Module 4 TEACHING GRAMMAR

The aims of this session are to: discuss the role of grammar teaching in a modern approach to the teaching and learning of languages demonstrate ways in which grammar teaching can conform to the essential features of language teaching as presented here, and the elements associated with effective learning presented in Module 1 - How Students Learn explore ways in which the techniques experienced by participants during the introductory Russian lesson (in Module 3 - Experiencing a New Language) can be transferred to the teaching of advanced grammar identify ways of structuring a grammar lesson. Learning outcomes At the end of this session participants should be able to: understand the role of grammar teaching within a modern approach to language teaching and learning identify features of good practice in grammar teaching which contribute to effective learning structure a lesson within their particular language which leads from presentation and practice of a grammatical item within a meaningful context to its creative, independent use. For this module you will find: tutor script (pp. 67-69) OHTs (pp. 70-73) handouts (pp. 74-75) video tutors notes for video (pp. 76-77) You will need: video player overhead projector flipchart paper and pens or overhead transparencies and pens for the presentation facilities to type up and photocopy lesson plans for the whole group.
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Content 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Video of an advanced grammar lesson 4.3 Another idea for advanced grammar teaching 4.4 Grammar workshop with presentations 4.5 Suggested reading Approach After a brief introduction to the role of grammar within a modern approach to language teaching and learning, participants watch a video of an advanced grammar lesson, during which use of the subjunctive following certain phrases is introduced, revised and built into a communicative activity. The lesson is analysed in terms of its adherence to the key features of learning raised in earlier sessions and the essential features of language teaching. Participants then take part in an activity demonstrating the teaching of a grammatical point at advanced level. Finally, participants divide into language-based groups with the task of identifying a grammatical item within their language which might present difficulties for learners, and planning a lesson to introduce and practise it. This is then presented to the whole group, and lesson plans are collected for later distribution. Time required Tutor input Observation of video Discussion of video Grammar activity Grammar workshop Grammar presentations Total

10 minutes 30 minutes 20 minutes 15 minutes 25 minutes 20 minutes 2 hours

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Teaching Grammar
4.1 Introduction
This module will address ways of structuring an advanced level grammar lesson to build up students skills. The role of grammar in language learning and methods of teaching it are controversial issues. The following statements were made by student teachers in their learner diaries during their course of training to become language teachers:

OHT 4.1 The teaching of grammar is as important as the conversational skills p 70 OHT 4.2 I want to enable the students to solve a grammatical problem p 71
These statements emphasise that teaching grammar is as important as conversation; we need to teach both but they can be taught hand in hand. It is very difficult to get the balance right but it can be done if the focus is on developing skills by identifying patterns rather than on the mechanical application of given rules. I want to enable students to solve a grammatical problem. That means make them recognise the pattern and use it for their own purpose. Participants in the Russian lesson (Module 3 - Experiencing a New Language) experienced this for themselves. They recognised that words had to be changed according to a pattern, and they had to apply this pattern to create phrases they had not yet heard. They were not given a rule and then told to go away and practise it; learning rules in isolation in that way is a purely intellectual exercise, there is no internalisation of rules as useful patterns; furthermore, the elements of motivational context and learner activity are missing.

4.2 Video of an advanced grammar lesson

OHT 4.3 Essential features p 72 Handout 4.1 Grammar lesson worksheet p 74 Tutors notes 4.1 Tutors notes for grammar lesson pp. 76-77 A video of a French lesson is shown. The teacher is very skilful at building up structures, giving a prime example of how to structure an advanced grammar lesson. In this lesson, use of the subjunctive is being taught/revised. Vocabulary and phrases which will be needed are revised, then a context is set up in which the new item needs to be used. Participants need to be given the handout to guide them through the structure. Tutors may find the tutors notes useful for identifying key features of the lesson. There may be members of the teaching group who do not have sufficient French to understand the content of the lesson; if so, it may be useful for them too to have a copy of the teachers notes as a guide. In any case, the video does include subtitles.
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After watching the video, the course participants are asked how they thought the lesson was structured, with particular focus on questions from the handout, leading to answers to the following:

What was the context? What happened? How did the teacher structure the lesson? How did she check that they understood? Was any English used in the lesson? If so, by whom and for what purposes? How did she deal with errors? How did she emphasise points? How did she draw attention to the grammatical items? How did she reinforce the learning which had taken place? How did students react to the final activity? How does this lesson comply with the Essential features and the Elements associated with effective learning?

