Coursebooks and supplementary materials use a lot of grammar terminology but I try to be cautious about what I use in the class. For example, my learners get confused by the ‘present simple’ which doesn’t just refer to the present. Some terminology just doesn’t tell my learners anything, such as ‘a type 4 phrasal verb’ or ‘the infinitive’. Some terminology is just over-complicated, such as ‘past perfect passive’. And sometimes my learners use the terminology but I have no idea if they understand what it means, for example when they talk about passives. One of my solutions to this is to ask the class to analyse language and find terms themselves – for example, one of my groups calls the infinitive the dictionary form and another calls the past perfect the ‘before the past’ form.
By Paul kaye
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iriselina
Yes, but I did use new terms for the present tense as my students were adults and to say that,' the present tense is used for more than present time' (not as taught in school grammar books), was unsatisfactory, even illogical.
I explained the various uses and then gave them the new term, the Iterative Use, and this was well-received by Post graduate students. I used B.D. Graver's excellent Advanced English Grammar (OUP).
Adult Non-Native speakers need to know rules and terms in addition to the use !
I too have heard of the 'Past beyond the Past' for Past Perfect! Accompanied by time - lines this becomes clear to sts.
Iris (retired teacher)
kandzia
Hi,
I understand where you are coming from, however, for many students it is necessary to learn grammar terminology and it also should make your life easier as a teacher, on the condition that you explain to the students the whole complexity of rules that apply to various grammar points.
Learning a language is usually a long-term project and learners build their knowledge gradually. If you explain to your students basic rules for the use of present simple tense in their first year of learning, it will be easier for the next teacher to develop this knowledge further in the following years of their study as there is a common language to use. It is especially important when students move on and for example change their teacher or school. They will feel disappointed with you when other students, contrary to them, will be able to follow commonly used terminology and they'll be stuck with terms created by themselves.
maito
Hey Paul
I partially disagree with you even though I think you´ve a point.
Throughout my experience teaching EFL in Colombia I´ve had to cope with classes where you end up thinking, "man!! I should´ve never mentioned all those structure names (object, participial form, etc). Yet, later I found out some Ss better understand by making links between prior knowledge (grammar names) and new one. For instance, when learning the past perfect wouldn´t it be nice to know both forms, the past perfect and present perfect use the verbs in past participle? Probably yes. Besides, keep in mind most CALL uses all this terminology; then, wouldn´t it lack realism to keep learners from learning such names? again my answer is YES.
In sum, I suggest yo don´t disregard terminology from your classes since it can actually help your learners in future lesson. Additionally, make sure to recycle terminology so that Ss can start creating bonds between yesterday´s, today´s and tomorrow´s grammar.
anaumoska
Hi all,
Unfortunately, I too don't agree with you Paul on your tip on how to bring EL grammar terminology closer to students. So yes, we might not need to explain when the to-infinitive is used and its exceptions to elementary learners of the language, but regarding adults who are at a higher level of learning English, I can't say that this tip applies. I teach first-year English majors at the Department of English Language and Literature (in Skopje) and they don't want to be treated as people who are not able to learn a term as it should be learned, so before explaining a new grammar point to them, I first give as many authentic examples as I can find in newspapers and magazines, and then after I see that they have at least the slightest idea of what I am explaining, then I give them the appropriate grammar term, and afterwards explain it using metalanguage. This is the method that has worked for me. I taught English Morphology for two years and noticed quite a difference in their understanding of the terms after using this method.
Best regards from Macedonia,
Aneta.