Transcript Document

Teaching Grammar
Selection of the most Appropriate
Method
Fatima JAFRI
Habib Public SCHOOL
Grammar is the structural foundation of our
ability to express ourselves. The more we are
aware of how it works, the more we can
monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the
way we and others use language. It can help
foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit
the richness of expression available in English.
And it can help everyone--not only teachers of
English, but teachers of anything, for all
teaching is ultimately a matter of getting to
grips with meaning.
David Crystal,
"In Word and Deed,"
(TES Teacher, April 30, 2004)
Grammar and Its Teaching: Challenging the Myths
Diane Larsen-Freeman, School for International Training (VT)
1. Grammar is acquired naturally; it need not be taught.
2. Grammar is a collection of meaningless forms.
3. Grammar consists of arbitrary rules.
4. Grammar is boring.
5. Students have different learning styles. Not all students
can learn grammar.
6. Grammar structures are learned one at a time.
7. Grammar has to do only with sentence-level and
subsentence-level phenomena.
8. Grammar and vocabulary are areas of knowledge.
Reading, writing, speaking, and listening are the four
skills.
9. Grammars provide the rules/explanations for all the
structures in a language.
10. "I don't know enough to teach grammar."
Language learners are often frustrated by the disconnect
between knowing the rules of grammar and being able to
apply those rules automatically in listening, speaking,
reading, and writing. This disconnect reflects a separation
between declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge.
· Declarative knowledge is knowledge about something.
Declarative knowledge enables a student to describe a rule
of grammar and apply it in pattern practice drills.
· Procedural knowledge is knowledge of how to do
something. Procedural knowledge enables a student to
apply a rule of grammar in communication.
E.g: Declarative knowledge is what you have when you
read and understand the instructions for programming the
DVD player. Procedural knowledge is what you
demonstrate when you program the DVD player.
Procedural knowledge does not translate automatically into
declarative knowledge; many native speakers can use their
language clearly and correctly without being able to state the
rules of its grammar. Likewise, declarative knowledge does
not translate automatically into procedural knowledge;
students may be able to state a grammar rule, but
consistently fail to apply the rule when speaking or writing.
Inductive approach and Deductive approach
The more traditional of the two theories, is the deductive
approach, while the emerging and more modern theory, is the
inductive approach. (Goner, Phillips, and Walters 135-136).
With Inductive approach, the teacher's role is to provide
meaningful contexts to encourage demonstration of the rule,
while the students evolve the rules from the examples of its
use and continued practice (Rivers and Temperley 110).
Following Stern(1992:150), we can represent the deductive
and inductive sequences schematically in the following way:
Deductive approach:
General rule → Specific examples → Practice
Inductive approach:
Specific examples → Practice → General rule
The deductive approach represents a more traditional style
of teaching in that the grammatical structures or rules are
dictated to the students first (Rivers and Temperley 110). Thus,
the students learn the rule and apply it only after they have
been introduced to the rule. For example, if the structure to be
presented is present perfect, the teacher would begin the
lesson by saying, "Today we are going to learn how to use the
present perfect structure". Then, the rules of the present
perfect structure would be outlined and the students would
complete exercises, in a number of ways, to practice using the
structure. (Goner, Phillips, and Walters 135) In this approach,
the teacher is the center of the class and is responsible for all
of the presentation and explanation of the new material.
The inductive approach represents a more modern style of
teaching where the new grammatical structures or rules are
presented to the students in a real language context (Goner,
Phillips, and Walters 135). The students learn the use of the
structure through practice of the language in context, and later
realize the rules from the practical examples.
For example, if the structure to be presented is the
comparative form, the teacher would begin the lesson by
drawing a figure on the board and saying, "This is Jim. He is
tall." Then, the teacher would draw another taller figure next to
the first saying, "This is Bill. He is taller than Jim." The teacher
would then provide many examples using students and items
from the classroom, famous people, or anything within the
normal daily life of the students, to create an understanding of
the use of the structure. The students repeat after the teacher,
after each of the different examples, and eventually practice
the structures meaningfully in groups or pairs.
