Teaching GrammarBy: David, Allison,

Chabely and Heather

Frame

● Objectives● What is grammar?● Implicit vs. explicit● Teachability hypothesis● Balance● Activities● Mistakes● Guidelines● Assessment

Objectives

● Students will have a better understanding of....o what grammar iso techniques and tips for teaching grammaro approaches to grammar activitieso methods for grammar error correctiono grammar assessment

What is Grammar?

Grammar is the system of a language.● Terms, parts of speech, parts of

sentenceo Terms: eg. definite articles, tense, passive

voice, etc.o Parts of speech: eg. nouns, verbs, adjectives,

pronouns, etc.o Parts of a sentence: eg. subject, direct object,

indirect object, etc.

Difference Between Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammar

● Descriptive grammar: refers to the structure of a language as it's actually used by speakers and writers/it is used in linguistics to analyze languages and present a real picture of what the language really is

● Prescriptive grammar: refers to the structure of a language as certain people think it should be used/it is used when learning or teaching how to write properly

Units of Language

● Largest unit of language= discourse or text

● Sentenceo set of words standing on their own as a sense

unito conclusion marked by a full stop

ex ? . !o many languages begin with a capital lettero include a verb

Continued

● Clauseo mini sentence o set of words which make a sense unito may not be concluded with a full stopo sentence can have several

ex: She left because it was late and she was tired.

● Phraseo shorter unit within a clauseo one or more words but fulfills a similar function as single

words ex verb phrase functions the same as a verb

Continued

● Wordo minimum normally separated formo in writing it appears as a stretch of letters

with a space on either side. not true for all languages

● Morphemeo part of a word that can be viewed as a distinct

component ex: free morpheme vs. bound

● walked, walk=free -ed=bound

Implicit Vs. Explicit

● Implicit learning● Explicit learning● Krashen

o Implicit with no explicit● Research (Norris & Ortega 2001)● Conclusion: Both is needed

Pienemann’s Teachability Hypotheis

● Grammatical structures are learned in a fixed order○ Study used with German language

students● Proposes consciousness raising

○ wait for learner to be developmentally ready

The Methods and Grammar

Explicit Implicit

● Grammar-translation ● The Direct Method● Audio-Lingual● Communicative approach● The Natural approach

Balance Between Simplicity and Accuracy

● If someone has difficulty expressing a certain concept/thought in a certain way, that person can just use other ways of saying those things.

● Do not be accurate to the point where someone cannot understand what you are saying and don’t be too simplistic where students may overgeneralize your statement o eg. college textbook vs children’s book

Continued

● It doesn’t matter how long you can make a sentence as long as it makes sense

o Example: My escort was an exceptionally genial sixty-seven-year-old man named Don Seely, an electrical engineer who said that he was between jobs and using the unwanted free time to volunteer his services to the Northern Kentucky Tea Party, the rally’s host organization, as a Webmaster.

Activities● The goal of practicing grammar is to get students to learn the

structures so that they can produce them correctly on their own.

● Students need to be able to produce the grammar without conscious monitoring in order to fully grasp the concept.

● The teacher works by providing activities to practice with, they get their students from knowing how the grammar works to being able to use it correctly in both form and communicative meaning.

● Activities should focus on both form and meaning and should provide context in which to use them.

Types of Grammar Practice

1. Awarenesso students are introduced to the structure

o given opportunities to encounter it within some kind of discourse

o do a task that focuses their attention on it’s form and/or meaning.

2. Controlled drillso learners produce examples of the structure, examples which are

predetermined by the teacher

o have to conform to very clear, closed-ended cues

3. Meaningful drillso controlled responses, learners have a limited choice

Continued

4. Guided, meaningful practiceo learners form sentences of their own according to a set patterno vocab they use is up to them

5. (Structured-based) free sentence compositiono learners are provided with a visual or situational cueo encouraged to compose their own response o instructed to use the structure

6. (Structure-based) discourse compositiono learners hold a discussion or write a passage to a given tasko directed to used some examples of the structure within the discourse

7. Free Discourseo similar to six, however learners are not given specific directions to use the

structureo the task is likely to elicit the structure

Mistakes ● Errors: consistent and based on a generalization● Mistakes: occasional, inconsistent slips ● During a lesson it is often hard to tell the

difference between the two.● Teachers pick up on mistakes intuitively ● The mistake may interfere with successful

communication or create the feeling of discomfort between the reader or hearer.

● Mistakes can be seen as a part of the learning process.

Tackling Mistakes● Stage 1: Gather Samples

o Gather student samples of writings, recordings, etc.

● Stage 2: Classifyingo While looking through samples note mistakes, try to

categorize them into types and pick out common ones.

● Stage 3: Orderingo Make a list of the most common mistakes, in rough order of

frequency.

Using the Information

● Invest more time into mistakes of grammatical structures that are difficult to produce.

● Although you can correct every single mistake, students may be unable to cope with the large amount of information.

● It is better to focus on “important” errors.● It is good practice to give ample activities in

which students can practice, that are detached from their original mistake.

Guidelines for Teaching Grammar● Provide examples in context before explanation● Both speak and write form● Teach both the form and the meaning● Use grammar terms only with advanced students so as not

to confuse● Some structures require explanation in L1● Parallel the L2 form with a similar structure in the L1● Provide an explicit rule and teach exceptions later once the

rule is grasped● Give examples and ask the students to identify the rule

themselves

Practical Tips

● Use pictures● Don’t just say “Do you understand?”● Ask for a summary of the lesson to

check for understanding● Teach early in the lesson

Assessment ● Close ended/open ended questions

o Close ended questions: can be answered with a yes or no

o There is a more definite answer to the question, restrictive, can be answered in a few words Pros: quick, little time investment Cons: incomplete responses, can be leading, pressure

o Open ended questions elicit more informationo These type of questions can lead to student analysis

and interpretation Pros: perceived as less threatening, allow for a free response, Cons: can be time consuming, unnecessary information, more effort

on the responder

Informal vs. Formal

● Informal assessmento presentations, projects, performances,

experiments, portfolios, interactions with students

● Formal assessmento standard tests, end of chapter tests,

predetermined material that is either right or wrong

Informal Assessment

● Stop Light Methodo This method can work with any class you’re

teaching

● Exit Ticketo example: If you were teaching past tense you

would have a list of verbs they would have to conjugate on their exit ticket.

● These methods allow you to test students in a stress free manner and help the teacher with planning future classes based on student responses.

Formal Assessment

● TOEFL Grammar Test Example● Standardized and formal tests are a

way to see how the student is doing in comparison to classmates.

● Also used in determining student grades.