Week 4

INTRODUCTION

Grammar is crucial to the teaching and learning of ESL/ EFL.

learners are often convinced that learning grammar is of value
to them, and therefore expect it to be an essential component
of their textbooks and language courses. yet, teaching
grammar carries with it various and controversial views as far
as the methods to adopt in order to teach it effectively
We need to learn grammar first to provide a foundation for
communication.
We cannot communicate effectively if we make grammar
mistakes.
If students get enough chance to practice using a language,
they don’t need to learn grammar.
Grammar is a tool, not a goal.
Children do not learn grammar rules when they acquire their
first language, so adults do not need to either.
Learning grammar rules is not helpful for everyone.
Knowing vocabulary is less important than knowing grammar.
Fluency is more important than accuracy.
Teachers need to study grammar regularly to ensure they keep
Wh a tis g ra m m a r?

 The study and practice of the rules by which words

change their forms and are combined into sentences.
(Longman dictionary)
 Set of rules which describe the structure and patterns of
language when it is spoken or written meaningfully.
 The set of rules that describe the structure of a language
and control the way that sentences are formed
(Macmillan)
of morpho-syntactic (form), semantic (meaning), and
pragmatic(use) in nature.

Practitioners who see “grammar” as a set of forms

and rules usually tend to teach it explicitly and/or in
an
isolated or de-contextualized way. They explain the
forms and rules and then contrive situations to drill
learners
in a mechanical, somehow meaningless and
repetition-based way. This follows in exhausted,
bored or
dissatisfied learners who can produce correctly
stringed words and sentences on exercises and tests,
but rarely
are they able to produce meaningful and appropriate
chunks of language.
Other practitioners believe that learners acquire the
foreign language in the same way as their first
language. they think that learners acquire grammar
rules “unreflectingly” when they are involved in highly
communicative simulated or real-life contexts
(i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing).
This “acquisition-based” view (Krashen’s) tends to
deprive learners from benefiting from their active
understanding of what grammar is and how it functions
in the foreign language. much of grammar learning can
be achieved through exposing learners to authentic
input, a lot of incidental learning occurs even without
the teacher’s notice, but teaching grammar as
meaningful, morpho-syntactic and pragmatic forms
might accelerate learning a foreign language as well.
David Crystal
Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to
express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it
works, the more we can monitor the meaning and
effectiveness of the way we and others use language.
it can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and
exploit the richness of expression available in English.
and it can help everyone-not only teachers of English,
but teachers of anything, for all teaching is ultimately
a matter of getting to grips with meaning.
(“In Word and Deed," TES Teacher, April 30, 2004)
Inductive vs Deductive
Reasoning
Inductive Reasoning, involves going from a series of
specific cases to a general statement. The conclusion
in an inductive argument is never guaranteed.
Inductive reasoning
works the other way,
moving from specific
observations to
broader
generalizations and
theories

Informally, sometimes
we call this a “bottom
up” approach.

Conclusion is likely
based on premises
Involves a degree of
uncertainty
Deductive Reasoning –
A type of logic in which one goes from a general
statement to a specific instance.
The classic example
All men are mortal. (major premise)
Socrates is a man. (minor premise)
Therefore, Socrates is mortal. (conclusion)
Deductive reasoning
works from the more
general to the more
specific.
Sometimes this is
informally called
a"top-
down"approach..
Conclusion follows
logically from
premises (available
facts)
Deduction: Induction

commonly associated with commonly known as

“formal logic.” “informal logic,” or
“everyday argument”
involves reasoning from
known premises, or involves drawing uncertain
premises presumed to be inferences, based on
true, to a certain probabilistic reasoning.
conclusion.
the conclusions reached
the conclusions reached are are probable, reasonable,
certain, inevitable, plausible, believable.
inescapable.
Grammar: the standards-based approach
One of the tenets of the standards-based approach is
that grammar is a vital part of language that needs to
be taken care of.

The second tenet is that grammar is not a simple

accumulation of linguistic entities where mastering
the whole bits would mean mastering the language in
its totality.

