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[The study of grammar: looking at the way these forms are arranged & patterned.]
Grammar: A description of the rules that govern how a languages sentences are formed.
All language can be analysed into the forms at four levels; sound, word, sentence & text.
These rules tell speakers:
a) How to pronounce syllables (Phonology)
b) How to form words (Morphology) [Formation of words]
c) How to structure sentences (Syntax) [Order of words in a sentence]
d) What style of language to be used in a given context (Pragmatics)
Grammar convey two kinds of meanings:
Representation grammar enables us to use language to describe the world in terms of how, when
& where things happen
Fluency-oriented activity
(e.g.: extensive reading & information gap)
- To develop the pupils spontaneous communication
skills in practising what they have learnt.
- To help pupils to practise language in L,S,R,W
activities so as to develop fluency in using the language
in spontaneous communication.
Advantage:
Produce pupils who can reproduce sentences
learnt accurately
Disadvantage:
May not be effective in communicating the
language in real life situations
Explicit grammar teaching is more effective at the intermediate to advanced levels than beginning
levels:
This is because incidental focus on form is valuable as it treats errors that occur while
learners are engaged in meaningful communication.
Corrective feedback facilitate acquisition if it involves a mixture of implicit & explicit feedback.
KBSR Syllabus: aims to equip pupils with skills & provide a basic understanding of English language
so that they are able to communicate, both orally & in writing, in & out of school.
:; 2 sections of KBSR deal with grammar:a) One section categorizes grammar under specific grammar labels & provides sentence patterns
b) One section is whereby sentence patterns are placed under functions & topics.
KSSR Syllabus: aims to provide pupils with a strong foundation in English language. Teacher should
use Standard British English as a reference & model for teaching the language (spelling, grammar &
pronunciation).
Topic 2:
Descriptive Grammar:
- Refers to the structure of a language as it is actually used by speakers & writers.
- Describe how people use spoken & written language & the knowledge that they use to decide
whether something is grammatically correct.
- Specialists in descriptive grammars (Linguists) : Study the rules that underlie our use of words,
phrases, clauses & sentences.
Prescriptive Grammar:
- Refers to a set of rules & examples dealing with the syntax & word structures of a language,
usually intended as an aid to the learning of that language.
- Refers to the structure of a language as certain people think it should be used
- Prescribe the rules of a language
- Prescriptive grammarians (Editors & teachers) : Layout rules about what they believe to be
correct or incorrect use of language
Covert Approach
Teacher uses the structure without drawing attention to grammatical rules.
Focus on the activity and not on the grammar rules
Errors should be tolerated during the activity but should be noted & dealt with at a later
session.
Overt Approach
Teacher explicitly explains the rules when presenting the new language.
Deductive Approach & Inductive Approach
- Deductive Approach
Teacher presents the rules & then goes on provide practice in the application of the rules.
- Inductive Approach
Known as discovery method.
Pupils are first given a number of sample sentences containing the target forms -> teacher
guides pupils into deriving the rule for themselves.
:; Deductive & Inductive approach should be complementary.
E.g.: A grammar rule presented covertly via communicative activity can be supported by an explicit
explanation so that pupils understand the rules.
A grammar rule presented overtly / explicitly should be supported by activities which encourage
pupils to use the structures for communicative purposes.
Grammar in Isolation:
Grammar is presented out of context
Pupils are given isolated sentences, which they are expected to internalize through exercises
involving repetition, manipulation & grammatical transformation
These exercises are designed to provide pupils with formal & declarative mastery of the
language in which they are able to explain rules of using the form of the language.
Grammar in Context:
Teaching grammar in relations to the context of the situation the utterances are usually used.
Grammar is contextualized in meaningful language use.
Pupils are given opportunities to explore grammar in context, this will enable pupils to see
how & why alternative forms exist to express different communicative meanings.
E.g.: Getting pupils to read set of sentences in the active voice -> Transform these into
passives following a model (to introduce the passive voice) -> tasks which give pupils
opportunities to explore when it is communicatively appropriate to use the passive rather than
the active voice (to show the relationship between grammatical items & the context in which
they occur).
Advantage: Effective communication which involves achieving harmony between functional
interpretation & formal appropriacy.
** Communicative tasks to shows the relationship between grammatical items & the context in which
they occur.
[This is because in genuine communication, grammar & context are closely related that appropriate
grammatical choices can only be made with reference to the context & the purpose of the
communication.]
Grammar need not be taught: It is acquired subconsciously when pupils learn the other language
skills. Pupils can learn & apply many grammatical concepts without learning to analyse the
grammatical constructions.
