10/19/2015Dr. Hanaa El-Baz 1 Teaching Grammar Methodology L7.

04/20/23 Dr. Hanaa El-Baz 1

Teaching GrammarTeaching Grammar

Methodology L7


Teaching grammar or structureTeaching grammar or structure

When teaching any grammatical structure, attention should be given to two important elements :

-The form of the structure and -The function (meaning) of the structure

In many cases, Ss learn the form by heart but they fail to use the structure appropriately. Also while the form may be easy, the function or the meaning may be complicated.

For example the form of the present simple tense is easy, simply simple tense to express a habit at present or a fact seems abstract. On the contrary, the present continuous is more complicated in form , i.e. 'be' in present + v + ing \ Yet ,for children the present continuous tense is easy to use since it describes what is going on at this moment. Looking at a picture, the student ( will say, for example," he is kicking the ball".


Teaching grammar cont.Teaching grammar cont.

Another challenge that faces Ts when teaching grammar is that the effect of grammar instruction is not directly reflected on Ss' speaking or writing skills. When Ss' paragraphs are examined, even at the advanced levels, one rarely will read a passive sentence or a reported form. Most of the students' sentences are simple , few are compound and very few are complex.


How to present a new structure:How to present a new structure:

1- T establishes the situation:

Many teachers often forget this step, which may account for the inability of Ss to transfer their knowledge of grammar when they speak or when they write. Establishing the situation means creating the communicative context in which the structure is used appropriately. The situation can

be created by one of the following means: A- By visual aids: They include wall-charts. For example a

wall-chart can be used to teach the 'comparative adjective'. Another example is a chart that tells a story which contains a sequence of events (teaching tenses).


How to present a new structure cont.How to present a new structure cont.

B- Actions and facial expressions: For example, T can teach the present continuous tense by doing the following actions:

T ( walking forward and backward) I am walking. T ( writing something on the b b) I am writingT ( cleaning the bb) I am cleaning the bb.

To establish the situation for a structure point, at least three examples should be used To make this structure or grammatical point clear.



2-T models the structure and Ss repeat after him/her in chorus, in groups and individually.

3-T writes the examples on the bb, one by one, after being orally presented. T underlines the point in focus (colored markers).

4-T elicites the rule from students and gives formal and functional explanations. Formal explanation means describing how the rule is formed. Functional explanation means describing how the rule is used. Reference to Arabic grammar is useful but T should be cautious of false analogies. Contrastive analysis gives us much insight in this respect. In Arabic, for instance an adjective follows the noun and agrees with it in gender and in number. In English, however, an adjective precedes the noun and does not agree with the noun in any way.



5- Drill: one thing that will help Ss master a grammar point is adequate drill. The following sorts of drills are to be used:

a- Echoic repetition drill: T reads the examples on the bb one by one

and Ss repeat after her individually. b- Substitution drill: T gives prompts on word cards or picture cards .

Ss repeat, substituting the items on the cards for the underlined parts in the examples on the bb.

e-g T writes on the bb, then reads " This is a book. This is chalk." Sl This is a book. This is chalk.T (holding a picture of a bottle of milk) S2 This is milk or This is a bottle of milk. T (holding a picture of a flower) S3 This is a flower



c- Transformational drill: T gives Ss prompts on word cards to change the subject , the time word, the conjunction, or the voice of the sentence on the bb. For example, T raises a prompt card with a question mark. This means that the statement is to made a question. A word card with the word 'not' will indicate that an affirmative sentence is to be changed into a negative sentence.

e.g. T (reading the sentence from the bb) The train always arrives lateS1 The train always arrives lateT (holding the word card 'yesterday')S2 The train arrived late yesterday. T (holding the word card ' tomorrow' S3 The train will arrive late tomorrow.



