Teaching grammar and

young learners
Nelly Zafeiriadou
nelzafeir@sch.gr

What is grammar? is the kind of question that
seems easy to answer until somebody asks it.

Michael Swan
What is grammar?
A -a system of rules and tools
B -a process that lets you communicate with
other people
C -an important professional skill for teachers

Grammar is emotion
Grammar is very,
very important for
the children.




Grammar is such a
waste of time, lets
get rid of it.


What is grammar for?
A to learn about the system of English
B to communicate in English
C to give me status as a teacher / to
tell my students how English works

With the rise of communicative methodology in
the late 1970s, the role of grammar
instruction in second language leaning was
downplayed, and it was even suggested that
teaching grammar was not only unhelpful but
might actually be detrimental. However,
recent research has demonstrated the need
for formal instruction for learners to attain
high levels of accuracy.


Is there any grammar in this?
A Coffee?
B Please.
A Milk? Sugar?
B No milk. One sugar. Thanks.
A Toast?
B No thanks.
A Juice?
B Mmm.
Scott Thornbury,
2001

Would you like some coffee?
B Yes, I would like some of
that coffee, please.
A Do you take milk?
B I dont take milk. But I will
take one sugar, please.
Thanks.
A Would you like some of this
toast?
B Id prefer not to have any of
that toast, thanks. ()
Grammatical complexity
Do you think you could
open the door?
Open the door.
Would you mind
opening the door?
I wonder if you would
be so kind as to open
the door?
Can you open the door?
The door!

I wonder if you would
be so kind as to open
the door?
Would you mind
opening the door?
Do you think you could
open the door?
Can you open the door?
Open the door.
The door!


Is grammar less important for children
than it is for adults?
Is grammar only important for speaking
and writing?
Is grammar a thing or is it something that
happens?
Scott Thornbury

So
Form and function: process and product
practice strategy - skill
Krashens viewpoint
to abandon grammar teaching

teaching grammar results in learned
knowledge, only available for monitoring
utterances that learners produce using their
acquired knowledge (limited value)

teachers should concentrate on providing lots
of comprehensible input so that learners can
acquire a second language naturally like
children acquiring their mother language.

Ellis viewpoint
To adapt grammar instruction to learners

students are often convinced that learning grammar is of
value to them and, therefore, expect the teachers to teach
grammar
Krashens claim that learners acquire grammar
naturally is not entirely correct for second or foreign
language learners.

we should find a way of teaching grammar that is
compatible with how learners learn grammar.

Some research shows
Learners do not seem to master the
grammar of a second language even when
they get plenty of comprehensible input.
Studies of learners in immersion classroom
have shown that even after ample
exposure to the target language learners
continue to make a lot of grammatical
errors.

With young learners
Tom Scovel
We must prioritize and not attempt to teach all
of the grammar
E.g. past perfect tense infrequent in
speaking or writing or science writing
(except fiction)
What is easy to hear, and easy to see, is easy
to remember, is easy to learn. Listen for
grammar
Aims of grammar with young learners

teach learners to express themselves as
clearly as possible with confidence
increase grammar awareness among young
learners
meet learning styles wherever possible
strengthen grammatical accuracy in a fun and
purposeful way
(Gordon Lewis, Hans Mol, 2009)
Ideally
we should find a way of teaching
grammar that is compatible with how
learners learn grammar.

Grammar presentation
methods
The deductive method
The inductive method
The guided discovery method

The deductive method
Reasoning
Analysing
Comparing
How is it done?
The teacherDraws attention to an example on the board or
in the textbook.
Explains the underlying rules regarding the forms and
positions of certain structural words
explanations often in students native language using
grammatical terms.
comparisons can be made between the native language
and the target language or between the newly presented
structure and previously learned structures.
The students
Practise applying the rule to produce sentences with given
prompts

Pros and cons of the deductive method
It often teaches grammar in an
isolated way
Little attention is paid to
meaning
Practice is often mechanical
It can save time if the students
have the reasoning ability
It can be useful if the aim is
exam preparation
It can make students have a
sense of achievement

The inductive method
Observing
Reasoning
Learning

How does it work?
The teacher

provides learners with authentic language in meaningful context
ensures learners can realise what the rules are without explicit
explanation
believes that the rules will become evident if the students are given
enough appropriate examples

The students
study examples of language in use and draw their own conclusions about
what is happening

The guided discovery method
Observing
Reasoning
Analysing

How does it work?
The students
are stimulated to discover rules by themselves

The teacher
carefully guides the process of discovery and assists
elicits the rules
teaches the rules explicitly
How do you teach grammar?
Work in groups of four. Discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of the
three methods of teaching grammar
Meaningful input meaningful practise
Requirements
Pre-learning (noticed + short term
memory)
Volume and repetition
Success orientation
Heterogeneity
Teacher assistance
Interest

Grammar practice

Mechanical practice
Meaningful practice


Mechanical practice
-Substitution drills

Substitute the underlined part with the
proper forms of the given words

green lawn/clean house/pretty garden/nice
flowers

Mrs. Green has the largest house in town.


Mechanical practice
-Transformation drills

Change the following sentences into the
past tense. Use the adverbs given in
the brackets.:

Now he lives in London. (last year, Paris)
We have English and math today. ( yesterday,
music and P.E.)
He usually gets up at seven. ( this morning,
eight)

Meaningful practice
-Using prompts for practice
Using pictures prompts
Using gesture prompts
Using information sheets prompts
Using key phrases or word prompts
Using chained phrases for story telling
Using created situations


Meaningful
practice
Task types
Input tasks: seeing or
hearing examples
Noticing tasks: focusing
Awareness tasks:
analysing examples or
looking for differences
Check-up tasks:
questions or mini-tasks
Game tasks: playing
with grammar
Experimentation tasks:
trying it out

Listening or reading to
comprehend
Listen or reading to notice
Understanding



Checking

Trying


Rod Ellis, 2002

Input tasks



Input task
Practise, Noticing, Volume
Repetition, Success, Heterogeneity, Interest


Noticing tasks: frequency, with variation

Awareness task
A song




A worksheet

A video clip
Check-up tasks/games
Game tasks
Game tasks
Experimentation tasks
Experimentation tasks
So


The understanding of how to teach grammar is just
as controversial as what Ts feel about the value of
grammar in language teaching .

The best way is to vary methods according to your
specific teaching objectives, teaching contents,
students ages and needs, and your teaching and
learning context

introducing grammar gradually and in an
eclectic way is necessary for young language
learners
However.
With young learners
We shouldn't lose
sight of the one
thing children do
best: have fun.







Think aloud issues:
My students may not understand the rules only by
organizing them doing activities. What can I do?

My class is large, about 30pupils. How can I know each
students' learning >style and how can I organize
activities?
We don't have enough time in class. If doing the
activities, we can never finish >our textbook. What can
we do?
If I organize too many activities, they will be very noisy.
How can I control >them?
Where can I find grammar activities appropriate for
their age?