Grammar pedagogy how to teach grammar for teachers

This is to teach future ESL teachers about grammar

1. Grammar pedagogy

2. Grammar pedagogy Some basics CTESL program will go into pedagogy in a lot more detail: SLA, Methods, Practicum

3. To grammar or not to grammar? “To grammar or not to grammar: That is not the question! It’s a question of why, when, what, and how to teach selected aspects of grammar” (Weaver, McNally, and Moerman , 2001) 3

4. How does grammar fit into a language lesson? Before Grammar was the lesson Now?

5. PPP: an accuracy-to-fluency model First PP model Presentation => Practice Problem: accuracy alone is not enough Second PPP model Presentation Explanation of the grammar point is provided Practice Ss practice the grammar using oral drills or written exercises Production (communication/fluency) SS are given opportunities to communicate using the grammar E.g. PP (p. 256 example lesson at the beginning of chapter- Larsen-Freeman, 2014)

6. PPP: an accuracy-to-fluency model Advantages Have a logic that is appealing to teachers and learners Successive stages = Easy to control the content, BUT

7. PPP: an accuracy-to-fluency model Disadvantages Language acquisition is more complex, less linear, and less influenced by teacher intervention Difficulties are pre-determined by a grammar syllabus It assumes that accuracy precedes fluency What about the acquisition of L1? “Delaying communication until accuracy is achieved may be counterproductive.” Associated with traditional grammar teaching and structural syllabus

8. A fluency-to-accuracy sequence Meaning Ss work with the meanings that they want to convey Ss try to express these meanings using their available resources Guidance The output is fine-tuned for accuracy e.g. grammar instruction (many types) , trial, error, feedback

9. Task-based approach (communicative approach) TASK => TEACH => TASK Task Ss perform a communicative task Teach T uses the task to identify problems with specific structures Form and/or meaning and/or use T teaches and ss practice structure Task Ss perform the same communicative task

10. Tasks-based approach (communicative approach) Advantages Fluency-first model Language structures that require special attention are selected through the assessment of the learner’s communicative difficulties Not the grammar syllabus Problem How is teaching organized? Solution Organize the syllabus around the tasks Objectives: real language use E.g. making a reservation, telling a story, describing sth NOT present perfect progressive, prepositions of place

11. Approaches to grammar teaching - examples Focus on form within a communicative, task-based or content-based language teaching Enhancing input Highlighting (reading) or stressing (speaking) grammatical forms in texts => drawing ss’ attention to these forms Input flooding Choosing texts in which target structure is frequent Enhances the saliency and might promote noticing Syntactic priming Input processing Direct ss’ attention to form through meaningful activities No rule learning or rule application (e.g. examples are chosen to make differences between L1 and L2 salient) 11

12. Grammar instruction Promote awareness AND to engage ss in meaningful production The goal of grammar instruction should be Grammaring (Larsen-Freeman) - ing = a dynamic process The ability to use grammar constructions accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately = Form + Meaning + Use How do we practice a structure? It depends on the dimension It depends on the learning challenge 12

13. Grammar pedagogy Good introduction: Celce -Murcia, M. (2017). Towards more context and discourse in grammar instruction. TESL-EJ 11 (2) 1-6.

14. Sources of texts Coursebooks Advantages and disadvantages? Authentic sources Advantages and disadvantages? Teacher How? Students (peers) How? 14

15. Issues with ESL/EFL coursebooks

16. Issues with ESL/EFL coursebooks Most textbooks present decontextualized grammar exercises ( Celce -Murcia, 2007) Why is this a problem?

