Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Irrie]

Hi there,
I teach English in Taiwan, and we are currently using a series by Macmillan Publishers.
As they are a company trusted all over the world nobody questioned the info used in their books. But, as an English native speaker (with a British English education) I have found something that I'm a bit unsure of. It concerns the sentence "We stand on line at recess." In the student book they use this sentence, but the teacher's guide uses the sentence, "We stand in line at recess."
I know that the New Yorkers love to use "... stand on line..." but is that the more common usage? And what about "... at recess." Shouldn't it rather be during recess, or before/after recess?
And thirdly, what would the purpose be of standing on/in line at/during recess? Isn't recess a time to take a break, rather than to engage in lining up as a group of students? I'm not so familiar with the normal American school system as to know whether standing in/on line is a normal part of the recess activities.
Please help me understand. I have a bunch of very curious kids here and they don't accept something just because it's written in a book. They want to know the why, how and when of everything!
Thanks so much in advance. I'm ever so grateful for any help I can get.

_________________
Irrie

[lotus]

Hi Irrie,

Quote:
"I have a bunch of very curious kids here and they don't accept something just because it's written in a book. They want to know the why, how and when of everything! "

You've got a bunch of smart kids.

First, no textbook is beyond reproach. You should always question what you (or your students) instinctively feel is wrong.

In this case, I think your instincts are correct. We usually say:

We stand in line before/after recess.
We stand in line for recess.
We line up during recess.
We line up for recess.

Often, in a more structured school, students will line up before going to recess (instead of just running out). This is especially true for younger children. When we say "We line up during recess" or "The children have to line up for recess", we imply that they have to line up before and after recess. Since recess is usually fairly short (around 15 minutes), the phrase "The children should line up during recess" is understood to mean lining up before and after the compacted recess. Lining up is for organization and safety reasons. It prepares them for lining up during fire drills.

Out of all the phrases, I would say that "We line up for recess" is the most common.


--lotus

[CP]