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Methods For Grammar Teaching. Katie Bain English Language Fellow. Agree or Disagree?. It is important to teach grammar rules and to make sure students use them correctly. Teaching grammar is not necessary. Students will get a feel for grammar as they use the language.
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Methods For Grammar Teaching KatieBain EnglishLanguageFellow
Agree or Disagree? • It is important to teach grammar rules and to make sure students use them correctly. • Teaching grammar is not necessary. Students will get a feel for grammar as they use the language. • When students make grammar mistakes, a teacher should always correct them. • When students make grammar mistakes, a teacher should rarely or never correct them. • I love grammar and feel comfortable with the idea of teaching it.
Objective • Participants will be exposed to theories and strategies for grammar instructionand think about how they will teach grammar in their classrooms!
Order of Presentation • Discuss issues surrounding grammar • Discuss different theories for teaching grammar • Discuss practical application of grammar teaching theories
IssuesSurroundingGrammar • Whyisgrammarimportant? • Whatconstitutes “correct” use of grammar? • Isgrammarinstructionnecessary? • Howshouldgrammar be taught?
Students’ FAQs • “WHY?” - • A good answer – “Because English is crazy! Remember students…focus on practice of the form. Think about the situations when you would use it, and practice conversations and writings to use that form!” • “Is that ALWAYS the case?” – • A good answer – “I never say ‘always.’ As you know… English is crazy… there is almost always an exception to the rule. As far as I know, that is usually the case, but there might be some times or situations when that rule does not apply.”
What is grammar? Grammar encompasses the rules that govern the way our communication system works.(Stathis and Gotsch, 2011)
Is grammar important? Why or why not? She want pen blue. • Is this sentence grammatically correct? • Is the meaning conveyed? • What are the good and bad results of using this sentence as it is written in different contexts: • With friends • On the job • In academia
Descriptive Grammar • Descriptive grammar looks at ways a language is actually spoken or written rather than ranking one style of English as better than another. According to Teschner and Evans(2007), “an utterance is grammatical if a language’s native speakers routinely say it and other native speakers of that language are able to understand it.” (Stathis and Gotsch, 2011)
Is grammar instruction necessary? • YES! “The research coalesces around a central idea—language learners need direct language practice and support and guidance to develop the social and academic language critical for academic success and life in general. The most recent research suggests that explicit grammar instruction is critically important to address the needs of a growing population of ‘long term English learners’.” (Stathis and Gotsch, 2011, p. 2) • NO! Many studies have shown that grammar instruction has no value for improving students’ language growth (Krashen, 1998).
Theories of GrammarInstruction • Explicit Instruction • ImplicitInstruction • Task-basedinstruction • Content/Theme-basedinstruction • Grammar in the context of writing
Things to consider when teaching grammar • Age of students • Literacy level of students • Educational background of students • Multiple intelligences One size does not fit all!
The Teachability Hypothesis • A grammar structure cannot be successfully taught unless the student is developmentally ready to acquire it. • For example, you would not teach the past perfect (i.e. “had eaten”) on the first day of class. (Ellis, 2002)
Explicit Instruction • Direct teacher interaction with students in which grammatical concepts are explained to students.
Implicit Instruction • Implicit instruction is a way of teaching grammatical concepts in which the students must learn from implied information. They may be given texts or activities that encourage them to make the discovery of grammar themselves.
Task-based Instruction • Task-based instruction with grammar is when grammatical concepts are taught and then students use new constructs to perform specific tasks. (interviews, reports, debates, etc.)
Content/Theme-based Instruction • Content Based Instruction (CBI) or Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is the idea that teachers can use themes and topics from other areas of study to be the platform on which teachers plan for and implement langauge lessons. • While learning about animal classification, for example, students may be taught the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives in order to describe different animals.
Grammar in the Context of Writing • Teaching grammar in the context writing is a way to focus on certain grammatical concepts and then having students focus on those concepts in their writing. As you correct student writing, you may correct errors only in the area of writing that you focused on for the students. Teach the terms that students need when they need them and when they will use them. -- Smith and • Wilhelm
A BalancedApproachtoGrammarInstruction • Grammarthroughmeaning and use: • Teachingthepast tense so thatstudents can retell a story. • Teachingcomparatives so thatstudents can write compare/contrastessays. • Teachingmodals so thatstudents can practiceconversationsaboutdegrees of certainty. • Grammar in thisway has a purpose, a goal, a meaning.
