Unit 7 Teaching Grammar
Aims of the unit:
1.
2.
3.
The role of grammar in ELT
Grammar presentation methods
Grammar practice
7.1 The role of grammar in ELT
The
value of grammar in foreign language
teaching has been a focus of debate for
decades, and no conclusion is in sight.
The answer to whether grammar should be
taught and to what extent grammar should be
taught depends on some variables in the
language teaching /learning context, such as
learner variables and instructional
variables.
It is generally believed that
Grammar teaching is less important for
children than for adults;
Grammar teaching is less important in
listening and reading than in writing.
Grammar
teaching can be seen in most
formal classroom language
teaching.
7.2 Grammar presentation
methods
The
deductive method
The inductive method
The guided discovery method
Teaching grammar using listening
as input
The synthesis approach
The deductive method (p. 104)
The
deductive method relies on
reasoning, analysing and comparing.
Presentation of an example explanation
(comparison may be done between the
target language and the native language)
Sss practice (producing sentences) with
given prompts
The deductive method is criticized
because:
Grammar is taught in an isolated way;
Little attention is paid to meaning;
The practice is often mechanical.
However, the deductive method is not without
merits.
It
could be very successful with selected and
motivated students.
It could save time when students are
confronted with a grammar rule which is
complex but which has to be learned.
It may help to increase student confidence in
those examinations which are written with
accuracy as the main criterion of success.
The inductive method (p. 105)
In
the inductive method, the teacher
induces the learners to realise
grammar rules without any form of
explicit explanation.
It is believed that the rules will become
evident if the students are given
enough appropriate examples.
The guided discovery method
The guided discovery method is similar to the
inductive method in that the students are induced
to discover rules by themselves but different in
that the process of the discovery is carefully
guided and assisted by the teacher and the rules
are then elicited and taught explicitly. There are
two key theoretical issues related to this method:
the role of explicit knowledge in language learning
and the value of discovery as a general method of
learning (Ellis, 2002a )
In the guided discovery method, students are
presented with contextualized scenarios illustrating a
specific structure. Students are then guided to
discover the underlying rule of the structure as well
as its meaning in context followed by explicit
teaching and learning of the targeted structure. For
example, in teaching the too to structure, the
teacher holds a picture of a heavy box labeled
200kg and asks the class to look at the picture.
T: What
can you see in the picture, class?
Ss: We can see a box, a big box.
T: Is it heavy?
Ss: Yes, its very heavy. It is 200kg.
T: Can I carry it?
Ss: No, you cant.
T: You are right. I cant carry it. Why?
Because it is too heavy to carry.
Having said this, the teacher writes the whole sentence
on the blackboard. Then the teacher continues with more
contextualised examples. More sentences are written on
the blackboard. With the next few examples, the teacher
can pause to wait for the students to produce the target
structure and write them again on the blackboard. After
this, the teacher draws students attention to the structure
and let students discover the rules of the key structure as
well as its meaning. The teacher then highlights the
structure with colored chalks on the blackboard followed
by students practice of it with some prompts provided.
Teaching grammar using
listening as input
Ellis(2002b)
suggests the following
procedures for teaching grammar using
listening as input. (p.106)
Synthesis approach
Pennington(2002)
(p.107) proposes a
synthesis approach to grammar pedagogy .
Grammar teaching should be collocational,
constructive, contextual and contrastive,
which can serve as useful guidelines for
teaching grammar. (PP.107-108)
In
practice, the distinction
between the deductive method
and the inductive method is not
always apparent.
7.3 Grammar practice
According
to Ur, practice may be defined
as any kind of engaging with the language
on the part of the learner, usually under the
teacher supervision, whose primary
objective is to consolidate learning .(Ur,
1988:11) (p.108)
7.3.1 Ur predicts that the following 6 factors
contribute to successful practice:
Pre-learning. Learners benefit from clear
perception and short-term memory of the new
language.
Volume and repetition. The more exposure to or
production of language the learners have, the
more likely they are to learn.
Success-orientation. Practice is most effective
when based on successful practice.
Heterogeneity. Practice should be able to elicit
different sentences and generate different levels
of answers from different learners.
Teacher assistance. The teacher should provide
suggestions, hints and prompts.
Interest : an essential feature that is closely
related to concentration
7.3.2 Two categories of practice:
Mechanical practice and meaningful
practice
Mechanical practice
Mechanical practice involves activities
that are aimed at form accuracy.
e.g.
