According to Skolverket (2013), the aims of learning English, among other things, are: to gain an “understanding of spoken and written English, and also the ability to interpret content” and “the ability to express oneself and communicate in English in speech and writing” (p. 2). To be able to be understood, fully, one must have a rich vocabulary and a thorough understanding of the grammatical rules of a language. One of the challenges that teachers are faced with is how to teach these skills in the most effective way possible. In this essay I will discuss different approaches on grammar and vocabulary teaching and how they can be applied in my future profession.
Grammar is often described as the rules that govern a language. As a student, I dreaded the grammar lessons not only because they were often tedious and lacked a sense of purpose, but also because of the approach they were taught in. It seemed to me the teacher had no more positive feelings towards teaching grammar than we had to learning it. The grammar education at my school was taught in a deductive manner, with specific lessons dedicated towards grammar. A deductive approach focuses on the rule that is to be taught and then how to apply it. In this approach the teacher is at the centre of the class. An inductive approach focuses more on teaching the rules in a real language context, to understand the structures of a language rather than naming them. There is debate amongst educators whether or not grammar should be taught inductively or deductively. Brown (2007) however, states that an inductive approach is more appropriate due to that it is “more in keeping with natural language acquisition” and “it allows students to get a communicative 'feel' fo...
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... instead. I was in charge of five 19-year-olds that had never performed or acted before. When having practised the biggest scene for days, the group had a major break through. By chance or luck, I had managed to get the actors to the exact point where I wanted them to go without telling them, just by asking the right questions. That feeling, when the 'cog wheels' where in the perfect position, was what made me want to be a teacher. This is also applicable to language teaching, as Brown (2007) states that it builds “intrinsic motivation by allowing students to discover rules rather than being told them” (p. 423). For an effective classroom, the teaching of grammar and vocabulary must be adjustable, organic and chiefly; awareness amongst educators of new pedagogy research and not to simply do as it always has been done.
Works Cited
david nunan skolverket brown
In the view of Chaudroncited in El Tatawy (2002) the information learners get from corrective feedback allows them to “confirm, disconfirm, and possibly modify the hypothetical, transitional rules of their developing grammars.”
Doing that involves an increasing mastery of skills, knowledge, and ideas." (Robinson, p. 119) The mentioned idea can be used to motivate students to participate in the learning process. The same way young children learn playing with others, the older child can do it experimenting and prove their theories. As a teacher is easy to noticed the difference between a lesson that is pure theory, and the lesson that incorporates creative factors. Students present a better behavior during the lesson, participate, interact, formulate questions and get the answers working together without
Teachers who work with English Language Learners know that academic language takes longer to achieve proficiency in than does conversational language. On average, ELL students need at least two years to achieve conversational language and, five to nine years to develop academic language proficiency. Many English words ELL students are exposed to in school, they have not yet learned or even heard in their first language, which makes transference of knowledge impossible. The vast differences in the ability to use conversational versus academic language can be a hindrance to these students and have lasting effects on their academics and therefore, their lives.
Grammar Matters “People are judged everyday by their grammar.” suggests Lynne Truss, the bestseller of Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance approach to Punctuation. People are downgraded in the workforce or just in school if someone uses incorrect grammar. In spite of critics, grammar is critical to learn in school. Even though Brock Haussamen says grammar isn’t important, Mignon Fogarty, Douglas Rushkoff, Lynne Truss, and Kyle Wiens think otherwise.
The article talks about whether teachers should teach grammar or not. It talks about how correcting ESL/ELL students grammar fails because of Gray’s four reasons which are “grammar correction deals with “only the surface appearance of grammar and not with the way language develops” (par. 8), language and grammar acquisition occur developmentally and hierarchically: “if a student is given a correction for a [language/grammar] stage he has not yet reached, it would not be effective” (par. 8), teacher and student understanding of grammar comments vary greatly, students “only make mental note of the corrections they have understood, and if they have to rewrite their papers, regularly do not incorporate these corrections into their work” (Gray,
At the start of learning English, mastery of grammar is very important because it is a basic guide for students. This is because, we use grammar every time we read or write or even when we speak. Grammar gives all the rules about how to put words together in sentences. Using the ri...
Due to this anything is accepted and there is no argument regarding the standard and what is correct and good grammar. 8 Good grammar is not only helpful with syntax, it is also helpful with the rules that come close to those already in the tradition. Simple frequency can improve many popular errors. 9 Challengers of grammar are rather right to mention that it is an artificial examination made after the fact, and not a statement of natural laws; they are quite wrong to think this convict it from being artificial. Those who argue that grammar is a craft of the arts rather than as an essential part of linguistic naturalists.
