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Learning Grammar Part 2

This document discusses different approaches to teaching grammar, including grammar-translation methods, communicative methods, and current ideas about focusing on form. It notes that while communicative methods led to grammar losing importance, research found that learners did not develop the same levels of grammatical accuracy as native speakers without explicit grammar instruction. The document proposes principles for a learning-centered grammar teaching approach, emphasizing the need for grammar but avoiding potential conflicts with meaning, and the importance of helping learners notice and attend to grammatical patterns.

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Mujeeb Ur Rehman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
88 views

Learning Grammar Part 2

This document discusses different approaches to teaching grammar, including grammar-translation methods, communicative methods, and current ideas about focusing on form. It notes that while communicative methods led to grammar losing importance, research found that learners did not develop the same levels of grammatical accuracy as native speakers without explicit grammar instruction. The document proposes principles for a learning-centered grammar teaching approach, emphasizing the need for grammar but avoiding potential conflicts with meaning, and the importance of helping learners notice and attend to grammatical patterns.

Uploaded by

Mujeeb Ur Rehman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A LEARNING-CENTRED APPROACH TO TEACHING GRAMMAR

BACKGROUND:
TRENDS IN TEACHING GRAMMAR
FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING IS CONTINUOUSLY AFFECTED BY
NEW TRENDS.
GRAMMAR TEACHING DEVELOPMENT:
GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION METHODS
COMMUNICATIVE METHODS
CURRENT IDEAS ABOUT FOCUSING ON FORM
TEACHING GRAMMAR AS EXPLICIT RULES: LEARNING AS BUILDING
BLOCKS
GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION METHODOLOGY

GRAMMAR IS THE MOST


IMPORTANT PART OF THE
LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE LEARNING IS THE


ACCUMULATION OF MASTERED
RULES OF THE GRAMMAR

GRAMMAR RULES ARE INTRODUCED


ONE-BY-ONE, EXPLICITLY,TO THE
LEARNERS
HOW TO TALK EXPLICITLY ABOUT THE GRAMMAR?
USE OF METALINGUISTIC LABELS: e.g. THE PAST PERFECT
TENSE. LEARNERS HAVE TO LEARN THE RULES AND TO
PRACTICE USING THE RULES TO CONSTRUCT SENTENCES.
ASSUMPTION = AFTER MORE PRACTICE , THE RULES SHOULD
BE USED AUTOMATICALLY.
1

TO TEACH THE LANGUAGE THIS WAY:


THE STRUCTURES OR RULES ARE SORTED INTO A SEQUENCE.
THE SENTENCE IS SUPPOSED TO PROGRESS FROM EASY TO
DIFFICULT.
THE SEQUENCE FORMS A SYLLABUS.
EFFECTS IN USING THESE METHODS:
LEARNERS, ACADEMICALLY SUCCESFULL, CAN DO WELL AND
REACH A HIGH LEVELS OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY. STUDENTS
WHO DO WELL ON GRAMMAR TESTS ALSO DO WELL ON
READING AND WRITING TESTS.
YOUNGER LEARNERS, WHO ARE ONLY BEGINNING TO GET
FAMILIAR

WITH

FORMAL

INSTITUTIONALISED

SCIENTIFIC

CONCEPTS, CAN FIND DIFFICULT TO COPE WITH LEARNING


THROUGH EXPLICIT GRAMMAR RULES. THEY ARE MORE
ACCUSTOMED TO THE THEMATIC AND NARRATIVE THAN THE
BUILDING BLOCK SEQUENCING.

INTERNAL GRAMMAR IS NOT

SEEN AS AN ACCUMULATION OF DISCRETE BLOCKS OF


KNOWLEDGE

BUT

AS

THE

IDEA

OF

NON-LINEAR

AND

INTERCONNECTED GROWTH.
USING A METAPHOR
GRAMMAR GROWS LIKE A PLANT, PERHAPS,
WATERED BY MEANINGFUL LANGUAGE USE,
AND PUSHING OUT NEW SHOOTS WHILE
OLDER STEMS ARE STRENGTHENED.

TEACHERS SHOULD STIMULATE CHILDRENS CURIOSITY, BECAUSE


THEY NOTICE PATTERNS AS THEY MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD
AROUND THEM AND IT MAY BE FRUITFUL TO MAKE USE OF CURIOSITY
AND PATTERN-NOTICING IN FOEREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING.
TALKING ABOUT PATTERNS IN LANGUAGE (EX: T REX HOW BIG?
VERY

BIG

)DOES

NOT

NEED

COMPLICATED

TECHNICAL

METALANGUAGE.
GRADED INTRODUCTION OF METALANGUAGE ACROSS THE PRIMARY
YEARS,

IF

DONE

MEANINGFULLY AND

THROUGH

DISCOURSE

CONTEXT, CAN GIVE CHILDREN A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR LATER


