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      TeachingEnglish
      Grammar teaching
      Submitted by surajkollam on 25 May, 2010 - 11:12

      What is the role of grammar teaching in ELT and which is the best method in teaching grammar?

      ‹ Difficulties with vocabulary acquisition What kind of/kinds of ›

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      Heath's picture
      Heath
      Impossible to answer?
      Submitted on 27 May, 2010 - 02:24

      I don't know that anyone can give a definite answer to that question.  I'll add my two cents, though:

      I believe...

      • people need three things to learn a language effectively:
        • lots and lots of exposure (listening & reading)
        • practice (speaking & writing - particularly through realistic communication/interaction)
        • language focus (explicit attention to lexis, functional language, pronunciation, grammar, etc)
      • when we divide these up into smaller components, we have:
        • listening
        • reading
        • speaking
        • writing
        • attention to lexis
        • attention to functional language
        • attention to pronunciation
        • attention to grammar
      • considering that learners probably need more exposure than anything else, that means grammar should play about a 5-10% role in language teaching
      • a really good method for approaching grammar is: highlight and practice (that is - no lengthy explanations, just point out the structure using a table, or chart, or underlining sentences in a text; check that students understand what it means; do some restricted drills to build confidence and role-plays/discussions/activities to practise using the language in more natural and interactive situations)

       

      This doesn't do justice to the topic though - there are books and books and books on the topic and thousands of people doing research to find out more.  A question that can't really be answered in a few online posts, sorry.

       

       

       

      Heath's picture
      Heath
      The 'train' section
      Submitted on 28 May, 2010 - 06:18

      Oh, and after I'd posted that, I discovered the great materials in the 'Train' section about grammar 'Grammar 1: Noticing'. 

      surajkollam's picture
      surajkollam
      Grammar teaching
      Submitted on 31 May, 2010 - 07:53

      Thank you very much Mr.Heath.Your comments gave me lot of ideas

      neilballantyne's picture
      neilballantyne
      TE Team
      Teaching Grammar - worskhop on noticing free in Train
      Submitted on 2 June, 2010 - 04:41

      Have you checked out the new content on the Train section. There is a grammar workshop at http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/train/grammar-1-noticing about using the noticing technique. This content is aimed at teacher trainers to run a workshop and we'll seen be adding a self access online activity to help you in this area.

      Hope this helps,

      Neil

      SusanArgiri's picture
      SusanArgiri
      Teaching vocabulary
      Submitted on 2 June, 2010 - 05:14

      Re. impossible to answer

      Your approach to teaching vocabulary is almost identical to my own. I find it is relatively easy and does not  necessitate our looking in the Teacher's to see which words or expressions are new because usually we know which vocabulary our students are most likely to be being faced with for the first time.  Highlighting leaves the student with a reminder as to which words should be revised at a later date.

      The only point I probably concentrate on more is grammar.  I believe it is essential for the student to have no weaknesses in that area because if they do not know the rules really well, they are unable to speak well, understand fully what they read, catch the time sequences in a listening passage or conversation, write correctly or speedily answer the Use of English section in a paper. 

      Heath's picture
      Heath
      Maybe a little different.
      Submitted on 4 June, 2010 - 02:16

      Ah, interesting.  Actually, the approach I described is more about my view regarding grammar teaching.   

      The points I concentrate more on are vocabulary, lexis and functional language, which is what I believe helps them to be able to speak well and understand listening and conversations better. 

      I do see a bit more use for grammar when it comes to reading and writing, but for two reasons I don't focus on it too much:  a) while it helps convey meaning more precisely, vocabulary is much more essential to meaning;  b) people pick up a lot of grammar naturally anyway.

      Still, as that article Neil mentioned says, "'The best way to teach grammar' is a controversial topic". 

       

      veasna's picture
      veasna
      New member
      Submitted on 1 December, 2011 - 04:43

      I just become new person here. I think teaching seem to be easy because it based on rule to write for some reason.