PRACTICA 3

STUDY GUIDE: HOW TO TEACH GRAMMAR?

How to Teach Grammar

1) Explain the following pie chart:

 Form:
It is known that all languages in use can be analysed at each of these four levels: text,
sentence, word and sound. These levels constitute the forms that language takes.
Basically, the study of grammar consists of looking at the way these forms are arranged
and patterned.
Grammar is conventionally seen as the study of the syntax (order of words in a sentence)
and morphology (formation of words) of sentences. It is also seen as a set of rules that
govern how a language’s sentences are formed and which structures are possible in that
language.

 Meaning:
Due to meaning is conveyed simply at lexical or word level, language doesn’t have to work
very hard to make the meaning clear. For example, the language of early childhood is like
this: it’s essentially individual words strung together, but because it is centred in the here-
and-now, it is generally not difficult to interpret (baby talk). But there comes a time when
we want to express meanings for which simple words are not enough so we need to
employ rules of syntax and morphology and map these on the meaning-carrying words.
From this perspective, grammar is a tool for making meaning. The implication for language
teachers is that the learner’s attention needs to be focused not only on the forms of the
language, but on the meanings these forms convey.
There are two kinds of meaning which represent the two main purposes of language:
a) Language’s representational function: it is used to represent the world as we
experience it. In its representational role language reflects the way we perceive the world.
(For example, things encoded in verbs, subject, objects, adverbials, tense, aspect).
 b) Language’s interpersonal functions: it is used to influence how things happen in the
world, specifically in our relations with other people. This role of language is typically
reflected in the way we use grammar to ease the task of getting things done. These
grammatical categories are just some of the ways in which grammar is used to fine-tune
the meanings we wish to express, and for which words on their own are barely adequate.

 Use (functions):
When it comes to use, we need to talk about functions. These are the jobs we do with
language. They represent the speaker’s intention. They are common to all languages but
the way in which they are uttered changes.
When we process language, we are not only trying to make sense of the words and the
grammar; we are also trying to infer the function of what they are saying or writing.
In the mid-seventies, writers of language teaching materials attempted to move the
emphasis away from the learning of grammatical structures independent of their use, and
on to learning how to function in a language, how to communicate. It would be useful, it
was argued, to match forms with their functions. But in order to successfully match form
and function it is necessary to be able to read clues from the context to understand the
speaker’s meaning.
On this basis, the chart represents that in order to teach the grammar of a language in a
successful way, it is necessary to include the three elements: form, meaning and use
equally.
2)  What is input? And output?

Input: it is what learners are exposed to.

Output: it is what learners are expected to produce.

3)  Why do we say that the features of spoken and written grammar are different?

We say that the features of spoken and written grammar are different as they are used in different contexts
and with different purposes.

a)  Spoken grammar: the speaker tend to display language features appropriate to casual conversation
among friends. His/her vocabulary choices are characteristic of speech. The speaker may omit words, use
question tags and have sentences with two objects.
b)  Written grammar: The speaker’s contributions are typical of formal written language as his/her
vocabulary is commonly found in writing. In this case, syntactically complex constructions such as passive
structures and subordinate clauses are often used.

4) Explain why it is important to teach grammar.

The importance of grammar teaching has been a controversial topic for a long time. Although there are
many different points of view among theorists, teachers and learners, there are some accurate arguments
for putting grammar in the foreground in second language teaching.
One of them states that grammar is a description of the regularities in a language, and knowledge of these
regularities provides the learner with the means to generate a potentially enormous number of original
sentences. Thus, grammar is a kind of sentence-making machine.
Knowing about these regularities or set of rules, can help to reduce the apparent enormity of the language
learning task for both teachers and students. Making language digestible
Another claims that grammar is necessary in terms of intelligibility and appropriacy. This is particularly the
case for written language which needs to be more explicit than spoken language. That is why learners who
do not receive instruction in grammar usage are at risk of fossilising i.e. reaching a language plateau
beyond which is difficult to progress. As a result, many students decide to take language lessons, because
of a frustrating experience at trying to “pick up” a second language in a non-classroom setting, thus they
expect a more efficient and systematic learning experience.

5) Briefly explain why grammar should not be taught. Choose your top 3 arguments.

Arguments against of grammar teaching

The Communication Argument The Acquisition Argument The Lexical Chunks Argument

Communicative Approach or We all learn out first Vocabulary learning is

Communicative Language language without being largely item-learning. So too
Teaching (CLT) taught grammar rules. is the retention of whole
phrases, idioms, social
formulae, etc. in the form of
what are sometimes called
chunks of language.

It suggests that there is more to This argument received a Chunks are larger than
knowing a language than new impetus in the 1970s words but often less than
knowing its grammar. through the work of Stephen sentences. (E.g. excuse
Krashen. me? so far so good; if you
ask me; etc.)

