GRAMMAR IN LANGUAGE TEACH ING

To Teach or Not to Teach

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Ques9ons:

1. What is Grammar? 2. How is Grammar learnt? 3. How should Grammar be taught?

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Grammar Pain!

One day an English grammar teacher came to the class looking ill. A student asked, What is the maFer? Tense, answered the teacher. The student paused, then conJnued, What was the maFer? What has been the maFer? What might have been the maFer?

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What is Grammar? The lies are all correct; true statements are wrong! I am not an old man yet. I am younger than some of you. Next year I will be twenty six. I telling a lie.* I hope you have understood myself.* It seem that you think I am telling lies.* I am serious quite.* 08/04/14 Eskay 4

SomeJmes Correct Statements are Wrong Too!

A. You are a brave person! B. Am I telling a lie?

C. Are you coming this evening? D. I hope you understand me. E. I am feeling quite unwell. F. You should work hard.

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The Murder of English Language in Schools

Physical Instructor: You, three of you stand together, separately!

Class Teacher: Tomorrow, I want to meet your parents, especially, Mother and Father.

Geography Teacher: Please hang that map on the wall or else Ill hang myself.

English Teacher: Why are you looking at the monkeys outside when Im in the class!

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Grammar involves Knowledge of word order (statements, quesJons, negaJves

etc.) Knowledge of grammaJcal facts and rules (verb forms,

plurals, preposiJons etc.) Knowledge of form and funcJon (Can I/May I/ Might I

.* etc.) Knowledge of grammar of spoken and wriFen sentences

(Hi!/How do you do? Etc.) Knowledge about how words, expressions should be used. Knowledge about appropriateness of language being used. u WHAT TO SAY WHEN AND HOW. 08/04/14 Eskay 7

How Did You Pick Up English Grammar?

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How does one learn grammar? L1 and L2 speakers learn it dierently L1 speakers through exposure and use without realizing that they are acquiring grammar.

L2 learners in a classroom learn from: - Teacher/s - Lessons - Grammar acJviJes - Grammar resource books

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Teaching Grammar: Opposing Views 1. PracJce makes Perfect Grammar pracJce makes a signicant contribuJon to language learning. Learning grammar, especially for second language learners, does require some explicit teaching.

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Teaching Grammar: Opposing Views

2. Teaching grammar has liFle value Grammar is best acquired implicitly, through plenty of comprehensible input. (listening and reading)

GrammaJcal structures are learnt in a xed natural order irrespecJve of the order in which they are taught.

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Teaching Grammar: Opposing Views

Lets Compromise: An EclecJc View We cannot ignore grammar teaching completely; most course books and teachers sJll provide grammar inputs.

There is place for explicit explanaJon and pracJce of grammar in English courses as well as in providing our students with opportuniJes to use it for communicaJve purposes.

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Helping Learners Understand Grammar

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How much Grammar should a Primary School Teacher Know?

As a language teacher you need a sound knowledge of grammar so that you can: Understand the grammar items in the syllabus and

select appropriate language forms for teaching; Grade and sequence the grammar items appropriately; Integrate grammar with the teaching of the language

skills (listening, speaking, reading, wriJng); Select appropriate techniques for presenJng grammar

items; IdenJfy and analyze students errors and provide

feedback and correcJon. 08/04/14 Eskay 14

Which of these appear correct?

Does he enjoy to paint? Does he enjoy painJng? My teacher was not well since a week. My teacher was not well for a week. Esah is knowing the answer. Esah knows the answer.

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How should one teach Grammar?

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Teaching of Grammar: Conic9ng Views vWithout explicit teaching of grammar, there can be no

language learning. It is the backbone of the whole process.

vWhether you like it or not grammar is important. vGrammar does play a role in communicaJng our ideas

clearly. uIf our purpose is teaching students communicaJon skills,

grammar is of no real use. uGrammar should not be taught directly. It is best learnt

by exposure to the target language. uIts a waste of Jme teaching grammar it only confuses

the students. 08/04/14 Eskay 17

Grammar in the KBSR and KBSM

Grammar is to be incorporated into the four language skills and should be taught in context and in a meaningful way. However, teachers may also teach the grammar items specically, if they feel it is necessary to do so and later integrate them with the other skills.

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Integra9ng Grammar: Two Approaches

The Structural Approach Uses grammar as the guiding principle to grade and sequence the syllabus and then works with skills, funcJons and forms

The CommunicaJve Approach Uses communicaJve funcJons or themes as the guiding principle and then ts in grammar according to learner needs and level of understanding

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The Structural Approach

Grammar items Text

This/That These/Those

This is an apple. That is a window. These are apples. Those are bananas.

is/am/are I am a boy. She is a girl. He is my father. These are my friends.

NegaJve forms This is not an apple. This is a banana. I am a boy. I am not a girl. 08/04/14 Eskay 20

The Communica9ve Approach

Message forms/Genre

FuncJons Grammar

Story DescripJon of places Messages

Talking of events in the past, following sequence of events Describing Making requests and responses

Simple past tense, sequence connectors AdjecJves, adverbs of place, preposiJons, simple present tense Modals: can, could, etc.

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Problems in Teaching English Grammar

Students do not nd grammar interesJng. Teaching grammar is complicated because there is a mismatch between form and funcJon.

It is dicult to understand grammaJcal rules because for every rule, there is an excepJon too.

It is dicult for learners to master the grammar of a second language because of interference from the mother tongue

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Strategies for Teaching Grammar

Be meaningful Be purposeful Provide plenty of pracJce Provide variety Encourage acJve parJcipaJon Use a mulJmedia approach

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Complexity of the Grammar Item

Introduce regular forms rst What should be taught rst? Past tense forms of verbs work / study/ write/ read?

