Yoshinobu Tsujimoto ENGL 643 TESL/TEFL methodology Oct / 22 / 2002 Teaching Grammar in Context This annotated bibliography is concerned

with how to teach grammar in context. In general, this bibliography introduces two types of articles. One is articles that theoretically support the methodology using contexts to teach grammar. Based on those articles, you will find how this method has been authorized. The other is articles that show sample teaching plans for teaching grammar in context. 1. Hughes, R & McCarthy, M. (1998). From sentence discourse: discourse grammar and English language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 32, 263-287. This paper claims that ESL learners should study grammar not only through traditional ways of teaching, but also through learning discourse grammar. In traditional ways, grammatical items are taught through isolated sentences. However, contextual features influence what kind of grammatical expressions are appropriate. Learning discourse grammar allows learners to examine what real speakers or writers say in real contexts, and how contextual features determine one grammatical choice over another. This paper also examines what kinds of grammatical items are preferred in specific discourse styles and shows the benefits and drawbacks of both the sentence-based approach and the discourse-based approach. 2. McCarthy, M & Carter, R. (1995). Spoken grammar: what is it and how can we teach it? ELT Journal, 49, 207-218. While in traditional grammar classes correct English is learned, in real spoken and written contexts we have more flexible grammatical choices. This paper shows how spoken grammar is different from correct grammar. The paper also claims that learning spoken grammar encourages learners to negotiate and interact with each other. It suggests the three Is, Illustration-Interaction-Induction, a new approach to teach spoken grammar, allowing learners to study grammar in context, instead of the traditional approach the three Ps, Presentation-Practice-Production. Teaching spoken grammar in the three Is methodology lets learners have fluent, accurate, and natural communicative skills. 3. Moy, R. (1977). Contextual factors in the use of the present perfect. TESOL Quarterly, 11, 303-309.

This article insists that ESL learners should learn the present perfect through context. Although ESL students understand the meaning of the present perfect, they have difficulty determining when they can and cannot use it in contrast to the past tense. They have this problem because when to use the present perfect depends on factors outside a sentence in isolation. It is necessary for them to examine the contexts when they should choose the past tense and the present perfect. This paper, therefore, concludes that they have to be exposed to plenty of examples of in-context usages of the present perfect. 4. Nabei, T. (1996). Dictogloss: is it an effective language learning task? Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 12, 59-74. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 401759. This case study examines whether dictogloss is useful to teach grammar. In the procedure of the research, four adult ESL students did dictogloss, and their conversation was recorded. Then interaction patters in the conversation was checked and categorized into three types, interaction about meaning, interaction about grammar, and interaction about orthography. Although they did not have to dictate word by word, they negotiated as much about meaning of what they heard as about linguistic structures. In addition, they were willing to interact with each other to fulfill the task. The article, therefore, concludes that dictogloss is beneficial for teaching grammar in context. 5. Newton, J & Kennedy, G. (1996). Effects of communication tasks on the grammatical relations marked by second language learners. System, 24, 309-322. This case study examines the relationship between communication tasks for language learning and linguistic structures used in the tasks. In this study, the adult learners of English who were in pre-university level English proficiency courses were given two types of communication tasks, shared information tasks (e.g. discussion or debating) and split information tasks (e.g. describing something). As a result, it is found that more subordinating conjunctions were used in shared information tasks than in split information tasks. The article concludes that particular linguistic structures can be learned through communication tasks for language learning and these kinds of tasks can be designed. 6. Nunan, D. (1998), Teaching grammar in context. ELT journal, 52, 101-109. From two perspectives, this paper maintains that teachers should show grammatical items in context to teach grammar. First, the importance of teaching grammar in context is examined from the view of learning grammar. In traditional grammar classes, each grammatical item is

presented in a linear, step-by-step fashion. In reality, however, learners master numerous things simultaneously. Various elements of learning interact with each other. Secondly, from the grammar pedagogical perspective, this paper claims that we have to make clear the relationship between form and function. Examples of the ways of teaching grammar in context are also shown. 7. Pearse, O. (1981). Where after process? further points of teaching the passive. English Language Teaching Journal, 35, 153-158. This paper suggests that the passive voice should be learned as a spontaneous and natural use. The passive voice is learned through the exercises where learners change active voice sentences into passive voice sentences. This type of exercises makes learners consider passive voice as an optional linguistic structure. The paper shows the importance of the passive voice in certain types of contexts by providing the data that displays what kind of verb is frequently used in the passive voice and in what context the passive voice is used. In addition, it supplies teaching plans using listening, reading, and writing through contexts. 8. Petrovitz, W. (1997). The role of context in the presentation of grammar. ELT Journal, 51, 201-207. This article argues that contextualization is important to teach some grammatical items, especially semantics. As examples, some grammatical items are chosen so as to explain how they are influenced by context. Also, the problemematic explanations and execercises in traditional grammar textbooks which explain grammar with isolated sentences are shown, as is why those textbooks are harmful to master some linguistic forms. The article, therefore, concludes that to avoid errors made in textbooks and to teach grammar for real use, teachers should be aware of the linguistic items which have to be taught in context. 9. Rott, S. (2000). Teaching German grammar through communicative tasks: some suggestions. Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 33, 125-133. This article insists that grammar teaching should be incorporated into meaningful and contextualized communicative instruction based on two reasons. First, grammatical knowledge becomes beneficial only when learners understand how specific grammatical structures work in context. Secondly, communicative instruction heightens learners awareness about what kind of grammatical structures they understand and do not. The article explains the general points to which teachers have to pay attention for this type of communicative instruction, some sample activities, and the procedure of the activities. It also maintains that in the activities, first we

should focus on receptive abilities, such as listening and reading, then productive abilities, such as writing and speaking. 10. White, R. (1978). Teaching the passive. English Language Teaching Journal, 32, 188-194. This article insists that the passive voice should be taught in context. It supports this statement with two reasons. First, traditional teaching of the passive voice is not helpful. In the traditional method, learners study the linguistic structure of the passive voice through voice transformation exercises. As a result, they cannot learn when and how they should use passive voice effectively in real context. Secondly, in descriptions of processes which we often see in science or technological literature, the passive voice is frequently used. The article, therefore, shows the teaching plan to teach the passive voice in the context of describing processes. As a result of doing this bibliography, I found two major trends in the ways of teaching grammar. First, the notion that grammar can be taught in context is accepted. ESL learners who study English grammar through the traditional approach have difficulty applying their grammatical knowledge to actual use because types of contexts usually determine linguistic structures. I found that the authors of the articles agreed that context influences the choice of grammatical feature, that they studied teaching plans and that they utilized the comprehensible output hypothesis to explain why teaching grammar in context is important. Secondly, on the other hand, I realized that some scholars claimed that formfocused instruction should be considered important. For instance, Ellis (2001), one of the authors I read for the project but I did not include in my final bibliography, maintains that instructed learners focusing on linguistic forms tend to proceed further and more rapidly (p. 6). The way of incorporating teaching grammar which focuses on linguistic forms into grammar teaching in context should be examined. Reference Ellis, R. (2001). Investigating form-focused instruction. Language Learning, 51, 1-46.