Teaching Grammar

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Teaching Grammar
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By the end of this lecture, students should be
able to

• Develop an awareness about some issues related to
  the teaching of Grammar.
• Define Grammar and recognize the two types of
  Grammar.
• Identify the Basics of English Grammar.
• Recognize the methodology, and techniques related
  to the teaching of Grammar.

Objectives of this lecture
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Questions to think about prior to the lecture

• Whats the importance of improving Grammar skills
  in our everyday life?
• Do you think that teaching of Grammar is
  difficult sometimes? why?
• Do you think that there are certain techniques
  (exercises) used for teaching Grammar ? If yes,
  can you list some of them?

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Some Issues Related to the Teaching of Grammar

• Sometimes teachers face difficulties when
  teaching Grammar, e.g. some teachers know the
  grammatical rules but dont know how to explain
  it well to Ss. There are certain GR that cause Ss
  confusion, also due to cultural differences
  sometimes its hard to explain GR. To Avoid this
• As a native or expert speaker, youll know what
  the correct form is even if you dont know the
  rule.
• You dont need to know all the grammar to teach
  it
• If you face any difficulty refer to a reference
  book.
• Youll learn by doing as you gain experience.
• There are some grammatical teaching strategies
  that will help Ss to be independent.

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What is Grammar?

• Grammar is the study of how words fit together to
  form meaningful sentences.
• Two types of grammar
• Descriptive Grammar rules These appeals to the
  rules that native speakers of any language learn
  naturally as they absorb speech patterns during
  their early years.
• Prescriptive Grammar rules These appeals to the
  rules and patterns that are learned in grammar
  classes and references books (not naturally in
  the early years).
• See P. 131

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Basics of English Grammar

• Form and function, the metalanguage of Grammar
  e.g. (nouns, count non count nouns, proper
  nouns, pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, verbs,
  phrasal verbs, transitive/intransitive verbs,
  adj., adv., articles, conjunctions, correlatives,
  preposition, subject, direct/indirect object,
  verbals, and Tag Q)
• The Verb System of English e.g. (Basic tenses)
  P.136
• Passive voice.
• The three types of conditionals.
• Clauses.(dependent/ independent)
• Modals.
• Refer to page 132-135

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Teaching Grammar and Guided Discovery

• Teaching of Grammar with some problems can be
  dull and ineffective if it depends on diagrams
  and memorization.
• But, in order to solve this problem , Teachers
  should always integrate form, meaning, and use.
• Two ways for teaching Grammar
• Cover grammar points methodically, following an
  established order provided in a grammar text.
• Expose Ss to variety of Language activities and
  explore the grammar aspects of those activities
  as Ss needs questions arise.
• It is really important to relate grammar points
  to authentic language
• The presumptions that Ss dont know anything
  about English Grammar.
• T only need to activate Ss background knowledge
  and form basic for those Ss who dont have BK,
  they will be familiar with some examples.
• Ss need to know how to learn by their own.

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1- Identification of the Grammar point

• Its really important to incorporate grammar
  teaching to all area of the language , so when Ss
  are discussing a news article, or watching a
  video , interesting grammar points present
  themselves. For example T can infer some grammar
  points like
• Structural Patterns Combination of words that
  provide meaning, that when looking them (isolated
  words) up in a dictionary will not form a clear
  meaning. P143.
• Words Order Knowing the correct word order.
  P143.
• Structural Words Some words work with certain
  structures but not others. E.g. 143.

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2- Grammar Practice

• After identifying grammar point and clarifying
  its form, meaning , and use through T models and
  contexts, the nest step is to guide Ss practice.
• There are three drills used for grammar practice
• Repetition Drill.
• Question Drill.
• Substitution Drill.
• Refer to P 145- 146.

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3- Guided Discovery

• This method helps Ss unravel the patterns in
  English by stressing their observations of real
  language. Guided discovery encourages your
  students active engagement and avoids
  ineffective memorization of rules.
• Its based on certain examples and activities
  that Ss give to the T , then the T with Ss
  discuss the examples until Ss figure out the
  patterns and the right answer.
• Refer to P. 147- 148

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• The End
• Thank you for your participation