STUDY OF LANGUAGES.
COMMUNICATIVE APPROACHES: NO GRAMMAR NEED
BEING ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE LANGUAGE
IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM
BEING ABLE TO TALK IN THE LANGUAGE
A REACTION TO THE LACK OF FLUENCY AND EASE WITH THE
FOREIGN LANGUAGE (GRAMMAR TRANSLATION) LED TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT)
IN THE LATE 1970s AND 1980s.
LEARNERS LEARN THE LANGUAGE BY USING IT TO COMMUNICATE
WITH OTHERS
CONSEQUENCE OF CLT:

GRAMMAR TEACHING LOOSES ITS IMPORTANCE IN FOREIGN


LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS.
CHILDREN LEARN WITHOUT ANY EXPLICIT TEACHING.
TPR (TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE), A METHOD DEVELOPED BY
ASHER (1972), IS A FORM OF CLT BASED INTERELY ON LISTENING TO
COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT.
IN THIS METHOD STUDENTS LISTEN TO COMMAND IN THE FOREIGN
LANGUAGE AND RESPOND ONLY THROUGH MOVEMENT AND ACTION.
EX: PUT UP YOUR PEN, PUT DOWN YOUR PEN, STAND UP, SIT DOWN
THE DIFFICULTY OF THE INPUT IS GRADUEALLY INCREASED AND
STUDENTS CAN HAVE THE TEACHERS ROLE AND GIVE COMMANDS IN
THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE.
LISTENING AND SPEAKING ARE THE SKILLS THAT CAN BE DEVELOPED
TROUGH TPR.
FOCUS ON FORM: THE REVIVAL OF GRAMMAR TEACHING
THE IMMERSION PROGRAMMES IN NORTH AMERICA ALLOWED
KRASHEN AND COLLEGUES TO SET OUT THE THEORY THAT SECOND
LANGUAGE LEARNING COULD FOLLOW THE SAME ROUTE AS FIRST
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (DULAY, BURT AND KRASHEN 1982), AND
IMMERSION CLASSES FORMED A HUGE EXPERIMENT IN LEARNING
TRHOUGH COMMUNICATING IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE.
IT IS TRUE THAT:
CHILDREN PICK UP THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE QUICKLY AND
DEVELOP VERY GOOD ACCENTS AND LISTENING SKILLS.
THEY CAN ACHIEVE GOOD RESULTS THROUGH THE SECOND
LANGUAGE.
BUT

IN TERMS OF GRAMMAR, CHILDREN TOUGHT THROUGH THE


SECOND LANGUAGE DO NOT DEVELOP THE SAME LEVELS OF
ACCURACY AS NATIVE SPEAKERS AND, WITHOUT THIS ATTENTION
TO THE FORM OF THE LANGUAGE, PROBLEMS WITH BASIC
STRUCTURES CONTINUE (LIGHTBOWN AND SPADA 1994).
SOME IDEAS AND POSSIBLE PROBLEMS
COMMUNICATING THROUGH A LANGUAGE AND LEARNING A
LANGUAGE CAN ACTUALLY CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER.
FOCUSING

ON

MEANING

IN

CLASSROOMS

DOES

NOT

AUTOMATICALLY, AS WAS ASSUMED WITH CLT, GUARANTEE


CONTINUING LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT ON ALL FRONTS.
IF A TASK (IN TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING) CREATES
PRESSURE TO COMMUNICATE, LEARNERS MAY RESPOND WITH
INACCURATE USE OF THE LANGUAGE OR WITH FIRST LANGUAGE.
GRAMMAR MAY EMERGE NATURALLY IN FIRST LANGUAGE, BUT
THE GRAMMAR OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IS FOREIGN, AND
GRAMMAR DEVELOPMENT REQUIRES SKILLED PLANNING OF
TASKS AND LESSONS, AND EXPLICIT TEACHING.
FROM THE LEARNERS POINT OF VIEW EMERGES THAT ATTENTION
TO FORM IS VITAL, AND THAT LEARNERS NEED TO BE HELPED TO
NOTICE GRAMMATICAL PATTERNS OF THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE,
BEFORE THEY CAN MAKE THOSE PATTERNS PART OF THEIR
INTERNAL GRAMMAR (VAN PATTEN 1996).
NOTICING AND ATTENTION ARE NEEDED NOT ONLY IN INPUT BUT
ALSO IN OUTPUT. LEARNERS NEED TO BE HELPED TO FOCUS ON
THE ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF THEIR LANGUAGE USE (SWAIN
1985,1995).

GRAMMAR LEARNING ACTIVITIES SUGGESTED BY BADSTONE (1995)


(RE) NOTICING
(RE) STRUCTURING
PROCEDURALISING
NOTICING = ACTIVE PROCESS IN WHICH LEARNERS BECOME AWARE
OF THE STRUCTURE, NOTICE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN FORM AND
MEANING, BUT DO NOT THEMSEVES MANIPULATE LANGUAGE.
SUCCESSFUL NOTICING ACTIVITIES WILL USUALLY:
SUPPORT MEANING AS WELL AS FORM;
PRESENT THE FORM IN ISOLATION, AS WELL IN DISCOURSE
AND LINGUISTIC CONTEXT;
CONTRAST THE FORM WITH OTHER, ALREADY KNOWN,
FORMS;
REQUIRE ACTIVE PARTECIPATION BY THE LEARNER;
BE AT A LEVEL OF

DETAIL APPROPRIATE

TO

THE

LEARNERS;
LEAD

INTO,

BUT

NOT

INCLUDE,

ACTIVITIES

THAT

MANIPULATE LANGUAGE.
STRUCTURING = BRINGING THE NEW GRAMMAR PATTERN INTO THE
LEARNERS

INTERNAL

REORGANISING

THE

GRAMMAR
INTERNAL

AND,
GRAMMAR

IF

NECESSARY,

(PROCESS

OF

ACCOMODATION AND ASSIMILATION).


