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GRAMMAR - to teach it or not to teach it - A DEBATE

Adriana Lima

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Setting up the context

Teaching English

to Brazilian students (children, teens, adults)

as a foreign language

at language schools.

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Opinions about language learning and teaching

• Learning grammar is first and foremost a question of learning grammar.•It is the language teachers’ responsibility to know as much as possible about the language itself.•Grammar is best learned deductively – that is, by studying rules and then applying the rules to examples.•Grammatical terminology is best avoided in the classroom.•Giving learners complete rules, even if these are more complicated, is better than giving them half-rules.• language should always be studied in its typical contexts of use, rather than in isolation.•English doesn’t have very much grammar, compared to some languages.•The most important part of grammar is the verb system.

What is grammar?

Do you teach grammar?

How?

Why (not)?

More questions

Would you like to change the teaching methodology you are using?

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What is grammar

The rules by which words change their forms and are recombined into sentences, or the study of those rules.

(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)

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Grammar is the backbone of the language.(a teacher from the ELTECS discussion list)

Grammar describes the way language is organised and patterned – particularly at the level of the sentence – in order to make meaning.(Scott Thornbury)

What is grammar

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Grammar is the search for powerful patterns.

(Michael Lewis)

Grammar is a tool to help learners acquire and develop a new language.

(Adriana Lima)

What is grammar

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GRAMMAR, to teach it or not to teach it: that is NOT the

question.

People now agree that grammar is too important to be ignored, and that without a good knowledge of grammar, learners’ language development will be severely constrained.

Jack C. Richards

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The question is WHY (not) and HOW Although there is

no best method of teaching grammar we do know what constitutes sound approaches to the teaching of grammar.

Jack C. Richards

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Why not•Grammar is not something like a car engine where a fault in one component such as the ignition or the fuel supply can cause a complete breakdown. (Michael Swan)

•The syllabus choice for teaching grammar does not follow the natural order of acquisition.

•Knowing about the language is not knowing the language. There are mountains of evidence that many learners are unable to transfer good formal knowledge of grammar to effective use.•It is in the book.

•Learners are tired of grammar lessons at school or college.

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Why•Doing too little grammar is, obviously, as damaging as too much. (Michael Swan)•Grammar distinguishes you as part of a group. In some social contexts, serious deviance form native-speaker norms can hinder integration and excite prejudice.

•It works as a measure of language proficiency. Potential employers and examiners may require a high level of grammatical correctness. •It is a way of reducing ambiguity•Learners expect to learn some grammar and expect their teachers to know it.

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How – some possibilities

Lexical approach In arguing for a Lexical Approach I am

saying that emphasis must always lie upon content. (Michael Lewis)

• Language awareness

Consciousness-raising emphasises discovery learning, it is a supplement to communication activities. (Rod Ellis)

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Task based learning The advantages of such an approach are greater

fluency and the capacity to solve communication problems. But such solutions do not lead them to longer-term progress. (Jack C. Richards)

Error correction By responding to the errors that learners make in

attempts to communicate, you are more likely to match each learner’s individual developmental trajectory than by trying to pre-empt error through pre-teaching. (Scott Thornbury)

How – some possibilities

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Text analysis

Students first step is to look carefully at the language they meet and see what they can learn from it. Grammar from texts is contextualised and it shows what native speakers really say (or write) rather than what we would like them to say. (Dave Willis)

How – some possibilities

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It is unlikely that any of the grammar you teach will take hold if there are not frequent opportunities for putting it to practical use. It means using language creatively in interaction.

Scott Thornbury

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Conclusions

Getting students more personally involved in their grammar learning will not magically make them fluent bilinguals. But it will certainly help them to learn more English, more effectively, and more enjoyably. And that is a good deal better than nothing. (Michael Swan)

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Conclusions

L2 learners make their mistakes and correct them as rules are assimilated subconsciously, some formal grammar teaching may speed this up, strengthening the cognitive process and aiding assimilation. (Fiona Mauchline)

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Before we go back to our classroom let’s remember two

very important points...

EFFICIENCY AND

APPROPRIACY

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Economy

Ease Efficacy

EFFICIENCY

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5

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level

materials available interests

APPROPRIACY

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age

experience + expectations

culture

group constitution

needs

group size

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References

ELT Forum – Grammar. www.eltforum.com Lewis, Michael. The lexical approach – the

state of ELT and a way forward. LTP 1994. Mauchline, Fiona. Natural Language Learning

2. ETp issue 35, Nov 2004. Richards, Jack C. & Renandya, Willy A.

Methodology Language Teaching – an Anthology of Current Practice. CUP 2002.

Thornbury, Scott. Grammar. ETp issue 32, May 2004.

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Adriana LimaAdriana Lima

adrianamoreiradelima@hotmail.comadrianamoreiradelima@hotmail.com

Thank you for coming!!!Thank you for coming!!!