05 present and practice grammar

In this unit we will be considering different approaches to teaching grammar and whether we need to make form or structure rules explicit to learners.. Aims By the end of this unit you

ICELT DISTANCE UNIT 5 Grammar presentation & practice

Contents

Introduction ……… 3

Aims ……… 3

Reading ……… 4

Section A – Reflection ……… 5

Section B – Approaches to teaching grammar ……… 8

Section C – Presentation techniques ……… 19

Section D – Practice techniques ……… 29

Section E – Grammar in the young earner classroom ………… 34

References ……… 35

Feedback on unit ……… 36

Introduction

In many traditional language classrooms, grammar was viewed as the most important aspect of language learning Methodology was concerned almost solely with ways of having learners practise the grammar with vocabulary and pronunciation slotted in Nowadays most teachers would not recognise that situation – there has been a growing acceptance that there is much more to a language than grammar In the 1970’s, the communicative approach mostly abandoned this emphasis on grammatical form in favour communicating the message successfully, despite inaccuracies More recently, however, the importance of focussing on form has been addressed again

In this unit we will be considering different approaches to teaching grammar and whether we need to make form (or structure) rules explicit to learners We shall evaluate a number of presentation and practice techniques

Aims

By the end of this unit you should:

• Have a clearer understanding of deductive, inductive and guided discovery approaches to grammar teaching

• Have analysed lessons in relation to these approaches

• Have analysed the learning process within a guided discovery lesson

• Have planned a sequence of activities using a guided discovery framework

• Have evaluated a number of presentation techniques

• Have a clearer understanding or the notion of controlled and free practice activities

• Have planned controlled and free practice activities for particular language points

• Have considered the place of grammar in younger learner classrooms

Essential Reading

Cameron, L 2001 Teaching Languages to Young Learners CUP

Chapter 5 – Learning Grammar

Nunan, D 1991 Language Teaching Methodology Longman

Chapter 8 – the Role of Grammar

Ur, P 1999 A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory CUP

Recommended Further Reading

ELT Forum Teacher Development Pack: Grammar

Section A: Reflection

Task 1

Read the following comments which were made by different teachers Consider whether you agree or disagree with them and why If possible, do this task with a colleague

1 I usually tell the students the rule before we practice grammar

2 I try not to use grammar terminology in the classroom

3 I like to use examples from my students’ life when I am teaching grammar

4 I think if we provide enough good examples, then students can infer the rules without being told

5 It is easy to explain some grammar rules by others are so complicated that

it is better not to bother

6 It is better to do other activities such as reading a story or listening to a song first that lead to grammar

When you have finished, look at the commentary that follows

Commentary

1 I usually tell the students the rule before we practice grammar

This is one of the features of the deductive approach (don’t be confused by the name!) to grammar teaching In this approach the teacher moves from rules to examples In contrast, there is the inductive approach, in which learners are presented with lots of examples and they work out the rule for themselves; in other words they induce the rule

This is also very characteristic of the grammar translation method of language teaching and is also very common in students’ grammar books

2 I try not to use grammar terminology in the classroom

If you are teaching very young learners you probably agreed with this

If you are teaching older children or adults then it is very difficult to avoid terminology altogether unless you are using a totally experiential approach to language learning where the students are using the language to perform task with no explicit analysis of the language

On the other hand, over use of terminology with turn a lot of students off and it is important to be sensitive to the effect use of terminology is having on students

3 I like to use examples from my students’ life when I am teaching grammar

This attitude comes from a humanistic approach to language learning in which it

is believed that affective (emotional) factors as just as important as cognitive factors

It is probably an obvious point but if learning is personalised in this way then it will probably be more memorable Traditionally, the personalisation stage comes after the presentation but there is no reason why the presentation itself should not be personalised However, this would require a great deal of skill on the teacher’s part

4 I think if we provide enough good examples, then students can infer the rules without being told

See number 1 This is characteristic of an inductive approach to learning grammar This approach is also called a discovery approach It is comparable to the way in which we learn our first language; direct experience of the language and unconscious assimilation of rules

5 It is easy to explain some grammar rules by others are so complicated that

it is better not to bother

Most experienced teacher would accept this and plan their teaching accordingly Perhaps a more important point is that some rules are very difficult to induce or discover For example the correct placement of adverbs – I like football very much or He is often late may never be noticed by students unless they are pointed out explicitly

6 It is better to do other activities such as reading a story or listening to a song first that lead to grammar

This is an underlying principle in such approaches as task-based learning and the whole language approach – you learn best by doing

Section B: Approaches

The tasks in this section have been taken from Thornbury, 2004)

Task 1

Read through the following three mini lessons and for each one decide:

• Sequence: Which comes first the rule or the example?

