http://www.hltmag.co.uk/dec08/mart03.

htm
Year 10; Issue 6; December 2008, ISSN
1755-9715

MAJOR ARTICLES

Editorial
For more on the subject by Simon Mumford see: Using Metaphor to Teach
Grammar. Humanising Language Teaching May 2005

Making Grammar Memorable

Simon Mumford, Turkey
Simon Mumford teaches at the Izmir University of Economics, Turkey,
where he also works in the Academic Writing Centre. He enjoys designing
language learning activities, and has been working with creative thinking for
several years. E-mail: simon.mumford@ieu.edu.tr
Menu
Introduction
Connecting
Personalising
Creating
Metaphors
Combining
References

language,

logical

grammatical
as
and

creating

creative

contexts
grammar
mnemonics
mnemonics
thinking

Introduction
The role of memory is language learning is paramount, and Thornbury
(2006:26) points out grammar presentations which are not retained by the
students will not be effective. In fact, ideally, any information given by
teachers, or activity performed by students should have something to make
it memorable.
I would like to suggest two broadly different ways to make grammar more
memorable for students. The first is by enabling the practise of language
items in contexts that clearly illustrate their meanings and by asking learners
to choose between items to reflect personal attitutes and expectations. The
second way is to use mnemonics, devices which are designed to aid
memory, ranging from poems, rhymes, puns and other word play, and
including metaphor.
A major theme related to this division between the creation of contexts on
the one hand, and playing with language on the other are two different ways
of thinking. The first, logical thinking is relevant when relating grammatical
structures to contexts and to other structures, finding or creating language
connections. The second, creative thinking, takes a wider view, and makes
a deliberate attempt to find different, unusual and innovative ways of making
language memorable. I will suggest that both these different but often

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complementary ways of thinking are useful when generating new ideas for
teaching. After looking at how each way of thinking can help in developing
ideas, I make some suggestions as to how the two can be combined.
Connecting language, creating contexts
Thinking logically about language often means considering the purpose of a
language item and its relation to other structures, in order to create a
context for learning/practise. This can include using information given in
grammar texts, but also our own observations of how language behaves,
the intentions of speakers when they use specific structures, and the
meaning of structures in relation to each other. The following three
dialogues give some examples: When practising First and Second
Conditionals, we can exploit the fact that an action is seen as either a real
possibility or unlikely, using a dialogue:
S
1: If
we
get
married,
well
be
so
happy!
S 2: Yes, but how would we live if we got married?
S 1: Well find something. Well be the most beautiful couple!
S
2: If
we
did,
where
would
we
live?
S
1: Well
live
with
my
brother.
S 2: He wouldnt want us!
In this case S1 uses First Conditional to show he thinks something should
and will happen, and S2 uses Second because she believes it should not.
This draws attention to the different implications of the two tenses, and can
be further practised by giving students a situation, asking them to consider
positive and negative aspects and create a parallel roleplay/dialogue.
A dissatisfied customer and used-car salesman arguing about a recent sale
provides a context for practising Past Simple and Continuous:
Customer:
You
said
it
did
12
kilometres
per
litre.
Salesman: It was doing 12 kilometres per litre when I had it!
C: You
said
the
brakes
worked.
S: They
were
working
when
I
tried
them.
C: And
you
said
the
oil
didnt
leak.
S: It
wasnt
leaking
last
week!
C: It
did
170
kph,
you
told
me.
S: No, I actually said it was doing 170 kph when the last owner had it.
The salesman uses the Continuous to protect himself by refering to a
situation that wastemporarily in progress at the time of the sale, in other
words, he was not claiming that it was a permanent feature of the car.
When contrasting Past and Present Perfect, we can describe the latter as
the vague tense, since there is no need to commit to specific times. A
detective examining a suspect provides a situation where vagueness suits
one but not the other, as the suspect tries to avoid giving the specific

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information the detective wants:

Detective: Where
have
you
been
this
Suspect: London.
D: Where
exactly
did
you
S: Ive been to lots of places, stayed with a
D: Who
did
you
stay
S: Ive
stayed
with
several
different
D: OK,
who
was
the
S: Well, Ive just come back from John Smiths in North
D: Did
you
buy
a
new
car
S: Well, in fact I have bought several cars
D: Oh
yes?
Where
did
you
get
them
S: Ive bought them from various people I know in the trade.

week?
go?
friends.
with?
people.
last?
London.
there?
recently.
from?

