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Teaching Grammar in the Communicative Classroom:Tips and Practical Activities
ATER Conference 2015Hannah Murphy
English Language FellowMekelle, Ethiopia
Opening Discussion
How is grammar taught at your school/program? As a part of other courses? Stand-alone grammar course?
What kind of activities do you use when teaching grammar?
What are some challenges teachers face when teaching grammar?
What are some challenges students face when learning grammar?
Presentation Overview
• Review of grammar teaching over time
• Grammar methodologies• Communicative approach tips• Activities for the classroom
Grammar Teaching Through Time
• Pre 1960s – Grammar as the basis of language
proficiency – Direct instruction, repetitive practice
and drills
• 1970s – 1990s– Centrality of grammar questioned– Focus on skills needed to use grammar
Grammar Teaching Through Time
• 1990s – Present– Focus on communicative language
teaching (CLT)– Linking grammar development to ability
to communicate– Grammar taught as part of a
communicative task – creating a specific need for grammar
• Traditional/Explicit Approach
• Communicative Approach– Inductive Grammar Teaching– Deductive Grammar Teaching
Grammar Methodologies
• Explicit teaching of grammar rules• Practice and repetitive drills • Learners are in control during practice –
less fear of an incorrect answer• Explicit instruction results in
improvements in learning the targeted structures
• Practice drills have little relevance to using grammar effectively
Traditional/Explicit Approach
• Goal is communicative competence (ability to speak a language with linguistic proficiency and to use the language appropriately in different social contexts)
• Purpose is to learn the language, of which grammar is a part
• Grammar forms are taught in relation to meaning and use
• Makes real communication the focus of language learning
Communicative Approach
Inductive Teaching– Learners discover rules for themselves– Actively involved and collaborative– Time consuming
Deductive Teaching – Saves time as rules as explained by teacher– Respects maturity of learners– Encourages a teacher-fronted explanation– Often less memorable than other forms of
presentation
Communicative Approach
Example: Traditional & Communicative
Traditional• Teach –ed forms,
pronunciation and doubling rule
• List of irregular verbs to memorize
• Pattern practice drills for –ed
• Substitution drills for irregular verbs
Communicative• Distribute two short
narratives (A & B)• Teach regular –ed forms
using verbs from the text• Teach irregular verbs that
occur in the text• Students read narratives• In pairs (A & B), students
interview each other
Which is Most Effective?
• Easy answer – a combination of methods
• Some learners have the ability to “pick up” linguistic features from exposure
• Few learners are capable of doing so efficiently– Especially is post-pubescent or if exposure
is limited to the classroom, as in many EFL contexts
• Communicative Competence model combines or balances explicit and communicative methodologies
• Provides students with a clear, well-explained theoretical framework (explicit)
• Provides students with a contextualized and natural environment to use the language (communicative)
Combination Approach
Aspects of a Combined Approach
• Makes real communication the focus of language learning
• Provides opportunities for experimentation and try what they know
• Requires tolerance of learners’ errors as they are a part of the process to achieve communicative competence
• Provides opportunities for both accuracy and fluency
Aspects of a Combined Approach
• Combination of structured output activities and communicative output activities
• To create activities that will encourage communicative competence:– Purpose– Information gap– Multiple forms of expression
• Structured Output Activities– Most common: information gap and jigsaw– Structure comes from activities set up to practice a
specific item of the language– Bridge between instructor modeling and communicative
output
• Communicative Output Activities– Most common: role plays and discussion– Allows for students to practice using all of the language
they know in situations– Can encourage creativity and innovation
Aspects of a Combined Approach
Larsen-Freeman Grammar Chart
Example
Developing Activities
For curricula that introduce grammatical forms in a specified sequence:– Describe the grammar point (form,
meaning and use), give examples– Practice the grammar point in
communicative drills (structured output)– Communicative task with opportunities
to use the grammar point (communicative output)
Developing Activities
For curricula that follow a sequence of topics:– Provide oral or written input that addresses
the topic– Review the point of grammar using examples
from the material– Have students practice the grammar point in
communicative drills (structured output)– Have students complete a communicative task
(communicative output)
Example Activity #1 – Modals for Polite Requests
Begin by testing student knowledge – give groups a slip of paper with a situation where you would need to make a polite request (asking for a glass of water, borrowing a pen, etc.). Together students will work together to write a request.
Solicit answers from the groups, making a list on the board of modals for polite requests.
Provide students with a model dialogue where they will see examples of the correct usage, as well as be required to fill in requests in the dialogue.
Provide students with examples of requests to help them differentiate between levels of politeness required based on context.
Have students role play situations where they will need to politely request objects or favors in different contexts.
Example Activity #2 – “Used to”Begin by providing students with two pictures of the same person, taken 20 years apart. The old picture shows her playing a guitar, while the new picture shows her painting.
Teacher models the form “used to” – She used to play the guitar, but now she paints pictures. She used to have long hair, but now it is short.
Write the rule on the board (Subject + used to + V1)
Ask students clarification questions about the pictures.
Have students write about their lives as a child and now, using “I used to ____ but now I _______” (structured output)
Role play in pairs – old friends meeting after a long time, discussing their past and current hobbies (communicative output)
Resources - PDFsESL Grammar Games – competitive games, collaborative sentence-making games, awareness activities, grammar through drama, and miscellany
Beginning Communication Games – 40 games dealing with specific grammar structures, with rules, explanations and materials already created
Intermediate Communication Games - 40 games dealing with specific grammar structures, with rules, explanations and materials already created
Advanced Communication Games - 40 games dealing with specific grammar structures, with rules, explanations and materials already created
References
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2014). Teaching grammar. In M. Celce-Marcia, D.M. Brinton, & M.A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (4th ed.). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning. The National Capital Language Resource Center (2004). Developing grammar activities. Retrieved from: http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/grammar/developgram.htmThe National Capital Language Resource Center (2004). Developing speaking activities. Retrieved from: http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/speaking/developspeak.htm.The National Capital Language Resource Center (2004). Goals and techniques for teaching grammar. Retrieved from: http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/grammar/goalsgram.htm.Praise, S., & Meenakshi, K. (2014). Importance of grammar in communication. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 4(1), 97-101. Rama, J.L., & Agullo, G.L. (2012). The role of grammar teaching: From communicative approaches to the common European framework of reference for languages. Revista de Linguistica y Lenguas Aplicadas, 7, 179 – 191. Taras, A. (2013). Teaching communicative grammar: including a practical approach to teaching future notion.
Questions?
Hannah MurphyEnglish Language Fellow
Mekelle UniversityMekelle, Ethiopia
