1. Defining the problem found in the proposed situation.

2. Explanation of the notion derived from the proposed situation.

3. Justification of the topicality of the identified problem.
4. Contextualizing the problem at curriculum level (competence, unit of
competence, unit
content and class), as appropriate, other educational policy documents
(instructions, guidance,
programs, methodological benchmarks, methodologies, etc.) that reflect that issue.
5. Listing 2-3 bibliographic sources or authors that address the given problem.
6. Presentation of the own model of solving the problem: 2-3 relevant methods that
ensure problem solving and a recommendation for colleagues.
7. Arguing that the proposed model is relevant and correlates with the principles of
focusing onstudent / child

1. Understanding when to use simple past or present perfect can be a challenge

when speaking – or writing – in English.
2. Moreover, there are some cases in which using the simple past and present
perfect have the same or a different meaning. In general, simple past refers
to a specific time in the past, whereas present perfect is an unspecified time.
In addition, the meaning of the sentences changes when more specific
information (e.g. dates, times) is provided.

3. A major difficulty in learning this tense arises from the interference of the
learner‘s mother tongue. As far as teaching is concerned, when introducing a new
piece of grammar we always have to teach not only the form, but also its functions,
and not only meaning but also use.

4. In this case, we deal with Linguistic competence.

Linguistic competence is a competence which enables a person to act, using
particular linguistic means.' 13 Linguistic competence consists of several
components: the linguistic, socio-linguistic, pragmatic, plurilingual, and
multicultural components.
So, in the English language discipline at the secondary school, the teacher will
focus on the development of language communication skills, which, in turn, will
allow students to fit into all sorts of communicative activities geared toward the
development of general skills.

5. Curriculumul Național ”Curriculum la Limba străină I pentru învățământul

primar, 2018, p. 7 15Cadrul European Comun de Referinţă pentru Limbi
(CECRL, 2003) Cadrul European Comun de Referinţă pentru Limbi
(CECRL, 2003) 11Cadrul European Comun de Referinţă pentru Limbi.
Volum de însoțire cu noi descriptori. Ediție Provizorie (septembrie 2017)
12Achiri Ion, Nastas Svetlana, Botgros Ion, Crudu Valentin ”Repere conceptuale
privind elaborarea curriculumului la disciplinele opționale”, Chisinău, 2017

Manuale cl 5-7, 8, 9

6. Russian speaking learners often tend to translate directly from Russia into
English, and certain mistakes, as in the following two examples, are therefore
obvious:
* I am here since February. (Gitterle)
*I live in Riscani for 6 years. (Gitterle)
Thus in Russia, we would use the present tense to express the meaning I’ve been
here since February/I’ve lived in Riscani for 6 years.

Critical questions teachers ask and should ask themselves would be:
- How do I introduce these tenses? Should I use an inductive approach giving
situations and contexts, where the present perfect is used, or should I explain the
different notions first and then practice the uses with the learners?
- What notions of the present perfect do I introduce first?
- Should I restrict the pattern in which the present perfect is being used or should I
try to find a more general rule?
- Are rules of thumb or certain guidelines helpful? According to Colin Mahoney
(Internet), a good rule of thumb is, for example, that the present perfect is used
with time adverbs that describe a time period that is unfinished (eg today, this
week, ...). Certainly, the learners should be told that if we have a clear time
indicator of past time such as yesterday, last year, or five years ago, we tend to use
past tense and not the present perfect:
- Is my explanation correct, consistent, simple, non-contradictory, complete,
exhaustive, productive, and memorizable?
These are all vital questions when teaching a complex piece of grammar such as
present perfect vs past simple. Certainly, it is important that teachers do not give
over-simplified rules that learners will soon see being contradicted. That
explanation should be consistent and non-contradictory is also valid for lower
levels. Good rules do not have exceptions! It is just essential not to overload
learners by giving too much information. Basically, there are two major strategies
to teach this tense, which can also be combined. On the one hand, teachers can
provide rules of thumb or guidelines emphasizing that they are not to be
considered hard and fast rules, and on the other hand, they can implement an
inductive approach and confront students with patterns where the tenses are used.
In short, teaching grammar in context.
To sum up, rules of thumb or guidelines may be helpful, but teachers should
always point out underlying meanings since learners will soon encounter examples
that represent exceptions to the rules.