4.3 Another idea for advanced grammar teaching

OHT 4.4 Photograph of a car accident p 73 Group exercise in non-language specific pairs or threes. The class is shown a picture of a car accident. The groups then have to make up a story in English about why it happened, emphasising the mood/feelings of the characters involved and why they were in this place at this time, e.g. overslept because of a night out and in a hurry, had an argument and driving too fast, talking on their mobile phone. They have ten minutes. The stories are then presented to the rest of the class. After each presentation, they are asked What should he/she have done? and What should he/she not have done? With models given of the structure should have and should not have, the students are then invited to adapt their own story with the support of the teacher.

4.4 Grammar workshop with presentations

The class is split into language-specific groups. Each group is asked to identify a grammatical item that they think might be difficult to teach or with which students might have particular difficulty. They then have to construct a lesson, giving some ideas on how they would teach it and how they would facilitate student learning. They should make sure that there is: motivational context learner interaction with others
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learner activity a well structured knowledge base

and that they include: the stimuli they are going to use, e.g. pictures, text, etc., examples of language gradual introduction with careful steps and plenty of modelling precise questions and answers, what they want the students to say ways to personalise the lesson/grammar point. These ideas are then presented to the rest of the class by a spokesperson from each language group; the OHTs or pieces of flipchart paper which they have used are taken away and the lesson plans typed up and duplicated for all participants.

4.5 Suggested reading

Bygate M., Tonkyn A. & Williams E. (eds) (1994): Grammar and the Language Teacher. Prentice Hall, Hemel Hempstead. Engel D. & Myles F. (eds) (1996): Teaching Grammar: Perspectives in Higher Education. AFLS/CILT, London. Purcell S. (1997): Teaching Grammar Communicatively. CILT, London. Rendall H. (1998): Stimulating Grammatical Awareness. CILT, London.

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OHT 4.1

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The teaching of grammar is as important as the conversational skills but the two can be taught hand in hand, they are not two different entities. Getting the balance right is a difficult process; fluency in the oral is essential but without the correct patterns oral skills have less value.

PGCE Student, School of Education, University of Birmingham

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I want to enable the students to solve a grammatical problem, that means to make them recognise the pattern and use it for their own purpose.

PGCE Student, School of Education, University of Birmingham

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OHT 4.2

OHT 4.3

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Essential features
Association of words with objects or pictures rather than with home language Gradual introduction, careful steps to build up confidence, plenty of modelling because they will be able to repeat immediately but not necessarily remember for production Precise question and answer skills - need to tailor your questions to elicit the answer you require, particularly when using more complicated structures, longer sentences and changing from tu to je or du to ich, etc. (Was ist hier richtig, Was sagt man hier? Und hier?) Place the learning in a meaningful context and explain to students why they need it, e.g. to order coffee at break Personalise the learning so that students have the opportunity to express their own ideas, opinions and preferences, and thus make the language their own, not borrowed

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OHT 4.4

HANDOUT 4.1
Grammar Lesson Worksheet
Whilst you are watching the video, try to answer these questions: 1. What is the first activity undertaken, and what is its purpose?

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2.

How is meaning established?

3.

How is new vocabulary introduced to complement that produced?

4.

What correction techniques are used?

5.

How is knowledge/understanding of the vocabulary tested?

6.

How is the vocabulary then put into sentences?

7.

What happens when a student anticipates subjunctive use?

8.

What scenario is presented to introduce use of the subjunctive?

9.

How is the use of different forms introduced (i.e. vous form)?

10. How are the forms and essential phrases emphasised?

11.

How are all students made to practise the new forms?

12. How is the formation of the subjunctive taught/revised?

13. What support is given for future learning?

14. How are students then encouraged to use the forms creatively?

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Module 4 TEACHING GRAMMAR

The teaching of grammar is as important as the conversational skills but the two can be taught hand in hand, they are not two different entities. Getting the balance right is a difficult process; fluency in the oral is essential but without the correct patterns oral skills have less value.
PGCE Student, School of Education, University of Birmingham

I want to enable the students to solve a grammatical problem, that means to make them recognise the pattern and use it for their own purpose.
PGCE Student, School of Education, University of Birmingham

Essential features Association of words with objects or pictures rather than with home language Gradual introduction, careful steps to build up confidence, plenty of modelling because they will be able to repeat immediately but not necessarily remember for production Precise question and answer skills - need to tailor your questions to elicit the answer you require, particularly when using more complicated structures, longer sentences and changing from tu to je or du to ich, etc. (Was ist hier richtig, Was sagt man hier? Und hier?) Place the learning in a meaningful context and explain to students why they need it, e.g. to order coffee at break Personalise the learning so that students have the opportunity to express their own ideas, opinions and preferences, and thus make the language their own, not borrowed.