From the 1970s on, theorists Krashen makes the Acquiring chunk of language
have been arguing that distinction between learning not only saves the learner
grammatical knowledge and acquisition: planning time in the cut-and-
(linguistic competence) is a)    Learning: it results from thrust of real interaction, but
merely one component of what formal instruction, typically seems to play a role in
they call communicative in grammar and is of limited language development too.
competence. use for real communication.
b)   Acquisition: it is a natural
process by which the first
language is picked up, and
by which other languages
are picked up solely through
Communicative competence contact with speakers of Many of the expressions
involves knowing how to use the those languages. It occurs that young children pick up
grammar and vocabulary of the when the learner is exposed are learned as chunks and
language to achieve to the right input in a stress- only later unpacked into
communicative goals, and free environment so that their component parts. It has
knowing how to do this in a innate learning capacities been argued that this
socially appropriate way. are triggered. process of analysing
previously stored chunks
plays an important role in
first language acquisition.
 There are two schools of A lexical approach promotes
thought which placed a high the learning of frequently
premium on putting the used and fairly formulaic
language to communicative use. expressions (e.g. Have you
They differ as to when they ever been…? Would you
should do this: mind…?) rather than the
a)    Shallow-end Approach: study of rather abstract
Learners learn a language in grammatical categories
order to use it. In other words, Success in a second such as the present perfect
they learn the rules and then language is due to or conditionals.
apply them in life-like acquisition, not learning.
communication.
b)   Deep-end Approach:
learners learn to communicate
by communicating. In this way,
by means of activities that
engage the learner in life-like Learnt knowledge can never
communication, the grammar become acquired
will be acquired virtually knowledge.
unconsciously.

6)   What is the difference between the deductive approach and the inductive approach? Which
one is the best for you? Consider advantages and disadvantages.

Deductive Approach (rule-driven): it starts with the presentation of a rule and is followed by examples in
which the rule is applied. In other words, the grammar rule is presented and the learner engages with it
through the study and manipulation of examples.

Inductive Approach (rule-discovery): it starts with some examples from which a rule is inferred; i.e. the
learner studies examples and from these examples derives an understanding of the rule.

Deductive Approach Inductive Approach

Advantages It gets straight to the point, and Rules learners discover for
can therefore be time-saving. themselves are more likely to fit
Many rules can be more simply their existing mental structures
explained rather than elicit from than rules they have been
examples. presented with. This is turn will
make the rules more meaningful,
 memorable and serviceable.

It respects the intelligence and The mental effort involved

maturity of many students, and ensures a greater degree of
acknowledges the role of cognitive depth which ensures
cognitive processes in language greater memorability.
acquisition.

It confirms many students' Students are more actively

expectations about classroom involved in the learning process,
learning, particularly for those rather than being simply passive
learners who have an analytical recipients. Therefore, they are
learning style. likely to be more attentive and
motivated.

It allows the teacher to deal with It is an approach which favours

language points as they come pattern-recognition and problem-
up, rather than having to solving abilities which suggests
anticipate and prepare them in that it is particularly suitable for
advance. learners who like this kind of
challenge.

Disadvantage Starting the lesson with a Working things out for themselves
s grammar presentation may be prepares students for greater self-
off-putting for some students. reliance and is therefore
They may not have sufficient conductive to learner autonomy.
metalanguage or they may not
be able to understand the
concepts involved.

Grammar explanation The time and energy spent in

encourages a teacher-fronted, working out rules may mislead
transmission-style classroom, students into believing that rules
i.e. teacher explanation is often are the objective of language
at the expense of student learning, rather than a means.
involvement and interaction.

Explanation is seldom as The time taken to work a rule may

memorable as other forms of be at the expense of the time
presentation, such as spent in putting the rule to some
demonstration. sort of productive practice.

Such an approach encourages Students may hypothesise the

the belief that learning a wrong rule, or their version of the
language is simply a case of rule may be either too broad or
knowing the rules. too narrow in its application.

It can place heavy demands on

teachers in planning a lesson.
They need to select and organise
the data carefully so as to guide
learners to an accurate
formulation of the rule, while also
ensuring the data is intelligible.

However carefully organised the

 data is, many language areas
such as aspect and modality
resist easy rule formulation.

It can frustrate students who, by

dint of their personal learning style
or their past learning experience
(or both), would prefer simply to
be told the rule.

From my point of view none of them is better than the other. Actually, I really like the inductive approach
process but I don’t think it is better than the deductive one. For me there should be a balance between
both of them, the teacher should choose one or the other according to the topic and the level of their
students.

7)      What’s the natural language acquisition?

The natural order of language acquisition states that all learners acquire grammatical items in a fairly
predictable order, and this happens irrespective of their mother tongue or the order in which they are
actually taught those structures. Research as regards natural order suggests that, since some grammar
items take longer to learn than others, teachers need not insist in immediate accuracy.

