By

M
oh
a
m
me
d
Alfadhel
Nationality Syrian
M.A. in English Literature
Alandalus University for Science & Technology
Faculty of Education & Arts, Department of English
Sana'a - Yemen
mafnaz@yahoo.com

None are so blind as those who will not see

Teachers of grammar insist on using old- fashioned methods

Despite the great progress that has been made in almost every aspect of
education, we, teachers of English, still cling desperately to outdated
methods, namely, in teaching grammar. We live in ivory towers.
Ironically, we became tools of destruction instead of construction. Worse
than that, we are the major reason behind students' hatred of this course
whether we like it or not. Is it wise to bury our heads in the sand and
pretend as if nothing happened? Or rather seek remedial measures to
overcome this serious problem? To begin with, we need to emphasize the
importance of studying and applying rules of grammar for all students
irrespective of their levels. Grammar is not merely some dead rules we
memorize and repeat like parrots; it is an effective tool for using and
.mastering the language, if used properly

In my earlier article, entitled " To Kill two Birds with one Stone: Using
Literary Texts to Teach Grammar", published in Education-supplement,
number 25, I have shed some light on making use of an effective way to
teach grammar using literary texts. In this article, I am going to highlight
other approaches and reasons attributed to this problem. Metaphorically
speaking, teachers are called as gardeners since they plant seeds and
watch them grow, while students are like dough since we mould them

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into any shape we like. As such, we must take our share of the blame and
.admit responsibility for having this problem

Some teachers prefer using the deductive approach rather than the
inductive approach or the other way around. It is not a matter of using
this approach or that; it is more complicated, therefore, we need to get to
the root of the problem. The real problem is teachers turning the entire
class into grammar lesson, denying the students the right to participate
and work on exercises. Students are passive learners and onlookers. They
are not given the chance to put into practice what they have learned.
There is no point in repeating the rules over and over without really using
the language. Besides, some other teachers dictate the rules to their
students in Arabic wasting their time. As a result, the students can hardly
differentiate between tenses or other structures for they lack real exposure
.to English, not to mention lack of applying these rules in sentences

One way to remedy this situation is to reconsider our approaches and

devise new methods so as to create genuine passion in our students to
such a degree that they are glued to their chairs. For example, teachers
can allot some time to run competitions among students to stimulate and
enhance them. They can divide the class into groups at the end of each
topic. Each group is given copies of questions to be answered in a limited
period of time. When the time is up, we can add the scores and announce
the winners. This activity can be repeated once in a while. We can even
make use of the internet (if available) to make our students have online-
exams. I myself have always employed such outstanding methods in my
.classes and the results have always been fruitful and rewarding

As has been mentioned, the problem lies with some teachers not
students. They refuse to modify their approaches and keep pace with
changes on the ground that they are experienced enough to make the
lesson comprehensible, and as a result they loose their impact on their
students. Some teachers may argue that using such methods require great
.efforts and patience, but believe me it is worth the effort
In my previous article, I made a pledge to elaborate more and dwell upon
this controversial issue so as to present more beneficial and motivating
examples. Basically, there are numerous activities which a teacher can
employ. Choosing the most convenient activity will depend on the topic
the teacher is teaching and on the level of his students. For example,
when teaching the third conditional, the teacher can use written exercises
by distributing cards to different students, on which are written the
following words: known, visited, have, had, if, you, I, would, I, were,
in, hospital, you. Ask the students to stick the cards on the board to form

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sentences. Additionally, you can adapt this activity to suit your students.
For instance, instead of sticking the cards on the board, write more
sentences on a sheet .This sheet has a total of ten sentences in a table,
which allows for twenty students. Cut the table into cards and distribute
one card per student. Ask your students to mingle with each others and
walk around the classroom to find the missing half of their sentence. In
.this activity the students will recognize different verb tenses

When teaching the passive, the teacher can write various active
sentences and cut the sentences into strips. Divide the class into teams.
Give each team one strip. The students should work together to change
the active sentences into passive. Each time, one student of each team
should race to the board in order to change the sentence into passive. The
team who finishes first with grammatically perfect sentence gets one
.point. An incorrect sentence is worth 0 points

To teach the 2nd conditional creatively, the teacher can draw a picture
of himself with thought bubbles of a lottery ticket, a fancy car, and big
house. The students are asked to guess what he is thinking about.
"If I won in a lottery, I would buy a fancy car and a big house." The
teacher can use split sentences as a controlled practice activity. He gives
students lots of sentence halves and in pairs they try and match the
beginnings and ends of the sentences. Example: "If I were in your
shoes," …. "I'd listen to the teacher."

A teacher who intends to teach tenses such as past simple, past

progressive or present progressive and so forth, can employ this exciting
approach: First, tell a student to read. Then, ask him what he is doing.
Have another student open the door. Ask him what did you just do?
Choose a third student and ask him to describe the two actions, using
when and while respectively.

To make the lesson amazingly enjoyable, meaningful and memorable,

the teacher can select and photocopy some grammar points from
Grammar with Laughter by George Woolard to supplement what has been
studied in class, in which jokes are used to highlight grammatical
structures. Employing such amazing techniques will not only increase

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motivation but also make grammar more appealing instead of being least
understood by most students since jokes are easily memorable.
Consequently, they will prompt students to remember grammar
effectively and make it less frightening.