Unit 7 Teaching Grammar The role of grammar in language learning Grammar presentation Grammar practice

1. The role of grammar in language teaching 1.1 Grammar and communicative language ability

According to Hymes (1971) : Possibility/Feasibility/Appropriateness/Performance

According to Canale and Swain (1980)： Grammatical or linguistic competence/Sociocultural

competence /Discourse competence /Strategic competence

Hedge (2002):Linguistic competence, Pragmatic competence, Discourse competence,Strategic competenceFluency

1.2 Grammar and language proficiency

Most research has agreed that there is a positive role of instruction for grammar learning. grammar teaching “can enhance learner proficiency

and accuracy and facilitate the internalization of its syntactic system”.(Hinkel and Fotos, 2002)

instructed learners are found to outperform uninstructed learners in their rate of learning and level of achievement (Long, 1988).

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2.1 General approaches to grammar presentation 2.1.1 Extracts from lessons teaching "some" and "any"

Read the two extracts from lessons teaching "some" and "any", then think about the difference between the two presentations.

2.1.2 Deductive and inductive

2. Grammar presentation

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Deductive approach (演绎法 ) the teacher gives a grammatical explanation or rules first, and then

asks them to use the rules to do a set of exercises in order to understand the grammatical points.

Defects:1. It teaches grammar in an isolated way2. Little attention is paid to meaning;3. The practice is often mechanical.

Merits:1. It could be very successful with selected and motivated students.2. It could save time when students are confronted with a grammar rule which is

complex but which has to be learned .3. It may help to increase students’ confidence in those examinations which are

written with accuracy as the main criterion of success.

Inductive approach (归纳法） The teacher provides learners with authentic language data and induces the

learners to realise grammar rules (often) without any form of explicit explanation.

Defects: 1. It can be much more time-consuming.2. It may be more demanding on the teacher.3. Students might misform rules in their own minds.4. It might not suit the students who are preparing for the state examinations.

Merits:1. Students are actively involved, so they tend to remember the structure and their usage bette

r.2. Meeting the new structures in realistic contexts gives the students a much better

idea of their use, not just their form.3. Students can therefore become less dependent on the teacher.

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2.1.3 The guided discovery method (指导性发现法）Ss are presented with contextualised scenarios

illustrrasting a specific structure, then guided to discover the underlying rule of the

structuer as well as its meaning in context,and teacher explicitly teaches the target

structure.

Distinction between the inductive method and the guied discovery method

2.2 Specific grammar presentation techniquesuse realia or picutures use a video teachers demonstrate use a text use listening input

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Frederick William I, the King of Prussia, could never have imagined that his greatest gift to the Russian people would have such an amazing history. This gift was the Amber Room, which was given this name because several tons of amber was used to make it. The amber which was selected had a beautiful yellow-brown color like honey. The design of the room was in the fancy style popular in those days. It was also a treasure decorated with gold and jewels, which took the country’s best artists about ten years to make.

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In fact, the room was not made to be a gift. It was designed for the palace of Frederick I. However, the next King of Prussia, Frederick William I, to whom the amber room belonged, decided not to keep it. In 1716 he gave it to Peter the Great. In return, the Czar sent him a troop of his best soldiers. So the Amber Room became part of the Czar’s winter palace in St. Petersburg. About four meters long, the room served as a small reception hall for important visitors.

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Later, Catherine II had the Amber Room moved to a palace outside St.Petersburg where she spent her summers. She told her artists to add more details to it. In 1770 the room was completed in the way she wanted. Almost six hundred candles lit the room, and its mirrors and pictures shone like gold. Sadly, although the Amber Room was considered one of the wonders of the world, it is now missing.

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Teaching steps: 1. T explains what attributive clause is briefly.2. Ss select attributive clauses in the text. 3. Ss find out difference in forms between the two

kinds: restrictive and non-restrictive.4. T guides Ss to discover difference in meaning

between the two kinds.5. T explicitly summarizes the two types of

attributive clauses. ( or Ss do the work with the teacher’s guidance.)

6. …….

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1. This gift was the Amber Room, which was given this name because several tons of amber was used to make it.

2. The amber which was selected had a beautiful yellow-brown color like honey.

3. It was also a treasure decorated with gold and jewels, which took the country’s best artists about ten years to make.

4. However, the next King of Prussia, Frederick William I, to whom the amber room belonged, decided not to keep it.

5. Later, Catherine II had the Amber Room moved to a palace outside St.Petersburg where she spent her summers.

6. In 1770 the room was completed in the way she wanted.

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Ellis ---- teaching grammar using listening input

Listening Listening to notice Understanding the grammar point Checking Trying it out

Listen to comprehend Are you tired ? Everybody gets tired sometimes. When you are tired,

you shouldn’t go out at night. You should go to bed early for a few nights and you should exercise to stay healthy. You should also eat fruit an other healthy foods. You shouldn’t study when you are tired.

…… Trying it out: if your classmates have some health problems, what advice will

you give them? Have a toothache Have a sore throat Have a cold Can’t sleep Be stressed out …

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3.1 What is practice?Practice may be defined as any kind of engaging

with the language on the part of learner, usually under the teacher supervision, whose primary objective is to consolidate learning.

Factors that contribute to successful practice: p108 Pre-learning Volume and repetition Success-orientation Heterogeneity Teacher assistance Interest

3.Grammar practice

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3.2 Types of grammar practice Mechanical practice: aims at form accuracy (to

help the students memorize the form of the structure ) Repetition Substitution Expansion Transformation Combination Sentence making

Meaningful practice: aims at effective production (to help the students realize the functional use of structure) Using prompts

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Ur’s points on grammar teaching