Section 3 Teaching Grammar

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I.Thinking

【Case Reflection】

Grammar is the foundation of how the English language is organized. It is also an important subject to be tested in English tests at all levels in China. Even though teachers teach conscientiously and students work hard, ironically, the more teachers teach grammar, the less effective they seem to be; and the more students learn grammar, the more interest they seem to lose. Grammar teaching is a bit of a puzzle. How do you think we should learn and teach grammar?

II.Subject Matter of Teaching Grammar

Grammar is the rules of language organization and structure.

(I) Grammar learning

Grammar is the backbone of language learning.

1.Natural acquisition theory

Because grammar of the mother tongue is obtained in a natural environment, some scholars propose that people can master grammar without the need for formal study. Studies of second language acquisition have found that in some specific teaching methods (e.g. the Immersion Method) students can acquire grammar without explicit grammar teaching. Thus, some scholars have proposed that grammar does not need to be specifically taught and students can acquire grammar naturally.

2.The order of acquisition theory

Researchers in second language acquisition have found that the order of grammar acquisition is largely fixed no matter what formal language instruction has been received. Materials designers therefore usually consider the grammar acquisition order when compiling teaching materials. Simple sentences are usually presented before compound sentences; present tense before past tense; and affirmative sentences before interrogative and negative sentences. This order is also followed in designing classroom teaching activities.

3.Behaviorism theory

Generally, people believe that practice makes perfect, so they think the same is true for learning grammar. Audiolingualism, supported by behaviourist learning theory, has reinforced this belief and many learners, as a result, spend a lot of time on reciting grammar rules and doing practice exercises. Although this kind of practice is also only barely satisfactory in terms of effectiveness, it is most learners' first choice when learning grammar.

4.Communication theory

Learning grammar aids communication, and mastering grammar can only be realized through using grammar. Teaching explicit language knowledge may not be effective, but such knowledge is important in fostering students' grammar awareness on a subconscious level.

5.Explicit grammar and implicit grammar

There are two approaches in the grammar learning process. One is explicit, and the other, implicit. The former refers to the direct learning of grammar rules and the latter refers to learning through exposure to the grammar material without specific conscious attention to the rules of grammar. Experiments have proved conclusively that understanding grammar may accelerate the process of grammar acquisition, but it is very difficult to directly transform explicit knowledge into real communicative competence. The best way to learn grammar is to combine explicit learning with implicit learning. Through this, we can learn about grammar knowledge and develop competence in its application by using grammar in various communicative activities.

(II) Subject Matter of Grammar Teaching

From the perspective of theory and knowledge structure, grammar subject matter includes three major aspects: language form/structure (including morphology, syntax etc.) ; language meaning; and language use. Language meaning includes the meaning of grammar forms and structures. Language use refers to the meaningful use of functions of language in appropriate contexts and discourse. Grammar teaching enables students to not only master language form and meaning, but also be clear on the use of language form. Grammar teaching endows grammar with communicative significance.

III.Methods of Teaching Grammar

(I) Models of grammar teaching

In the development of foreign language teaching, grammar teaching has shifted from Audiolingualism to a Communicative Approach, and now to Task-based Language Teaching.

1.Behaviorism in grammar teaching

From the influences of structuralism and behaviorist psychology emerged Audiolingualism, an approach which emphasizes sentence practice and takes accuracy as its goal. Currently, this is used in the presentation, practice and testing approach to teaching.

●Presentation

This is mostly presented deductively, i.e. the teacher explains the grammar principle and gives example sentences to illustrate it. On occasion this may be done inductively through the use of multiple examples.

●Practice

At this stage, the practice is a mechanical one. It is mainly sentence pattern operation, including different kinds of sentence conversion, substitution, sentence completion, and translations, etc.

●Testing

Questions types such as, multiple-choice and filling blanks are used after the practice to determine whether the practice has achieved the expected effect.

2.Communicative grammar teaching

With the appearance of the communicative approach came the realization that grammar should be learned and used in a communicative context. As a result, communicative grammar teaching practices include:

Bloomfield's model of “present—practice—practice in context”;

Harmer's “introduction—practice—production (communicate) ”;

Willis's “performance—rehearsal—report”; and “communicate—present language—drill practice—communicate”.

The language presentation in communicative grammar teaching developed to include diagrams, dialogues and situations, and communicative activities, such as discussions, role-plays, interviews, debates, etc.

3.Task-based grammar teaching

Task-based grammar's teaching is different from task-based teaching in listening, speaking and reading, because grammar is still the centre of task-based teaching. This is referred to as “form-centred” task-based teaching. There are two types of activities in “form-centred” grammar teaching. One is an implicit grammar activity in which; for example, when teaching past simple tense, the teacher may first let students talk about the activities they did the day before, and then write sentences about those activities, and compare the differences and similarities between them. The other one is an explicit communicative task, the content of which is grammar issues. For example, the teacher offers flashcards with both correct and incorrect sentences. He/She asks students to read them, then chooses the correct sentences, and draws conclusions on the grammar rules of the correct grammar forms.

Task-based grammar teaching tasks are similar to general teaching tasks. Before the task, activities involve presenting the grammar items through reading and listening materials, and then assigning the task. Students complete the tasks which allow students to apply the grammar forms in language use. For instance, teachers ask students to analyse the listening material which includes the sentence pattern of “be going to”, and explain its meaning. They then ask students to talk about their weekends' plans and see who has similar plans in the groups. After the task, teachers can arrange practice activities according to the grammatical problems which surfaced in the process of completing the task.

