Based on my reading on the article entitled The Teaching of Grammar written by

Yawalak Nachiengmai, I have discovered some differences in approaches used in the

teaching of grammar. In this article, grammar is viewed in two different ways which are
prescriptive and descriptive. According to Fromkin et al. (1990), prescriptive grammar tend
to preserve what is assumed to be the standard rules of grammar by telling people what
rules they should know and how they should speak and write. Therefore, prescriptive
grammar is actually a strict set of grammatical rules prescribed by the language authorities
that need to be followed by everyone. During traditional time, most of the English teachers
solely believe that the students should only be taught with prescriptive grammar in order to
ensure that all students are able to learn and use standard grammatical rules in their
speaking and writing process. However, as time passes by, the present English teachers
begin to see the interrelatedness between these two approaches; prescriptive and
descriptive grammar. Garner (1989) defined descriptive grammar as a systematic way to
study the linguistic facts. Therefore, descriptive grammar is different from prescriptive
grammar as it describes the already existing grammatical rules used in a community or on
how people use the language and it is accepted by their community.
From my own point of view, if the teachers solely apply prescriptive grammar
approach in their teaching of grammar, they are actually making the students to memorize all
the grammatical rules without considering whether the students understand or not those
rules as well as hinder them to experience the use of grammar naturally in their daily lives.
The students will feel restricted to use the rules of grammar and afraid of making mistakes.
Eventually, the students will find learning rules of grammar is difficult and hard for them to
practise in their everyday lives. As compared to descriptive grammar, this approach allow the
students to feel more flexible and comfortable to use the grammatical rules either in their
speaking or writing as it does not really concern with standard grammatical rules as long as
the massage is conveyed successfully. It depends on the students themselves on how they
use the language. In teaching context, teachers may use these approaches separately
depending on what they want to teach. For example, prescriptive approach is much suitable
if the teachers want to teach the students to write formal documents while descriptive
approach is appropriate if the teachers want to teach the students to write poem or song. I
believe that, in order to achieve a meaningful and purposeful teaching of grammar, English
teachers should use both approaches simultaneously. Hence, the students will not only learn
correct and standard grammatical rules but they also have the opportunity to choose on how
and when to use the rules of grammar depending on the context and purpose of learning.