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ESL forum >
Techniques and methods in Language Teaching > Grammar Alone or the whole picture?
Grammar Alone or the whole picture?
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libertybelle
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Grammar Alone or the whole picture?
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I �ve noticed how popular the single grammar sheets are here.
A whole page of practice with verbs or other things.
I �m wondering why so many people practice grammar by itself
instead of combining grammar practice with a text?
My students love reading a little text, and then use that
as the basis for working with grammar. It gives them the whole picture
of how grammar functions.
I guess I believe in a holistic view more than inspecting the single elements - out of a context.
I know that many German teachers teach grammar first, but there are many rules in the German language and if you know the rules, you can pretty much speak it.
English isn �t quite like that.
What do you do?
L
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21 Mar 2010
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anitarobi
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I agree - combining texts with grammar is the best. My sts already know I �ll plant grammar in every song or story we do... |
21 Mar 2010
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Yulia Mo
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I think everything in moderation.
I �m trying to make the classes more conversational with some grammar points though as for sure if students don �t know how to combine a sentence they can �t speak, especially elementary.
But i love all the conversation stuff. Recently i �ve been enjoying Odd One Out games which are a bit more complicated than simple crossing out. I doubt that i can advertise wss here, but i really find this game awesome.
As for the Grammar wss, i also use them, but mainly in a home work assignments to drill grammar more just by doing all those long exs. I believe it works this way.
I �ll be happy to hear what others think about grammar VS conversation in the class.
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21 Mar 2010
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carinaluc
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I couldn �t agree more with Libertybelle. A Communicate Approach is richer and more rewarding for our students.
Carina |
21 Mar 2010
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manonski (f)
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I think it can also depend on the curriculum. I totally agree with you Libertybelle and I much prefer teaching grammar in context where it has a better chance to make sense.
Our curriculum that is now entering its 11th year has been criticized since the beginning. Last week, I learnt that we will probably have to evaluate knowledge instead of competencies. It breaks my heart because I enjoy this new curriculum so much. It taps into my students � intelligence instead of the memory and they have never spoken so much in English. I can �t believe I �ll have to go back to exams that check how much they can retain (and then forget). You can �t become competent if you don �t have knowledege and the competence not only helps you retain the grammar (and knowledge), it also puts it in the long term memory. |
21 Mar 2010
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Jayho
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Hi LB
My students come here to polish their supposedly high English levels before doing further tertiary studies - they love grammar ws �s - they want grammar ws - some of them do really well with grammar ws - but many simply just can �t apply it in real life. I find it soooo frustrating.
My focus this year has been teaching grammar using the daily newspaper. Last year I used magazines and I found them too distracting - it got the students reading for sure but I think some of them had never seen Western style mags before and there was no way they could focus on grammar when they had all these wonderful pictures to look at. This year it �s the boring daily newspaper!! I just have to remember to take out all the glossy advertisng inserts, especially those advertising mobile phones.
Here�s a good link:
USING NEWSPAPER TEXT IN THE TEACHING OF GRAMMAR
Cheers
Jayho |
21 Mar 2010
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aliciapc
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I don �t think it has to be grammar VS conversation, you can have both in the same ws, since you can begin with a speaking point which makes ss give their opinion and then have them read a text and from there on you can have grammar exercises. You can also round up the task with one last exercise which gets them talking again.
I guess it �s easier for ss to work with contextualised activities related to a text or to a listening activity than to just complete drills. But that �s just me, maybe for other teachers something different works, too ! |
21 Mar 2010
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ELOJOLIE274
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Libertybelle, you �re so right!
i usually use the grammar ws as a homework. what i do is find a text - or an oral document - that corresponds to the task we are doing (ex: role play "at the travel agency") and depending on this document we focus on a particular grammar item (ex: modals, suggestions... because we will need it to complete the task). then, when my pupils have spotted the grammar item i want to focus on, we try to see how it works (structure, place in the sentence, order of the words...), then i give them exercices - ws from this site or my own ws - to work on this grammar item in a different context, to do in class and to finish at home.
in France, that �s the way we have to teach grammar to our pupils, always with a context in mind, and never grammar for the sole purpose of teaching grammar
Elodie
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21 Mar 2010
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zailda
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Hi!
Maybe most of the teachers already use a course book with texts, vocabulary and exercises so they get the ws from ESL Printables only for further grammar practice.
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21 Mar 2010
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lshorton99
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I dislike a lot of coursebooks and I believe in providing a context for all grammar. For example, one coursebook we use has a reading on �Which Office Personality are you? - my students are 14 so it �s unlikely they have an office personality just yet!
Having said that, the grammar worksheets here are very useful for homework, revision and extension of a grammar point. They can often be used to clarify doubts and reinforce the language point in question.
Still, my favourites are those which include at least a reading as a jumping off point for discussion and further pratice. These can easily be supplemented with the basic grammar worksheets.
Unfortunately one of my students asked me why they had bought the coursebook if we never use it so I have to find a couple of things to do from it or the parents will start to complain!
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21 Mar 2010
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