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HANDOUT 4.2

TUTORS NOTES 4.1

Tutors notes for grammar lesson
The advanced French grammar lesson takes place entirely in the target language; it is structured as follows: 1. Aims are set for the lesson: to learn/revise how to ask someone to do something; to learn/revise how to accept/refuse; to do this by using the subjunctive. A warm-up activity is given: students work in pairs, or however they want, to make a list of 10 household chores. The list of chores is collected, and written up on the white board. Understanding is checked by asking Quest-ce que cest en anglais? at intervals, and when an incorrect form is given, the teacher provides the correct form, sometimes asking the student to repeat this. Alternatives are also given. Students meanwhile copy down those which they did not have. OHT cut-outs are used to prompt more vocabulary. Apparently new phrases are repeated, understanding is checked (en anglais comment on dit?) and all of the students contributions are accepted, such as une chaussette (a sock) for washing hanging on the line, and on boit du caf after the meal, for wash up. Help is given to guide them towards correct forms. Students are told that they do not need to copy all this down, just listen. Knowledge of these collected phrases is tested by a rapid group recap with OHT cutouts - students chorus the words as they are shown. Students are then asked individually to practise asking someone to do one of these tasks, eg Alan, tu peux demander Rob de faire a? The students use the Peux-tu structure, all accept, and their compliance/politeness is commented on. One student, Martin, anticipates by creating a subjunctive sentence rather than using the can you structure. This is commented on, then some of the other students begin to use this too, though less perfectly and are encouraged but given the correct form. The teacher moves on to set up her scenario. Students have all agreed to the requests, so she asks them if they enjoy such tasks. She herself hates them, and tries to get her husband to do them, but has to use the subjunctive to ask him nicely. She then introduces the new phrases: Je voudrais bien que; jaimerais bien que; il faudrait que, which all require subjunctive to follow. These phrases are repeated slowly, carefully and with emphasis. Her husband replies negatively, making excuses, using il faut que which also needs to be followed by the subjunctive. She here introduces the subjunctive of je vais, jaille. The teacher moves on to say that since her husband doesnt help she has employed a femme de mnage, and to her she needs to use the polite vous form of address. She demonstrates this with examples which she repeats clearly and carefully.

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2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10. She then shows an OHT which lists the tu and vous forms of the subjunctive for students to see, just to look at.
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11. Students are then asked to practise the different forms, with named individuals requested to ask other named individuals to carry out tasks, using the vous form and the expressions which have been practised. The first student uses tu and is asked to self-correct. 12. Students are beginning to feel more confident and start to make up excuses, such as the one who cannot peel the potatoes because he has lost the knife. Some students are still a little hesitant with the forms but are encouraged and prompted, and when an incorrect form is given the student is asked to repeat the correct form. 13. Students are then asked if there is anything they can say about the formation of the subjunctive from the examples they see on the OHT. One asks if this should be done in French or English. He is told either, and persists in French, explaining that you remove the ent from the ils form of the present tense and add endings. The teacher checks that the others have understood, then repeats what he has said whilst writing an example on the board, using different colours to highlight different endings. She then asks if the endings seem familiar from other tenses which they know, and is told that the red endings are the imperfect tense. 14. A handout is then given out recapitulating the subjunctive. One sheet has a list of occasions when the subjunctive must be used, including the phrases which have been used in this lesson, and formation of the subjunctive for regular verbs. The second sheet shows the formation for irregular verbs. 15. A game activity is set up whereby students work in pairs as a couple (there is one threesome, which causes hilarity as the members are designated as the matresse de maison, her mari and the homme de mnage). Students have a game board with times on, a diary each with different appointments, a dice, counters and a set of cards with household chores. A player throws the dice, moves his or her counter to the appropriate time, picks up a card and asks his or her partner to carry out that activity at the specified time. The partner uses his or her diary (or imagination) to make excuses. The teacher helps out and encourages. Students seem to enjoy this activity. 16. The teacher brings the class together, complements them on their work but also points out a common error, as students have now been trying to use the subjunctive in situations other than those in which it is needed. She clarifies this and stops the lesson.

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