TEACHING GRAMMAR

1
TEACHING GRAMMAR
2
Lets Talk Grammar

1. Reflect on your experience teaching grammar
2. Get into small groups and discuss the following
3. Define grammar
4. Why learn grammar?
5. What were some of the difficult grammar points
   for you as a learner?
6. What are some of the difficult grammar concepts
   to teach?
7. How do you teach grammar?

3
Warm up
Teacher Mini-Lesson Presentations
4
--er --more Comparative Adjectives
Tall Useful Colorful Fast
Short Interesting Small Expensive Slow
clean
5
Video activity! Shaping the Way we Teach!
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vwam5PscoSjU
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v8SIGP88nqbY
6
Use following the prompts in order to form
questions. You may add extra words.
7
1.Grammar/ What
2.learned/how/grammar
3.well/should/how/grammar/learned
8
1.What is Grammar? 2.How is grammar
learned? 3.How well should grammar be learned?
9
Warm up
What is Grammar?
10
Basic Points

• description of patterns speakers use to construct
  
• sentences
• stronger patterns - most nouns form plurals
• adding an s
• weaker pattern - when to use infinitive (to
  verb)
• or gerund (verb -ing)
• following another verb (student must memorize
• individual word situations)
• e.g., I am going to go to the movies.
• She ran singing in the rain

11
Basic Points
Constructing sentences in English does not
entirely depend on grammar rules. Speakers use
prefabricated blocks of language (set phrases and
sentences patterns) e.g., I have no idea what
youre talking about. or I dont have any idea
what you are talking about. (answer to students
both forms are correct)
12
Basic Points
Patterns such as If I were you, I would...
although this can be explained grammatically,
students just learn the pattern and apply
it. Students purpose for studying grammar should
be to find out how speakers of English construct
sentences, not a mastery of grammatical rules.
13
How is Grammar Learned ?
14
Learning Grammar
Look at how children learn grammar. It is a
process of trial, error and constant revision
until they learn the pattern. Adults and
students learn one small piece of grammar at a
time, they do not need to assimilate the entire
system.
15
Interlanguage
It is normal for students to go through an
interlanguage system, a period in which they have
incomplete control of the system. Also, students
need time to digest grammar input and try out
modifications in their interlanguage system
through practice.
16
How well should grammar be learned?
17
2 Ways to use grammar
Receptively - to comprehend listening and
reading Productively - to understand in
speaking and writing Usually student gain
receptive control before productive control
18
Teaching grammar
Inductive vs Deductive inductive
approach present the structure explain
it practice it Deductive approach - explain
first examples practice
19
Inductive vs. Deductive
inductive approach allows students to try out
structure first before you explain it. Some
students though, especially adults, are more
comfortable with the deductive approach.
20
Grammar Activities
21
Presentation

• use communicatively in conversation with students
• let students see or hear multiple examples
• allow opportunity for them to figure out
  structure
• find out how much they already know
• games or drills to illustrate the structure are a
  good way to introduce it
• the goal should be receptive
• production should be done when students seem
  ready and willing

22
Explanation
Lecture of grammatical points - Only a small
percentage will actually learn from a lecture
(different levels of understanding, lack of
foundation, to comprehend explanation, some
students will be bored Conscious knowledge of a
rule does not guarantee accurate production
23
Teaching explicit grammatical points helps
students if
they are embedded in meaningful
context contribute positively to communicative
goals promote accuracy within fluent,
communicative language do not overwhelm students
with linguistic terminology are as lively and
linguistically motivating as possible
24
Activity for the Past Tense
1992
1998
I graduated high school.
I started teaching English.
2003
2011
I finished my masters degree.
I moved to Brazil and met my wife.
25
Pointers on explanations

• Explain at the right level, so not to waste
  students time with what they already know
• keep explanations short and simple
• some points are better memorized than explained
  (e.g., irregular plurals)
• examples are much easier to understand than
  explanations
• use visuals (pictures, graphs, diagrams, timeline
  drawings of verb tenses, etc.)
• as appropriate, use L1 in explaining grammar
  points

