Teaching English Grammar 
These steps an intended
to clarify the crucial point of contrast at the time when sentences are being
learned. They should take only a small portion of the class time—no more than
15 per cent.
Robert Lado accents that
many teachers make the mistake of trying to explain everything at length while
the class listens passively. Long explanations without active practice are a
waste of time, and even with practice they are inefficient. Most of the class
should be devoted to practice.
1.3 Correction
During the accurate
reproduction phase there are two basic correction stages: showing incorrectness
(indicating to the student that something is wrong) and using correction
techniques.
-
Showing
incorrectness
This means that we will
indicate to the student that a mistake has been made. If the student
understands this feedback he or she will be able to correct the mistake and
this self-correction will be helpful to him or her as part of the learning
process.
There are a number of
techniques for showing incorrectness:
§
Repeating: Here we simply ask the student to
repeat what he or she has just said by using the word 'again'. This, said with
a questioning intonation, will usually indicate that the response was
unsatisfactory (although it could be misunderstood as only indicating that the
teacher has not heard the student's response).
§
Echoing: We will be even clearer if we repeat
what the student has just said, using a questioning intonation since this will
clearly indicate that we are doubting the accuracy or content of what is being
said.
Sometimes we can echo the complete student response,
probably stressing the pan of the utterance that was incorrect, for
example:
She go
to school?
Another possibility is to echo the
student's response, but only up to the point where the mistake was made,ftor
example: She go …?
Echoing, in its various forms, is probably the most efficient
way of showing incorrectness.
§
Denial: We can simply tell the student that
the response was unsatisfactory and ask for it to be repeated. This seems
somewhat drier than the techniques so far discussed; it may be a bit more
discouraging.
§
Questioning: We can say 'Is that correct?' asking
any student in the class to answer our question. This has the advantage of
focusing everybody's mind on the problem, though it may make the student who
made the mistake seem somewhat exposed.
§
Expression: Many teachers indicate that a
response was incorrect by their expression or by some gesture. This is very
economical (and can be quite funny) but can be dangerous if the student thinks
that the expression or gesture is a form of mockery.
In general, showing
incorrectness should be handled with tact and consideration. The process of
student self-correction, which it provokes, is an important and useful part of
the learning process. Showing incorrectness should be seen as a positive act,
in other words, not as a reprimand.
Frequently, however, we
find that showing incorrectness is not enough for the correction of a mistake
or an error and the teacher may therefore have to use some correction
techniques.
-
Using correction
techniques
If students are unable to
correct themselves we can resort to one of the following techniques.
§ Student corrects student: we can ask if anyone else can give
the correct response. We can ask if anyone can 'help' the student who has made
the mistake. If another student can supply the correct information it will be
good for that student's self-esteem. However, the student who originally made
the mistake may feel humiliated if this technique is used insensitively.
§ Teacher corrects student(s): Sometimes we may feel that we should
take charge of correction because the students are extremely mixed-up about
what the correct response should be. In that case we can re-explain the item of
language, which is causing the trouble. This will be especially appropriate
when we see that a majority of the class are having the same problem. After the
re-explanation we can move to choral and individual repetition (if necessary)
before moving on.
The
object of using correction techniques, of course, is to give the student(s) a
chance to (know how to) get the new language right. It is important, therefore,
that when we have used one of the techniques suggested above, we ask the
student who originally made the mistake to give us a correct response.
When the children
and teacher are confident that the children can form the new language correctly
they will move to immediate creativity. Here they try to
use what they have just learned to make sentences of their own, rather
than sentences which the teacher or book has introduced as models.
It is at this stage that
both teacher and student can see if the students have really understood the
meaning, use and form of the new language. If they are able to produce their
own sentences they can feel confident that the presentation was success.
Notice again that if the
students perform well during elicitation the teacher can move straight to
immediate creativity. If at that stage they perform badly the teacher may find
it necessary either to return to a short accurate reproduction stage or in
extreme cases, to re-explain the new language.
1.4 The Most Common
Difficulties Pupils Howe in Assimilating English Grammar
The chief difficulty in
learning a new language is that of changing from the grammatical mechanism of
the native language to that of the new language. Indeed, every language has its
own way of fitting words together to form sentences. In English, word order is
more important than in Russian. The word order in Tom gave Helen a rose
indicates what was given (a rose), to whom (Helen), and by whom (Tom). If we
change the word order and say Helen gave tom a rose, we shall change the
meaning of the sentence. In Russian, due to inflexions, which are very
important in this language, we can say Том дал Лене розу or Лене дал Том розу without changing the meaning of the sentence, as the
inflexion “e” in the word Лене indicates the object of the action.
The inversion of subject and
finite verb in Are you… indicates the question form. In speaking
English, Russian pupils often violate the word order which results in bad
mistakes in expressing their thoughts.
The English tense system also
presents a lot of trouble to Russian-speaking pupils because of the difference
which exists in these languages with regard to time and tense relations. For
example, the pupil cannot at first understand why we must say I have seen
him today and I saw him yesterday. For him the action is completed
in both sentences, and he does not associate it in any way with today or
yesterday.
