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GrammarTeaching Grammar with Real Life

The Grammar Focus sections in Real Life Pre-Intermediate are designed to make students think a little more about the grammar that they are learning. Thinking is good for them and will make them better learners.

In the past you may have presented the rules of grammar structures to students first and then given students different exercises (oral and written) to practise the new language. You will find that the approach to presenting Grammar is a little different in Real Life.

How is Grammar presented in Real Life Pre-Intermediate?

The grammar is presented in Grammar Focus sections like this:

• Focus exercises: first the students do exercises to activate their knowledge of the grammar and to give a context for the language. This exercise links back to the reading text.

• Grammar2know: next the students are given the rules with examples from the reading text to help make the meanings clear.

• Grammar practice exercise: then the students complete one or more grammar practice exercises.

In this approach, students have to do some work for themselves at each stage of the process. For pre-intermediate students, the first, Focus stage is particularly important because students may have studied some of the grammar before and this approach helps them build on their previous learning.

Here is the Grammar Focus from page 45 of Real Life Pre-Intermediate Students’ Book.

Grammar Focus

Obligation and permission in the present

6a Read Part 2 of the text and underline the rules about these things.

parents phoning camp using mobile phones

wearing camp uniform wearing make-up

watching TV if students behave well working on Sunday

b Now mark the underlined rules:

1 = it’s necessary to do this

2 = it isn’t necessary to do this

3 = it’s permitted

4 = it’s not permitted.

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Look at Exercise 6a. It does a number of things:

It tells students to look for the grammar in context (in a familiar text).

It checks that students understand what they have already read/heard in the text.

It checks that they understand what words like permission and obligation mean.

It helps them become a little more independent because they have to find the information for themselves.

It helps them get used to talking and thinking about grammar in English.

Exercise 6b makes students think about differences in meaning. In addition, the four options are in English not in their mother tongue. There are very important reasons for this section being in English. Can you think what they are? *

* a) Grammar is not the same in every language. This means it’s often not possible to make direct translations; b) If students are to improve their English, they need to learn to use English for all aspects of their learning; c) English needs to be used as much as possible in the classroom.

Of course you can ask students to explain the different meanings in their mother tongue if you feel you need to check that they really do understand. But you should only do this after they have all finished the exercise.

Remember: Encourage students to explain to you and to give you examples, don’t explain to them. If you explain to them, you don’t know if they really understand!

Every Grammar Focus section contains a Grammar2know. Have a look at the Grammar2know section on page 45 of Real Life Pre-Intermediate Students’ Book.

What do students have to do? Why is this useful?

Students have to find or provide different examples and write them in their Student Books. This means we can check if they understand the grammar or not and if they understand the reading text. If they provide correct examples, then we know they have an understanding of the grammar, in this example the differences between permission and obligation. If their examples aren’t correct, then we know that we need to spend more time on the Focus exercises and on the Grammar2know and that we have to elicit other examples from the text and from their own experience.

Remember: Getting students to give or find examples is always better than asking them, ‘Do you understand?’ Students usually say ‘yes’ when we ask them this question and it doesn’t mean they understand at all!

Students sometimes aren’t motivated to take control of their learning and often want you, the teacher, to do all the work. The approach to teaching grammar in Real Life Pre-Intermediate may be different for them. At first, they may not understand the reason for the Focus exercises and the Grammar2know and may want you to explain the grammar. So be patient but be firm. Your students will soon get used to this approach and you and they will quickly see the benefits.

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