came to attack them. Robin had 100 men – all skilled archers – well trained for fighting. They were so good that not even 400 men dared to come against them.
All England sings of the deeds of this Robin; he did not allow any woman to be hurt, nor did ever take the goods from the poor; indeed he gave them a lot of the goods he stole from the abbots.”
Robin Hood definitely captured the imagination of the English people of that period, because he was a hero working for justice. Robin pleased them and they built around his name one legend after another. They made him a great sportsman, a wonderful archer, a loyal friend, and a lover of the green woods where he lived.
There are many theories about Robin Hood. One of these suggests that he was a Saxon, and among the last of those who held against the Normans when they conquered England. It seems certain that a man called Robin Hood really existed. But it is also quite clear that many of the stories about Robin Hood were made up by people.
Choose the right ending:
Robin Hood is admired because (he was a robber, everybody knows him, he helped people who had no money, he was different from others).
The Latin history mentioning Robin Hood was written in the (12th , 14th , 15th , 16th) century.
Robin Hood and his men killed (people they didn't like, only rich people, skilled archers, people fighting against them).
Robin Hood didn't let his men (offend women, steal from women, take the goods away from women, meet women and abbots).
The English people of the Middle Age made up stories about Robin because (he could fight skillfully with a sword, he was a great athlete, he wanted life to be fair, he was a great lover).
We certainly know that Robin Hood was (a ballad character, a Saxon king, a real man, a Norman conqueror).
A Romantic Story
Norah was 20 and wanted to get married to George. The young man (serve) in the Army and (send) to Africa on expedition. Norah (be) lonely ever since.
One evening she (lie) on the sofa. Her eyes (close). She (dream) about George. It (get) dark. Norah (feel) the wind (whisper) words of love in her ears …
She (wake) up suddenly. She (hear) light footsteps … She hurried across the room repeating: “Darling! Dearest! You (be) back at last!” The man (put) all his strength into pushing the girl away. He (be) a robber who (come) to Norah's place in search of her money.

The principles of the brain

1. Left and right brain thinking

2. Associative thinking

Each neuron is connected with others by a huge number of branch connections that are formed throughout a person's life.
The more intense the information life of a person, the more quantity connections between brain cells. This number changes throughout a person's life.
The richer his intellectual life, the more such connections are created, the more developed the human brain and, accordingly, the person himself.

Start from the center- in the center is the main image, the goal of building a mental map, the object from which all associations depart;
Draw the map clockwise ;
Use different colors- it takes much less time to perceive color than to perceive text;
Use keywords- bright, memorable, "speaking" words;
Draw- information is perceived much faster;
Connect concepts- structure information (5-7 branches).

Choose the right color

color

perception speed

orange

brown

Education

the world

Discussion

Compare the system of education in Belarus and in Great Britain. Find similarities and differences between them. Explain their advantages and disadvantages.

Create motivation to master foreign language as a means of communication.
Organize individual, group and collective activities of students.
Design educational content in accordance with the age characteristics of students.
Implement a differentiated approach to students.
organize independent work students.
organize project activities students.
To teach students to use dictionaries, reference books and other sources of written and oral information in order to find the necessary meanings, decipher dictionary designations.
To develop the creative and intellectual abilities of students, thinking, memory, and also to show intuitive abilities
Create on your own and with your students!

Education
Solving creative problems
Planning and development of projects of varying complexity
Lecture notes
Making to-do lists
Dealing with personal matters

I believe that it is impossible to become an educated person in any educational institution. But in any well-established educational institution, one can acquire a skill that will be useful in the future, when a person outside the walls of an educational institution begins to educate himself. M. Bulgakov

What is Mind Maps? These are maps in which information on a specific topic is collected in a structured way. Clear, convenient, clear, in one place. This tool allows you to fit large amounts of information on one sheet. Agree that this will save a lot of time and allow you to quickly find what you need. If you only knew how this system frees your head and allows you to focus on the most important!

What is "Mind Maps - "English in your pocket"?"
- A handy tool for learning English
- The most frequently used topics in the language
- Expressions and words for every day
- Effective memorization of new expressions and words
- Ready cliches, learned - and went to talk
- Over 500 useful words and phrases
- More than 150 situations to practice with translation and keys
- 10 electronic (PDF) maps that you can print
- 10 videos and audios with pronunciation and translation
- 10 training exercises for introducing phrases into your head with keys

What is included:

10 maps 10 maps with words and expressions, selected on various topics:
1. At the hotel (at the hotel)
2. Traveling (travel)
3. Shopping (shopping)
4. Renting a car (car rental)
5. Everyday English (English for every day)
6. In the city (in the city)
7. Health and medicine (health and medicine)
8. Eating out (in a restaurant)
9. Meeting new people (meeting new people)
10. Irregular verbs (irregular verbs)

10 videos and audios with pronunciation and translation.