17. Can you find any issues with the exercises below? Fill in the blank using the proper form of the word indicated in the parentheses. John _______ to the store yesterday. (walk) 2. Change a statement into a yes-no question (a) or an affirmative statement into a negative statement (b). E.g. a. John is a teacher. -> Is John a teacher? / b. John is a teacher. -> John is not (isn't) a teacher. 3. Put a scrambled list of words into the right order so they form a sentence: E.g. (my, Mr., teacher, is, Johnson) -> My teacher is Mr. Johnson. 4. Answer a question with a complete statement. E.g. Where were you born? -> I was born in Chicago. Adapted from Celce -Murcia, 2007

18. Issues with the exercises Mechanical drill exercises NOT meaningful NOT authentic NOT communicative #4 – seems communicative, BUT Is it authentic? Does it model typical communication? Is it part of a conversation with a biographical focus? Would you answer it with a full statement? Not many grammar rules are sentence-internal decisions that speakers need to make learners need to be able to apply them in context. Collins (2007): all learners could benefit from pedagogical activities that encourage them to manipulate contexts for verb forms

19. Sentence-level drills cannot give L2 learners enough context to learn Because most grammatical choices depend on the interlocutor(s) the situation prior discourse shared knowledge speaker intention/purpose the topic modality (speech, writing, e-mail) register (formal or informal), etc.

20. What are some of the characteristics of grammar exercises that would better serve the needs of English language learners? See Celce -Murcia (2007) pp. 3-5

21. What are some of the characteristics of grammar exercises that would better serve the needs of English language learners? Meaningful Contextualized Provide enough context that is clear to the learner (prior context) Reasonably authentic Authentic texts with salient examples of the forms you want to present Integrated to tasks E.g. Error correction in passages See Celce -Murcia (2007) pp. 3-5

22. Grammar pedagogy Examples of some common techniques

23. Describing Changes

24. Describing Changes

25. Describing Changes How might a teacher use these images so that students could practice: The future tense? Progressive aspect? Passive voice?

26. Ss work in pairs or small groups ( even numbers: one student / picture) Ask Ss to imagine that: the 1 st picture is the present Ss have to describe what they know will be done (2 nd picture) OR: Ss are midway between the 2 pictures Ss describe what is in the process of being done in order for the situation in the 1 st picture to change into the 2 nd picture OR: the 2 nd picture is the present Ss have to describe what has been done (passive voice) Describing Changes

27. Variations Showing only the 1 st picture: Ss guess what changes will be made or need to be made (e.g. messy room) Collect all suggestions Look at 2 nd picture Check what was caught and/or what was missed Discuss the local situation: changes that have been made / need to be made over the last few years changes that are going to be made in the future Describing Changes

28. Spot the differences Use 2 or more pictures with ~10 minor differences between them The differences should be easily expressed in language the Ss know Whole class activity: Display the pictures and ask Ss to find and define the differences using negative sentences => Define what is NOT the case in one picture (contrasted with what IS in the other

29. Spot the differences

30. Spot the differences Ur, 1988

31. Spot the differences Ur, 1988

32. Spot the differences Ur, 1988

33. Spot the differences Example: In pairs, each student is given a different picture and are told NOT to show it to the other partner S-pairs have to discover the differences by question and answer Ss must produce (orally and/or in writing) the negative-form sentences

34. Spot the differences Ur, 1988 What could the language focus be for this kind of activity?

35. Spot the differences Ur, 1988 What could the language focus be for this kind of activity? Present simple? Prepositions? Negatives? Questions? Existential “there”

36. Spot the differences Ur, 1988 What could the language focus be for this kind of activity? What language resources do students need to succeed?

37. Spot the differences Variations: In pairs, each student is given a (different) picture and are told NOT to show it to the other partner S-pairs have to discover the differences by question and answer Ss must produce (orally and/or in writing) the negative-form sentences Some of the concepts and vocabulary can be pre-taught… other vocabulary can be provided as Students need it

38. Creating a narrative Background to the narrative The stories of four main characters (Alex, Myra, Ken, and Don) must be discovered through cooperation The entire story can be reconstructed using the info in the four grids Each student gets in the information in ONE grid which contains essential information NOT in the other grids All four students have to work together to figure out what happened Ss present their accounts to the class (Ur, 1988)

39. Creating a narrative (Ur, 1988)

40. Creating a narrative (Ur, 1988) Step ONE: fill in the gaps Provide information to your group members Ask questions to fill in the gaps: e.g.: “What did Myra do in the first half of 1986?”

41. Creating a narrative (Ur, 1988) Step Two: write the whole story. Ask questions that help you tell the whole story: e.g., “Why did Don pay Alex all that money?”

42. language target?

43. language target?

44. language target?

45. language target?