Nation/state

Organisation other teachers, policies etc

TEACHER

COGNITION LEARNERS

Teacher cognition

Classroom practice

Professional

coursework Schooling

Elements and processes in language teacher cognition (Adapted from Borg, 2006)

What are your beliefs about language learning? Think about:

the goal of language learning

the key characteristics of the teaching and learning process

which area(s) of language and skills are emphasized

the role of the L1 in this methodology

how errors are dealt with

Borg, S. (2006) Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. London: Continuum

MA TESOL

What is grammar? Why do we need grammar? What do we need to know about grammar to

teach/learn it?

Work in a small group.

What is grammar?

Make a note of your thoughts.

.grammar is essentially a limited set of devices for expressing a few kinds of necessary meaning that cannot be conveyed by referential vocabulary alone.

Swan, M (2008), What is grammar? [online] Available at:

http://www.mikeswan.co.uk/elt-applied-linguistics/what-is-grammar.htm Accessed 1st September 2012

"Grammar is the study of all the contrasts of meaning that it is possible to make within sentences. The 'rules' of grammar tell us how. By one count, there are some 3,500 such rules in English.

Crystal, D. (2006) The Fight for English. Oxford: OUP

Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the way we and others use language. It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English. And it can help everyone--not only teachers of English, but teachers of anything, for all teaching is ultimately a matter of getting to grips with meaning.

Crystal, D. (2004) "In Word and Deed," TES Teacher

"What I know about grammar is its infinite power. To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence.

(Joan Didion)

Mental Grammar The knowledge of language stored in a persons mind (Cook 2008:19) Often referred to as linguistic or grammatical competence, taken from the work of Chomsky Native speakers know instinctively what sounds right but may not have explicit knowledge of the rules of the language

Prescriptive Grammar Grammar that prescribes what people should or should not say (Cook 2008:19) Example: You shouldnt end a sentence with a preposition Based on standards which are usually linked to a privileged group and therefore closely associated with class Has little relevance to the language classroom as most people take the view that we should teach what is done, not what should be done

Descriptive Grammar Describes how people actually use language Example: I am older than her And then she goes, Why should I? Its not my job. Often based on the use of concordance data from corpora Moves away from seeing language as right or wrong, but how it actually is

Pedagogic Grammar A descriptive grammar used for teaching and learning purposes Normally based on the standard form of a language which means that non-standard expressions are usually excluded e.g. I amnt, he aint Typically based on a formal grammar and organised by structural categories e.g. tenses etc.

This is 2860239. We are not at home right now. Please leave a message after the beep. Language can be analysed at 4 levels: Text Sentence Words Sounds

Thornbury 1999:1

This is 2860239. We are at home right now. Please leave a message after the beep.

A Coffee? B Please. A Milk? Sugar? B No milk. One sugar. Thanks. A Toast? B No thanks. A Juice? B Mmm. (Thornbury 2005:3)

In routine, predictable situations in which there is a shared knowledge and context, lexical language can be sufficient: Tickets!

Shared expectations and context reduce the need for grammar: the more context the less grammar

When moving from the immediate context, we need more grammar

(Thornbury 1999)

unreal

Here and now and

us real

(Thornbury 2005:7)

It cant handle complex situations Conveys only requests and affirmatives

(Swan, 2008)

Current methodologies promote communicative competence which focuses on how language is used to communicate. This focuses on:

What is possible E.g. Mary, John kissed her. What is appropriate E.g. Would you mind if I.? What is done E.g. He ran amok not He went amok

Pragmatic competence focuses on all possible uses of language rather than just communication e.g. private language use such as praying, writing a diary, making a shopping list

Grammatical structures have FORM and

are used to express MEANING in

context-appropriate USE

Larsen-Freeman

How is it formed? Form

What does it mean? Meaning

When/why is it used? Use

Spinster

Spinsters (pl) Form

Unmarried woman Meaning

Negative connotation left on the shelf Use

Should

Form

Meaning

Use

Should

I/you/we/they should

Should I/you/we/they?

I/you/we/they should not Form

Recommendation

Advice Meaning

To give advice or a recommendation in a polite way

Use

Form

Meaning

Use

Will + base verb Form

Describes a future action Meaning

promise Use

Sound/

spelling

Morphology

Semantics Syntax

Lexis

ContextFunction (Pragmatics)

Form Meaning

Use

Form

Cook, V. (2008) Second Language Learning and Language Teaching. 4th Ed. London: Hodder

Crystal, D. (2004) "In Word and Deed," TES Teacher Crystal, D. (2006) The Fight for English. Oxford: OUP Larsen-Freeman, D. (1997) Grammar and Its Teaching:

Challenging the Myths. [online] Available at: http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/larsen01.html

Swan, M (2008), What is grammar? [online] Available at http://www.mikeswan.co.uk/elt-applied-linguistics/what-is-grammar.htm Accessed 1st September 2012

Thornbury, S. (1999) How to Teach Grammar. London: Longman

Thornbury, S. (2005) Uncovering Grammar. Oxford: Macmillan