The sequence of tenses is
another difficult point of English grammar for Russian speaking pupils because
there is no such phenomenon in their mother tongue. Why should we say She
said she was busy when she is busy?
The use of modal verbs in
various types of sentences is very difficult for the learner. For example, he
should differentiate the use of can and may while in Russian the
verb may covers them both. Then he should remember which verb must be
used in answers to the questions with modal verbs. For instance, May I go
home? No, you mustn’t. May I take your pen? Yes, you may. Must I do it? No, you
needn’t.
The most difficult point of
English grammar is the article because it is completely strange to
Russian-speaking pupils. The use of the articles and other determiners comes
first in the list of the most frequent errors. Pupils are careless in the use
of “these tiny words” and consider them unimportant for expressing their
thoughts when speaking English.
English grammar must begin,
therefore, with pupils’ learning the meaning of these structural words, and
with practice in their correct use. For example: This is a pen. The pen is
red. This is my pen and that is his pen.
PART 4 TYPES OF
EXERCISES FOR THE ASSIMILATION OF GRAMMAR
1.1 Recognition exercises
These exercises are the
easiest type of exercises for pupils to perform. They observe the grammar item
in structures (sentence patterns) when hearing or reading. Since pupils only
observe the new grammar item the situations should be natural and
communicative. For example:
-
Listen to the
sentences and raise your hands whenever you hear the verbs in the Past Simple.
Mike lives in Pushkin Street.
I lived there last year. Ann gets up at 7 o’clock in the morning. She got up at
half past seven yesterday. Etc.
It is desirable that
sentences formed should concern real situations and facts.
Pupils listen to the teacher
and raise their hands when they hear a verb in the Past Simple. The teacher can
see whether each of his pupils has grasped the sentence.
-
Read the sentences
and choose the correct form of the verb. The following sentences may be
suggested:
I (go, went) to school
yesterday.
Tom (takes, took) a bus when
he goes to school.
She (got, gets, gets) up at 7
o’ clock every day.
Pupils should read the
sentences and find the signals for the correct choice of the form. Since the
necessary form is suggested in each sentence they should only recognize the one
they need for a given context.
Recognition exercises are
indispensable as pupils retain the grammar material through auditory and visual
perception. Auditory and visual memory is at work.
1.2 Drill exercises
They are more completed as
they require reproduction on the part of the pupils. In learning a foreign
language drill exercises are indispensable. The learners cannot assimilate the
material if they only hear and see it. They must reproduce it both in outer and
inner speech. The more often they say it the better they assimilate the
material. Though drill exercises are those in which pupils have only one
difficulty to overcome, they should also be graded:
- Repetitive drill. Pupils pronounce the
sentence pattern after the teacher, in imitation of the teacher, both
individually and in unison. For example:
Teacher: They are dancing in
the park.
Class: They are dancing in
the park.
Individuals: They are dancing
in the park.
Or pupils listen to the
dialogue and say it after the speaker.
-Is Ann dancing now?
-No, she isn’t.
-What is she doing?
-She is watching television.
Attention is drawn to the
correct pronunciation of the sentence pattern as a sense unit, as a statement (sounds,
stress, and melody).
- Substitution. Pupils substitute the words
or phrases in a sentence pattern. For example:
The children are dancing in
the park.
The children are dancing in
the garden.
The children are dancing in
the street.
The children are dancing in
the yard.
The children are dancing in
the hall.
The children are dancing after
classes.
The children are dancing at
the party.
A pupil substitutes a
phrase, the rest may say it in unison. Then they are invited to replace the
word dancing with other words.
They are singing in the
park.
They are working in the
park.
They are walking in the
park.
They are playing in the
park.
They are running in the
park.
They are talking in the
park.
They are watering flowers
in the park.
They are planting trees
in the park.
They are helping the
workers in the park.
The use of a particular
verb is stimulated with pictures (or a Russian word). Quick revision is
achieved with a small expenditure of effort. In this way they review many words
and phrases. As pupils have only one difficulty to overcome the work does not take
much time. Or pupils are invited to replace the words in the dialogue with
those given in columns (see the dialogue above).
There is one more
advantage in performing this type of exercises—pupils consolidate the grammar
item without thinking about it. They think of the words, phrases, but not of
the form itself, therefore, involuntary memory is at work.
- Completion
Pupils complete the
sentences the teacher utters looking at the pictures he shows. For example:
Teacher: Look at the
picture.
Mike is ... ... .
Pupil: Mike is
getting up.
Class: Mike is
getting up.
Teacher: Mike is ... ...
.
Pupil: Mike is
dressing.
Class: Mike is
dressing.
Attention should be given
to the use of is in this exercise. The teacher should pronounce Mike
is ... to prevent the typical mistake of the pupils (Mike dressing).
This is essential structural element of the tense form of the Present
Continuous; Russian-speaking pupils, however, do not feel any necessity to use
it.
