This and That are the first pair of grammar words Thai children meet, and the first pair to confuse them. Thai has three degrees of distance to point with, where English has only two, and English then multiplies those two by singular and plural. The result is a grid of four boxes, and a child has to hold two questions in mind at once: near or far, and one or many.
Teach one axis at a time, and keep the four box grid out of the first lesson
In the first lesson teach the distance axis only, This and That, using real objects in the room. Hold a pencil close to you and say This is a pencil. Then point at the fan across the room and say That is a fan. Put children in pairs to do the same with the things around them. The rule they'll remember is simple: if you can touch it, it's This. If you can't reach it, it's That.
Once that's solid, open the number axis in the next lesson. Several things close by are These, and several things further away are Those. Tie it to plural s, which usually comes up at around the same time anyway.
The game for this topic: point and say, in teams
Put out two piles of objects, one at the front of the room and one at the back. A team representative draws a slip of paper, say Those pencils, then has to run to the right pile, point at the right number of things, and say the full sentence with This is or These are. A team that points correctly and says it correctly scores. Every turn makes a child decide for themselves whether it's near or far, one or many, and that decision is the heart of the whole topic.
- The most common error: children say These is, because they've only half learnt the frame. Always drill the pair together, This is and These are, never one on its own.
- Don't mix in the question What is this? in the first lesson. Wait until the statements are solid.
- Finish the lesson with a worksheet where children circle the right word under each picture. You'll see straight away who is still swapping near and far.