Grammar is one
determining points of mastering English. It refers to a set the structural rules
of language which concerns with the grammar
in any given natural language. Since grammar is an important aspect in
learning English, the teacher’s teaching will
determine the learners’ success in learning the language. In this case,
the approaches of teaching grammar
should be the main focus in teaching and learning process. The teacher’s way in
delivering and guiding the learners also support the learners’ effort in
learner the language.
TEACHING GRAMMAR
A.
What is Grammar
Grammar
is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the "rules" of a language; but in
fact no language has rules. If we use the word "rules", we suggest
that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new
game. But languages did not start like that. Languages started by people making
sounds which evolved into words, phrases and sentences. No commonly-spoken
language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we call
"grammar" is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time. “Grammar is the business of taking a
language to pieces, to see how it works.”
(David Crystal)
B.
Why should we teach grammar?
1. Grammar is a kind of 'sentence-making
machine'. It follows that the teaching of grammar offers the learner the means
for potentially limitless linguistic creativity.
2. The teaching of grammar, it is argued,
serves as a corrective against the kind of ambiguity
3. By tidying language up and organising
it, grammar makes language digestible.
4. since grammar is a system of learnable
rules, it lends itself to a view of teaching and learning known as
transmission. grammar offers the teacher a structured system that can be taught
and tested in methodical steps.
C.
Presenting Grammar
1.
Approaches
There are two main
approaches to teaching grammar:
a.
Deductive approach: A
deductive approach starts with the presentation of a rule and is followed by
examples in which the rule is applied. The language is produced based on rule.
(the teacher gives the rule)
b.
Inductive approach: an
inductive approach is when the rule is inferred through some form of guided discovery.
(the teacher gives the students a means to discover the rule for themselves)
D.
How to teach grammar
1.
Teaching Grammar in Situational Contexts (Using a
generative situation)
The generative
Situation is a situation which the teacher sets up in the lesson in order to
“generate” several example sentences of a structure.
Situation or Context
|
Points of Grammar
|
Follow
a recipe or instructions from a boxed cake mix to bake a cake.
|
Imperative verb form
Present continuous tense
|
Give
directions to another person to get to a store, the post office, or a bank
using a map.
|
Present
tense Non-referential it
|
Discuss
plans for a class field trip to the zoo.
|
Future
tense If-clauses Conditional tense
|
Describe
a past vacation, weekend, etc.
|
Simple
past tense
Question formation
Forms
of verb to do
Word
order in negation
|
Role
play a shopping trip to buy a gift for a family member or friend.
|
May,
might Collective nouns and quantifiers (any, some, several, etc.)
|
Answer
information questions: Name, address, phone number, etc.
|
Present
tense of verb to be Possessive adjectives
|
Tell
someone how to find an object in your kitchen.
|
Locative
prepositions Modal verbs (can, may, should)
|
Fill out a medical history form.
Then role play a medical interview on a visit with a new doctor.
|
present
perfect tense Present perfect progressive.
|
Report
daily schedules of people (in the class, buses in the city, airline
schedules, trains, etc.)
|
Habitual
present
Personal
pronouns
Demonstrative adjectives
|
Extend
an invitation over the telephone to someone to come to a party
|
Would
like…Object-Verb word order Interrogative pronouns
|
Explain
rules and regulations to someone, i.e. rules for the school cafeteria;
doctor’s instructions to a sick patient
|
Modal
verbs: Can, must, should, ought to Adverbs of time & frequency
|
Report
a historical or actual past event and discuss conditions under which a
different outcome might have resulted
|
Past
conditional and past perfect tenses If clauses
|
React
to the burglary of your house or apartment in the presence of another person
upon discovery (active voice) and in making a police report (passive voice).
|
Present
perfect tense Contrast between active and passive voice Direct and indirect
object.
|
2.
Teaching grammar through texts
If learners are to
achieve a functional command of a second language, they will need to be able to
understand and produce not just isolated sentences, but whole texts in that
language. Language is context-sentitive; which is to say that an utterance
becomes fully intelligible only when it is placed in its context. Coursebook
texts tend to be specially tailored for ease of understanding and so as to
display specific features of grammar.
3.
Teaching Grammar through stories
Stories can be used for
both eliciting and illustrating grammar points. Grammar points can be
contexualized in stories that are absorbing and just plain fun if they are
selected with the interest of the class in mind, are told with a high degree of
energy, and involve the students. Students can help create stories and
impersonate characters in them. Stories should last from one to five minutes,
and the more exaggerated and bizarre they are, the more likely students will
remember the teaching points they illustrate.
4.
Teaching grammar through songs and rhymes
a.
Songs
Songs are one of the
most enchanting and culturally rich resources that can easily be used in
language classrooms. Songs offer a change from routine classroom activities.
They are precious resources to develop students abilities in listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. They can also be used to teach a variety of
language items such as sentence patterns, vocabulary, pronunciation, rhythm,
adjectives, and adverbs. Learning English through songs also provides a
non-threatening atmosphere for students, who usually are tense when speaking
English in a formal classroom setting.
b.
Poems
Poems, like songs,
contextualize a grammar lesson effectively. Since poetry is often spoken,
repeated, dealt with, and considered, it acts as an effective tool for
practicing a specific grammatical structure. Through repeating and considering
the poem, the grammatical structures become more deeply internalized. Thus,
poetry not only provides a rewarding resource for structured practice of
grammar, but also a proper basis for review. If a poem that exemplifies a
particular structure is also a good poem, it engages the eye, the ear and the
tongue simultaneously while also stimulating and moving us; this polymorphic
effect makes poetry easier to memorize than other things for many students.
E.
Some rules for teaching grammar
1.
The Rule 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 re-contextualized as soon as possible.
Similarly, teach grammatical forms in association with their meanings. The
choice of one grammatical form over another is always determined by the meaning
the speaker or writer wishes to convey.
2.
The Rule of Use: Teach
grammar in order to facilitate the learners' comprehension and production of
real language, rather than as an end in itself. Always provide opportunities
for learners to put the grammar to some communicative use.
3.
The Rule of Economy:
To fulfill the rule of use, be economical. This means economising on
presentation time in order to provide maximum practice time. With grammar, a
little can go a long way.
4.
The Rule of Relevance:
Teach only the grammar that students have problems with. This means, start off
by finding out what they already know. And don't assume that the grammar of
English is a wholly different system from the learner's mother tongue. Exploit
the common ground.
5.
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.
Some conditions:
a.
The input learners get: will
it be presented in such a way that the learners are likely to engage with it,
thus ensuring a reasonable chance of it becoming intake?
b.
Their
output: will it be of sufficient
quantity and/or quality to ensure that they have opportunities to develop both
accuracy and fluency?
c.
The feedback
they get: will it be of the type and quantity to ensure that some of their
attention is directed at form?
d.
Their
motivation: will the content and
design of the lesson be such that learners are motivated to attend to the
input, produce optimal output, and take account of the feedback?
6.
The Rule of Appropriacy:
Interpret all the above rules according to the level, needs, interests,
expectations 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 -
in any up-front way. But either way, it is your responsibility as a teacher to
know your grammar inside out.
