Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Thanks
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- I Creating a good environment for language learning
- II Being effective in the classroom
- III Teaching large classes
- IV Teaching language skills and systems
- V Teaching language without textbooks
- VI Teaching language with textbooks
- VII Helping students achieve their potential
- VIII Linking the school to the outside world
- IX Supporting yourself and others
- Glossary
- Index
15 - Teaching grammar
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2021
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Thanks
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- I Creating a good environment for language learning
- II Being effective in the classroom
- III Teaching large classes
- IV Teaching language skills and systems
- V Teaching language without textbooks
- VI Teaching language with textbooks
- VII Helping students achieve their potential
- VIII Linking the school to the outside world
- IX Supporting yourself and others
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
If she asked me to speak in English, I would be silent … our head is heavy of grammar.
anonymous student, JordanThe short version
1 Grammar is something to be used, not simply understood.
2 When using the traditional PPP (Presentation Practice Production) method for teaching grammar, teachers often omit the final, crucial phase of production, meaning students don't secure the knowledge.
3 Textbook grammar is often presented (and therefore taught) in a boring, repetitive way, which is demotivating for both students and teachers.
4 There's no reason why textbook grammar can't be taught using fun, interactive activities.
5 Since students are often reluctant to use new grammatical structures, the teacher needs to create a classroom atmosphere where they feel they can try.
Introduction
1 Is it important to teach grammar in challenging circumstances? Why / why not? Is your view the same as those of other educational stakeholders?
2 How do you currently teach grammar in your classes? How do your students feel about this?
3 The following ‘grammar’ words are used in this chapter. Do you know what they mean (see ▸Glossary)?
Why do we teach grammar?
What is grammar? Grammar is not just rules, and it is not just accuracy. Rather, grammar is the way we sequence and modify words in order to achieve greater clarity and precision. It is a toolbox for making meaning. As Tanya Cotter says:
Without grammar, words hang together without any real meaning or sense. In order to be able to speak a language to some degree of proficiency and to be able to say what we really want to say, we need to have some grammatical knowledge.
In many educational contexts and institutions, ‘teaching language’ means ‘teaching grammar’. Furthermore, ‘knowledge about’ grammar is often prized more than ‘the ability to use’ grammar.
Grammatical knowledge is often the basis of many language exams, whether assessment within your institution, national exams, or college and university entrance tests. Grammar is traditionally taught using a ▸PPP (Presentation Practice Production) method. This is how many teachers were trained to teach, and how they were taught themselves at school.
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- Information
- Teaching in Challenging Circumstances , pp. 93 - 98Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021