6- Practice:a) T gives some prompts on picture cards and Ss

form examples using the structure in focus. T writes Ss' examples on the bb one after another.

b) In pairs and / or groups, Ss work on the accompanying exercise (s) in their activity books. T may ask Ss to work out some items of such exercises at home.

c) T also may give Ss handouts dealing with the structure in hand for more classroom and / or home practice

Teaching Grammar Inductively vs. DeductivelyTeaching Grammar Inductively vs. Deductively

Teaching grammar can be an inductive experience for students. This means students are given the context and then are presented with the grammar rules afterwards (inductive teaching). Some learners learn better this way while others need the rule in order to understand the rationale for the new grammatical structure (Deductive teaching).

Teaching grammar inductively has favourable implications for communicative competence, which involves a selection of the right grammatical terms to that of the appropriate setting. Learners need to know how to use language in context.


Integrative Grammar TeachingIntegrative Grammar Teaching

Integrative grammar teaching combines a form-based with a meaning-based focus. Form focused instruction and corrective feedback provided within the context of communicative interaction can contribute positively to second language development in both the short and long term.

Thus, integration of form and meaning is becoming increasingly important in current research. Having various students with different needs in the same group, or having various needs in the same students, an integrative grammar teaching approach creates optimal conditions for learning for everyone in the classroom. Students should be able to learn explicit grammar rules as well as have a chance to practice them in communication in the authentic contexts.


There are some mis-conceptions about There are some mis-conceptions about grammar teaching: grammar teaching:

1. Grammar is acquired naturally; it needs not be taught

It is true that some learners acquire second language grammar naturally without instruction. However, this is not true for all learners, especially for EFL/ESL learners. (Direct instruction is needed)

2. Grammar is a collection of meaningless forms.

This conception may have arisen because many people associate the term grammar with rules about linguistic form. However, grammar is not meaningless; it embodies the three dimensions of morpho-syntax (form), semantics (meaning), and pragmatics (use).

Consider the passive voice in English. It clearly has form (accuracy). It is composed of a form of the ‘be’ verb and the past participle. Sometimes it has the preposition ‘by’

1- The bank was robbed by a thief.


There are some mis-conceptions about grammar There are some mis-conceptions about grammar teaching cont.teaching cont.

The passive has a grammatical meaning. It is the focus construction. For example, the bank in sentence (1) is differently focused than it would be in the active sentence:

2- A thief robbed the bank.

When or why do we use the passive (Use or appropriateness)? When the receiver of the action is the theme or topic, when we do not know who the agent is, when we wish to deliberately conceal the identity of the agent, and when the agent is obvious and easily known from the context

To use the English passive voice accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately, EFL or ESL students must master all three dimensions. This is true of any grammatical structure.


There are some mis-conceptions about grammar There are some mis-conceptions about grammar teaching cont.teaching cont.

3. Grammar is boring.

This myth is derived from the impression that grammar can only be taught through repetition and other boring drills. Teaching grammar does not mean asking students to repeat models in a mindless way, and it does not mean memorizing rules. Such activities can be boring and do not necessarily teach grammar. This does not mean there is no place for drills, but drills should be used in a meaningful and purposeful way


4- Students have different learning styles and not all students can learn grammar.

some learners approach the language learning task as "rule formers." Such learners are accurate but halting (struggling) users of the target language. Others are "data gatherers," fluent but inaccurate producers of the target language. It may be true that learners approach language learning differently. However, there has been no research to show that some students are incapable of learning grammar. Students have different strengths and weaknesses. It is clear that all students can learn grammar as is evident from their mastery of their first language. As grammar is no different from anything else, it is likely that students will learn at different rates.


5. Grammar structures are learned one at a time.

This myth is untrue. Teachers may teach one grammar structure at a time, and students may focus on one at a time, but students do not master one at a time before going on to learn another. Students may give the appearance of having learned the present simple tense, for example, but when the present progressive is introduced, often their mastery of the present simple vanishes and their performance declines. This backsliding continues until the grammar they have internalized is restructured to reflect the distinct uses of the two tenses.

The End04/20/23 Dr. Hanaa El-Baz 16

10/19/2015Dr. Hanaa El-Baz 1 Teaching Grammar Methodology L7.

Documents

Transcript of 10/19/2015Dr. Hanaa El-Baz 1 Teaching Grammar Methodology L7.