the role of grammar in CLT

By mastering the rules of grammar, students can communicate with native speaker effectivelyb. Teaching the rules of grammar is essential if students are to learn to communicate effective

Topic 3: The role of grammar in CLT

ELTM 1 – WEEK 5

REFLECTION –Task 1

1 What are the differences in grammar instruction between CLT and other methods?

2 What implications for grammar instruction can be withdrawn from the text?

3 In Vietnam, for some reasons, a reasonable amount of accuracy is also critical and the question is how to teach grammar effectively Concerning this, Murcia and Hills (1988, as cited in

Celce-Mucia, 1991, p 466) suggest that “grammar should never be taught

as an end in itself but always with reference to meaning, social

factors, or discourse – or a combination of these factors” In your

groups, discuss:

a How you understand this statement?

b Whether or not you agree with it?

c How you would apply it in your instruction of grammar?

TASK 1

Tick the extent to which you would agree or disagree with the following

statements Give reasons for your opinions (if possible).

al Disagre e

1 By mastering the rules of grammar,

students can communicate with native

speaker effectively

2 Teaching the rules of grammar is essential if

students are to learn to communicate

effectively

3 Developing grammatical competence is not

the goal of CLT

4 Grammar rules should not be taught

explicitly

5 The teacher should encourage students to

notice the patterns of their new language

6 Grammar instructions should merely focus

on meaning

TASK 1

1 By mastering the rules of grammar,

students can communicate with native

speaker effectively

X

2 Teaching the rules of grammar is

essential if students are to learn to

communicate effectively

X

3 Developing grammatical competence

is not the goal of CLT

X

4 Grammar rules should not be taught

explicitly

It depend s

5 The teacher should encourage

students to notice the patterns of their

new language

X

6 Grammar instructions should merely

focus on meaning

Both form and meaning

NUNAN (1991) Roles of Grammar

• In traditional classrooms: dominant (RG1)

• In earlier communicative classrooms: marginal (RG2)

• In recent communicative classrooms:

important (RG3) but just as a means to the

end (context, social functions)

learning grammar as both processes and

products; focus on both form and meaning

Example: EXTRACT C-TASK 2

Focus on form

Reflection –TASK 3

Focus on form

Types of

instruction Learners’ attention directed

at

Comments on pros and cons

1

Meaning-focused

(RG2)

Eg Extract

B-Task 2

meaning only (understanding and conveying message content)

Advantages: development

of fluency Disadvantages: failure to develop accuracy.

2

Form-focused:

2 types

a

Focus-on-form S

(RG1)

Eg Extract

A-Task 2

discrete forms counter-effective: forms

taught separately from functions

b Focus- on –

form (RG3)

Eg Extract C

– Task 2

focus primarily on meaning and

attention to forms when the need arises

learners can see the relationship between forms and functions

Two principal ways to achieve focus-on-form (Ellis, 1994)

1 Design activities requiring learners to

communicate while also focusing their

attention on specific formal properties ( task-based syllabus )

2 Teachers provide corrective feedback

(ELTM2) on learners’ errors during

communication activities

Deciding factors for grammar

instruction

Less important

Focus on form More important

Learner variables

Proficiency level Beginning Intermediate Advanced

Educational

background PreliterateNo formal

education

Semiliterate Some formal education

Literate Well educated

Instructional

variables

Skills Listening, reading Speaking Writing

Register Informal Consultative* Formal

Need/use Survival

communication Vocational Professional

Topic 3: COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE

TEACHING AND THE AUTHENTIC TEXT

1 Authenticity defined

2 Types of authenticity

3 Designing learner authentic tasks

TASK 1: Discussion points:

1 What does “text authenticity” mean

authenticity”?

2 Why is there a push for authenticity

in CLT?

3 Can you name some of authentic materials that can be used in the classroom?

4 How useful do you think authentic materials are in the classroom?

5 What difficulties might arise when using authentic materials?

AUTHENTICITY DEFINED

- Authenticity (philosophy) - From Wikipedia, the free

encyclopedia

Authenticity is a technical term in existentialist philosophy

, and is also used in the philosophy of art and

psychology In philosophy, the conscious self is seen as coming to terms with being in a material world and

with encountering external forces, pressures and

influences which are very different from, and other

than, itself Authenticity is the degree to which one is true to one's own personality, spirit, or character,

despite these pressures.

AUTHENTICITY DEFINED (Cont.)

Previously : authenticity and authentic are often used to

describe language samples – both oral and written – naturalness of form, and appropriateness of cultural and situational context (Rogers & Medley, 1988)

- Authentic materials: materials generated by native

speakers and for native speakers are considered

authentic (Rogers & Medley, 1988)

- Authenticity in ELT: genuineness, realness,

truthfulness, validity, reliability, undisputed

credibility, and legitimacy of materials or practices

(Tatsuki, 2006)

AUTHENTICITY DEFINED (Cont.)

Recent theories have increasingly viewed the

authenticity of materials ( text authenticity ) in

relation to learners’ needs and the context of use ( situation authenticity )

- The authenticity of materials should not be at the expense of their appropriacy and relevance to

learners’ needs ( learner authenticity ).

- Authenticity lies not only in the ‘genuineness’ of

text, but has much to do with the notion of task ( task authenticity ).

Types of task authenticity

(Guariento and Morley, 2001)

1 Genuine purpose : real communication-natural

interaction in real time

2 Real world targets : buying a train ticket, renting

an apartment, taking lecture notes

3 Classroom interaction : put students in pairs or

groups to discuss, evaluate, and report on the

usefulness and appropriateness of teacher

feedback and different kinds of homework tasks

4 Engagement : learners are ‘engaged’ by the task,

genuinely interested in its topic and purpose,

and understand its relevance.

Designing learner authentic tasks

• Communicative materials need to provide learning

activities that are purposeful, meaningful and relevant

to learners’ needs In this way, learners are stimulated

to ‘authenticate’ even the materials that are not

authentic in themselves

• Be an ‘authenticating teacher’, take the role of a leader

and the central element who gives the teaching

material its authenticity; i.e it is the teacher who helps learners understand the materials, feel positive

towards it, approach it with a communicative purpose, and finally respond positively such that classroom

communication develops and a real negotiation of

meaning occurs

CARD A

You are a student who is doing a

research study about the origins of

migrants to in 2001 Ask your partner,

who is a Bureau of Statistics official for

the following information:

-The 10 countries that had the greatest

number of migrants to in 2001

-The percentage that the top 10

contributed to the total Australian

population

Etc.

CARD B You are an official of the Statistics Bureau of Australia Your partner is

a student who is doing research about the origins of migrants to Australian in 2001 Answer his/ her questions, using the information given in this table

For beginners: Study the table and answer the

following questions:

1.Which country had the greatest number of

migrants to Australian in 2001? Which had the

smallest?

2.How many Australians were born overseas?

Etc.

For intermediate learners: An information-gap

activity:

For advanced learners: Study the table and write

a report to your teacher, describing the

information presented in the table.