STRUCTURING

USUALLY

REQUIRES

CONTROLLED

PRACTICE

AROUND FORMS AND MEANINGS.

IN STRUCTURING ACTIVITIES:
LEARNERS

SHOULD

MANIPULATE

THE

LANGUAGE,

CHANGING FORM IN ORDER TO EXPRESS MEANING;


LEARNERS CAN BE GIVEN CHOISES IN CONTENT THAT
REQUIRE ADJUSTEMENTS IN GRAMMAR TO EXPRESS
MEANING;
THERE WILL BE LIMITED IMPACT ON SPONTANEOUS USEMOST OF THE RESULTS OF STRUCTURING WORK ARE
STILL INTERNAL.
PROCEDURALISATION = THE STAGE OF MAKING THE NEW GRAMMAR
READY FOR INSTANT AND FLUENT USE IN COMMUNICATION, AND
REQUIRES

PRACTICE IN CHOOSING AND USING THE FORM TO

EXPRESS MEANING.
THE POSSIBLE CONFLICT BETWEEN COMMUNICATIVE PRESSURE
AND ACCURACY CAN BE AVOIDED IF WE ARE AWARE THAT TASKS
USED FOR PROCEDURALISATION MUST REQUIRE ATTENTION TO
GRAMMAR AS WELL AS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.
PRINCIPLES FOR LEARNING CENTRED GRAMMAR TEACHING
YOUNG

LEARNERS

NEED

TO

PARTECIPATE

IN

MEANINGFUL

DISCOURSE IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE, AND IT WOULD NOT


CONCEPTUALLY APPROPRIATE FOR GRAMMAR TO BE EXPLICITLY
TOUGHT AS FORMAL.
HOWEVER TEACHERS SHOULD HAVE:
AN AWARENESS OF GRAMMAR ISSUES
A RANGE OF FORM-FOCUSING TECHNIQUE

SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES


THAT ARISE WHEN LEARNERS NEED GRAMMAR TO TAKE THEIR
LANGUAGE LEARNING FORWARDS AND CAN BRING GRAMMATICAL
FEATURES

OF

STORIES,

DIALOGUES,

SONGS,

ETC.

TO

THE

ATTENTION OF EVEN THE YOUNGEST CHILDREN IN NON-FORMAL


WAY.
AS CHILDREN GET OLDER , THEY ARE ABLE TO LEARN FROM MORE
FORMAL INSTRUCTION, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT
GRAMMAR TEACHING CAN OFTEN DESTROY MOTIVATION AND
CONFUSE CHILDREN RATHER THAN ENLIGHTEN THEM.
GOOD LEARNING-CENTRED GRAMMAR TEACHING REQUIRES ACTIVE
PARTECIPATION

FROM

LEARNER

TO

BE

MEANINGFUL

AND

INTERESTING AND WILL WORK WITH HOW CHILDREN LEARN AND


WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF LEARNING.
GENERAL

PRINCIPLES

FOR

LEARNING-CENTRED

GRAMMAR

TEACHING:
THE NEED FOR GRAMMAR:
o GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY AND PRECISION MATTER FOR
MEANING;
o WITHOUT ATTENTION TO FORM, FORM WILL NOT BE
LEARNT ACCURATELY;
o FORM-FOCUSED

INSTRUCTION

IS

PARTICULARLY

RELEVANT FOR THOSE FEATURES OF THE FOREIGN


LANGUAGE GRAMMAR THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE
FIRST LANGUAGE OR ARE NOT VERY NOTICEABLE.

POTENTIAL CONFLICT BETWEEN MEANING AND GRAMMAR:


o IF LEARNERS ATTENTION IS DIRECTED TO EXPRESSING
MEANING, THEY MAY NEGLECT ATTENTION TO ACCURACY
AND PRECISION.
IMPORTANCE OF ATTENTION IN THE LEARNING PROCESS
o TEACHING CAN HELP LERNERS NOTICE AND ATTEND TO
FEATURES OF GRAMMAR IN THE LANGUAGE THEY HEAR
AND READ, OR SPEAK AND WRITE;
o NOTICING AN ASPECT OF FORM IS THE FIRST STAGE OF
LEARNING IT; IT THEN NEEDS TO BECOME PART OF THE
LEARNERS INTERNAL GRAMMAR, AND TO BECOME PART
OF THE LEARNERS LANGUAGE RESOURCES READY FOR
USE IN A RANGE OF SITUATIONS.

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