When should you correct grammar mistakes? • Enough to help students, but not so much that students are afraid to say anything because you’re going to correct them. • You might want to focus on correcting what you are teaching at that time, not on other aspects of grammar – one point at a time. • Consider compiling grammar mistakes and pointing them out at the end of a lesson or activity. This will allow for correction without singling out of one student.
Videos of GrammarTeaching • Watch and discussthese videos: • Explicit Teaching of Advanced Grammar • Board Race for Grammar Practice • The Great Kapok Tree
Grammar Mini-Lesson:Yes/No Questions • Review BE verb with warm-up. • Introduce Yes/No Questions and answers with a Jazz Chant. • Students write their own Jazz Chant with emotion words. • Go over Yes/No Questions with Betty Azar presentation • Students practice dialogues. • Students write and perform their own dialogues.
Jazz Chant Emotion Words Angry Mad Glad Excited Nervous Upset Are you happy? Yes, I’m happy. Yes, I am. Yes, I am. Are you sad? I’m not sad. No, I’m not. No, I’m not.
Let’s explore with Betty Azar! • http://azargrammar.com
The Bottom Line… Give students meaning-based, fun, interactive activities that they can use to practice grammar structures. Focus on form, and do your research, but don’t get bogged down with the “why” of grammar.
PracticalApplication of GrammarTheories • How can you use whatyou’velearnedtodaytochangeormodifyhowyouwillteachgrammar in yourclassroom?
Sources • (2004). Teaching grammar: Goals and techinques for teaching grammar. Retrieved from http://www.nclcr.org/essentials/grammar/goalsgram.htm • Krashen, S. J. (2003). Free voluntary reading: Still a very good idea. Retrived from http://wwwbcf.usc.edu/~genzuk/Free_Voluntary_Reading.Krashen.FVReading3-Krashen.pdf • Rayburn, S.E. (2008). Untapped potential: Teaching grammar in the context of writing. Retrieved from https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/srayburn • Savage, K.L., Bitterlin, G., Price, D. (2010). Grammar matters: Teaching grammar in adult ESL programs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Stathis, R. Gotsch, P. (2011). Explicit grammar instruction: The research basis for grammar gallery. Retrieved from http://www.grammargallery.org
Games in the Language Classroom Katie Bain English Language Fellow ktbain53@gmail.com elfellowkbain.wordpress.com
Questions to consider Why should we (or shouldn’t we) use games in the classroom? How should we select appropriate learning games? What are some games that could be helpful in the classroom? What other questions do you have?
Agree or Disagree? The classroom should be a serious and quiet place at all times so that students can learn the most possible. Games should be used every day. If you’re not sure what to do for your lesson, use a game! Children might feel nervous if they are asked to compete in a game, so you should not use games. Competition is not appropriate for the classroom. Competition is fun and can be used appropriately.
Why should we use games in the classroom? Games are FUN! They help to lower the affective filter. Games are MOTIVATING! They intrinsically pique interest as students learn through play. Games are CHALLENGING! They can challenge students to be responsible for their learning and knowledge in a new way. Games are INTERACTIVE! They inherently create situations in which students interact with each other. Games are REPETITIVE!
Objective Participants will understand how and why to use games and examine some examples of games that they might use in their classrooms.
Research Findings. • + • Enhance students’ understanding of a complex phenomena. • Students gain linguistic and communicative knowledge. • Students engage in rich social negotiations (Barab et al., 2007a, p. 71). • - • In some studies, only 50% of students enjoy playing certain games. • Students get tired over time if when students find out that games do not match their assessment test. • Games can serve as a distracting element instead of keeping students focused on a learning task • (Swingvy & Nilsson. 2011).
RESEARCH SUGGESTION • When designed bearing in mind instructional materials and curriculum content, games do yield good results.
How should we select appropriate learning games? Games should be used as practice of what has already been taught.
2. Plan for Assessment • How will you ask students to show what they have learned in your lesson? • What exactly will students be able to do at the end of the lesson?
3. Plan to use a game that will allow your students to meet that objective.
6. Leave time at the end for reflection on the game as a class.
Grammar Board Race Board Race Video Questions 1. What is the objective of the lesson? 2. Would you use this game in your classroom? 3. How could you change this game to make it more appropriate for your context?
Memory Game One student says a sentence. Students say the same sentence and then add something. Once someone forgets what was said or cannot add something, he or she is out of the game. Student 1: I went shopping. Student 2: I went shopping and bought a jacket. Student 3: I went shopping and bought a jacket and a cap. (Shaptoshvili, 2002)
Word Association Example: TOPIC: The Classroom: Student 1: chalk Student 2: book bag Student 3: tape recorder Student 4: ruler (Shaptoshvili, 2002)
