Running head: USING VISUALS AS HELPS

Using Visuals as Helps for Teaching Grammar and Syntax

Roxana Shirazi
American College of Education

Using Visuals as Helps for Teaching Grammar and Syntax

Using Visuals as Helps for Teaching Grammar and Syntax

Learning grammar in a foreign language has always been accompanied by furrowed

brows and ire. For many, their frustration is rooted in the myriad of complex rules and intrusive
exceptions, especially when it comes to the English language. Couple this with alien vocabulary
and you will have successfully manufactured a sea of unresponsive students. At least, that has
been always been the outcome of my grammar lessons. Indeed, when I sit in Turkish class and
gaze unto the board filled with sentences and underlined words, I am thrust into another world
altogether. A world that, amazingly, allows me to recall every single errand I have yet to run and
imagine myself in spectacular scenarios that will never exist (although maybe if I buy those red
high-heeled shoes I saw the other day I could be sipping my coffee by the sea and be discovered
by a talent agent scout and become an international movie star). A meteor crashes into my world
and shatters my imaginary sanctuary; that meteor is a worksheet and I have no idea what to do.
So, if this is my experience, as an adult, learning Turkish grammar, what are the chances that my
seventh-grade students share the same experience learning English grammar? Chances are, they
are each in their own bubble, detached from the lesson, and I am the one who hurls meteors at
them.
Solay and Bayar (2014) conducted a study where they identified a disproportionate
weight placed on teaching English grammar in the Turkish educational system. They articulated
two main problems: [t]he first one was the lack of realistic objectives and the second one was to
spend much time on grammar teaching rather than other language skills (p. 108). Indeed, is it
realistic to assume that students will learn grammar strictly through worksheets and
memorization? I, myself, can attest to the fact that it is not a feasible way to learn grammar in the
long-term.
What has proven to be an obstacle is English-only instruction for my Turkish L1 students.
How can I teach English grammar to students that have no knowledge of the English language

Using Visuals as Helps for Teaching Grammar and Syntax

besides simple greetings? I grew worried that my weaker students were falling dangerously
behind. They are certainly capable, but they simply could not understand my lessons beyond the
vocabulary. Not only were they unable to understand my feedback in English, they also could not
communicate their questions to me. Also, I do not want to solely rely on stronger students to
translate as they could also make mistakes. As a result, I made the executive decision to stray
from the English-only path and incorporate Turkish into my lessons so that all students
understand the grammatical aspects of it. As thus, I included Turkish in my grammar poster for
the past simple tense. Please see below:
The first step is to simply write what we are learning about as the title of the poster. In
this case, gemi means past. To slowly introduce them to the past tense, I focused on
affirmative sentences in the past simple tense. Immediately below the topic, I explain when the
past simple is used: to talk about something that started and finished in the past. In both the

Using Visuals as Helps for Teaching Grammar and Syntax

English and Turkish explanation, I use green to write started (balamis) and red for finished
(bitmi). In the middle, I begin to talk about verbs (fiil) which can be regular (dzenli) and
irregular (dzensiz). As you may notice, I wrote irregular (dzensiz) in different colors for every
letter. My reasoning behind this is simple: it has the potential to pique their interest and counters
the notion that irregular verbs are to be viewed as a mere burden. Under the Verbs subtitle I have
the two categories: regular and irregular. Underneath are four example sentences where the
students can see past tense verbs in action.
Post-it notes are used to denote the interchangle nature of the poster. Although I have
provided the verbs, worked, cried, studied and finished as an example of regular verbs, the postit notes serve as a reminder that we can add more. The same concept is applicable to the irregular
verbs. However, I wrote the form of the verb and its past simple transformation to faciliate
students cognitive retrieval process. The subject, at the beginning of each sentence is also
interchangable as they can add their own names, or fellow classmates names. The reason why I
chose the format I did to exemplify the affirmative past simple sentences is because it mirrors the
format on standardized exams. I sought to mimic, and thereby normalize, exam questions in an
effort to reduce test anxiety. Finally, I drew simple illustrations to accompany vocabulary that
may be unknown to students. These illustrations are on post-it notes with accompanying post-it
arrows to encourage students own drawings as additions to the poster.
I made another poster to teach the structure of affirmative past simple sentences. Please
see below:

Using Visuals as Helps for Teaching Grammar and Syntax

Olumlu means positive or affirmative while cumle is sentence. As demonstrated

above, each part of the grammatical structure is translated into Turkish. I chose the colors red and
yellow for the Turkish words because it is important to, not only draw their immediate attention
to it, but also allow them to remember the order much easily. If they memorize the order: subject,
verb, object, place, and time, but do not know what those words mean, then the poster is
rendered meaningless. As mentioned prior, the post-it notes are meant to denote the
interchangeability of certain components within each column. I also encourage the students to
make silly sentences in order to practice the order. For example, I ate her car in the kitchen

Using Visuals as Helps for Teaching Grammar and Syntax

yesterday. Although not realistic, it allows them to practice grammar in a relaxed, stress-free
environment while eliciting much needed laughter.
After I introduce my students to the posters, I have them draw a copy of it in their
notebooks. They must use their colored pencils and add in a few of their own words and
examples. During this time, I let them listen to music and work in groups. If they make their own
grammar posters and bring it to class, not only do I hang it on the wall, but I also provide extra
credit. As an alternative to homework, they have the option to make a grammar, vocabulary, or
pronunciation poster. I do set guidelines for the posters such as organizational flow, visuals, and
color-coded structures. All of these activities are aimed towards making the process of learning
English grammar enjoyable and to facilitate comprehension.
In an effort to minimize the use of worksheets in my class, I have begun using games as
an avenue for teaching grammar. The posters have proved to be an invaluable resource during
these lessons as my students are actively using them as references. Kksal, eki, and Beyhan,
(2014) recommend the use of grammar posters in their students: [s]ummary of grammar
structures and new vocabulary with their L1 meanings are to be written on the board and be
available during activities (p. 89). Insofar as I have introduced these tactics into my repertoire
of teaching grammar, my students are performing better on assessments. Above all, they no
longer have a need to retreat to their bubbles and I can put down my meteors.

Using Visuals as Helps for Teaching Grammar and Syntax

References
Kksal, O., eki, A., & Beyhan, . (2014). Views of Turkish EFT students with regard to
learning grammar with games. International Journal on New Trends in Education and
Their Implications, 5(1), 82-92.
Solay, E. & Bayar, A. (2014). Current challenges in English language learning in Turkish EFL
context. Participatory Educational Research, 2(1), 106-115.
http://dx.doi.org/10.17275/per.15.09.2.1