7/25/2019 Implications of Syntax in Teaching

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Implications of syntax in teaching

To learn another language we must be aware of how language is structured, as we can

generate a vast amount of sentences even with only basic structures. The most used

method for teaching is the audio-lingual in which we learn sentence patterns by adding

specific words to a certain sentence, then the student must repeat that structure in order

to remember it. This means that the ALM expects students to learn syntax without an

explicit lesson to detail the instructions to them, so every specific grammar rule they have

to revise is always implicit.

However, students find it difficult to learn with this method, because the pattern was

being practiced, but there wasnt a real reflection on the words as students didnt

understand them. For example, the student could give a good answer to a question, but

he didnt know what he said.

It is also important to mention that we dont learn a language by imitating what other

people say, but by using the surface structure to construct a meaning. This can be

explained by how children develop rules for language, they produce sentences that they

have never heard, and although they may be grammatically correct, they are facing an

exception, and thats why they are sometimes wrong at the time of producing language.

Whats more, it is important to state the role of the teacher. A teacher who understands

syntax can help students to acquire academic language, due to some structures are almost

never heard in casual talk, and only appear in academic texts.