Substitution drills:
Transformation drills:
Substitute the underlined part with the proper
forms of the given words:
green lawn
clean house
pretty garden
nice flowers
Mrs Green has the largest house in town.
Change the following sentences into the
past tense. Use the adverbs given in the
brackets.
Now
he lives in London. (last year, Paris)
We have English and maths today.
(yesterday, music and P. E.)
He usually gets up at seven.
(this morning, eight)
Questions for discussion
What
is the purpose of mechanical
practice?
What are the advantages and
disadvantage of mechanical practice?
Meaningful practice
In
meaningful practice the focus is on the
production, comprehension or
exchange of meaning, though the
students keep an eye on the way newly
learned structures are used in the
process.
e.g. After the presentation and mechanical
practice of adjective comparatives and
superlatives:
Pair work: Look at the table below. Rank the
items on the left column according to the
criteria listed on the top.
Cheap Healthy Tasty
Beer
Water
Fruit
Cigaret
tes
Alcohol
Milk
Fattenin Importa
g
nt
The students may come up with:
I think beer is cheaper than fruit.
No, no, I think fruit is cheaper than
beer.
Questions for discussion
What
are the advantages of meaningful
practice?
Does it have any possible disadvantages?
A teaching practice task for you
Suppose
you have just presented the
simple past tense to a group of Junior 2
students. Design a mechanical practice
activity and a meaningful practice
activity. Write out the steps and give a
mini demonstration in your practice
group.(p.111)
There is no clear-cut distinction
between mechanical practice and
meaningful practice.
e.g.
Chain of events
Teacher: Now lets play a game. The first
student starts a sentence with a second
conditional clause. The next student takes the
result of the sentence, reforms it into another
condition and suggests a further result.
For example, the first student says If I had a
million dollars, I would buy a yacht. The
second students says If I bought a yacht, I
would go for a sail.
The students may come up with:
If
I went for a sail, there might be a
storm.
If there were a storm, my yacht would
sink.
If my yacht sank, I would die.
If I died, my parents would cry.
Using prompts for practice
Practice based on prompts is usually meaningful
practice.
Using picture prompts.
Using mime or gestures as prompts.
Using information sheet as prompts.
Using key phrase or key words as prompts.
Using chained phrases for story telling.
Using created situations.
Using information sheet as prompts
Names
Favourit
e
subjects
Favourit
e sports
Favourit
e food
Hobbies
Lily
Maths
basketba
ll
pork
music
Susan
Chinese
Pingpong
eggs
reading
David
English
football
icecream
collectin
g stamps
Teacher: What about you? Tell your neighbour.
Adopted activity for
using information sheet as prompts
Table for S1
Names
Favourite
subjects
Lily
Favourite
sports
Favourite
food
basketball
Susan
Chinese
David
English
football
Names
Favourite
subjects
Favourite
sports
Lily
Maths
Hobbies
music
eggs
reading
Favourite
food
Hobbies
Table for S2
Susan
David
pork
Ping-pong
icecream
collecting
stamps
Using created situations: for
simulative communication
Your
are a stranger in this town. You want to
buy some fruit, you want to post a letter, and
you also want to see a movie at night. Ask
about the places.
There
was a robbery yesterday in the
neighbourhood. A policeman is asking some
questions to three of the neighbours, A, B, and C.
A: at work; came back at 6:30 p.m.; did not
see anybody.
B: a student; came back at 4:30 p.m.; saw a
young man going upstairs
C: an old man; stayed at home; heard some
strange noise at 5:00 p.m.; came out to find
a tall young man
Summary of Unit 7
Perhaps there will never be a solution to the
debate on the value of teaching grammar,
because language teaching and learning
contexts vary so greatly.
It should be noted that learning grammar
itself is not the ultimate goal of learning
English.
The understanding of how to teach grammar
is as controversial as that of the value
of teaching grammar.
We believe that both mechanical practice and
meaningful practice are necessary.
Some suggestions about teaching
grammar
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Teach only those rules that are simple and typical.
Teach useful and important grammar points.
Teach grammar in context.
Use visible instruments such as charts, tables,
diagrams, maps, drawings, and realia (pl. of realis)
to aid understanding;
Avoid difficult grammatical terminologies as much
as possible.
Allow enough opportunities for practice.
Live with the students mistakes and errors.
Homework
What are the major types of grammar
presentation methods?
What are the major types of grammar
practice activities?
