Teaching Grammar in the Language Classroom

Introduction:

• Grammar is central to the teaching and learning of languages. It is also one of the more difficult aspects of language to teach well.

In the past, a traditional classroom, with its emphasis on grammatical competence and explicit knowledge of language rules, did not provide occasions for learners to communicate…

Definition:

Grammar is considered to be the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the rules of a language, but in fact no language has rules. If we use the word "rules", we suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game….

The place of Grammar:

Do we need to study or to teach grammar to learn a language?

The short answer is “NO”. But if you are serious about learning a foreign language, the long answer is “Yes”. Grammar can help you to learn a language more quickly and more efficiently." It's important to think of grammar as something that can help you, like a friend. If your teacher engages you to learn grammar rules just accepting him because you will need it after. But the question is why ?.

Communicative Competence

Communicative competence has a great importance in our everyday life because:

It is through communication that we are able to improve our world, to prosper, and to enjoy it.

Communicative competence stresses the need to know how, when, and why to say what to whom.

Should grammar be taught inductively or deductively

• Do learners benefits from an inductive approach where various language form are practiced but where the learners are left to discover and induce rules and generalization their own? Or would they be better off being given a rule generation by the teacher or text book and allowed them to practice various instances of language to which the rules applies

• Generally, an aductive approach is currently more favour because:

1-it is more keeping with natural language acquisition ..

2-It allows students to get a communicative feel

for some aspect of language before getting possibly over whelmed by grammatical explanations

3-It builds more motivation by allowing students to discover rules rather than being told them

There may be occasional moments,of course when a deductive approach or a blend between the two is indeed more appropriate in practice.

Should we use grammanical explanations and technical terminology

Our historical roots placed a strong emphasis on grammatical explanations and on the terminology necessary to carry out those explanations.

Many foreign language learners in U.S have remarked that their first and only encounter with grammatical concepts was not in english,but in a foreigh language.

In CLT classes now.the use of grammatical explanations and terminology must be approached with care.

Teachers are sometimes eager to to display their hard earned meta-linguistic knowledge that they forget that their students are busy enough just getting the language itself.

Should grammar be tought in separate classes(grammar only)

The collective experience of the last two decades, combined with the research on the effectiveness of grammatical instructions,indicate the advisability of embedding grammatical techniques into general language courses rather than singling

Grammar out as a discrete skill and teaching it in a separate course.

Under certain condition, they can provide a useful function, especially for high intermediate to advanced learners.

Those conditions are:

1-controls the content of the grammar course

2-grammar is contextualizing in meaningful language

3-when certain grammatical principles that may be incorporate into test.

Should teachers correct grammatical errors

• Grammatical errors have an impact on learners,therefore,it is prudent for you to engage in such treatment and maximizing students self-correction.

Grammar techniques

Using songs Blank-filling:

Fill in the blank with the appropriate verb form:

1- If you wait for me, then I ______ (come) for you.

• 2- If the seas _________(run) dry, __________(turn) to dust and the sun __________(refuse) to rise,

• I would still find my way, by the light I see in your eyes.

Multiple-choice :

Sorry for the times i ( leave/left) you home

I (was/ am) on the road and you were alone.

Dialogues

• Students are asked to produce dialogues based on the grammatical elements of the song heard. They have to gain a considerable understanding of the grammatical components of the song before making meaningful dialogues.

Ex: Write eight to ten sentences of dialogues between two friends using expressions of apology

Sentence-making: this exercise is designed to practice some of the grammatical elements or structures of the sentences in the song.

• Ex: Each student should is required to give two sentences in the conditional type 1

Using simple drawings

• To illustrate prepositions.

To illustrate tenses

o he used to smoke.o She works in the market.o He is having his suppero He got up at six oclock

yesterday.o I have been teaching for a

long time.o I will visit my family next

week

• present tense

past tense future tense

Using games

• Teaching grammar using games can be more effective than using the traditional way.

• Teaching passive voice with games.

2- using dialogues

• using dialogues can be helpful in teaching possessive to beginnning level students.

• ask them to work in pairs to create a dialogue using possissives.

Excuse me, is this your Handbug?

Yes it’s mine thanks!

5- using written tasks

Teaching tenses

Simple Past : Ask students to write about their childhood.

Simple future: ask them to write about their plans for summer holiday.

Simple present: ask them to describe their best teacher.

My childhood

My plans for the summer holiday

My best teacher

Done by:

Elmahfoud AACHARI

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