Unit 7 Teaching Grammar

Aims of the unit:

1.
2.
3.

The role of grammar in ELT

Grammar presentation methods
Grammar practice

7.1 The role of grammar in ELT

The

value of grammar in foreign language

teaching has been a focus of debate for
decades, and no conclusion is in sight.
The answer to whether grammar should be
taught and to what extent grammar should be
taught depends on some variables in the
language teaching /learning context, such as
learner variables and instructional
variables.

It is generally believed that

Grammar teaching is less important for
children than for adults;
Grammar teaching is less important in
listening and reading than in writing.

 Grammar

teaching can be seen in most

formal classroom language
teaching.

7.2 Grammar presentation

methods
The

deductive method
The inductive method
The guided discovery method
Teaching grammar using listening
as input
The synthesis approach

The deductive method (p. 104)

The

deductive method relies on

reasoning, analysing and comparing.
Presentation of an example explanation
(comparison may be done between the
target language and the native language)
Sss practice (producing sentences) with
given prompts

The deductive method is criticized

because:
Grammar is taught in an isolated way;
Little attention is paid to meaning;
The practice is often mechanical.

However, the deductive method is not without

merits.
It

could be very successful with selected and

motivated students.
It could save time when students are
confronted with a grammar rule which is
complex but which has to be learned.
It may help to increase student confidence in
those examinations which are written with
accuracy as the main criterion of success.

The inductive method (p. 105)

In

the inductive method, the teacher

induces the learners to realise
grammar rules without any form of
explicit explanation.
It is believed that the rules will become
evident if the students are given
enough appropriate examples.

The guided discovery method

The guided discovery method is similar to the

inductive method in that the students are induced
to discover rules by themselves but different in
that the process of the discovery is carefully
guided and assisted by the teacher and the rules
are then elicited and taught explicitly. There are
two key theoretical issues related to this method:
the role of explicit knowledge in language learning
and the value of discovery as a general method of
learning (Ellis, 2002a )

In the guided discovery method, students are

presented with contextualized scenarios illustrating a
specific structure. Students are then guided to
discover the underlying rule of the structure as well
as its meaning in context followed by explicit
teaching and learning of the targeted structure. For
example, in teaching the too to structure, the
teacher holds a picture of a heavy box labeled
200kg and asks the class to look at the picture.

 T: What

can you see in the picture, class?

Ss: We can see a box, a big box.
T: Is it heavy?
Ss: Yes, its very heavy. It is 200kg.
T: Can I carry it?
Ss: No, you cant.
T: You are right. I cant carry it. Why?
Because it is too heavy to carry.

Having said this, the teacher writes the whole sentence

on the blackboard. Then the teacher continues with more
contextualised examples. More sentences are written on
the blackboard. With the next few examples, the teacher
can pause to wait for the students to produce the target
structure and write them again on the blackboard. After
this, the teacher draws students attention to the structure
and let students discover the rules of the key structure as
well as its meaning. The teacher then highlights the
structure with colored chalks on the blackboard followed
by students practice of it with some prompts provided.

Teaching grammar using

listening as input
Ellis(2002b)

suggests the following

procedures for teaching grammar using
listening as input. (p.106)

Synthesis approach
Pennington(2002)

(p.107) proposes a
synthesis approach to grammar pedagogy .
Grammar teaching should be collocational,
constructive, contextual and contrastive,
which can serve as useful guidelines for
teaching grammar. (PP.107-108)

In

practice, the distinction

between the deductive method
and the inductive method is not
always apparent.

7.3 Grammar practice

According

to Ur, practice may be defined

as any kind of engaging with the language
on the part of the learner, usually under the
teacher supervision, whose primary
objective is to consolidate learning .(Ur,
1988:11) (p.108)

7.3.1 Ur predicts that the following 6 factors

contribute to successful practice:

Pre-learning. Learners benefit from clear

perception and short-term memory of the new
language.
Volume and repetition. The more exposure to or
production of language the learners have, the
more likely they are to learn.
Success-orientation. Practice is most effective
when based on successful practice.

Heterogeneity. Practice should be able to elicit

different sentences and generate different levels
of answers from different learners.
Teacher assistance. The teacher should provide
suggestions, hints and prompts.
Interest : an essential feature that is closely
related to concentration

7.3.2 Two categories of practice:

Mechanical practice and meaningful
practice

Mechanical practice
Mechanical practice involves activities
that are aimed at form accuracy.
e.g.
Substitution drills:
Transformation drills:

Substitute the underlined part with the proper

forms of the given words:
green lawn
clean house
pretty garden
nice flowers
Mrs Green has the largest house in town.