 The natural language acquisition established that there is a natural order of acquisition of
grammatical items, irrespective of the order in which they are taught.
 Noam Chomsky: there are universal principles of grammar that we are born with.
 The idea of an innate universal grammar helps explain similarities in the developmental
order in first language acquisition as well as in second language acquisition.
 The attempts to subvert the natural order by sticking rigidly to a traditional grammar
syllabus and insisting on immediate accuracy are foredoomed (Doom = to make someone or
something certain to fail, be destroyed, be extremely unhappy etc.)

8)   Why is it said that language is context-driven?

Language is context-sensitive i.e that in the absence of context it is very difficult to recover the intended
meaning of a single word or phrase.
Although language has traditionally been analysed and taught at the level of the sentence, real language
use rarely consists of sentences in isolation, but of groups of words or utterances (in the case of spoken
language) that form coherent texts. In real life we generally experience texts in their entirety and in their
context of use.
However, in classrooms language tends to become detached from both its co-text and its context of
situation. This happen because in order to look at grammar it is often easier to use examples taken out of
context. But taking words, sentences and texts out of context threatens their intelligibility.

9)   Explain the two implications to the text level view of Language.

The two implication to the text-view of Language are:

 If learners are going to be able to make sense of grammar, they will need to be exposed to
it in its real contexts of use, this means in texts (as authentic as possible)
 If learners are to achieve a functional command of a second language, they will need to be
able to understand and produce whole texts in the target language.
These are some reasons why Grammar is best taught and practised in context, this means using
whole texts as contexts for grammar teaching.
10)   What kind of texts can you use to teach grammar?

There are at least four possible sources of texts:

a) Coursebook: they tend to be specific tailored for ease of understanding and so as to display specific
features of grammar. This often gives them a slightly unreal air.

b) Authentic sources: they carry heavy linguistic load of unfamiliar vocabulary and syntactic complexity
which can make such texts impenetrable, and ultimately very demotivating for students.
A compromise position is to take authentic texts and to simplify them in ways which retain their
genuine flavour. Another alternative is to write classroom texts, but to make them engaging.

c) Teachers: these texts include the teacher’s story, the teacher’s travel plans, the teacher’s New
Year’s resolutions. They are likely to be of much more interest to the students than those of a
character in a coursebook.

d) Students: the student’s texts may be the most effective, since there is evidence to support the view
that the topics that learners raise in the classroom are more likely to be remembered than those
introduced by either teachers or coursebooks.

11)   Briefly explain the rules you have to take into account when teaching grammar. Include the rule
of Nurture too.

 The Role of Context: Teach grammar in context. If you have to take an item out of context
in order to draw attention to it, ensure that it is recontextualised as soon as possible. Similarly,
teach grammatical forms in association with their meanings.

 The Role of Use: Teach grammar in order to facilitate the learner’s comprehension and
production of real language, rather than as an end in itself.

 The Rule of Economy:To fulfil the rule of use, be economical. This means economising on
presentation time in order to provide maximum practice time.

 The Rule of Relevance: Teach only the grammar that students have problems with. This
means, start off by finding out what they already know. Exploit the common ground between L1 and
L2.

 The Rule of Nurture:Teaching doesn’t necessarily cause learning - not in any direct way.
Instead of teaching grammar, therefore, try to provide the right conditions for grammar learning.

 The Rule of Appropriacy:Interpret all the above rules according to the level, needs,
interests, expectation and learning styles of the students. This may mean giving a lot of prominence
to grammar, or it may mean never actually teaching grammar at all.

12)   What’s the book position about new teaching methods? Do you agree with it?

Lately, a good deal has been written about grammar revival. The sense that we are experimenting this
revival has been underlined by the emergence of two influential theoretical concepts:

Focus on form:
 Research suggests that without some attention to form, learners run the risk of
fossilisation.
  A focus on form does not necessarily mean a return to drill-and-repeat type methods of
teaching. Nor does it mean the use of an off-the-shelf grammar syllabus.
 A focus on form may simply mean correcting a mistake. In this sense, a focus on form is
compatible with a task-based approach.

Consciousness-raising:
 The learner’s role is not passive.
 Acquisition involves conscious processes, of which the most fundamental is attention.
 Helping learners attend to language items may help them acquire them.
 Pointing out features of the grammatical system is thus a form of consciousness-raising.
 It may not lead directly and instantly to the acquisition of the item in question. But it may
nevertheless trigger a train of mental processes that in time will result in accurate and appropriate
production.
 It does not necessarily entail production: it may simply exist at the level of understanding
and remembering.
 Consciousness-raising is the state of remembering, having understood something.

The arguments for a focus on form and for a consciousness-raising comprise the paying-attention-to-form
argument. That is to say, learning seems to be enhanced when the learner’s attention is directed to getting
the forms right, and when the learner’s attention is directed to features of the grammatical system. [...]
However, this doesn’t mean that grammar should be the goal of teaching, nor that a focus on form alone is
sufficient. The goal of the communicative movement (communicative competence) embraces more than
just grammar, and implies a focus on meaning as well. In this way, the teacher’s strategies should be
directed mainly at providing opportunities for authentic language use, employing grammar as a resource
rather than as an end in itself.