Teaching Grammar Communicatively

Marla YoshidaFall 2012

http://teachesl.pbworks.com Teaching Grammar

What does communicative language teaching mean?

• We teach lessons that are student centered.• We create opportunities for students to use

English actively to communicate and express their own ideas.

• We create context for language use.• We help students reach beyond their comfort

zone--to stretch their abilities and sometimes make mistakes.

• We speak English as much as possible.

Doesn’t CLT mean that we shouldn’t teach grammar?

• No! Grammar and CLT can go hand-in-hand. We can teach grammar effectively using a common-sense communicative framework.

How do students learn grammar? They need:

Input

Output Explanations

DemonstrationsExamples

QuantityQuality

Teaching grammar is like teaching someone to play tennis.

• It’s not enough to learn the rules.

• You have to really play the game, even if you make lots of mistakes at first.

• It’s not enough to watch how-to videos.• It’s not enough to practice hitting the ball

against a wall.

Your student’s first tennis game should not be against this opponent….

An effective sequence for teaching grammar:

Don’t explain too much at one time.

Cognitive overload!

L

1. Introducing a new grammar point: You can do it in English!

• When you explain grammar in English, it should not be just a translation of what you would say in your native language.

• Use less metalanguage.

• Create context.

• Show, don’t just tell.

Many ways to introduce grammar…

• Inductive or deductive?– Inductive: Students see or hear many examples

using the grammar. They study them and figure out the rule for themselves.

(Inductive = moving into the rule.)– Deductive: Students learn a rule, then practice

using it to make sentences. (Deductive = moving from the rule.)

Many ways to introduce grammar…

Inductive

• Today is Friday. Is today Friday?

• We’re busy. Are we busy?

• My brother is a student. Is my brother a student?

• What’s the rule for making questions with this kind of sentence?

Many ways to introduce grammar…

Deductive

• To change a sentence with a “be” verb into a question, the subject and verb change places.

• Today is Friday. Is today Friday?

• We’re busy. Are we busy?

• My brother is a student. Is my brother a student?

Many ways to introduce grammar…

• Create context.

• Listen and do, act it out. Use pictures or real objects to show the meaning of the form.

• Use a dialog, tell a story, or talk about an imaginary situation.

• Explain the rule simply, clearly, and briefly. You don’t have to give every detail at once! K.I.S.S. = Keep it short and simple!

Context

From Understanding and Using English Grammar, Fourth Edition, by Betty S. Azar and Stacy A. Hagen, Pearson Longman, 2009

A little context

No context

Lots of metalanguage

Lingua Latina studemus.

pila

puella puer

Ambulo. Ambulamus. Puella ambulat. Puer ambulat. Non ambulo.Pila non ambulat.

Puella pilam iactat. Puer pilam iactat. Pilam iacto.Pilam iactamus.

ambulo iacto, iactare capto, captare porto studeo, studere ad puellam ad puerum discipulus/-um discipula/-am

2. Practicing the new grammar

• Use plenty of guided practice!

• Create context. Make the language come alive!

• Emphasize productive practice. (Students produce language on their own.)

• It takes time! There’s a time lag between understanding and being able to produce language accurately and consistently.

What’s wrong with this lesson plan?

1. Introduce the new grammar (“X is ---er than Y”) by talking about real objects. (“The book is bigger than the pencil.” “A kitten is cuter than a spider.”)

2. Give students a handout with sentences and have them fill in the blanks:

• Mary is _______-er _______ John.• John is ________ ______ Bill.• Bill _____________________________.• ______________________________________.

What’s wrong with this lesson plan?

1. Introduce the new grammar (“X is ---er than Y”) by talking about real objects. (“The book is bigger than the pencil.” “A kitten is cuter than a spider.”)

2. Give students a handout with sentences and have them fill in the blanks:

• Mary is _______-er _______ John.• John is ________ ______ Bill.• Bill _____________________________.• ______________________________________.

That’s right! We need more guided practice!

Some ways to practice grammarGroup guided practice as a class:

• Questions and answers

…between teacher and students

…between students and students

• Instructions using the grammar point

• Descriptions using the grammar point

• Chain questions

Some ways to practice grammarGuided practice (very simple at first):

• Listen to a sentence and choose the correct picture

• Fill-in-the-blank exercises

• Change sentences from one form to another

• Other very simple exercises—spoken or written

Some ways to practice grammarGuided practice (becoming more challenging):

• Questions & answers about objects

• Writing sentences about pictures

• Changing a model dialog to fit students’ chosen meaning

• Information gaps or jigsaws

• Other activities requiring more thought

Some ways to practice grammarIndependent practice:

• Talking about pictures, other visual prompts

• Role plays

• Writing stories, dialogs, poems, etc.

• Discussions

• Problem solving

• Sequencing, ranking, classifying

Some ways to practice grammarIndependent practice:

• Creating games and puzzles for classmates to try

• Other activities requiring creative, independent language use

• Games that provide good, solid language practice

In summary…To teach grammar well, we need to…

• make students notice the grammar and

• practice it communicatively in many ways.