Sadly, they're also one of the most under-utilised, as they sit forlornly gathering dust on staffroom shelves from Holborn to Honduras. In wondering why this might be, I suppose one of the biggest reasons is our association with them as sort of childish flashback to a time when our education consisted of paint, plasticine and happy animal noises!
Another reason they are eschewed may well be that teachers aren't quite sure how to use them: they perhaps feel there is a, 'Correct,' way to employ them in the classroom and perhaps don't feel like doing the training, also fearing that their students may not be enthused by them.
Well, the good news is that there is NO 'Correct' way to use the rods. The only limit to their use is your imagination.
Of course they can be used to visually parse sentences, but they can also be used to teach lexis in a more interesting way. Take , for example, one of our students' most common social outings: the nightclub.
how much more interesting it would be to actually 'construct' the night club with the rods and elicit the relevant lexis that way?
I've found this to be a far more effective method in the classroom than mere elicitation.
So, dust off those rods, bring them into class one day - and see what happens!!
Mike
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