THE ROLE OF GRAMMAR TEACHING / FORMAL INSTRUCTION

IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Hartono, S.S., M.Pd.College of Languages

Sultan Agung Islamic University

Objectives

• Ss can understand what formal instruction plays in acquisition.

• Ss can understand the effects of learning and conscious rules in acquisition.

• Ss can understand the way to present rules for learning.

• Ss can understand what to do with errors.

Definition of term

• Grammar teaching or formal instruction is defined as the teaching of languages with the emphasis on focusing the learners’ attention on forms in order that they become conscious of the rules of those forms and eventually acquire the language.

• Similar terms referring to the same meaning are: instruction (Krashen, 1982), formal instruction (Lighbown and Spada, 1990), code-focused instruction (Doughty, 1991).

REMEMBER !!

Acquisitionvs.

Learning

The Role of Conscious Learning (Krashen’ s Monitor Model)

Conscious learning acts as an editor, as a Monitor, “correcting” the errors, or rather what the performer perceives to be errors, in the output of the required system.

This can happen before the sentence is spoken or written.

• Conscious knowledge is therefore, not responsible for fluency, it doesn’t initiate utterances.

According to Krashen, learning doesn’t “turn into” acquisition, based on the following reasons:1. We often see acquisition in cases where

learning never occurred.2. We also see learning that never seems to

become acquisition. 3. The fact that even the best learners master

only a small subset of the rules of a language.

THE PLACE OF GRAMMAR

Krashen uses the term ‘grammar’ as a synonym for conscious learning.

According to him, grammar has two possible roles:

1. As a monitor: 2. As a subject matter or for language

appreciation.

ISSUES IN RELATION TO TEACHING GRAMMAR FOR MONITOR USE

1. When the monitor is used: when the performer has time, as in writing and prepared speech, and he / she is thinking about correctness or focused on forms.

2. What can be monitored: all the rules that students can carry around in their heads as mental baggage and actually use in performance.

TYPES OF MONITOR USER

1. Monitor Over-user: performers who do attempts to think about and utilize conscious rules during their production.

2. Monitor under-user: the performer who does all self-correction by ‘feel’ and has no control of conscious grammar.

3. Incompetent monitor user: the performer who thinks s/he knows the rules but has them ( or at least many of them) are wrong.

PRESENTATION OF RULES

1. Deductive – inductive issueDeductive: the rules are given directly.

This approach is supported by cognitive-code teaching as Grammar Translation Method.

Inductive: Learners are asked to figure out the rules themselves.

The argument for this approach is “the best way to insure learning was for the student to work out the rule himself.

ACQUISITION AND INDUCTIVE LEARNING: SIMMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

Acquisition: - Data first, rule follows- Rule is subconscious- Focus on meaning- Slow process- Requires large amount of data

• Inductive Learning: - Data first, rule follows- Rule is conscious- Focus on form- May occur quickly - May occur after exposure to small amount of data

2. Sequencing and LearningGrammatical sequencing was undesirable when the goal is acquisition.

Sequencing should be based on- learnable- portable - not yet acquired.

ERROR CORRECTION

Henrickson (1978) lists the “five fundamental questions” concerning the error correction.

1. Should errors be corrected?2. If so, when should errors be corrected?3. Which learner errors should be corrected?4. How should learner errors be corrected?5. Who should correct learner errors?

Question 1

• When the goal is learning, errors should be corrected.

• Error correction is not of use for acquisition.

Question 2

• When there is time.• When it doesn’t interfere with communication

(no error correction in free conversation).• Correction is done in written work gramamr

exercises.

Question 3

• We should correct the “global” errors, errors that interfere with communication or impede with the intelligibility of message.

• Errors that are most stigmatized, that cause the most unfavorable reactions.

• Errors that occurs most frequently.

Question 4

• Providing the correct form / direct correction.• The discovery / inductive approach.