WHAT IS GRAMMAR

Grammar is the way we arrange words to make proper sentences.

Grammar has two levels: Word level which covers the parts of speech and
the sentence level which is about the phrases, clauses, reported speech or in
short, syntax.
These two comprise the areas of study of grammar:
1) Morphology or word formation; how words are formed from smaller units
2) Syntax which studies the way in which phrases or clauses are structured out
of words
Importance of learning grammar
- Provides information that helps the reader’s comprehension. It is the
structure that that conveys the precise meaning from the writer to the
audience. It eliminates grammatical errors from writing and rewards readers
with clear communication.
Two basic kinds of grammar
1) Prescriptive - gives the rules, discusses all about grammar
2) Descriptive - is about how the native speakers use the language
Best Practices for Teaching Grammar

1. Teach grammar with authentic writing.

To make grammar instruction stick, connect it to students’ writing. Introduce new concepts as students reach the editing stage
of writing projects. That way, they apply the concepts in an authentic context. For example, if students are writing narratives,
teach and practice how to punctuate dialogue. Then have students correctly punctuate the dialogue in their own writing.

2. Focus on usage over terminology.

Research has repeatedly shown that teaching grammar as an isolated set of terms and rules to memorize is ineffective and
can actually deter students from writing. You can build grammatical awareness and improve writing by helping students
recognize, practice, and use grammar for authentic purposes.
3. Teach and assess one skill at a time.
Do not inundate students with a set of rules and practices. Instead, give students time to learn, practice, and apply one concept at a time. When assessing
writing correctness, focus mainly on the one or two concepts you introduced during the project.

4. Scaffold learning through practice and application.

Start small: Have students practice skills on individual sentences. Finish big: Have them apply the same skills to whole pieces of writing, preferably their own. Do
not skip this final step.

5. Engage with high-interest mentor texts.

Have students read with an eye for specific grammar conventions. Reading in this way helps students internalize grammar and develop good editing habits. For
example, have students focus on an author’s
6. Model concepts.
Visual learners benefit from seeing grammar, punctuation, and usage in action. Model an example for your class or show a
video of a sentence being manipulated. By visualizing the movement of sentence parts and punctuation, students will see
grammar as dynamic and purposeful.

7. Emphasize sentence combining.

Sentence-combining exercises lead to improved writing. When students practice sentence combining, they build
knowledge of phrases, clauses, conjunctions, and linking punctuation. At the same time, their sentences become more
fluent and sophisticated.
8. Reinforce and reflect on concepts.
Students need repeated support and practice to build grammatical awareness. Progress is incremental and requires a literacy-rich classroom with plenty of opportunities
for reading, writing, and discussion.

9. Don’t mark every error.

Marking every grammatical error does a student little good (and diverts your attention from the content of the writing). Instead, focus on the one or two skills you
practiced for a particular project. If you notice a recurring error, make the first correction and explain why you made the change. Underline or highlight the second
example and ask the student to correct it in a similar way. This type of feedback works best at later stages in the writing process before students submit final drafts.

10. Expect bumps in the road.

As students attempt new grammatical structures and strategies, they may introduce new errors in their writing. That’s okay. Treat these moments as a sign of progress.
 The 9 Main Techniques For Presenting Grammar In The Classroom

1. Direct Explaining (Explicit Approach).

You can explain a grammar rule directly using the students’ mother tongue. This has the advantage of allowing students to contrast an item of
grammar in English with an item of grammar in the student’s own language. For example, the two languages might use past tenses in different
ways. On the other hand, some teachers believe that it’s more effective to present and explain the grammar directly by using English at all
times. Certainly, in classes where the students already have learnt some English, it’s usually possible to build on what they already know to
introduce a new grammar point.

2. Discovering the Grammar (Implicit Approach).

Often, it’s helpful to have students discover the grammar rather than tell them what it is. Do this by choosing a text which contains lots of
examples of the target grammar. For example, if the text includes regular verbs in the past simple form (e.g. lived, travelled, moved, etc), ask
the students to underline all the verbs in the text. Then ask them to say what they notice about the verbs – which will be that they all end in -ed.
3. Using Pictures or Drawings (Illustrating Grammar Points).
A quick sketch on the board can illustrate a grammar point very quickly. For example, a picture of a person dreaming of a future ambition can
be used to introduce “be going to” to talk about future intentions.

4. Drawing Timelines (Teaching Tenses).

Timelines are useful for teaching grammar structures that refer to aspects of time. Timelines are a simple and visual way to clarify the actions
and events described in a sentence. They are often used by teachers for presenting the meaning of verb tenses in English.

