1 / 9

Teaching grammar

Teaching grammar. Key terms. Grammar is commonly defined as the way words are put together to make correct sentences. A specific instance of grammar is usually called a structure .

teige
Download Presentation

Teaching grammar

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Teaching grammar

  2. Key terms Grammar is commonly defined as the way words are put together to make correct sentences. A specific instance of grammar is usually called a structure. The teaching of grammar does not necessarily help people to use the language. It is because language is used to perform certain functions (e.g. introducing, suggesting, apologizing, expressing likes/dislikes) When presenting a structure, it is essential to: • show the meaning and usage of the structure • show how the structure is formed

  3. Some functions can be expressed by a range of different structures, e.g. intention can be expressed by I am going to, I am planning to, I intend to. Teaching a grammatical structure is not sufficient on its own. Students should be more aware of why they are practicing particular structures: e.g. modal verbsnot learned as “useful structures” but rather aslanguage tools for expressing permission, possibility, etc.

  4. Different approaches to teaching grammar The grammar translation method (explicit) x communicative language teaching (implicit) A deductive approach: the rule is presented and then practised An inductive approach: the rule is inferred through some kind of guided discovery

  5. Grammar and young learners • In the Czech Republic, the teaching of grammar has a deep-rooted tradition (rules are essential for the mastery of an L2, grammar-based tests…). • To what extent can grammar teaching benefit young learners? “Although formal teaching of grammar isnot usually a major objectivein the young learners’ classroom, teachers can most usefullycontributeto children’s understanding of grammarby using form-focused techniques in meaningful and interesting contexts.” Brewster, Ellis: The Primary English Teacher’s Guide, p. 93/94

  6. Initial stages • holistic learning of languge chunks • initial grammatical patterns are learned implicitly by meeting language in thecontextof e.g. lesson routines, games, stories and rhymes • children can transfer these chunks to new contexts and use them creatively (Can I go to the toilet? → Can I go to the outside? (sic) )

  7. Moving on to explicit grammar work • unlikely to be appropriate before the ages of 8-10 (depends on the educational context, children’s cognitive maturity, number of hours/years of L2 instruction) • must correspond with work and concepts covered in L1 grammar lessons (Are the children familiar with what a noun / tense / plural, etc. is?)

  8. Language awareness • encouraging observation about how English works as a system (discovery approach: guessing, hypothesizing, treating L2 as a logical puzzle) • noticing particular language patterns and contrasting these with L1 forms • observations alone do not ensure that children can apply the new features → must be accompanied by plenty of practice; regular recycling of grammatical patterns and forms

  9. Articles Making Grammar Memorablehttp://www.hltmag.co.uk/dec08/mart03.htm • how to personalize grammar, create grammatical mnemonics Reintroducing Grammar http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/uk-publishers/oup/reintroducing-grammar - message-focus vs. form focus teaching

More Related