Teaching the Present Progressive Tense in the ESL Classroom

When teaching low level students, we generally try toformula "elicit, model and drill". I can't help feeling that as
progressively introduce grammar points as and whenI was never taught that the present progressive is
we feel that previous points have been mastered. Soformed using the auxiliary, be, with verb plus -ing ending
a typical programme for beginners is to start with thewhen I was a child, then there's really no point in
present simple tense, I am, I go, I do, then add adverbsteaching it to adult learners of English.
of frequency, I always go shopping on Saturday, I amOnce you have started trying to explain structure, you
sometimes late, I never do my homework. Nextwill find yourself getting deeper and deeper into
comes the tricky part: explaining to your students thatmeaningless discussions about grammar. Most of your
there are two present tenses, the second one beinglearners will already have some knowledge of English
the progressive tense, for actions happening now, orgrammar, not all of it correct, from their school years.
for fairly certain future events. How do you introduceAs their teachers were probably non-native English
it?speakers, the information given was probably at best
Perhaps you begin with a miming game: "can youincomplete, if not totally misleading. Perhaps the word
guess what I am doing?" After miming the action, you"gerund" may enter the discussion. As an English
elicit the form, "I am drinking a cup of tea". This type ofteaching professional, do you really know what a
activity is generally a very good way to present thisgerund is? What is the best way of explaining it to
new tense.your students? If your lesson is on the present
My problem, however, is the "modelling" part of theprogressive tense, then you have let yourself get way
lesson. As we were taught in our ESL training, a goodoff track, for the -ing verb is not a gerund, it's the
lesson should be structured according using thepresent participle.