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The importance of Grammar in Language Teaching
The importance of Grammar in Language Teaching
The importance of Grammar in Language Teaching
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Recommended: The importance of Grammar in Language Teaching
Using Effective Methods to Teach Grammar to the Adult ESL Learners
Language is one of the fundamental traits distinguishing human beings
from the lower orders of life on earth. Most people agree that the
ability of language use has helped mankind to climb the evolutionary
ladder; therefore, language use is an essential component to people's
life in society.
Grammar is a part of language and it plays an important role in
language use. According to Weaver (1979: 3), the study of grammar will
not only help people become better language users, but also effective
listeners, speakers, readers, and writers. As a result, grammar has a
traditionally central role in language teaching.
Recently, many researchers have focused on the notion of how to teach
grammar effectively to children and adults. However a learner's
variations may influence grammar learning and teaching such as age,
sex, previous language learning, literacy, socio-cultural background
and so on. For instance, unlike children who have cognitive advantages
in learning a new language, an adult ESL learner often tends to use
formal rules in language learning (Harley 1986:14).
Due to the uniqueness of each language learner, teachers have to
develop different methods in teaching grammar based on students'
needs. Therefore, this paper will focus on the area of teaching
grammar by using effective methods to the adult ESL learners.
Giving the grammar explanation to learners is the first effective way
to teach adult ESL learners. Adults can benefit more in grammar
learning with the grammar explanation. Teachers will provide clear and
simple explanations to clarify the grammatical terms such as the
meaning of Verb Phrase and Noun Phrase in classes. T...
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...xford University Press.
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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.
Vajda, Edward. "Linguistics 201: The Dialects of American English." Linguistics 201: The Dialects of American English. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. .
There are a lot of students being placed whose primary language is not English. Students walk into a mainstream classroom not being able to speak English. Students in this situation are call English Language Learners(ELLs). These students are not receiving appropriate language support to succeed in their language development which is causing them to not have the ability to acquire language.
Author(s): Judie Newman Source: The Modern Language Review, Vol. 98, No. 4 (Oct., 2003), pp. 817-826
Within this paper we will take a brief look at the Language Acquisition Principles and how they work on the behalf of ELL students. We will see how these principles can be applied within our own learning environment. There is much information from Walqui article that gives a brief overview of ELL students and how things looked in the past for these students. Now that times has change we will see how educators can make the requirements for ELL students better and more effective for teacher and students. Hopefully, as we look at ways of changing learning for our ELL students we must remember that every student learns differently. Even if you follow the principles from 1-8 we must keep in mind that everyone is unique and process things within their own time table.
The English Language Learner (ELL) assessment process is different in each state. Each state must assess student’s performance in reading or language arts in order to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In addition NCLB requires that schools receiving Title III funds annually assess the English Proficiency of all Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students participating in Title III programs. Although the assessments may vary, the goals of the assessments are all the same, to assess where students are as they learn the English language. Is this assessment enough or should alternative assessments be required?
Imagine coming into a new country with no knowledge of their language. Now, imagine being a young child having to come in a new country with no knowledge of their language and having to go to school with the native students. That student who is in a new country and school will feel left out and frustrated. They are around new customs and people, the teaching that they were once used to has change and the teachers, they might speak fast and the student is even more confused and they might want to give up. This is where the school board comes into place and help students that is new to their county learn English with the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages(TESOL) program; to include the English Language Learners(ELL) students in the curriculum and have them interact with other students.
On the other hand, teachers prefer using L1 for a more effective approach to teaching grammar and checking students’ understanding. Macaro (1997) commented that teachers often lack enthusiasm in using the target language for grammar explanation. Many students have difficulty in learning grammar, especially for those whose L1 system is entirely different from the TL. L1 can be more efficient, particularly when a teacher wants to discuss the learning contract with students, or tries to explore the needs of his/her students, especially those in the lower level (Harmer, 2007). Evidence provided by Harmer (2007) also indicates that the classroom environment can be enhanced through the use of L1 to establish a positive social relationship with students, which ultimately leads to a more effective teaching process.
In the article entitled “How to Teach Grammar, Analytical Thinking, and Writing”, Lynn Sams (2003) voiced and suggested methods on how grammar and writing should be taught in the classroom. This article was published in the English Journal by the National Council of Teachers of English. Sams based her research on her 16 years of experience as a high school teacher and the instructional approaches she used with her sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grade classes. Sams refers to grammar as “the relationship between structure and meaning” (57). The information in this article demonstrates processes of analyzing the structure of sentences and suggests students cannot completely understand writing without first understanding the basic concepts of grammar.
English language learners are found in every state and number of English language learners are increasing every year. These English language learners come from a range of backgrounds. There are over 470 different languages included in the categorized group of English language learners, however 75 percent of the students that will be encountered in schools will have a home language of Spanish as stated by Linan-Thompson and Vaughn (2007). There are goals for effective practice of English language learners and are based on comprehension, learning, and student interest. In earlier grade levels students are taught skills to start a foundation on, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary. After achieving these skills it is possible to develop an English language learners literacy skills to be used in all content areas. According to August and Hakuna (1997) there are attributes that contribute to positive student outcome. These tributes include, explicit skill instruction, student directed activities, instructional strategies for enhancing understanding, opportunity to practice, student assessment, and a curriculum that is balanced. Students also learn content when the instruction is focused on routine, redundancy, and structure. Linen-Thompson and Vaughn (2007) states teachers who teach explicitly by modeling and explaining skills in the context can provide students the meta-cognitive thinking required by proficient readers.
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