These dialogues all focus on a conflict of interests between the speakers,

making the dialogues dramatic and thus memorable. They can be practised,
extended, and used as models for students own dialogues or
conversations.
We can also contrast other pieces of language. Any, some/a, and the can
be related in terms of definiteness: any is less definite in questions because
there is no expectation that the answer will be positive, unlike some, which
suggests a positive answer is anticipated (Carter and McCarthy 2006: 367).
Thus, we can construct a game: Student 1 has to find out what is in Student
2s picture, using Yes/No questions only.
S
1: Are
there
S
S
1: Is
there
a
S
S
1: Is
the
dog/Are
S2: No.
S1: Black
S2: Yes.

any
dog/some
the

dogs

animals?
2: Yes.
dogs?
2: Yes.
brown?
?

Any is appropriate for the first question because Student 1 has no idea what
is in the picture, and so he uses animal, a noun covering a class of other
nouns. In the second question Student 1 uses a/some, because dog is a
common member of the class animal, and there is a reasonable expectation
of a positive answer. Finally, having established that the picture contains at
least one dog, Student 1 uses the definite article. This process could be
made more game-like by setting a target of three adjective+noun phrases
(eg a black dog, a red flower and a young man) to be found within a limited
time or number of questions.
Personalising grammar
Language items have meaning in relation to others and there is good

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reason for selecting one form rather than another. This can be exploited in
drills; in the following, students choose between (not) going to or will/wont:
T: Eat
out
this
weekend.
S1: (who has planned to eat out this weekend) Im going to eat out this
weekend.
S2: (who has not, but has been inspired to by the suggestion) Ill eat
out
this
weekend.
S3: (who is definitely not) Im not going to eat out this weekend.
S4: (who is undecided) I probably wont eat out this weekend.
Students decide for themselves which is the correct form, based on their
own plans, bringing a note of realism into the drill. A similar drill could be
constructed for the First and Second Conditional.
T: Go
abroad
this
year...
S1: If I go abroad this year, I will probably go to England.
S2: If I went abroad year, my bank manager would be very angry!
Again, students select language to show their own attitude; S1 sees it as a
real possibility, S2 as possible but extremely unlikely.
Information about language from corpus-based grammars can be
incorporated into personalised grammar practise. In selecting the Present
Perfect, the speaker chooses to mark the event as relevant to now (Carter
and McCarthy 2006:616), therefore, I have seen the latest Harry Potter
film implies the speaker is still being affected by it, whereas I saw the latest
Harry Potter film suggests that any effects have disappeared and that it has
perhaps been forgotten. Thus, students can show their attitudes:
T: You
know
the
latest
(James
Bond
film)...
S1: (positive attitude) Yes, Ive seen it (and I still remember enjoying it.)
S2: (indifferent attitude) Yes, I saw it (but Im not thinking about it any
more.)
This distinction between the use of the tenses is certainly one that would be
memorable for students because it involves their personal preferences.
The
relevant
now
factor
could
be
connected
with
the
pronouns this/these and that/those, which can convey not only physical
distance, but also emotional distance according to Carter and McCarthy
(2006:370). They note that That/those is more detached (and therefore
presumably less favourable) and this/these is more involved. Students can
create dialogues or conversations where each implies an attitude to an
object not physically present:
S1: You know this/that new Renault.. . (depending on how they feel
about
it)

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S2: Yes, Ive seen it/I saw it... (depending on the effect it had)
As already noted above, the use of some or any in questions depends on
the speakers expectation of the answer, with some suggesting that the
speaker expects a positive answer (Carter and McCarthy 2006:367).
Therefore, we can encourage students to decide which form to use based
on their expectations when questioning classmates, giving a new twist to
theFind someone who... activity:
S1:
(To
teenager) Have
S2: No,
of
S1:
(To
older
person) Have
S3: Yes, I have.

you
got any cassettes?
course
not!
you
got some cassettes?

Creating grammatical mnemonics

Mnemonics, a general term refering to any technique that helps people
remember information, are used in many different educational fields,
including science, history, music and geography (Hobbs). Regarding
Language Teaching, however, the lack of published material on grammatical
mnemonics seems remarkable, considering the amount of information to be
remembered, and the potential benefits of these techniques.
Russell (1997:124) describes the factors that can be exploited in
mnemonics as uniqueness, exaggeration, the senses, simplicity,
interactivity, creativity, vulgarness and involvement. While few teachers are
in a position to be vulgar, all are able to create visual images, and exploit
interactivity between grammar and linguistic features including sounds and
spelling of words, as well as non-verbal communication.
In devising mnemomics, creative thinking is useful since there is a need to
get a different perspective on language. Creative thinking in its broadest
sense should not be confused with any one particular technique, but covers
any method that leads to innovation, including giving old ideas a new lease
of life, and combining existing ideas to produce new ones (Harris). The
following section is in three parts, describing, firstly, short mnemonics for
individual grammar points, secondly, a way of remembering example
sentences and metalanguage terms, and finally, a three verse Limerick.
i. Short mnemonics for specific grammar points

The form of a structure itself can act as a mnemonic. The difference

between stop doing something and stop to do something can be
illustrated as follows: doing is one word, to do is two words; stop
doing means finish one action, stop to do means stop one action and
start a second.

