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SOME ASPECTS OF GRAMMAR TEACHING AND LEARNING

The pictures below highlight/illustrate different aspects of grammar teaching and learning.
What do you think they stand for? Discuss your answers with a partner.

Then, match the pictures below with their captions. Some may be matched with more than
one caption.

2 3

4
6
Have you
noticed this
7 form?
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RULE

9
8

10

11
CULTURE &
CIVILIZATION SKILL

FUNCTION

TOPICS

LEXIS STRUCTURES / GRAMMAR

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______ Whats in a syllabus? diversification of objectives for the language classroom /

content areas in a communicative syllabus
______ the teachers attitude to grammar
______ the context of total grammatical system
______ treatment of grammar within different teaching methods
______ grammatical terminology (metalanguage)
______ the place of grammar teaching today
______ covert (implicit) vs. overt (explicit) grammar teaching (i.e. meaning-focused vs.
form-focused instruction)
______ teaching grammar from texts: contextualizing grammatical features
______ learner factors & importance of focus on deliberate study and formal practice
______ the case for/against grammar
______ noticing & consciousness-raising
______ a deductive approach (giving)
______ an inductive approach (guiding)
______ form meaning / accuracy fluency

Now and then: The place of grammar teaching

Task
1. Read this extract from an article published in 1984. How does the author see the status of
grammar?

The Sad Tale of Grammarella

A fairy tale

Once upon a time, and not so very long ago, there lived a man whose name was Llangwidj T. Ching.
He had a beautiful daughter called Grammarella. Llangwidj T. Ching was very proud of his daughter
and he talked about her wherever he went. They were not rich: Grammarella and her faithful
servant, Translatio, worked very hard. But they were happy.

Then everything changed. People began to recognize Llangwidj T. Ching's talents. He became a rich
man and an eligible marriage prospect. Soon Llangwidj T. Ching married a famous lady whose name
was Lyn Guistics. She had two proud and spoilt daughters called Psycho and Socio. After the wedding
things changed dramatically. Grammarella still did all the work in the household, but she was never
allowed to appear in public and Llangwidj T. Ching was forbidden to speak about her. (As for
Translatio, he was locked in the coalshed and all but forgotten.) But Llangwidj T. Ching was so
besotted by the glamour of the lady he had married that he willingly went along with everything. He
gladly paid out for Psycho and Socio to chase after every new fad and fashion that came on the
market. Every fortune-hunter in the land sought his house.

One day the King announced that there would be a grand Communicative Ball. Everyone was invited.
The theme of the ball was to be Creativity. Psycho and Socio wanted to be the finest dressed people
at the Ball, but they were not creative enough to make their own clothes. So poor Grammarella had
to cut and sew their new dresses. She had no fine clothes of her own, however. She was left alone in
her old and shabby clothes, while everyone else went off to the Communicative Ball.
From: Hutchinson, T. 1984. Making Grammar More Creative or 'The Sad Tale of Grammarella'. World Language English, 4 (1): 112.
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2. Imagine there is a grand Communicative Ball taking place today. Who is who in the picture below?
You can add more characters if you wish.

Llangwidj T. Ching
Grammarella
Translatio
Lyn Guistics
Psycho
Socio

Now and then:

The place of grammar teaching within different teaching methods

1. The grammar translation method

GRAMMAR

grammar as RULES
conscious rule-learning
language teaching = grammar teaching
grammar as an end in itself
traditionally, grammar has been the sine qua non of LT simply taken for granted
grammar teaching: overt and confident
most approaches to language teaching (or syllabuses) up until the 1970s were
grammar-based
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2. The audiolingual approaches

grammar as PRACTISING STRUCTURES

no explicit rules
grammatical points taught through examples
& pattern-practice drills
teaching to a grammar syllabus
during the 1970s: denial of the value of any
overt grammar teaching ( Krashen's
insistence on the primacy of acquisition has
tended to downplay the value of deliberate
study and practice). EXPLICIT GRAMMAR
TEACHING

3. The Communicative Approach

shallow-end CLT (grammar still the main

component of the syllabus)
deep-end CLT (rejects both grammar-
based syllabuses and grammar
instruction)
focus on form & consciousness-raising
noticing
grammar as a resource
grammar explanations are much more
conspicuous now than they were in the
heyday of either the Direct Method or
Audiolingualism
GRAMMAR
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CONCEPT QUESTIONS for grammar and lexis

A. CONCEPT QUESTIONS for grammar

Example 1:

You should wear a suit (advice to a casually dressed friend about to go to a job interview).

In order for the teacher to first illustrate the meaning of should in this context, and then
check it has been understood, she needs to have recognized the essential meaning of the
language in this context:

the essential meaning

You should wear a suit. we are talking about a possible future action (wearing the suit)
the person we are talking to does not have to wear a suit (no
obligation)
it would be a good idea if he did I want him to (friendly advice)

We can now turn these statements into simple questions:

1. Are we talking about the past, the present, or the future? Future
2. Does this person have to wear a suit? / Must he wear a suit? No.
3. Do I think it would be a good for him to wear a suit? Yes.

If students give any answers different from the above, the assumption must be that they
have not understood and some further clarification will be required.

Example 2:

the essential information

Shes been to Hungary. it happened in the past
the listener doesnt know when, according to the sentence alone
the listener doesnt know how many times the person went
shes not there now (compare with Shes gone to Hungary).

Again, you can turn these into concept questions as follows:

1. Are we talking about the past, present, or future? past

2. Do we know exactly when she went? no
3. Do we know how many times she went? no
4. Is she there now? no
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B. CONCEPT QUESTIONS for lexis

Example 1:

We can use the same method with lexis. The essential meaning of library is:

we can borrow books from a library (we assume here that our students understand borrow)
we cannot buy books from a library
we can sit and read in a library

The concept questions, therefore, become as follows:

1. Can you borrow books from a library? yes

2. Can you buy books from a library? no
3. Can you sit and read in a library? yes

Example 2:

For engaged (as in Steve and Jo have got engaged) the essential meaning is:

they are not married now

they plan to marry
they have promised each other / it is a definite plan

1. Are they married now? no

2. Will they marry in the future? yes
3. Is this definite / sure? yes
4. Have they made a promise to marry? yes

From:
Riddell, D. 2001. Teach EFL: The complete guide. London: John Murray Learning. [pp 73-74]
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