ArJcles a /an or the? Simple adjecJves or adjecJve degrees? 08/04/14 Eskay 24

Usefulness of the Grammar Item

Choose the ones most suitable to the level What would be more appropriate to teach Year 2 students: Subject- Verb agreement: is/am/are and was/were or either or/neither nor?

Use of have to indicate possession or its use to express the relevance of a past acJon?

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Teachability

Choose a grammar item that can be easily taught and integrated with language skills Present progressive tense to indicate the acJon taking place now

Simple present tense to indicate habitual acJon

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Integra9ng Grammar with other language skills

The principle of integraJon requires that the four language skills, grammar items/sentence paFerns, the sound system and vocabulary be integrated and taught as a whole, wherever possible.

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ACTIVITIES

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Stages of a Grammar Lesson 1. PresentaJon

IntroducJon to new language through spoken or wriFen text

2. Focused pracJce Explicit form-based exercises to ensure students can produce new items accurately

3. CommunicaJve use Meaningful acJviJes to allow students to use new language in an appropriate context

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PresentaJon Techniques: Flip Cards

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PresentaJon techniques: SubsJtuJon Tables

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PracJce AcJvity

Two friends were walking together in a eld when _____ saw a bear. One of _____ ran o, climbed a tree and hid in the branches. There wasnt room in the small tree for ____ friend. The friend knew ____ could not ght the bear by _____ , and so ____ lay down in the eld and pretended to be dead.

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PracJce AcJvity

Two friends (walk) _____ together in a eld when they (see) _____ a bear. One of them (run) _____ o, (climb) _____ a tree and (hide) _____ in the branches. There wasnt room in the small tree for his friend. The friend (know) _____ he (cannot ght) _____ a bear by himself, and so he (lie) _____ down in the eld and (pretend) _____ to be dead. 08/04/14 Eskay 33

PracJce AcJvity

Two friends were walking together in ____ eld when they saw _____ bear. One of them ran o, climbed ____ tree and hid in ____ branches. There wasnt room in _____ small tree for his friend. ____ friend knew he could not ght _____ bear by himself, and so he lay down in ____ eld and pretended to be dead.

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CommunicaJve AcJviJes

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Ac9vity 1: The Three Approaches to Teaching Grammar Make notes on the three approaches to presenJng grammar items discussed in the textbook, Chitravelu et. al. (2005). The three approaches discussed are: 1. DidacJc (page 207-8) 2. Discovery (page 209) 3. Comic story (page 210) You may be asked quesJons on these approaches in the Tutorial session this week.

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Ac9vity 2: Presen9ng and Providing Prac9ce in Grammar Items Refer to ELT Methodology: Principles and Prac=ce, pages 212 228. Work in three groups and each group should study and complete the notes on these three types of grammar acJviJes: 1. PresentaJon techniques 2. Focused pracJce 3. CommunicaJve pracJce Present your work in the Tutorial session this week.

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Presenta9on Techniques

1. Using ashcards 2. _______________ 3. Using wall charts 4. _______________ 5. Using sliding sentence strips 6. _______________________

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Focused Prac9ce

1. Drills 2. ______ 3. Jazz chants 4. __________ 5. Gap lling exercises 6. ______________ 7. Recombining acJviJes 8. _________________

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Communica9ve Prac9ce 1. Problem solving 2. _____________ 3. Using songs and rhymes 4. ___________________ 5. Games 6. ___________ 7. Poems 8. ______________ 9. Role play 10. ______________ 11. EdiJng and reformulaJon

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TUTORIAL ACTIVITIES

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ACTIVITY 1

How much grammar should a primary school teacher know?

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How to answer this ques9on?

S: Teacher, I wrote Did you went to SiJ Nilans party yesterday. You have marked it as wrong and made a comment, Tense agreement, but I dont understand what you mean.

T: .

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Ac9vity 1: Work in your group and decide how to explain the grammar errors to students? (15 mins.)

1. He is not like chocolate.* 2. Did you went to Rahims party.* 3. My parents will visit me on June.* 4. I came in a bus.* 5. There are many new furniture in my house.* 6. Can you bring me to your house?* 7. The students will used plasJc bags to decorate

their classroom.* 8. I like this two types of chicken preparaJons.* 08/04/14 Eskay 44

How to Explain the Errors to Students?

9. You can live here without no restricJons.* 10.But you will have to worked hard to live here.* 11.If he works hard he can gets sick.* 12.For an example, he may get fever.* 13.It usually occur whenever there is a weather

change.* 14.Tea with biscuits are my favourite drink.* 15.When I looked for children, they was not there.*

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Ac9vity 2: Group Work

Work in groups of 4-5 students (5 groups). Think of as many ways as you can of teaching any two of the following KSSR grammar topics: 1. Word order PosiJve and negaJve statements PosiJve and negaJves quesJons and responses Wh- quesJons and responses (What, Where, When, How, Why, Who, Whose, Which)

Making requests Giving instrucJons

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Group Work contd.

2. Connectors ConjuncJons, e.g. and, but, so, while, therefore, either or, neither . nor

Sequence connectors, e.g. rst, next, before, aCer 3. Verbs Simple present tense Simple past tense Simple future tense Present conJnuous tense Past conJnuous tense

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Group Work contd.

4. ArJcles 5. PreposiJons, e.g. in, on, out, under, beside

etc. 6. Nouns and pronouns 7. Modiers AdjecJves and adverbs

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