26
Practice
Highly controlled - (fill in the blank, select
the correct answer, find the error, etc.)
allows the student to apply the structure in a
controlled situation (good at first step and to
check basic understanding) drawback - focuses
students on one problem to the exclusion of
others Moderately controlled - involves
communicative activities where students construct
their own sentences and express their own ideas
but still focused on the target structure
27
Practice

• Free Practice - involves solving multiple
  language problems at the same time
  Examples
• present continuous tense - talk about something
  at they watch it happen (action of a classmate /
  or videotape)
• relative clauses - have students discuss what
  kind of friends, movies, music, etc. they
  like.... Can be distinguished with adjectives
  (e.g., I like rich friends) or some ideas demand
  relative clauses (e.g., I like friends who do my
  homework for me.)
• practice the use of plural nouns as topics having
  students discuss the kinds of animals they like
  and why... (e.g., I like dogs because they are
  loyal.)

28
Use of Writing
serves as an intermediate step between applying a
grammatical rule in a discrete-point and quickly
applying it in speaking (productive skills,
speaking/writing) unlike speaking writing allows
students time to think about how to apply the
grammatical structure or use reference tools
29
Evaluating Grammar
Two issues in evaluating student grammar
competence do they know the target
structure can they apply their knowledge under
the conditions of normal use
30
Evaluating Grammar

• classic grammar test involves discrete-point
  items focused on grammar structure / problem
• allows teacher to assess basic student knowledge
  of grammar structure
• multiple choice
• fill in the blank
• correct the error
• rewriting

31
Basic Rules discrete- Point tests
have some check your items for ambiguity during
test construction use a large number of items
32
Advantages of discrete-point tests
easy to grade allows you to check if students
studies specific grammar points prepares students
for discrete-point tests
33
Disadvantages of discrete-point tests
cant tell you how well students can apply the
use of the grammatical structure in
communication backwash from heavily use of
discrete-point items is generally negative
(reinforces the concept that knowledge of grammar
theory is more important than applying it in
real-life situations)
34
Evaluating application of grammar
Two major advantages assesses how well students
know the grammar rules and whether they can apply
them (usually in writing / speaking) Backwash
from this type of testing encourages students to
learn how to apply their knowledge rather than
being satisfied to understand grammar theory
35
Problems during speaking tests
how to note whether students used target
structures how successful students were doing so
(rubrics can help, e.g., page 194) for higher
degrees of scoring precision (record or videotape
students and check more carefully) written work
is also good, it allows you to assess grammar
accuracy at your leisure you can design and use
writing task that are specifically designed to
practice particular grammatical structures
36
Answering grammar questions
teachers may not always no the answer to the
question they may not understand the question
itself Rules for answering questions ask them
to give an example of the question (makes
question clearer and helps in checking if student
answered the question correctly) when you dont
know the answer, it is best to confess you dont
know and find out the answer and provide it the
following class.
37
Practical Activities!

• Did you take my pen? No, I didnt. Scott did.
• Opposites (Write the opposites of these words)
• Good, typing, real, angry, Monday
• Write the opposite of this story The waitress
  came up to table number 3 and offered the tall
  man a menu. He chose and ordered. She went back
  to the kitchen to get what he ordered.

38

• Listen to my story. Its the opposite of what
  really happened
• My vacation I was sad to go on vacation to the
  mountains with my family. We arrived and the
  weather was very bad, no sun and cold. We all
  stood around doing nothing. After ten minutes we
  went home.
• Write what really happened.

39

• What grammar point were they teaching?
• Were they inductive or deductive?
• What were they focused on form, meaning, or use?

40
Wrap-Up

• Homework
• Portfolio Task 10
• Choose a grammar point to teach
• Design a lesson that uses inductive teaching to
  teach the point show
• How you provided examples (Was it in a reading
  or listening assignment?)
• How you let students discover the grammar point
  (and how you explained it.)
• How they practiced and reviewed.
  (pre/during/post activities)
• How you evaluated their mastery or understanding
  of the grammar point

41
Upcoming Events

• November 17- Test 4 and Bring Portfolio
• November 24- TOEIC Bridge II
• December 01-Portfolio showcase and certificate
  presentations