TECHNIQUES FOR

TEACHING
GRAMMAR
By:
ASSHADWI PANEERSELVAM
YASOTHAI NATHAN

INTRODUCTION

For a good grammar teaching,

teachers should take the language
learning forwards and bring in
grammatical features of stories,
dialogues, songs, etc. to the attention
of their pupils in order to attract the
pupils attention.

According to Chitravelu (2005), there are

several features that a teacher has to
consider when planning suitable
techniques in his/her grammar classes.
Be meaningful
Be purposeful
Have a social function
Provide plenty of practice
Use a multimedia approach
Provide variety
Encourage active participation

SONGS
AND
CHANTS

SONGS
Songs are very good tool to motivate
the pupils' learning process
Songs could be an essential part of
English teaching.
You should choose a song according
to their level and try to see if the
song is suitable for them.

Songs are a good way to teach

because they incorporate all the
language skills:
Listening (to the song) - Following
the song to determine words.
Reading (following the lyrics to
determine the words)
Writing (filling in the blanks)
Speaking (singing the song)

Kind of songs
Special songs
Children's songs
Action songs
Teaching structure
songs
Telling stories songs
Pop Songs

HOW

Pupils listen to a song and as they listen

they have the lyrics with gaps in for them
to fill in as they listen
This activity is not as simple as it sounds
and before making one yourself think
about why you are taking out certain words
It may be better to take out all the words in
one group, such as prepositions or verbs,
and tell the pupils what they should be
listening out for
Another option is to take out rhyming
words.
Dont be tempted to take out too many
words, eight or ten is normally enough.
To make the task easier you could provide
the missing words in a box at the side for

Comic strips

Songs that tell stories are great for pupils to

make comic strips out of.
You have to choose your song carefully and
spend time looking at the lyrics with the pupils
and making sure they have understood the
main ideas.
Lower levels may need guidance as to how to
divide up the song into suitable chucks that can
be represented pictorially.

How to use songs?

Classic gap-fill
Spot the mistakes
Comic strip
Order the verses
Discussion
Translation

CHANTS
Grammar chants can
be a lot of fun to use
in classes.
Using a chant is
pretty
straightforward.
Remember
that
through the use of
repetition and having
fun together.

Example of 'make' and 'do' chant:

She
She makes
She makes the bed.
We
We do
We do our homework.

Be creative, and you'll find your students having fun while

learning important English basics.

Baseball, basketball, golf.

Baseball, basketball, golf.
Baseball, basketball, baseball, basketball
Baseball, basketball, golf.

To reinforce grammar, add a pattern:

He plays baseball.
She plays basketball.
They play golf.
They play golf.

STORIES

very good way of helping students learn language more

deeply and naturally
motivating and fun; they create a deep interest and a
desire to continue learning
shared social experience; it provokes a shared response
of laughter, sadness, excitement and anticipation
exercise the imagination; children can become personally
involved in a story as they identify with the characters and
try to interpret the narrative and illustrations.

1. Children, adolescent and adults all love

stories & this generate positive attitude
to the lesson for which the story acts as a
framework.
2. Stories provide a context for several
grammatical structures.
3. A story can provide contexts for real
use of English (variety of emotions and
issues).

Circle
Story

The class create stories word by word. You can begin by saying:
"One Monday morning I was" or whatever beginning you like. Then
go round the class in a circle [not randomly]. The first pupil must
repeat "One Monday morning I was" and then add a single word
that makes sense and fits in grammatically. The second pupil
repeats all the first pupil has said, adding one more word. The
third pupil repeats all and adds a word, and so on, until a story
develops around the class.
This technique can be fun, requires no preparation and focuses on
the accurate use of language. It can make a good warmer. With a
small class it's possible to go round the class twice. The teacher
can choose whether the story is to be told in present tense [if they
are beginners] or used to practice the simple past tense, or with
no restrictions on the language used.

Questio
n Story

Write 4 or 5 questions on the board. For a very low level class

these might be: "What's his/her name?" "Where is he/she?"
"What's he/she doing?" "What does he/she say?" Run through
a few possible answers orally with the class. Then give a piece
of paper to every pupil. Tell them you want them to write an
answer to the first question only. Encourage them to be
creative.
They then fold back their paper, so the answer they have
written is folded away from the page and not visible when the
paper is flat on the desk. All pupils then pass their paper to
the pupil on the left. They all then write the answer to the
second question, fold the paper again, then pass to the next
pupil on the left, and so on, until all the questions have been
answered. The pupils can then unfold the papers, correct
where possible, and then read aloud the slightly crazy stories
to the class.

RETELLIN
G
STORIES

Another

way

of

using

stories

which

requires minimal preparation, yet is a

very powerful learning tool, is to have
the pupils retell stories. The best stories
to begin with are interesting anecdotes
from your life, or interesting or unusual
news stories. Once this

activity is

familiar, the pupils can then contribute

with their own stories. This activity
works well as a warmer and as practice
or review of the simple past tense.