• Rule: Is the rule stated explicitly or is it implicitly understood?

• Guidance: How much does the teacher guide the learners?

Teacher writes on the board:

I have been working

Has Jeff been watching TV?

They haven’t been listening

“You use the present perfect continuous to talk about activities that started in the past and continue to the present (or very recent past), especially when you want to focus on the process itself, or its duration, for example…”

Teacher writes on board:

We have been living here since we got married

How long have you been studying Chinese?

Why is your hair wet? I’ve been swimming

“Now make sentences using the present perfect continuous for these situations…

Jeff started watching TV at five o’clock Hi has just switched the TV off It is now nine o’clock

I first came to live in this town five years ago I’m still living here

Our company was set up over 100 years ago We manufactured bicycles them and we are still manufacturing them.”

When did she start waiting?

(Learners: “Eight o’clock.”)

Is she still waiting?

(Learners: “Yes.”)

How do you express the idea of waiting that started in the past and is still continuing?

(Learners: “She has been waiting.”)

How is the tense formed?

(Learners: “Have plus been plus –ing.”)

This tense is called the present perfect continuous

Here is another situation:

It is now nine o’clock and Jeff is watching TV He started watching TV at five o’clock He has been watching TV for four hours

Use the present perfect continuous to make a sentence for each of these situations:

I first came to live in this town five years ago I’m still living here

Our company was set up over 100 years ago We manufactured bicycles then, and we are still manufacturing them.”

_

Lesson 3

Teacher:

“Once upon a time, Goldilocks visited the Bears’ house There was nobody home She ate some of Baby Bear’s porridge She smoked one of Father Bear’s cigars She drank some of Mother Bear’s coffee, and she rode Mother Bear’s motorbike She played with Buddy Bear’s toys, and she played Buddy Bear’s guitar She read some of Missy Bear’s magazines, and she used Missy Bear’s computer

Well, finally, she felt tired so she went upstairs to sleep When the Bears came home, Baby Bear said, “Who’s been eating my porridge?” Repeat (Learners: “Who’s been eating my porridge?”)

Mother Bear said, “Who’s been drinking my coffee?” Repeat

(Learners: “Who’s been drinking my coffee?”)

Father Bear said, “Who’s been smoking my cigar?” Repeat

(Learners: “Who’s been smoking my cigar?”

What did Missy Bear say about her magazines?

(Learners: Who’s been reading my magazines?”

And her computer?

(Learners: “Who’s been using my computer?”

What did Buddy Bear say about his toys?

(Learners: “Who’s been playing with my toys?”

And his guitar?

(Learners: “Who’s been playing my guitar?”

What did Mother Bear say about her motorbike?

(Learners: “Who’s been riding my motorbike?”

Now tell the story to your partner.”

Commentary

Lesson 1 Rule example Explicit High

Lesson 2 Example rule Explicit High

Lesson 3 Examples only Implicit Low

Lesson 1

This is typical of a deductive approach where the rule is stated at the

beginning, example are provided, and then further examples are given by the learners as evidence of their learning The teacher guides the whole process with very little or no learner involvement until the practice stage (Though it is possible for the teacher to involve the learners from the beginning by eliciting)

Lesson 2

This is a typical inductive presentation, in which an example is given and from which the rule is discovered and then made explicit Another example is given before the learners go on to practise the rule themselves There is high teacher guidance through the use of leading questions This is an example of

learning by guided discovery

Lesson 3

This is an example of a presentation in which examples of the target form are given in context, but where the rule is not made explicit Learners are expected to demonstrate awareness of of the rule in their responses If they

do so, they have shown evidence of discovery learning in its unguided form

Task 2

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the approaches

above Complete the table below When you have finished look at the

• Can involve complicated explanations and a lot of metalanguage

• Can demotivate learners who are ‘afraid’ of grammar

• Not very involving – learner needn’t make much mental effort – so may not be memorable Lesson 2

