Why We Should Bring Back Substitution Tables

ESL-Wise: Blog 11

Why We Should Bring Back Substitution Tables: The Most Useful Grammar Tool You’re Probably Not Using

By Alan David Pritchard

When was the last time you saw a substitution table in a secondary ESL classroom?

These sentence-building grids might seem like relics from an old ELT textbook, but they deserve another look. In fact, I would also argue that they deserve a place in mainstream lessons, too - but that is a subject for future blog post.

In experienced hands, substitution tables become simple, reliable tools for grammar, syntax and academic fluency.

What is a substitution table and why does it work?

A substitution table is a visual grid where each column holds options for one part of a sentence frame.

Students select one item from each column to build complete, accurate sentences. No guessing is required and every choice is visible.

Learners recognise patterns as they swap elements and can experiment with new vocabulary or complex structures without fear of breaking the sentence.

Here is an example from my IB Resource 'How to Write a Contextual Background Paragraph which uses a substitution table to generate sentences based on a model sentence. (Click here.)

Why ESL learners benefit so much

Too often, grammar lives as abstract rules on the board, or gap-fill worksheets. You know what I mean.

Substitution tables flip that approach. They are a form of scaffolding

Students generate sentences like:

Some people / Many scientists / The report

believe that/s / argue/s that / suggest/s that

climate change is real / more action is needed / temperatures are rising.

Each new sentence reinforces the same academic frame and gives clear purpose.

Generating a dozen or more sentences this way cements the pattern far more effectively than isolated drills and frees up mental space to focus on nuance, register and expanding ideas. I am planning a future post on the importance of paraphrasing and will be using the concept of substitution tables as examples to substantiate my points.

Here is an example of a substitution table I made for my IGCSE ESL class to create a thesis statement for essay writing. The yellow shaded parts are for different topics.

How substitution tables support writing, speaking and beyond

Substitution tables aren’t just drills. You can use them for:

• Speaking rehearsal, practising comparison or opinion language

• Paragraph building, chaining frames for cause-effect or contrast

• Reading preparation, previewing sentence structures before a text

• Peer correction, reformulating rough drafts into clearer versions

• Collaborative games, racing to create varied sentences in small teams

Why they’ve been overlooked and why they’re coming back

Many teachers dismiss substitution tables as outdated, but recent evidence tells another story.

The Bell Foundation highlights their visual clarity and adaptability across subjects.

A 2018 EAL Journal case study reports Year 9 students generated over 100 unique sentences in one lesson, boosting fluency and confidence.

Hampshire EMTAS shows tables helping learners analyse literature and subject vocabulary without overload.

These findings remind us that a tool’s reputation often lags behind its true potential.

Final thought: A grid for growth

Substitution tables do more than organise words, they organise thinking.

They show learners that grammar follows patterns, and that fluency grows one deliberate step at a time.

If you want ESL students to move beyond sentence fragments and write and speak with confidence, bring back substitution tables.

Sometimes the simplest tools are the most powerful.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below.

I’d love to hear from you.

Further Reading

• Bell Foundation – “Great ideas: Substitution tables” https://www.bell-foundation.org.uk/resources/great-ideas/substitution-tables/

• EAL Journal – “The power of substitution tables” https://ealjournal.org/2018/11/19/the-power-of-substitution-tables/

• Hampshire EMTAS – “Substitution tables in practice” https://emtas.hias.hants.gov.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=1332

Right Fast is my teacher-designed, classroom-tested game series that helps learners build academic language through fast-paced retrieval and timed oral rehearsal. Perfect for ages 14+

 Click the image or explore all 10 categories and 100 sets HERE.