Upload
karina-brugger
View
215
Download
2
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Faculdade de Letras
Inglês - Produção de Textos
Argumentative Essay
Classroom Methodology
Professor Herzila Bastos
Karina Helen Brugger
Belo Horizonte, 28 de dezembro de 2013
Grammar Teaching is Important in the Acquisition of English as a Second Language
Some people believe that hearing native speakers talking is enough to learn a second
language, however, a basis is necessary in order to understand how the structures of the
language are formed. Besides, native speakers commit mistakes during their speeches,
which can lead non-natives speaks to make the same mistakes if they don't have the
notion of what is and what is not grammatically acceptable.
Many people reached the conclusion that non-native speakers who study deeply English
grammar know more about its structure and rules than an average (High school student,
for example) native speaker.
Another argument in favor of grammar teaching is that, if a person needs a prove that
he/she has proficiency in English, to travel abroad or for academic purposes, for
example, he/she has to take a proficiency test. This kind of test is composed manly by
"structure and written expression" questions, which requires a high level of grammar
knowledge and writing skills.
People who aren't in favor of grammar teaching may say that you can just read texts
written by English native speakers, translate them to get the main idea and "copy" the
way they write, but that would probably fail in so many levels. First of all, to translate
you need to have grammar knowledge; second, the way a text is written may vary
according to its genre, its theme, its audience... So there is not a guarantee that this
strategy is going to work. Also, without understanding how the structures are formed
and master the language, you have no freedom to develop your own way of writing.
According to a study made by Pawet Scheffler and Marcin Cinciata and described in
their article Explict grammar rules and L2 acquisition, explicit grammar rules can
contribute to SLA (second language acquisition).
Bu what is the difference between explicit and implicit grammar rules? Ellis (apud
Schedffler and Cinciata, 2010, p 13) defines that:
Implicit knowledge is intuitive, procedural, systematically variable, and
automatic and thus available for use in fluent unplanned language use.
It is not verbalizable. According to some theorists, it is only learnable
before learners reach a critical age (e.g. puberty).
Explicit knowledge is conscious, declarative, anomalous, and inconsistent
(. . .) and is only accessible through controlled processing in planned
language use. It is verbalizable, in which case it entails semi-technical or
technical metalanguage. Like any type of factual knowledge, it is potentially
learnable at any age.
Through that definition, it is possible to find another argument in favor of grammar
teaching, it is applicable to any age; which goes against the idea that people can deduce
how the structures work, until a certain age, children don't have this capacity yet.
Therefore, in order to learn a second language properly, grammar is a necessary tool.
References
SCHEFFLER, Pawet & CINCIATA, Marcin. Explicit grammar rules and L2 acquisition. ELT Journal Volume 65/1 January 2011. Oxford University Press.
ELLIS, Rod. Interpretation-Based grammar teaching. Temple University Japan. System, Vol. 21, No. 1, p 69-78. Pergamon Press, 1993