The Evolution of Grammar Teaching in EFL

1103 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of grammar in the classroom

It goes without saying that grammar teaching plays an essential role in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL). This opinion is based on the assumption that without a detailed knowledge of grammar, the language use will stall. Despite its importance, grammar teaching has gone through some debates for the decades. Before the 1970s, it was a common belief that grammar was a crucial part of the language teaching since no one would be able to reach the point where he/she communicates well without comprehending the grammatical rules of any language. This belief was then questioned by the conception that "knowledge of the grammatical system of the language was one of the main components which underlie the notion of communicative competence." …show more content…

The general consensus is that grammar should unmistakably take part in language teaching. The questions are: How should we teach grammar? Should we teach it deductively or inductively? Which grammar rule should we teach? In other words, the question is whether grammar should be taught by giving a formal presentation or giving natural expression. (Nassaji & Fortos, 2011). The continuous debate on the favourableness and the type of grammar teaching or instruction has led a lot of different methods and techniques of forming a grammar instruction to become known. Most notably, two completely different and opposing approaches are inductive and deductive. Although these methods are both beneficial for the learners, the inductive teaching is more acceptable or right for the students than the deductive teaching somehow. Deductive teaching also called deduction, from the verb ''deduce'' is a well-known technique which proceeds from …show more content…

The teacher first gives the grammar rules and vocabulary of the language. Then, the learners need complete tasks to practice those rules and vocabulary in activities.The

Show More
Related

  • Dana Goldstein's Essay 'Why Children Can' T Write

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children were taught to speak in a proper manner and because they were taught to speak correctly they wrote in a proper way as well. As technology evolved and texting came more profound grammar was becoming a lost art. In Dana Goldstein’s article ,‘Why Kids Can’t Write’, she talks about what teachers are doing about grammar. The teachers are not doing much about the grammar issue in schools.

    Read More

  • Wilson Follett's On The Need Of Some Grammar

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    2. Follett explains that the type of grammar we need is traditional. A traditional approach to grammar involves an emphasis on syntax. Syntax deals with how words relate to each other in a sentence. This knowledge of how words work together provides the type of logical analysis necessary to speak and write correctly. An emphasis on syntax demonstrates the conservative view that language is an art of expressing meaning.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The ESL Class

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    In today’s competitive world, academic is very important and a good grade is most have in order to make a decent career. For the international student, this ESL class is very important. This class teaches us to adopt the writing styles used in many fields and also makes us able to communicate properly within the society. The vast diversity and increasing immigration in this country are making the society more globalized. To stand out among those crowds and make a decent career, we have to do better in learning the way the society understands and ESL class teaches us that. Furthermore, as English is generally the language used by almost everyone working and dealing at all levels, mastering it is important for ESL students to like me. Hence,

    Read More

  • To Teach Or Not To Teach Grammar In The Primary School Classroom: That Is The Question

    1440 Words  | 3 Pages

    “To Teach Or Not To Teach Grammar In The Primary School Classroom: That Is The Question”

    Read More

  • A Critique of a Qualitative Research Paper

    1865 Words  | 4 Pages

    Borg, S. (1998). Teachers’ pedagogical systems and grammar teaching: A qualitative study. TESOL Quarterly, 32(1), 9-38.

    Read More

  • Presenting of a New Grammar: Indirect Questions

    1817 Words  | 4 Pages

    After the teacher is reassured that the students are familiar with direct questions, the presentation of a new grammar can start. The teacher tells the student the aim of the lesson.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Grammar In English

    1854 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages” (TESOL) is a phrase used to represent the teaching of the English language as a second or foreign language to foreign individuals. Going through this topic and the role of the grammar, is basically the rules that govern the art of forming clauses, phrases, sentences, and gives the content of speech, and writing a kind of magnificence. I believe knowing these rules in learning a new or even mother language is really important. The principle of teaching grammar can be viewed like signs on the road, which provide useful information for direction and navigation of the vehicle to the intended destination. Grammar provides the much needed sentence construction, without which there would be misunderstanding

    Read More

  • Teaching Conditional Sentences to Chinese Students

    1978 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nassaji, H., & Fotos, S. (2011). The role of context in focus on grammar: Teaching Grammar in Second Language Classroom (pp.121-134). New York and London: Routhdge

    Read More

  • Task Based Language Teaching Case Study

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face. In spite of this, educators and teachers of English have spent all our classroom time attempting to teach our learners how to write, to read and sometimes even to listen in a second language because grammar has a long written tradition (Bueno, Madrid &Mclaren, 2006). Most of the teacher’s attempt was to expanding the approaches which could improve learners’ speaking

    Read More

  • Understanding English Grammar: A Study Of The English Language

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    Grammar and vocabulary are the most important part of English language. This subject is studied for many years in each country. To the knowledge of this area of the English language, first of all, you must learn it in school, institutions and universities. Linguistics keeps a lot of nuances and persistent study of

    Read More

  • Analysis of Learning Experience with Theories of SLA

    2321 Words  | 5 Pages

    Muncie, J. (2002). Finding a place for grammar in EFL composition classes. ELT Journal, 56(2),180-86. doi:10.1093/elt/56.2.180

    Read More

  • What Are The Importance Of Teaching Grammar?

    1510 Words  | 4 Pages

    Practice and application are important when developing language skills. A good grammar teacher will allow students time to practice and test students in order to find out where they are at in acquiring a language. Students should be subjected to mini grammar tests that hold little to no grade value, but are helpful to the teacher so that he or she may assess where their student stands in that course. Tests are ways to assess where students are at in the learning process, what they have learned, and what they need to improve in the class. It is important that students are made aware

    Read More

  • Linguistic Theories

    1612 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the past, the study of grammar has been investigated for centuries, it was also significantly role in language teaching and learning. The reasons for teaching and learning are different in each period. In some eras, a major aim of teaching and learning was making learners to be able to communicate. In others, it was essentially taught for the purposes of reading and writing. For these reasons, the studies of two linguistic theories, the traditional grammar and the structuralism were created. They can be viewed differences by views on language, language learning and teaching as well as strengths and weaknesses as follows.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Syntax

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    Syntax is the study of how words are combined to create phrases and causes in the sentences of a specific language (Freeman and Freeman, 2014). Syntax helps us to make clear sentences that “sound right,” where words, phrases, and clauses each serve their function and are correctly ordered to form and communicate a complete sentence with meaning. The rules of syntax combine words into phrases and phrases into sentences. Not only does it focus on the correct word order for a language, but it also helps show the relationship between the meaning of a group of words. Without proper syntax, a sentence can be meaningless. It is key to understand that while every language does have certain syntax, the syntax does vary from language to language. It

    Read More

  • Advantages And Disadvantages Of Teaching Grammar

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many approaches in regards to the teaching of grammar and not all of them are successful. The different approaches do derive from the way that teachers are taught to teach the subject and the way that they believe the subject should be taught. Teachers feel that certain approaches work better than others based on the success that their students have in their classroom. However, not every teacher takes that into consideration because they teach the way that they feel is best. I think that the most effective approaches to teaching grammar are the explicitly teaching method, linguistic perspective and traditional teaching methods. Those methods have successful outcomes the majority of the time and they make sure that the students are learning what they actually need to learn. It is crucial to focus on making sure that the students are learning every aspect of grammar rather than pieces and parts because it will affect their application and understanding of grammar as a whole. The different methods that are brought up throughout the paper allows for a better understanding of the methods that have been widely used by teachers and the reasons as to why they used those particular

    Read More

More about The Evolution of Grammar Teaching in EFL

Open Document