Covert grammar teaching means that grammatical facts are
hidden from the students- even though they are learning the
language. Students may be asked to do any activity where a
new grammar is presented or introduced, but their attention
will be drawn to this activity not to the grammar.
Overt grammar teaching means that the teacher actually
provides the students grammatical rules and explanations-the
information is openly presented.
With overt teaching grammatical rules are explicitly given to
students, but with covert teaching students are simply asked to
work with new language to absorb grammatical information
which will help them to acquire the language as a whole.
Discovery Learning is a method of inquiry- based instruction
and is considered a constructivist based approach to
education. It is supported by the work of learning theorists and
psychologists Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and Seyour Papert.
Although this form of instruction has great popularity, there is
some debate in the literature concerning its efficacy (Mayer,
2004).
Discovery Learning takes place in problem solving situations
where the learner draws on his own experience and prior
knowledge and is a method of instruction through which
students interact with their environment by exploring and
manipulating objects, wrestling with questions and
controversies, or performing experiments.
Grammar teaching should be implicit
In the early 20th century, Jespersen, like Boas, thought
grammar should be studied by examining living speech rather
than by analyzing written documents. By providing grammar in
context, in an implicit manner, we can expose students to
substantial doses of grammar study without alienating them to
the learning of English or other foreign language. I also agree
with this implicit approach of teaching grammar. The principal
manner in which I accomplish this is by teaching short
grammar-based sessions immediately followed by additional
function-based lessons in which the new grammar / structure
is applied in context.
Acquisition vs. Learning:
The hypothesis is that adult language students have two
distinct ways of developing skills and knowledge in a second
language, acquisition and learning. Acquiring a language is
"picking it up" i.e., developing ability in a language by using it
in natural, communicative situations. Learning language differs
in that it is "knowing the rules" and having a conscious
knowledge of grammar / structure. Adults acquire language,
although usually not as easily or as well as children.
Acquisition, however, is the most important means for gaining
linguistic skills. A person's first language (L1) is primarily
learned in this way. This manner of developing language skills
typically employs implicit grammar teaching and learning.
Grammar teaching should be explicit
This does not exclude explicit grammar-teaching entirely,
however. In cases where features of English grammar are
diametrically opposed or in some other way radically different
from the manner of expression in the student's L1, explicit
teaching may be required.
An exclusive approach using either implicit or explicit
methodologies is not as effective as utilizing one or the other
of these approaches as required. There is no one best way to
introduce and provide practice in them. Young learners have
more natural facility in acquisition, while adults may benefit
substantially from more "formal" language learning. Learning
styles and intelligence strengths are also a significant factor.
Descriptive grammar and Prescriptive grammar
Descriptive grammar refers to the structure of a language as
it is actually used by speakers and writers.
Prescriptive grammar refers to the structure of a language
as certain people think it should be used.
Both kinds of grammar are concerned with rules-but
in different ways. Specialists in descriptive grammar
(called linguists) study the rules or patterns that
underlie our use of words, phrases, clauses, and
sentences.
On
the
other
hand,
prescriptive
grammarians (such as most editors and teachers) lay
out rules about what they believe to be the “correct”
or “incorrect” use of language.
Functional grammar has following three specific features:
•Firstly, it is based on the notion of choice - it models
grammar as a set of options (a repertoire or resource). This
means that it presents grammar to teachers and students as a
set of tools they can use rather than a set of rules about what
not to do.
Secondly, functional grammar looks at the way in which
grammar is used to construct texts in their context of use - it is
concerned in other words with real language not just with the
made up examples of language that can be found in many
language tests, exercises, work sheets or traditional grammar
books. Its application is not restricted to the analysis of
isolated sentences - it explains the way in which sentences are
structured to construct whole texts such as stories, essays and
reports which students learn to read and write in primary and
secondary school.
Thirdly, functional grammar is concerned with the way in which
grammar is organised to make meaning. Because it is concerned
with meaning, it can be related directly to the concerns of teachers
and students in all subject areas.
Three levels of functions are distinguished in terms of functional
notions:
i. SEMANTIC FUNCTIONS (Agent, Patient, Recipient, etc.)
which define the roles that participants play in states of affairs, as
designated by predications.
ii.SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS (Subject and Object) which define
different perspectives through which states of affairs are presented
in linguistic expressions.
iii.PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONS (Theme and Tail, Topic and
Focus) which define the informational status of constituents of
linguistic expressions. They are determined by the status of the
pragmatic information of Speaker and Addressee as it develops in
verbal interaction.