Puns can be the basis for mnemonics, and double meanings can be
connected in a sentence, for example: One Sat(urday), red Rose

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drove through the new court, and took the left road. This reminds
students of (the pronunciation of) the irregular past forms of win, sit,
read, rise, drive, throw, know, catch, take, leave and ride.

No/any/some/ every/body takes a third person singular verb,

eg Everybody knows. Knows sounds like nose, which is part of
the body.

Sounds can act as a mnemonic for meaning when contrasting the

Simple and Continuous of regular Past and Present Perfect forms.
The -ing sound can be extended, as in He was/ has been
playinggggggggg, and is associated with duration /continuation.
Simple forms end in ed, a plosive sound which is impossible to
lengthen, suggesting completion.

Alliteration can be used. When we were waiting for water, Ian

interrupted an interesting insect contrasts Past Simple and
Continuous. The repeated w draws attention to the occurence of this
letter in when/while and was/were, both features of this structure. The
repeated i represents the interrupting action. In time lines, the
Continuous is often represented as a wavy line interrupted by a
single
straight line
representing
the
Simple,
therefore
the w represents the Past Continuous, and the i words the Simple:

ii. Remembering sentence patterns and metalanguage meanings.

Mnemonics can help students remember sentences exemplifying particular
structures. In the following, the first letters of each word in the sentence
make a word themselves. Drill the sentences, then clean the board, leaving
the first letters of each word as cues for students to remember. Later, if
students can spell the words, it will help them to remember the sentences,
and vice versa.
HYENAS: Have you ever noticed anything suspicious? (present perfect
question)
ILLNESS: I like living near East Street Station (like + gerund)
CITIES:
Could
I
take
it
easy,
Sir?
(polite
request)
MIGHT:
May
I
go
home
tomorrow?
(polite
request)
MISTY JAM: May I speak to you just a minute? (polite request)
DYES:
Do
you
eat
sausage?
(Present
simple
question)
WATCH: Why are they calling him? (Present continuous question)
HIMALAYAS: He is meeting a lecturer at your aunts school. (Present
continuous)
LAYOUTS: Listen, are your officers used to singing? (be used to question)
HISTORY: He is starting to operate real yachts. (start + infinitive)

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HUTCH: He used to clean houses (used to)

The very unnaturalness and inauthenticy of some of these sentences
arguably make them memorable. If we insist students use only authentic
language, we may in fact be doing them a disservice, since authentic
language, because of its everyday nature, is not usually particularly notable
(Cook 2000:197).
In a similar way, linguistic metalanguage terms can become acronyms
describing their functions or rules of use.
STATIVE -Simple Tense Acts, Take Ing Very Exceptionally.
GERUNDGoes
Everywhere
Real,
Usual
Noun
Does.
ARTICLES- A Reads The In CLearly Established Situations.
PERFECT- Past Experience Reaches Forward, Effects Continue Today.
PRONounsPronouns
Replace
Other
Nouns.
TAG questions- Take A Guess questions (since you already have an idea of
the answer).
iii. A Limerick.
Limericks are used to practise rhythm and stress, but their content is usually
not particularly useful to students. However, a Limericks rhyme and strong
rhythm can be used to focus on the content. The following Limerick explains
the three types of Conditional, giving information on both form and use, as
well as examples:
English
conditional
The
first
is
Its
if
For
example:
If you eat too much, you see.

tenses
a

are
real
plus

youll

be

Next
comes
the
second
Which
is
imaginary,
unlikely,
Its
If
plus
past
and
A
sentence
like
this
is
If I were poor and hungry, Id steal
The
third
conditional
For
an
unreal
situation
If
Id
had
Doing
200
miles
I would have been out of there that fast!

in

comes
the
a
an

three,
possibility.
will,
ill,
conditional,
unreal,
would
good:
last,
past,
car
hour

Metaphors as mnemonics
Metaphors can create a new and potentially more engaging way of thinking
about of grammar (Mumford 2005). Metaphors relate abstract grammatical

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concepts to real word objects and processes, and so act as mnemonics.