The basic form of a timeline shows a horizontal line with a point in the middle indicating NOW or the moment of speaking. Before that point is
the past and after it is the future. Some teachers also write the words PAST and FUTURE along the line. You can indicate single actions with
an X and periods of time with an arrow. Continuous actions are often indicated with a wavy line.
5. Asking Concept Questions (Checking Understanding).
Write a sentence on the board containing the grammar structure. For example, this sentence uses the past simple: He left university in 2008.
Next, ask the students concept questions which check their understanding of when the action happened. So, the teacher/student conversation
would sound like this:

● T: Is he at university now?
● SS: No.
● T: Was the action in the past?
● SS: Yes.

Note that concept questions should usually be designed to elicit the answer Yes or No from the students because the aim is only to check their
understanding.
6. Using Tables (Showing the Form).
Tables are very useful for showing the form of the grammar on the board. For example, these tables show the affirmative and negative forms of
a verb in the present simple tense. You can refer to the different features of the tense when introducing it, and the students can copy the table
for future reference.

● I/You/We/They live in England

● He/She/It lives
● I/You/We/They don’t live in England.
● He/She/It doesn’t live in England.
. Using Objects (Presenting the Meaning).
Sometimes using objects can work as quickly as anything to present the meaning. For example, if you want to present the comparative form (… is
bigger than …), the simplest way is to find two objects and contrast them. Alternatively, ask two students to stand up and compare their height to
produce a sentence like: Hany is taller than Tom. Write the sentence on the board and underline the comparative form so the students notice the
construction. Similarly, if you teach prepositions (in, on, next to, etc), using a selection of objects in different positions from each other is a very
effective starting point.

8. Contrasting Structures (Showing the Difference in Meaning).

With higher-level grammar, it’s useful to ask students to contrast two grammar structures which are similar in certain ways, but which have an
important difference in meaning. For example, these two sentences contrast two different meanings of the present perfect tense.

1. He has been to London.

2. He has gone to London.

A teacher could ask the students to compare these sentences and say what the difference in meaning is.

(Answer: A means: He went to London and returned back whereas B means: He went to London and he is still there).
9. Choosing the Correct Sentence (Correcting Common Grammatical Mistakes).
This is similar to the previous technique because you give students two sentences, but one sentence has a mistake related to grammar. You
write them on the board and get students to say which they think has the mistake and why. For example:

1. I’ve lived here since three years.

2. I’ve lived here for three years.

Students discuss the sentences in pairs. Sentence A. is wrong because we use “since” to refer to a fixed point in time (e.g. March 1989, etc.)
whereas we use “for” to describe the duration of time.
HOW TO PRESENT THE GRAMMAR LESSON

Step 1: Present a context which fits the language you are teaching.
As with modal verbs (above), this could be based on the function or meaning being communicated by
the tense you are teaching. A picture, story or video clip can be used to present the concept of a
tense, along with some carefully planned elicitation questions. Remember, when you are eliciting
language, whether that’s vocabulary or grammar, do not use the target form in elicitation
questions. This only results in students being confused by language that they do not know (the
language you are teaching).
Step 2: Use a timeline to present the concept of the tense, for example
Step 3: Introduce the form
Elicit and present marker sentences on the whiteboard, for example:

1. I have lived in Hong Kong for 7 years.

2. I have lived in Hong Kong since 2009.

Step 4: How do you know students understand the concept? Ask!
Ask concept check questions:

1. Do I live in Hong Kong now?

2. When did I move to Hong Kong?

3. Did this happen in the past or present?

4. Am I going to move to Hong Kong?

5. Do I use ‘for’ to show how many years or when something started?

**Remember!!!! It is better to demonstrate (timeline), and to ask binary questions (i.e. concept check questions) rather than
explaining grammatical concepts. Always establish the meaning before showing/analysing the form.
Step 5: How do you know if students understand the written form? Ask!
Have students identify the form (Have + Verb + pp) on the whiteboard in a different colour underneath your marker sentences. Also, elicit the positive, negative
and question forms of the target language, to ensure that students know how to use the form in a range of situations

1. (Affirmative) - I have lived in Hong Kong for seven years.

2. (Negative) - I haven’t lived in Hong Kong for seven years.

3. (Question) - How long have you lived in Hong Kong?

Step 5: Set practice tasks

Now move students onto using the target forms. It's a good idea to get students working with phrases/short sentences first (in a controlled practice task)
before moving onto spoken interactions or communicative production tasks.

And of course, don't forget, once you've finished production then you'll need to give feedback and error correction using a number of these ideas.
Topics for the Lesson Plan

NOUNS CONJUNCTIONS

PRONOUNS INTERJECTIONS

VERBS SENTENCE STRUCTURE (SYNTAX)

ADJECTIVES MORPHOLOGY (WORD FORMATION)

ADVERBS

PREPOSITIONS