(II) Principles of teaching grammar

1.Systematic principle

Language itself is a complete system and grammar is the embodiment of the system. So grammar teaching must be consistent with the rules of the system. That is, grammar teaching should follow the grammar system in the teaching material and the pace of grammar development. The choice of grammar content should be based on contemporary social contexts, and strive to be relevant to the student's life to meet his/her communication needs. Teachers should avoid teaching grammar items that are rarely used in everyday communication.

2.Communicative principle

As the purpose of language teaching is largely to develop students' communicative competence, a communicative principle should be built into grammar teaching. There are two goals of grammar teaching in elementary and middle schools: to train students' grammar awareness which supports the development of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills; and to lay a language basis for the cultivation of communicative competence. Teachers should therefore try to set up a language context for communication and create communicative activities with the help of slides, actions, objects, pictures, and performances to help students perceive, experience, understand and learn language through activities. Grammatical rules, thus experienced, can be internalized as part of real communicative competence.

3.Integrated principle

The integrated principle refers to the integrated application of methods, contents and skills in grammar teaching to avoid a simplistic focus on form. The principle seeks to meet the following requirements:

●Combining induction with deduction. Since both induction and deduction have their respective advantages and disadvantages, they should be combined organically in grammar teaching. Induction should be taken as the main approach, and deduction as the secondary one.

●Combining implicit teaching with explicit teaching. The language learning process is basically a combination of implicit and explicit processes. We should take implicit teaching as the main route to competence and use explicit teaching to strengthen grammar awareness.

●Combining grammar with the activities of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Grammar serves the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. In order to make grammar truly serve communication, we should combine grammar teaching with the activities of listening, speaking, reading and writing.

4.Incentive principle

Motivation ensures the success of all teaching activities, and motivation in grammar teaching is especially important. In order to stimulate students' motivation and help them actively engage in grammar activities, the following should be considered:

●Topic choice: the choice of topics should be suitable for the students' age, cognitive ability and grammar level, closely related to their life experience and interesting enough to engage their imagination and sense of curiosity.

●Context design: teachers should try their best to set up authentic contexts and provide students with visual support through pictures, slides, etc to make the experience more authentic.

●Types of activities: in order to motivate students and develop divergent thinking skills, classroom activities should be more open and communicative and less mechanical.

●Personalization: personalization means that the classroom activities should use students' personal experience, viewpoints and feelings to carry out authentic communication and internalize language rules through communication.

5.Variety principle

Rich and varied activities in class can add great vitality to classroom teaching. One of the ways to change the impression of grammar in students' minds is to pay attention to variety. Variety can be displayed in activities, topics, classroom organization, evaluations and teachers' instructions.

(III) Methods of teaching grammar

1.The deductive method

In grammar teaching, we can adopt an inductive method or a deductive method. In the deductive method, the teacher usually explains the grammar rules first, and then gives students some examples, and finally asks students to practise using these rules. It is a process from theory to practice. The deductive method can save time and effort. But it also has drawbacks which should not be ignored. For example, in the deductive method, students may lose the processing opportunities provided by observing, analyzing and solving grammar problems by themselves.

2.The inductive method

In the inductive method, the teacher provides students with examples which the teacher and students observe and analyse together. The teacher confirms the definitions and grammar rules. Finally the teacher asks students to practise using the rules. In the inductive method, through analyzing, inducing, and summing up the rules of language use, we can help students deepen their comprehension of grammar, improve their abilities to discover and solve problems, and think logically. At the same time, this can avoid the drawbacks which are found in cramming. This method also has shortcomings in that it can be time-consuming and less efficient.

3.The discovery teaching method

In discovery teaching, the teacher provides students language materials to listen to or read, which incorporate grammar items students are about to learn. Then the teacher sets out the task, and students observe and analyse the materials to identify and summarize the grammar rules. The teaching process includes giving examples, discovering rules, explaining rules, and practice. From this perspective, this method is somewhat similar to the inductive method, but the difference is that the process of discovery is guided and assisted by the teacher.

4.Task-based activity method

Task-based activity is different from grammar task-based teaching. Task-based activity is an approach to language training, and task-based teaching does not necessarily need to be used in the classroom teaching. When training students to apply grammar items, task-based activity is characterized by using such things as information gaps, investigations, discussions, interviews, and poster making. This method avoids rigidly adhering to conventional training on grammar forms only.

5.Situational method

Situation refers to the language context for the target language use. The teacher makes use of real situations or sets up a simulation for grammar teaching. The simulation can include the use of material objects, authentic environment, body language, non-verbal means and multimedia materials to make grammar teaching more real and interesting.

V. Chapter Summary

In this chapter we focus on the teaching principles and teaching methods suitable for basic English knowledge in elementary and middle school. The chapter is divided into three sections. Section 1 mainly discusses the significance of English pronunciation teaching; the main subject matter of teaching and learning; and several influential pronunciation teaching models and methods. Through the analysis of problems, we understand the significance of teaching pronunciation in an English curriculum, and also clarify the relationship between pronunciation teaching and grammar and vocabulary. In Section 2, we pay more attention to the subject matter of English grammar, the role of grammar teaching, the subject matter of grammar teaching and learning and the theories and practices in current grammar teaching. Vocabulary is the basic unit of language and is important in any language learning and teaching. In Section 3, we summarize the key concepts in vocabulary teaching. When teachers explore vocabulary teaching methods they must also consider their learners. For example, how do learners learn or acquire English vocabulary? This exploration can provide us with constructive and useful feedback and inspiration to improve our teaching and raise teaching quality. In short, the three sections of this chapter are closely related to how to teach basic English knowledge effectively.