Have
something
done:
a
double-edged
sword
Some students like to learn proverbs and sayings, which are types of
metaphor. The structure to have something done could be described
as a double-edged swordbecause it can mean asking someone to do
something for you: I had my car cleaned, or it can be someone else
doing something, usually unwanted, to you: I had my car stolen. This
saying can help more advanced students understand and remember
the two contrasting uses of this structure.

As
...
as
and
scales
The structure as (good) as is well-balanced, with as either side of the
adjective, and of course it shows an equal comparison, and so can
be represented as a pair of scales. Putting not in front of the
first as upsets
the
balance.
as

____

good_____

as

do
as
a
question
mark
In the question Do you like football?, do cannot be said to mean
anything in itself. Its role is a kind of lexical question mark, showing
the interrogative form. Some languages have an upside-down
question mark at the beginning of questions. In fact,do, when not
capitalised, has similarities with an upside-down question mark (the
mark is the d, the dot is the o)

Arrows
and
active
and
passive
adjectives
When illustrating active and passive adjectives, arrows are often
used, for exampleThe programme was interesting, the man was
interested can be shown diagrammatically:

the programme, interesting the man, interested

The arrow is a concrete symbol of an abstract relation. Think of an
actual arrow, flying from the programme and hitting the man, and the
sound an arrow makes; the ingsounds like the arrow being
released, ping! The ed sounds like the thud! of the arrow hitting its
target. Thus, sound, form and meaning combine to create a
memorable image.

Combining logical and creative thinking

I have suggested two ways to make grammar memorable. First, thinking
about specific language items and their interrelationships can help us create
contexts that are memorable because they can be dramatised, contain an

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element of conflict, or may also reflect personal preferences. This can be

loosely described as a rational or logical thinking.
The second is more creative. When constructing mnemonics, we take a
different approach in making connections between language items, and
other language and other concepts. In this sense we seem to do the exact
opposite to logical thinking. We deliberately look for ways of taking language
out of context, perhaps making it inauthentic, to produce memorable
images. This need for a more playful use of language in teaching, including
rhyme, alliteration, puns, poems, and metaphor has been recognised (Cook,
2000).
Although seemingly opposite, logical and creative thinking can, in fact, be
seen as two complementary ways of arriving at new ideas. The distinction is
perhaps somewhat artificial; many activities described above actually
contain elements of both. As these further examples show, it is often the
combination of logic, in the form of serious grammatical analysis, with an
element of play and randomness, that leads to the creation of interesting
and striking activities.

the structure used to, which contrasts two states, past and present,
can be matched with comparatives, eg I used to be fitter (than I am
now) . This appeals to our logical side. However, from a more
creative
and
playful
perspective,
we
notice
that used
toand fitter sound similar in normal speech since they both
contain /t / followed byschwa. This could make a memorable drill: He
used to be fitter/madder/sadder/odder. Going a step further, we can
create a rhyme: Mister Foster used to be faster.

The word Ill is used for offers, which often occur in service
situations. Ill sounds exactly like Aisle. Aisles also are found in many
service situations- supermarkets, cinemas, planes, and coaches. We
could use one of these situations to practise offers, eg a steward
offering drinks, food, blankets and newspapers to passengers on a
plane. Logic tells us to teach Ill in service situations. Creativity shows
us how to find a situation and practice the pronunciation at the same
time.

If only is used for regrets, so it seems logical to teach it while sighing.

A creative suggestion is to make the words themselves into a sigh by
lengthening and stressingif and the first syllable of only: Ifffffffffffff
OOOOOOhhhhhhhhnly (I were richer!).

I believe that concentrating only on one type of thinking is limiting, as

creativity for its own sake, detached from logic, can cause confusion.
However, a purely rational approach, denying the need for looking at
language in innovative ways, may mean missed opportunities.
A knowledge of grammar is at the heart of language teaching and learning.

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Teachers and material designers need a detailed knowledge of how

language items are used, and this is becoming easier with corpora. I believe
we also need to think about language ourselves, and make connections,
both those that already exist between items of language, and the ones that
an open mind, creative thought and serendipity present to us.
References
Carter, R. and M. McCarthy (2006). Cambridge Grammar of English.
Cambridge University Press.
Cook, G. (2000) Language Play, Language Learning. Oxford University
Press
Harris,
R.
Introduction
http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook1.htm

to

Creative

Thinking

Hobbs, P. Mnemonics www.eudesign.com/mnems/

Mumford, S. (2005) Using Metaphor to Teach Grammar. Humanising
Language Teaching http://www.hltmag.co.uk/may05/sart05.htm
Russell, P. (1997). The Brain Book. Routledge
Thornbury, S. (2006) How to Teach Grammar. Longman