Gap filling:
- Listen to the song & have the lyrics with gaps for them to fill in as they listen.
- (Take out all the grammatical words such as prepositions / verbs)
- Tell pupils what they should be listening out for
**To make the task easier: Teacher could provide the missing words in a box at the side for the pupils to
select/ Number the gaps & provide clues for each number
Chants:
- Use repetition to help pupils to learn problematic forms & helping them to improve their automatic use of
English.
- Teacher chants the lines in a rhythmical way & pupils repeat after teacher
E.g.: (Chant on preposition.)
At, on. At- with time. On- with days. We eat at eight. We meet on Mondays.
2. Stories:
- Create a deep interest & desire to continue learning (Provide contexts for real use of English)
- Listening to stories is a shared social experience; it provokes a shared response of laughter & sadness
- Provokes imagination interpret the characters & stories
Circle Story
- Focuses on accuracy of language
- The class create stories word by word.
Teacher may begin by saying: One Monday morning, Ali was -> The 1st pupil must repeat One Monday
morning, Ali was and then add a single word that makes sense & fits in grammatically. -> The 2nd pupil
repeats all the 1st pupil has said, adding one more word. -> All pupils take turn to play until a story develops
around the class.
** Teacher can choose whether the story is to be told in present tense or used to practise the past tense.
Retelling Stories
- Through repeating & considering the poem, the grammatical structures become more deeply internalized.
- To practice adjectives, imperative, verbs
4. Games (E.g.: Problem-solving activities)
- Allow pupils to practise & internalize vocabulary, grammar & structures extensively in challenging &
stimulating & meaningful & social context
* By repeated exposure to the target grammar
* By motivated in involving : pupils focused on the game & end up absorbing the grammar subconsciously
Tips to use Grammar Games:
a) Organization time & game & materials management
b) Variation vary the activities (appeal to all learning styles)
c) Rules of playing respect & obey
d) Routine pupils know what to expect next to ensure the class go smoothly
Examples: Board games (Go to Press!: compete to correct errors from the newspaper)
Crossword puzzle (Use clues to get pupils to practise critical thinking skills about the specific grammar items)
5. Puppets (Finger, glove, sock puppets)
- Act out various grammar concepts: (E.g.: learning verb tenses & prepositions)
6. Dialogues
a. Conversation-facilitation (encouraged to memorize short & useful phrases)
b. Grammar-demonstration dialogues (contain certain grammatical structures with contextualized examplesenable pupils to deduce generalization about certain grammatical structures).
7. Plays
- The play scripts allow pupils to read aloud, swap roles, repeat & understand grammar in context
- Pupils in groups can also be given the task of writing a play script.
;; Use natural language relevant experience & characters, dialogue-short & easy to be remembered
Types of activities:
a) Drills
To offer opportunities for the pupils to accurately try out what they have learned.
Help pupils to develop quick, automatic responses using a specific formulaic structure, such as
transformation or verb form.
Mode of drilling also can be changed from individual drill to chorus drill.
Common forms of Drills: Simple repetition, simple substitution, multiple substitution, simple correlation,
multiple correlations, transformation.
b) Substitution Tables
Used to teach/ practise more than one form.
c) Jazz chants
- Allow pupils to ask as many questions as necessary to understand a subject rather than feeling
pressured to learn everything immediately.
- Enable/ prepare pupils to catch up with their peers & to participate equally in class
- Overcome their difficulties as soon as problems are detected (Improve learning skill or rectify problem)
- To boost pupils self-confidence & self-esteem
**Grammar remedial classes: Emphasises that pupils need to acquire basic concepts before complicated
ideas can be introduced and applied.
1) Identification:
a) Through academic achievement
- Show poor performance consistently in tests, do not do homework/ copy friends, passive involvementmay be confused or give wrong answers to the questions asked.
b) Through behavioural aspect
i) Attitude towards academic activities disinterested (avoid interaction/ no contributions of ideas)
ii) Class escapism skip classes & give excuses for not attending lesson
2) Diagnosis of deficiencies:
a) Learning of concepts: He does not comprehend
b) Application of knowledge: He may be unable to apply the learned knowledge
3) Causes:
Memory, Understanding, Presentation, Medium of Instruction (language problem), Teacher based (does
not encourage participation, improper way of correction <feedback>, threatening environment), Individual
factors (not preferred skills)
4) Cures & Remedies:
i) Diagnosis of the specific difficulty of pupil by conducting a suitable diagnostic test
ii) Providing suitable remedial measures
iii) Providing ways for preventing them from reoccurring in the future