Guided discovery

• Involving and challenging for learners

• Suits particular learning types who are good at discerning patterns

• Usually more engaging

to start with example especially if personalised

• May frustrate those learners who like clear explanations at beginning

• May take a lot of time

• May exclude learners who are not good at discerning patterns

• Learners are practising language at the same time as learning it

• Focus on USING the language rather than TALKING ABOUT the language

• Encourage learner autonomy

• May put too much responsibility on learner

• Difficult to check if the correct rule have been

According to Thornbury (2004), in a guided discovery approach the teacher guides and supports the learning process by:

a Problem-framing setting a problem-solving task for the learners

b Providing data giving sufficient examples to help learners solve the

problem

c Focussing attention Drawing learners’ attention to key features of the data

(structure)

d Asking leading questions Using questions to guide the learners to a solution

e Making connections Referring to, and building on, what the learners already

T (1) Now I’m going to dictate some sentences, and I want you to write

them dowm Are you ready?

At present, I am living in a friend’s apartment [pause]

I am going to repeat the sentences then I want you to check in pairs to see

if you both have the same …

T OK All those sentences are about me, but some are true and some are

false Can you guess which is which? I’ll give you a clue Only one of them is false Yes, Andres ….?

T …OK Well done, Andres So you guessed it correctly Last year I wa

living in Barranquilla not Bucaramanga (2) Now let’s look at those

sentences about now and sentences about the finished past….?

T … That’s right So we have two sentences about the finished past And

three sentences about now (3) How do you know they are about now?

S1 ‘Now’

S2 ‘At present’

T Good, ‘I have been teaching for twelve years now I have been living in

Cali for a year now At present, I am living in a friend’s apartment.’ OK

(4) Now let’s look at these last two sentences ‘I have been living in Cali / I

am living in a friend’s apartment.’ (5) Can you see the difference?

S3 have been

T have been living, and …

S4 am living

T So what’s the difference?

S5 have been living is finished

T (6) Is it? Are you sure? ‘I have been living in Cali for a year now.’ Is that

finished?

T (7) When did I start living in Cali?

S3 One year ago

T Good ‘I have been living in Cali for a year now’ Am I still living in here in

Cali?’

Ss Yes

T (8) Are we talking about the past only, or the present only, or from the past

to the present?

S1 The present only

T (9) Exactly But I have been living in Cali for a year.’ ?

Ss Past and present

T Good From past to present (10) Do you remember what we call this

tense: I am living…?

S6 Present continuous

T Good So what do we call this one, have been living, do you think?

[pause] Have been … what is that?

S4 Present perfect

T Good (11) So have been living?

S6 Present continuous perfect

T Not quite Try again The other way around…

S6 Present perfect continuous

T Excellent And so we use the present perfect continuous as a way of

connecting the past to the present …

Commentary

This teacher here uses a guided discovery approach in this lesson The teacher personalises the data, and makes it into a kind of game (true / false) in order to engage the learners and to encourage them to think about the meaning of the sentences – this helps them to make sense of the rule

The teacher includes a time adverbial in each of the sentences so that the students can make sense of them even before the focus on present continuous / present perfect continuous

7 asking leading questions

8 asking leading questions

9 giving feedback

10 making connections (or asking leading questions)

11 making connections (or asking leading questions)

12 recapping / summarizing

Task 4

Try to do this task with a colleague

Choose one of the structures in the box below Design a guided discovery presentation for the structure

You need to follow the sequence of a guided discovery presentation (from examples to rule and that you provide support and guidance for the learners in the form of problem framing and leading questions

Think about the following:

• Will the examples be easily understood by the learner?

• Do the examples include vocabulary that needs to be explained or taught?

pre-• Is there a very clear context for the examples?

• Do the examples provide a typical, and natural, context for the targeted language structure?

• Are there sufficient examples for learners to work out the rule?

To have something done (e.g I’ve had the kitchen painted)

To be getting used to something (e.g I’m getting used to this classroom,)

Would you mind … -ing? (e.g would you mind opening the window?

Too+adjective+infinitive (e.g it’s too hot to play tennis)

Should+have+past participle (e.g you should have brought your sunglasses Please post your ideas on the website forum for comments from your colleagues

Task 5

Read: Nunan, D 1998 Language Teaching Methodology Prentice Hall – chapter

8 Focus on Form The role of grammar

This is an overview of research into grammar and second language acquisition Before reading, note down what theories you expect to read to read about