This will allow you:
- Speak words and expressions with the speaker
- Learn expressions with correct intonation
- It is easier to learn material based on visual and auditory memory
- Listen and watch recordings anywhere
- Faster loading of material into the brain

10 workout exercises.

Thanks to which you will be able to:
- Check how well you learned the material
- Practice already learned expressions
- Repeat workouts at any time
- Translate your knowledge into speaking skill
- Learn to use words and sentences correctly in context
- Expressions will pop out of your head automatically (subject to systematic training and repetition)

Who is the Mind Maps "English in your pocket" course for?

If you are still not 100% sure how to translate the following expressions:
- You are sure?
- Do you agree?
- Shall we go somewhere tonight?
- I'm sick, my throat hurts.
- Have you ever been to Tahiti?
- What is the purpose of your trip?
These shoes are too big for me, do you have a smaller size?
- Where can I fill up the car?
- Bring me another glass, please.
- Breakfast included?
- How can I get to the center?
- Fasten your seat belt.
- How much is this shirt?
- Do you have the same belt, but in a different color?
- Hair dryer doesn't work.
and many many others…

Then you just need this simple and effective tool that will always be with you.

Screenshots:

Year: 2013
Marina Kiseleva
Format: pdf, mp3, mp4

1. At the hotel (at the hotel)

Size: 90 MB.

2. Traveling (travel)

Size: 87 MB.

3. Shopping (shopping)

Size: 108 MB.

4. Renting a car (car rental)

Size: 66 MB.

5. Everyday English (English for every day)

Size: 91 MB.

6. In the city (in the city)

Size: 100 MB.

7. Health and medicine (health and medicine)

What's happened Mind Maps "English in your pocket" Marina Kiseleva? These are maps in which information on a specific topic is collected in a structured way. Clear, convenient, clear, in one place. This tool allows you to fit large amounts of information on one sheet. Agree that this will save a lot of time and allow you to quickly find what you need. If you only knew how this system frees your head and allows you to focus on the most important!

Year: 2013
Marina Kiseleva
Format: pdf, mp3, mp4

10 cards with words and expressions, selected on various topics:
At the hotel
Traveling (travel)
Shopping (shopping)
Renting a car (car rental)
Everyday English (English for every day)
In the city (in the city)
Health and medicine (health and medicine)
Eating out (in a restaurant)
Meeting new people (meeting new people)
Irregular verbs (irregular verbs)

Download all parts
Size: 1.07 GB.

What is "Mind Maps -" English in your pocket "?"

— A handy tool for learning English
- The most frequently used topics in the language
- Expressions and words for every day
— Effective memorization of new expressions and words
- Ready-made clichés, learned - and went to talk
- More than 500 useful words and expressions
— More than 150 situations to practice with translation and keys
— 10 maps in electronic (PDF) version that you can print
- 10 videos and audios with pronunciation and translation
- 10 training exercises for introducing phrases into your head with keys

What is included:

10 videos and audios with pronunciation and translation.

This will allow you:
- Pronounce words and expressions together with the announcer
- Learn expressions with correct intonation
- It is easier to learn the material, relying on visual and auditory memory
- Listen and watch recordings anywhere
- Faster loading of material into the brain

10 workout exercises.

Thanks to which you will be able to:
- Check how well you have learned the material
- Practice already learned expressions
- Repeat workouts at any time
- Translate your knowledge into speaking skill
- Learn to use words and sentences correctly in context
- Expressions will pop out of the head automatically (subject to systematic training and repetition)

Who is the Mind Maps English in Your Pocket course for?

If you are still not 100% sure how to translate the following expressions:
- You are sure?
- Do you agree?
- Shall we go somewhere tonight?
- I'm sick, my throat hurts.
Have you ever been to Tahiti?
- What is the purpose of your trip?
These shoes are too big for me, do you have a smaller size?
Where can I fill up the car?
Bring me another glass, please.
- Breakfast included?
— How can I get to the center?
- Fasten your seat belt.
- How much is this shirt?
— Do you have the same belt, but in a different color?
- The hair dryer doesn't work.
and many many others…

Then you just need this simple and effective tool that will always be with you.