As a teacher dealing with adult learners with some exposure to spoken English, I find that they become less fluent and less confident once they start becoming aware of grammar rules. In this regard I would like to share an anecdote which I narrate to my students.
Once there was a quack who became famous for treating any kind of disease. Even patients who were termed hopeless by well known doctors were cured by him. After some time his fame spread even to the nearby city and a panel of doctors came to meet him to find out if he had discovered any alternative for other kinds of cure. They approached him and asked him how he managed to cure people of all the diseases.
He said, "Simple. whatever the ailment, I just make a cut on that part of the body and remove anything which I feel might be the cause of the problem." The doctors were shocked. They questioned him further. "How do you ensure that while cutting up you don't harm any vital organs?"
He asked "What vital organs?" They then explained to him about the wind-pipe, alimentary canal and so on and told him that if any of these are affected the patient might die. He was too shocked to answer.
Later on they came to know that he had stopped practising. When questioned he answered," as long as I was ignorant of these things I was confident , but now I'm afraid I might kill somebody."
Similarly students who are confident before being aware of the rules of grammar, lose their confidence once they start learning grammar. So I always warn my students that this is likely to happen if they pay too much attention to rules of grammar.
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version
Log in or register
Follow TeachingEnglish
 |
 |
 |
 |
The story is familiar with the eastern part of India.In our case it is the story of a barber. He used to operate on patients with a sharp instrument resembling a nail-cutter but in this case a straight long,pointed instrument that could be inserted like a knife.One day the barber was lectured on human anatomy and nervous system.He then stopped doing sugary on patients.But the role of grammar has to be acknowledged because we don't want pidiginsed variety but more or less our English should approximate BE or Am.E.But excessive emphasis on grammar initially will land us nowhere.System of language is the concern of a linguist.People need to speak fluently.So the less they become aware of grammar,the better. Here Krashen and Terrel approach will enable speakers to gain fluency.Excessive emphasis will affect fluency .Affective-filter domain is prohibitive.
Let them give some tasks and real problems.Activities will generate talk.Reglar listening activitieswill give them an edge in producing fluent speech.But T should first give them, and transcribe standard speech in their own intelligible pronunciation,followed by standard speech of the same material. Subtitles while viewing films is of immense help to improve speaking skills.
The primary objective should be to make them freely without making them conscious about grammatical errors. If we have a look at the way we speak our mother tongue, we speak unconsciously. Once you through with the first stage, you can gradually bring their focus on to pronunciation. To get the pronunciation right, the students need to speak consciously. Record their voices and show them the progress they are making with reference to pronunciation. With this exercise, gradually point out the importance of the finer aspects of the English Language, like fillers, intonation, pause and rate of speech.
When you do this, also ensure you give a feedback on the removal of slang and subtly make the necessary corrections in their structure. This method has done wonders for me purely because you are achieving a two fold objective. The focus is on pronunciation and other aspects and without making them conscious you are also correcting their structures. This will ensure that the motivational level is high and they raise their performance by several notches.
I think you are correct, but later on they have the confidence and the ability to speak correctly and eventually become more fluent because they do not make mistakes and have the basics to form correct sentences.
The following is the way I explain the present progressive, please I feedback as quickly as possible as I'm a fresh graduate and Il present this tense in front of the supervisor of a school
Present Continuous tense
I ask the students
What am doing now?
SSwYou are explaining the lesson
What is she doing?
SSwShe is trying to hear what I am saying.
What are doing now?
SSwYou are listening to me.
From these Examples : can you conclude the structure or the form of present continuous. Can you tell me what this tense consists of:
Yes. That's right
Form / structure Am/is/are + (v+ing)
It is easy to know the structure of the verb.
Now let's talk about its usage: When do we use this tense ?
Look at these examples again.
I am explaining the lesson.
She is trying to hear what I am saying.
You are listening to me.
You can notice that the verbs or the actions are happening at the moment of speaking. Look
To draw the time line(first without speaking) then ask them.
Can you tell me when the verb is happening.
Usage : 1) actions or verbs happening at the moment of speaking . To write …
2) temporary situations
: temporary situations are not permanent ?
When I say :
We're looking for a new flat.
I am staying in a hotel. ( I am not rich enough to stay in a hotel)
I am taking computer courses these days
All these verbs may or may not happen now it is happening these days
3) In the future : When you are talking about what you have already arranged to do,
We use the present continuous only when a plan exists before we speak.
Look at these examples: We're having dinner with them next week
We're going to the theatre on Friday
On Sunday at 7 p.m I am visiting my uncle
Note : We don't use state verbs ( not dynamic) in continuous tenses because they don't tefer to actions
Love – hate – remember – forget – regret – smell – see - own
I told my Ss that grammar was just a tool for effective communication. Once this was clarified, we seldom get into trap of sacrifying the fluency.