How grammar can be best taught

International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, 2017

Every language has its grammar. Whether it is one's own mother tongue or second-language that one is learning. The grammar of the language is important. This is because acceptability and intelligibility, both in speech and in writing within as well as outside one's own circle or group depend on the currently followed basic notions and norms of grammaticality. A knowledge of grammar is perhaps more important to a secondlanguage learner than to a native speaker has intuitively internalized the grammar of the language whereas the secondlanguage learner has to make a conscious effect to master those aspects of the language which account for grammaticality. It is, therefore, necessary for us, to whom English is a secondlanguage, to learn the grammar of the language. So, without the knowledge of the grammar of a particular language, we cannot properly use the language in communication. But question may arise what should be the method and approach to the study of grammar. Several approaches have been followed through the ages for the study of English grammar. The major approaches are the traditional approach, the structural approach, the notional-functional approach and the communicative approach.

Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 2004

With the rise of communicative methodology in the late 1970s, the role of grammar instruction in second language learning was downplayed, and it was even suggested that teaching grammar was not only unhelpful but might actually be detrimental. However, recent research has demonstrated the need for formal instruction for learners to attain high levels of accuracy. This has led to a resurgence of grammar teaching, and its role in second language acquisition has become the focus of much current investigation. In this chapter we briefly review the major developments in the research on the teaching of grammar over the past few decades. This review addresses two main issues: (1) whether grammar teaching makes any difference to language learning; and (2) what kinds of grammar teaching have been suggested to facilitate second language learning. To this end, the chapter examines research on the different ways in which formal instruction can be integrated with communicative activities. Continuing in the tradition of more than 2000 years of debate regarding whether grammar should be a primary focus of language instruction, should be eliminated entirely, or should be subordinated to meaning-focused use of the target language (for historical reviews see Howatt, 1984; Kelly, 1969), the need for grammar instruction is once again attracting the attention of second language acquisition (SLA) researchers and teachers. We briefly review arguments against and in support of grammar teaching before examining the approaches to grammatical instruction investigated in current research. 1

2010

International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 2017

Grammar plays a key role in foreign language teaching since comprehension does not occur without it. Grammar allows language learners to shape the order and organization of knowledge they acquire in the learning process. Learners become aware of functions of language through grammar knowledge, thus to progress effectively in the target language, grammar is essential. When learners understand the language concepts such as adjectives, adverbs, nouns, verbs, etc. they stand a better chance of using the language with great capability. Grammar teaching is drawing the attention of learners through using instructional techniques to some specific grammatical structures to help them understand and process it. The better learners understand the use of grammatical structures, the more competence they have for using the language skills. This article compares five instructional methods in language teaching in terms of grammar teaching.

Learning about grammar doesn't have to be boring and meaningless. This paper starts by dispelling some myths, other wise known as silly grammar ideas. It ends by describing seven activities that can be used to develop students' ability to use conventional grammar.

Teaching grammar has been regarded as crucial to the ability to use language. For this reason, this article introduces a five-step procedure for teaching grammar. I have developed this procedure, which incorporates the notions of practice and consciousness-raising, explicit and implicit knowledge, and deductive and inductive approaches for teaching grammar. This procedure has been derived from my great interest in innovative grammar teaching and my teaching experience in grammar. The proposed steps are expected to be an alternative pathway for English teachers to teach grammar, particularly teaching tenses and modals at college-university levels or even in secondary schools. Grammar gains its prominence in language teaching, particularly in English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL), inasmuch as without a good knowledge of grammar, learners' language development will be severely constrained. Practically, in the teaching of grammar, learners are taught rules of language commonly known as sentence patterns. According to Ur (1999), in the case of the learners, grammatical rules enable them to know and apply how such sentence patterns should be put together. The teaching of grammar should also ultimately centre attention on the way grammatical items or sentence patterns are correctly used. In other words, teaching grammar should encompass language structure or sentence patterns, meaning and use. Further, grammar is thought to furnish the basis for a set of language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. In listening and speaking, grammar plays a crucial part in grasping and expressing spoken language (e.g. expressions) since learning the grammar of a language is considered necessary to acquire the capability of producing grammatically acceptable utterances in the language (Corder, 1988; Widodo, 2004). In reading, grammar enables learners to comprehend sentence interrelationship in a paragraph, a passage and a text. In the context of writing, grammar allows the learners to put their ideas into intelligible sentences so that they can successfully communicate in a written form. Lastly, in the case of vocabulary, grammar provides a pathway to learners how some lexical items should be combined into a good sentence so that meaningful and communicative statements or expressions can be formed. In other words, Doff (2000) says that by learning grammar students can express meanings in the form of phrases, clauses and sentences. Long and Richards (1987) add that it cannot be ignored that grammar plays a central role in the four language skills and vocabulary to establish communicative tasks.

CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE, 2022

One of the main aspects of a language that has been the subject of intense discussion over the years is the grammar of a foreign language. Attitude to grammar determined the specifics of a particular method, principles and methods of teaching, what are the main approaches in teaching English grammar, what approaches are leading in modern conditions of teaching English and what are the main methods they are implemented. The history of teaching a foreign language show that the attitude to grammar determined the specifics of a particular method, principles and methods of teaching, especially at school.

2021

This scoping review studies the role of grammar in second language teaching and learning. This scoping review mainly directs to synthesizing relevant studies and literature on acquiring grammar and looking for strategies for achieving it. Grammar acquisition requires the subconscious mind of accepting grammatical knowledge that is then confined and used in communication. Its implicit nature makes it hard to conduct studies about it, and there is a need for more information that can help contribute to the existing knowledge about it. Hence, this scoping review gathered and scrutinized recent and relevant papers from various databases. The collected papers consist of qualitative and quantitative studies. Many language teachers agree that pedagogic grammar is crucial in second language acquisition. Hence, this paper analyzes recent and relevant papers about grammar acquisition. This scoping review found out that the importance of studies about grammar acquisition should not be forsaken; thus, more investigations must be done to contribute to the already existing knowledge. A byproduct of these studies can lead to better strategies for promoting grammar acquisition to language learners. Hence, the amelioration of Second Language Learning and Second Language Teaching is inevitable.