These rules of language were stressed among students, with the hope that a solid grasp of abstract definitions would set them up with the tools needed to avoid errors in usage. But halfway through the 20th Century, research on the value of grammar education began to surface and there was no strong correlation between the teaching of grammar and a student’s ability to avoid usage errors, the once strict education structure was dropped. With traditional techniques abandoned, the vacuum was filled by new approaches. Structural linguistics, based around the importance of the way words form sentences, began to take the place of its predecessor but was then quickly challenged by transformational grammar, a more abstract concept than the prior two. With arguments from the structural and transformational side both pushing that the other was unscientific, the importance of grammar was abandoned. Though schools are beginning to reintroduce grammar in education, it has kept a firm separation between learning grammar and learning
The place of grammar has beenalso a matter of debatealong the history of second language teaching. Thornburry(2001) believes that grammar debate is the most important issue that has taken the effort and time of the linguists and practitioners.Many attitudes have been revealed within this debate. Some argues that grammar is a main item in teaching English language. This attitude is shown in the Grammar Translation Method. However, some linguists assume that learners of English shouldn't learn grammar. And this attitude is shown in Natural Approach and the Communicative Language Teaching.
The rules and methods we are taught to be able to read and write are a big factor in determining how proper our grammar is, or our comprehension. I was taught to read, of course, left to right and then comprehend what I read. While reading, the text should be analyzed. Analyzing consists of who, what, when, where, and why. This is also called thinking critically, and how I was influenced to think. When it comes to writing, a sentence needs a subject and verb, parts of speech, etc. Complete sentences come together to form paragraphs and during the writing process a purpose in essential. Though we are taught how to speak, read, write and think properly, it does not mean we always follow through. Vocabulary is my biggest obstacle. Lack of advanced vocabulary in elementary and middle school has made it difficult in colleg...
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.
A large part of an English teacher’s job deals with helping students find their own voices amidst the many teachings of their parents and peers. A student’s voice can be their values, their interests, and their perspectives of the world in which they live. Their voice can be their critical questioning of the many situations they face, whether in a text, the school cafeteria, or a park after school. It is the job of an English teacher to aid in finding this voice through their writing. It is by putting words and thoughts down on paper that a student can sometimes feel comfortable enough to take risks and find their true voices. Although traditional grammar instruction has long been thought to improve this skill, this is no longer the case. Instead, by providing a classroom environment in which students are immersed in classic literature from many genres including poetry, short stories, and novels, students will learn how to harness grammar for their own purposes of finding their voice in their writing.
First of all, teaching and learning English grammar in the classroom plays a fundamental role in improving the spoken English skills of the students. Many students equate being able to speak language as knowing the language, thereby taking learning language as learning how to speak a language. The students should be provided enough opportunities to communicate in English; otherwise, they would be de-motivated and lose interest in learning. To intensify the confidence level of the learners to communicate in English as a second language, teaching and learning English grammar has become an important part among the learners and the educators. Students are usually reluctant to communicate in English when they have inadequate vocabulary or are not confident of grammatical rules. Otherwise, students with a sound knowledge of grammar do not hesitate to communicate in
Sekelj and Rigo (2011) stated that there are three phases of learning the English language. The first phase is the pupils of Year 1 to Year 4, where in this phase, pupils are preferably do a lot of mechanical drilling and practicing some patterns of grammatical features which occur in the context of dialogue that are related to their real-life without any metalinguistic explanation in order to allow them to participate orally and physically as much as possible in dialogues, role playing and dramatizing. It is because, in this stage, it is important to make them conscious of their progress and increasing their motivation to use the language. Teacher should use a variety of activities to teach grammar such as by using songs, riddles, games and stories because it could be very helpful and an efficient ways in teaching grammar as what had suggested by Long (2000) where this FonF approach is effective because it is learner-centered and tune to the learners’ internal syllabus. According to Sekelj and Rigo (2011), Vilke (1977) said that, at the early age, the unconscious acquisition process is superior to the learning one due to the child’s cognitive development. Next, the second phase is Year 5 to Year 6 where in this stage, grammar start to be taught explicitly but with simple and clear explanation and awareness of accuracy of grammar structure should be
The Input Hypothesis postulates that second language learners will acquire the target language providing they understand the meaning behind what is said. In Krashen’s view, input activates an innate structure when input is one step ahead the learner’s level of competence. He believes if the learner is at a stage “1”, then acquisition takes place when s/he receives second language “comprehensible input” that belongs to to level”i + 1” (Teachscape, Inc., 2008a). This hypothesis recognizes that language development occurs when teachers place emphasis on comprehensibility of input. For Krashen, language teachers can secure learners’ understanding of challenging language, or language just beyond their current level, when the input is supported through the use of reinforcements like visuals, realia, photographs, models, background knowledge, and technology. Krashen points out that language acquisition does not require extensive teaching of grammar rules, but merely meaningful interactions using the targeted