Teachers using the Lexical Approach will not analyse the target
language in the classroom, but will be more inclined to
concentrate learners' attention upon these chunks. This new
approach develops many of the fundamental principles
advanced by proponents of Communicative Approaches. The
most important difference is the increased understanding of the
nature of lexis in naturally occurring language, and its potential
contribution to language pedagogy. The guiding principles of
the Lexical Approach:
1. The grammar/vocabulary dichotomy is invalid.
2. Collocation is used as an organizing principle.
3. Successful language is a wider concept than accurate
language.
4. The Observe-Hypothesise-Experiment cycle replaces the
Present-Practise-Produce Paradigm.
5. Most importantly, language consists of grammaticalised lexis-not lexicalised grammar
In a CLT classroom, the teacher pays more attention to enabling
students to work with the target language and communicate in it.
The following is the typical procedure of a grammar lesson
according to a CLT author- Adrian Doff (1981).
1.The teacher uses visual aids to present the grammar structure to
be taught.
2.Students deduce the meaning, the form and the use of it.
3.The teacher checks students understanding by asking yes/no
questions focusing on form, meaning and use.
4.The teacher gets students to practice the structure through
Repetition and Substitution Drills, Word Prompts, and Picture
Prompts. The teacher provides maximum practice within controlled,
but realistic and contextualised frameworks and to build students’
confidence in using the new language. The teacher provides
students with opportunities to use new language in a freer, more
creative way. The students can integrate new language with the
previously learnt language and apply what they have learnt to talk
about their real life activities.
Classroom activities used in CLT
• Role play
• Interviews
• Information gap
• Games
• Language exchange
• Surveys
• Pair work
• Learning by teaching
However, not all courses that utilize the communicative
language approach will restrict their activities solely to these.
Some courses will have the students take occasional grammar
quizzes, or prepare at home using non-communicative drills,
for instance
Grammar for Beginning Level:
• Regardless of the fact that the recommended text is
functional, communicative or structural, grammar and
grammar sequencing is in issue.
•
The scheme would be ‘simple to complex’. Typically it deals
with very simply verb forms, pronouns, articles, singular and
plural pronouns in a progression.
•
For EFL learners, if L1 is same, teacher may use L1 for
explanations.
•
In an ESL classroom, where teacher must rely on English
language only, grammatical explanation of any complexity
will overwhelm the learners.
•
An inductive approach with suitable examples and patterns
will be more effective.
Grammar for Intermediate level:
1. Student can benefit from short, simple explanations of points in
English.
2. Overt attention in grammar can be exceedingly helpful at this
stage.
E.g: she can kept her child.
A student, when referring to past
He must paid the insurance. tense, used to say things like.
3. A simple explanation from his teacher about modal auxiliaries
‘cured him.
4. Grammar explanation must be minimum. But it should not be
dominant focus of student attention.
Grammar for Advanced level:
1. At this level grammar teaching is linked with ‘functional
forms’, ‘sociolinguistic’ and ‘pragmatic phenomena.
2. Deductive grammar has its place at this level.
Teaching Grammar to Young Learners
• Presenting the grammatical structure in a child's context,
with humour
•
Practising the grammatical structure
•
Drawing and writing on the board
•
Story telling
•
Songs and chants
•
Rhymes and poems
•
Total Physical Response
Goals and Techniques for Teaching Grammar
The goal of grammar instruction is to enable students to carry
out their communication purposes. This goal has three
implications:
•Students need overt instruction that connects grammar
points with larger communication contexts.
•Students do not need to master every aspect of each grammar
point, only those that are relevant to the immediate
communication task.
•Error correction is not always the instructor's first
responsibility.
Developing Grammar Activities
For curricula that introduce grammatical forms in a specified sequence,
instructors need to develop activities that relate form to meaning and use.
