tools for teaching english grammar to spanish-speaking students

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Tools for Teaching English Grammar to Spanish-Speaking

Students Who Know Almost Nothing About It

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What We’ll Discuss…• Gramática del inglés: Paso a paso At last:

a grammar book written in Spanish that assumes no prior knowledge of English or Spanish grammar

• Winning strategies for teaching grammar to Spanish-speakers who know very little about grammar in English or Spanish

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Introducing: Gramática del inglés: Paso a Paso

• Written in readers’ native language: Spanish (with English addition available)

• Explicitly teaches punctuation and parts of speech in addition to teaching grammar

• Assumes no prior knowledge of Spanish or English grammar or punctuation

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Topics Covered• Identifying nouns, pronouns, and adjectives • Using capital letters, periods, and question

marks• Distinguishing between singular and plural

nouns• Using a, an, and the• Conjugating the verbs to be and to have • Possessive adjectives, his, her, etc. • Contractions

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Pace

• Presents concepts in small, manageable steps

• For example– Section 1: my – Section 2: his, her– Section 3: your, our– Section 4: its, their

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Format• Employs consistent,

easy to use layout• Each page of

explanation is followed by a page of practice exercises

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Focus on Error Correction

• Calls out differences between Spanish and English grammar

• Includes exercises in which students choose between the correct and incorrect grammatical structure:

I no tired. I’m not tiredShe hair Her hair

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Practice Makes (almost) Perfect

• About a thousand exercises• Answers to all exercises included• All vocabulary is defined before it is

used• Bilingual dictionary includes all words

used in exercises

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How to Use This Book:• As a class text • As an optional text that students

purchase themselves for use at home

• In one-on-one tutoring programs• In Study at Home programs• As a resource for teachers with

Spanish-speaking students

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And please…

Purchase, don’t copy, these books! • It’s cheaper for you.• It’s better for your students.

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Almost hot off the press…

• Gramática del inglés: Paso a paso 2 will be available early next year, if not sooner. It covers– Simple present– Do and does-- Present Progressive-- and LOTS more

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Goals for today• Make teaching

grammar more fun and effective

• Make learning grammar more fun and productive

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Grammar Conundrum #1• The Audio-lingual Method produced students who

knew a lot about specific language structures but couldn’t apply what they knew to spontaneous conversation.

• The Communicative Approach produces students who communicate well but lack grammatical competency.

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Grammar Conundrum #2

• Explicit knowledge: conscious knowledge of grammar rules learned through formal classroom instruction

• Implicit knowledge: unconscious, internalized knowledge of a language that is available for spontaneous speech

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Resolving the Grammar Conundrum: Goals

• Enable students to develop grammatical competency even in spontaneous speech.

• Make correct grammar automatic.• Avoid the inert knowledge problem,

inability to activate knowledge or transfer knowledge when you need it.

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CASE STUDYShort Answer, present tense,

with to be• Students answer these questions:

– Are you tired? – Are your parents in the United

States?

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CASE STUDYShort Answer, present tense,

with to be• Prior knowledge required to answer

these questions: – Statements vs. questions– Conjugating the verb to be – Parts of speech (you vs. your)– Singular vs. plural– Contractions (or not)

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How do you do it?*

• Explain• Experience• Explore

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EXPLAIN grammar forms

• Be brief• Be organized• Be repetitive• Be authentic

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For every grammar form…•Focus on error detection

–1. I’m not tired. I no tired. –2. It is empty. Is empty. –3. I have an old car. I have car old. –4. The cars are new The cars is

new.• Can you identify the root of each

grammar error?

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For every grammar form…• Test for understanding often!

– Assignment: Write a sentence that includes the word “cleans.”

• She is a cleans the house. • Maria’s cleans her house. • He clean his house. • She has cleans her house. • Maria is clean her house.• Louisa is a housecleaner. • She cleans the her house.

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Teach parts of speech from Day 1

Teach them in this order:• nouns (person, place, animal, thing)• subject pronouns (replace nouns) • adjectives• verbs (start with to be)• prepositions• adverbs

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Teach parts of speech from Day 1

Use a variety of techniques• Contests • Four corners• Fill the form• Identification exercises• Analylze texts

Practice parts of speech often!

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EXPERICNE grammar using these strategies:

• Make grammar a stand-up activity.• Make grammar a cooperative activity.• Make grammar a kinesthetic activity.• Make grammar a joyous activity!

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Make grammar a stand-up activity

1. Four Corners2. Gertie’s Grammar Cards

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Make grammar a stand-up activity

3. Student Interviews

• Writing• Speaking

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Make grammar a stand-up activity

4. Find three people who…

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Make grammar a cooperative activity

1. Picture Q and A

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Make grammar a cooperative activity

2. Dictation Part 1: Listening and writing

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Make grammar a cooperative activity

2. Dictation: Part 2: Speaking (including pronunciation)

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Make grammar a kinesthetic activity

1. Scrambled sentences

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Make grammar a kinesthetic activity

2. Fill the form

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Make grammar a joyous activity: Sing!

• Sing! (And explore grammar too!) • Do You Want to Dance? (Beach

Boys): asking questions• I Can’t Smile Without You (Barry

Manilow): can and can’t • Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton):

simple present • Email me for more examples

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Make grammar a joyous activity: Sing!

• How to do it… • Select a song based on the grammar

structure you want to teach.• Use iTunes to download the song.• Print the lyrics from the Internet. • Develop lessons based on the lyrics and

one grammar point.

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Make grammar a joyous activity: Sing!

• Day 1: – Play the song.– Talk about what it

means– Note grammar

form

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Make grammar a joyous activity: Sing!

• Day 2 and 3: Focus on vocabulary

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Make grammar a joyous activity: Sing!

• Day 4: Practice the grammar form using vocabulary from the song.

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Make grammar a joyous activity: Sing!

• Day 5: – Do a cloze activity.– Students listen to the

song and fill in the missing words.

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Make grammar a joyous activity: Sing!

• Sing every day! • Make a Class CD with lyrics

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EXPLORE: Let students “discover” grammar forms

• The goal of “discovering grammar forms” is for students to develop awareness of rather than production of target forms.

• This awareness helps learners notice target forms in future input and facilitates the eventual acquisition of these forms as implicit.

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EXPLORE: Let students “discover” grammar forms

Five part lesson plan: 1. Listening to comprehend2. Listening to notice3. Discovery4. Checking5. Trying it

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CASE STUDYShort Answer, present tense,

with to be• Explanation: Present information in small, manageable chunks: Day 1: Are you talkative?Day 2: Is your sister talkative? Day 3: Are your classmates talkative?

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CASE STUDYShort Answer, present tense,

with to be• Explanation: –Provide one reference sheet that students refer to whenever this topic is discussed

–Repeat the grammar explanation prior to each activity

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CASE STUDYShort Answer, present tense,

with to be• Exploration: Worksheets plus…–Four Corners–Gertie’s grammar cards–Class interviews–Scrambled sentences–Find 3 People Who….–Dictation

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In sum…• Even though

English grammar is excruciatingly difficult…

• You can make it fun!