-
Answering the
teacher's questions
For example:
Teacher: Is Mike getting
up?
Pupil: Yes, he is.
Teacher: Who is getting
up?
Pupil: Mike is.
Teacher: What is Mike
doing?
Pupil: He is
getting up.
Drill exercises may be
done both orally and in written form. Pupils perform oral exercises during the
lesson and written ones at home. For example, they ate told to write five or
seven sentences on the model given.
During the next lesson the
work done at home is checked orally. In this way pupils have practice in
pronunciation while reading their own examples, and in auding while listening
to their classmates.
1.3 Creative exercises (speech exercises)
This is the most
difficult type of exercises as it requires creative work on the part of the
learners. These may be:
- Making statements either on the
picture the teacher shows, or on objects. For example, the teacher hangs up a
picture and asks his pupils to say or write three or five statements in the
Present Continuous.
- Asking questions with a given grammar
item. For example, pupils are invited to ask and answer questions in the Past
Indefinite.
- Speaking about the situation offered
by the teacher. For example, one pupil gives commands to perform this or that
action, the other comments on the action (actions) his classmate performs.
Pupil 1: Go to the door,
Sasha.
Pupil 2: Sasha is going
to the door.
Pupil 3: Open the door.
Pupil 4: Sasha is opening
the door.
- Speaking on a suggested topic. For
example, a pupil tells the class what he did yesterday.
- Making dialogues using the grammar item covered.
- Telling the story (read, heard).
- Translating into English.
Participating in free conversation in
which pupils are to use the grammar item they have learned. E. g., pupils have
learned sentence patterns with the impersonal it.
Through these questions
pupils are stimulated to speak about the weather and use the grammar item they
have learnt.
All the exercises of the
creative type are designed for consolidating grammar material pupils need for
hearing and speaking.
All the exercises mentioned above are designed:
- to develop pupils' skills in recognizing grammar forms while
auding and reading English texts;
- to accumulate correct sentence patterns in the pupils'
memory which they can reproduce whenever they need these patterns for speaking
or writing;
- to help the pupils to produce sentences of their own using
grammar items necessary for speaking about a situation or a topic offered, or
writing an essay on the text heard or an annotation on the text read.
1.4 Grammar tests
A check on the assimilation of grammar material is carried
out through:
-
auding (if a pupil understands what he auds, he knows
grammar);
-
speaking (if a pupil uses the grammar item correctly, he has
assimilated it);
-
reading (if a learner understands what he reads, he knows
grammar);
-
tests.
Tests allow the teacher
to evaluate pupils' achievement in grammar, that is, how each of them has
mastered forms, meaning, and usage. Tests in grammar may involve: filling in
the blanks; opening the brackets; transformation (e. g., make it negative,
change into plural, etc.); extension (e. g., / like to read books — I like
to raid English bocks in our library); completion (e. g., When I came
home ...); making statements on the pictures given; translation.
CONCLUSION
In order to understand a
language and express oneself correctly one must assimilate the grammar
mechanism of a language. Indeed, one may know all the words in a sentence and
yet fail to understand it, if one does not see the relationship between the
words in the given sentence. And vice versa, a sentence may contain one, two,
and more unknown words but if one has a good knowledge of the structure of the
language one can easily guess the meanings of these words or at least find them
in a dictionary, No speaking is possible without the knowledge of grammar,
without the forming of a grammar mechanism. Children need grammar to be able to
speak, and write in the target language.
Our aim is to form
grammar skills and prevent children from making grammar mistakes in their
speech. The aim of foreign languages in primary schools is to develop pupils’
skills in order to understand speech and participate in conversation.
The method and techniques
the teacher should use in teaching children of primary school is the direct
method and various techniques which can develop pupils’ listening comprehension
and speaking.
We have examined two
kinds of grammar skills: the reproductive and receptive grammar skills. The
reproductive grammar skills give pupils an opportunity to make up their own
sentences in oral and written forms in other words to communicate and the
receptive grammar skills give them an opportunity to read texts or aud and
understand it.
To master the
reproductive grammar skills one should study the basic sentences or models
(grammar is presented as itself in the basic sentences), to master the
receptive grammar skills one should identify and analyze the grammar item. We
teach children to read by means of grammar. It reveals the relationship between
the words in the given sentence.
We have such a conclusion
that the forming of grammar skills depends on training. Training is of great
importance to realize the grammar item. We must use a lot of training exercises
for the assimilation of grammar. We should provide the motivation of learn
English, encourage children to communicate and remember that the correction of
errors in the early stages of a language course may foster the following
negative aspects:
-
children lose
confidence when they have fear of making grammar mistakes
-
children become
reluctant to take risks: they only the say the information they know they can
say
We should realize the
importance of training exercises and the role of the individual approach to
teaching the children. Besides, the teacher must have a clear idea of the
grammar of the language, its structure and usage; everything he teaches must be
based on it; he should always be conscious of introducing or practicing some
point of grammar.
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