Change the following sentences into the

past tense. Use the adverbs given in the
brackets.
Now

he lives in London. (last year, Paris)

We have English and maths today.
(yesterday, music and P. E.)
He usually gets up at seven.
(this morning, eight)

Questions for discussion

What

is the purpose of mechanical

practice?
What are the advantages and
disadvantage of mechanical practice?

Meaningful practice
In

meaningful practice the focus is on the

production, comprehension or
exchange of meaning, though the
students keep an eye on the way newly
learned structures are used in the
process.
e.g. After the presentation and mechanical
practice of adjective comparatives and
superlatives:

Pair work: Look at the table below. Rank the

items on the left column according to the
criteria listed on the top.
Cheap Healthy Tasty

Beer
Water
Fruit
Cigaret
tes
Alcohol
Milk

Fattenin Importa
g
nt

The students may come up with:

I think beer is cheaper than fruit.
No, no, I think fruit is cheaper than
beer.

Questions for discussion

What

are the advantages of meaningful

practice?
Does it have any possible disadvantages?

A teaching practice task for you

Suppose

you have just presented the

simple past tense to a group of Junior 2
students. Design a mechanical practice
activity and a meaningful practice
activity. Write out the steps and give a
mini demonstration in your practice
group.(p.111)

There is no clear-cut distinction

between mechanical practice and
meaningful practice.
e.g.

Chain of events

Teacher: Now lets play a game. The first

student starts a sentence with a second
conditional clause. The next student takes the
result of the sentence, reforms it into another
condition and suggests a further result.
For example, the first student says If I had a
million dollars, I would buy a yacht. The
second students says If I bought a yacht, I
would go for a sail.

The students may come up with:

If

I went for a sail, there might be a

storm.
If there were a storm, my yacht would
sink.
If my yacht sank, I would die.
If I died, my parents would cry.

Using prompts for practice

Practice based on prompts is usually meaningful
practice.
Using picture prompts.
Using mime or gestures as prompts.
Using information sheet as prompts.
Using key phrase or key words as prompts.
Using chained phrases for story telling.
Using created situations.

Using information sheet as prompts

Names

Favourit
e
subjects

Favourit
e sports

Favourit
e food

Hobbies

Lily

Maths

basketba
ll

pork

music

Susan

Chinese

Pingpong

eggs

reading

David

English

football

icecream

collectin
g stamps

Teacher: What about you? Tell your neighbour.

Adopted activity for

using information sheet as prompts

Table for S1
Names

Favourite
subjects

Lily

Favourite
sports

Favourite
food

basketball

Susan

Chinese

David

English

football

Names

Favourite
subjects

Favourite
sports

Lily

Maths

Hobbies
music

eggs

reading

Favourite
food

Hobbies

Table for S2

Susan
David

pork
Ping-pong
icecream

collecting
stamps

Using created situations: for

simulative communication
Your

are a stranger in this town. You want to

buy some fruit, you want to post a letter, and
you also want to see a movie at night. Ask
about the places.

 There

was a robbery yesterday in the

neighbourhood. A policeman is asking some
questions to three of the neighbours, A, B, and C.

A: at work; came back at 6:30 p.m.; did not

see anybody.
B: a student; came back at 4:30 p.m.; saw a
young man going upstairs
C: an old man; stayed at home; heard some
strange noise at 5:00 p.m.; came out to find
a tall young man

Summary of Unit 7
Perhaps there will never be a solution to the
debate on the value of teaching grammar,
because language teaching and learning
contexts vary so greatly.
It should be noted that learning grammar
itself is not the ultimate goal of learning
English.
The understanding of how to teach grammar
is as controversial as that of the value
of teaching grammar.
We believe that both mechanical practice and
meaningful practice are necessary.

Some suggestions about teaching

grammar
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.

Teach only those rules that are simple and typical.

Teach useful and important grammar points.
Teach grammar in context.
Use visible instruments such as charts, tables,
diagrams, maps, drawings, and realia (pl. of realis)
to aid understanding;
Avoid difficult grammatical terminologies as much
as possible.
Allow enough opportunities for practice.
Live with the students mistakes and errors.

Homework

What are the major types of grammar

presentation methods?
What are the major types of grammar
practice activities?