The third tenet is that any grammar learning activity

should demonstrate means necessary to achieve the
5Cs and learner autonomy.

The fourth tenet is that teachers should not hold

rigidly to a single approach; i.e. eclecticism is needed.

And
consciousness-raising has been reappraised to consciously
draw the learners’ attention to the formal properties of the
target language; i.e. how words are formed, assembled and
used purposefully. Grammatical rules; however, do not have to
be taught in the form of explicit rules, and therefore learners
might be led to grammatical insights implicitly (e.g. via.
deliberate observation and noticing).

The fifth tenet is that learners are very different as far as their
learning styles, strategies and preferences; that is, not all
learners learn grammar in the same way. Some of them are
communicative, i.e. learn by listening, talking to friends, using
any opportunity available to use the language, etc. Others are
analytical because they learn by studying grammar and finding
out mistakes. Others are referred to as being authority learners
because they learn through explanations, taking notes,
studying grammar, etc.
Therefore

Teachers should adopt a “pragmatic” approach in teaching

grammar.
They should have learners carry out specific communication
tasks and meet specific standards.
While grammar explanations and analysis are needed, teaching
learners grammatical forms and rules embedded in highly
communicative and coherent texts is crucial, too
grammar is concerned, to demonstrate the ability to:

recognize correct or incorrect instances of language use;

generate instances of correct and culturally appropriate usage;

manifest their knowledge of the language system in the four

main language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing).

discover the linguistic system by experiencing authentic

language discourse ;

state familiar rules when needed;

realise the meaning potential of grammar rules to achieve

communications.

Uncover the pragmatic intent of a sentence/statement through

its use(s).
• Listening or reading task (i.e. learners read/ listen to a text that they process
for meaning).
• "Noticing" task (i.e. learners read/ listen to the same texts, which is now
gapped, and fill in the missing words). Learners might be also asked to notice
and underline grammatical aspects in a text or statements.
• Consciousness-raising task (i.e. learners are helped to discover how the
target grammar structure works by analyzing the "data" provided by the
reading/ listening text).
• Checking task (i.e. learners complete an activity to check if they have
understood how the target
structure works).
• Production task (i.e. learners are given the opportunity to try out the target
structure in their own
sentences). The aim of the production task is to encourage learners to
experiment with the target
structure, not its mastery.
• Contrast strategy (i.e. learners are given the opportunity to contrast the
newly acquired forms/ rules with the ones met earlier).
• Free production tasks: At higher levels, learners might be asked to write, or
prepare and present an extended piece of discourse in which the target rule is
used accurately, meaningfully and appropriately.
How to teach grammar?

There are three stages:

1-Presentation
2-Practice
3-Production
1-Presentation:
In this stage the teacher presents the new language
(tenses, conditionals,
passive voice, etc…) in a meaningful context.

o What are the activities used in the grammar

presentation stage?

Building up stories on the board

Realia

Flashcards

Miming

Any other activities you know of?

2-Practice:
There are numerous activities which can be used for
this stage

Gap-fill exercises
Substitution drills
Multiple choices
Sentence transformations
Split sentences
Picture dictations
Reordering sentences.
Matching sentences to pictures

Any other activities you know of?

3-Production:
in this stage, students are expected to produce the
language leant

Role plays
Interviews
Paragraph writing
Games
Discussions
Personalisation activities

Any other activities you know of?

omnipresent throughout the grammar tasks and
activities. Learners like to receive helpful guidance
and support from their teacher, provided that non-
threatening correction techniques are used, so
.The teacher should often restrict correction to the
structure in focus
. Teachers should design their own checklists to see
whether the target grammar standards have been
met. A checklist might include rubrics such as
morpho-syntactic, semantic and pragmatic
elements.
.Teachers can address the learners’ grammatical
areas for improvements.
.Retention enhancement and transfer can be carried
out through encouraging learners to continuously
apply the rules and assess their performance
themselves.
Thank
you