 Describe the grammar point, including form, meaning, and use, and give
examples (structured input)
 Ask students to practice the grammar point in communicative drills
(structured output)
Have students do a communicative task that provides opportunities to use
the grammar point (communicative output)
For curricula that follow a sequence of topics, instructors need to develop
activities that relate the topical discourse (use) to meaning and form.
 Provide oral or written input (audiotape, reading selection) that addresses
the topic (structured input)
 Review the point of grammar, using examples from the material
(structured input)
 Ask students to practice the grammar point in communicative drills that
focus on the topic (structured output)
Have students do a communicative task on the topic (communicative
output)
Using Textbook Grammar Activities
Textbooks usually provide the following three types of grammar
exercises.
Mechanical drills: Mechanical drills are the least useful
because they bear little resemblance to real communication.
They do not require students to learn anything; they only require
parroting of a pattern or rule.
Meaningful drills: Meaningful drills can help students develop
understanding of the workings of rules of grammar because
they require students to make form-meaning correlations. Their
resemblance to real communication is limited by the fact that
they have only one correct answer.
Communicative drills: Communicative drills require students to
be aware of the relationships among form, meaning, and use. In
communicative drills, students test and develop their ability to
use language to convey ideas and information.
- Recognizing Types
-Supplementing
Why to acquire mastery over past perfect?
The past perfect tense is one way to put actions in order. As
has been mentioned, it would feel quite unnatural to
repeatedly refer to the time something happened. In addition,
and especially when speaking, the speaker may forget to tell
some information or other information may need
clarification. As a result, the past perfect plays an important
role. Look at the following:
Dave: Yesterday was an absolutely awful day!
Ken: Really?
Dave: Yeah! I woke up late. By the time I got out of the
house, I had spilled coffee on my shirt and realized I didn't
have any clean ones. So I put on a shirt that I had worn a few
days before. On the way to the station, I realized that I had
forgotten to lock the door, so I ran back home. At work, my
boss yelled at me because I hadn't finished the report for the
10:00 meeting with the head of marketing. And that was only
the morning...
Present Perfect Tense: Answer key
We haven’t seen Jamal for ages. I do not know what has
happened to him. I didn’t see Ahmed in the office yesterday.
Do you know where he was. They’ve known each other since
they were at school together. They’ve always been very good
friends.
I’ve had this dress for ages. I’ve worn it many times. I bought it
when I went to Lahore I a few years ago.
I love his books. I’ve read them all several times. A friend gave
me his first book and since then, I’ve bought them all.
I studied Sindhi in school but I’ve forgotten most of it now
because I’ve never had the chance to practice it.
Past Perfect Tense: Answer Key
I'm sorry I left without you last night, but I told you to meet me early
because the show started at 8:00. By the time I finally left the coffee
shop where we were supposed to meet, I (have) had had five cups of
coffee and I (wait) had been waiting over an hour. I had to leave
because I (arrange) had arranged to meet Amjad in front of the
theatre.
When I arrived at the theater, Amjad (pick, already) had already
picked up the tickets and he was waiting for us near the entrance. He
was really angry. He said he (give, almost) had almost given up and
(go) gone into the theater without us.
Amjad told me you (be) had been late several times in the past. He
mentioned that he (miss) had missed several movies because of your
late arrivals. I think you owe him an apology. And in the future, I
suggest you be on time!
Parallelism means that words used in pairs or groups should all
have the same gram-matical form (verbs and verbs; nouns,
nouns, and nouns; gerunds and gerunds, etc.) When using
words or phrases with coordinating conjunctions or in a series,
make sure that they follow the same grammatical structure. For
example,
Terry likes swimming and to dive. (Incorrect: not parallel
Terry likes swimming and diving. (Correct)
Terry likes to swim and (to) dive. (Correct)
I'm taking history, math, and chemical. (Incorrect)
I'm taking history, math, and chemistry. (Correct)
Sometimes repeated words, such as auxiliary verbs, can be
deleted in parallel constructions.
I have been to Paris and saw the Eiffel Tower. (Incorrect)
I have been to Paris and have seen the Eiffel Tower. (Okay)
I have been to Paris and seen the Eiffel Tower. (Better)
Is she coming to the party or go to a movie?
(Incorrect)
Is she coming to the party or going to a movie? (Correct)