The Relevance of Grammar

Taking learners beyond ‘I watching TV’

Why do my learners need to learn grammar?

to aid comprehensibility / help them express themselves better, esp speaking/writing

not all communication is about lexis so knowing the rules of language structure is important, e.g. prepositions can come at the end of a sentence, English doesn’t have a future tense, there are particular verb patterns, ‘hope to do’ not ‘hope doing’

so that they don’t spend 15 years in beginner level class because they can’t get past ‘I watching TV, go shopping’

How do I ensure relevance?Context: is the topic relevant to my learners?

Authentic: are the materials relevant to my learners' lives and are the communicative practice activities realistic enough to enable transfer from classroom to real life?

Frequency: is it a grammar point that my learners will use often? simple past vs future perfect

Comprehensibility: learners need to be able to understand others and be understood. Am I addressing the areas of greatest concern for my learners?

Know the Text

What language is naturally generated?

pick a couple of examples and structure the language part of the lesson around that.

Earthquake Safety Poster

Context: Earthquake safety

Authentic: poster is currently displayed in many classrooms and offices

Language generated by text – (modals, giving advice - should/n’t, mustn/t)

Practice Activity: role play giving advice to a new NZer about what to do in an earthquake in NZ

Insurance Claim - spoken or written

Context: Dealing with Insurance

Authentic: Many learners have cars and houses and may need to deal with insurers

Language generated : present perfect simple ‘Have you made a claim in the last 5 years?…past continuous interrupted by past simple, ‘I was slowing down at the pedestrian crossing when a car crashed into me’.

Communicative Activity: role play an interview between client and insurance agent or giving a recount (oral) of an event in the past

Making a Special DishContext: FoodComm' Function: Giving instructions Language generated: Imperatives and linking words. Outcome: ‘Master Chef' style video to upload to YouTube or keep in

class/learner portfolio. Learner can transfer linguistic

knowledge of giving instruction to a number of contexts.