that you are trying them out in class.

Go here if you cannot read this email clearly:
http://www.teachingenglishgames.com/games/allchange.htm


Another free game is included in this email below - a great
listening game for small groups.

Over the past months I have had requests for one to one
teaching games, and therefore I have written a complete
special edition eBook containing 64 games for one to one
teaching, adapted from 150 English Language Games for
Children. 

These games would also be great for you if you have any
classes with one to three pupils.

Teachers can earn useful extra money with private classes,
but teaching one to one is very different from being in
class, so it's good to have some dedicated teaching tools
to hand.

These games will ensure you give fun, effective lessons.
They will help you build a great rapport with your
student(s), and help him or her stay motivated to learn and
continue lessons with you.

Also, if you ever wondered how you could teach your own
children a second language in a fun way, then this special
edition of one to one games can show you how. 


INCLUDED with 150 English Language Games for Children,
until further notice,

- 64 English language games for teaching one to one, in
pairs or threes - 3 extra games for teaching 2-3 pupils

AGE: 6 to 12 year olds

LEVEL: Elementary to intermediate


Every day people give me great feedback about how my games
have helped them. Here is a lovely email I received from Tu
Ti, who lives in Hanoi, Vietnam



"I have been using these games on my classes and the result
is always very good. Students have much fun. They can learn
words, structure and practice speaking skill in a very
interesting atmosphere.  And I realized that English games
using in my lecture make our relationship, between teachers
and learners, become closer and better, and Iam very
pleased for that."



To find out more about how this exciting material can help
you be an inspirational, fun and effective teacher, go to:

www.teachingenglishgames.com/indexlanding2.htm.

Use the order page from the above link to ensure your one
to one games are included.


Here is another classroom game for you. 

Unlike the two previous free games, this one does not have
a large class variant and is best suited for groups up to
20 (or 30 well-behaved children).


CONTENTS

All Change

      1. How to Play

      2. Organizing the group

      3. Language ideas to use with this game

      4. A few more language variants

      5. Materials for you to use with this game           
     
      6. Reading and spelling variant   

      7. Tell us what you think


All Change

Category: Listening and understanding

Group size: 6 to 30 children

Level: Beginners to intermediate

Materials: Picture or word flash cards

Age: 4 to 12

Pace: Wake up to Excitable


This game is designed to be used for several purposes:

1. when you have just introduced some new vocabulary and
you want to reinforce it aurally before having your pupils
start to use it

2. For revision

3. When you want to plant a grammatical structure in your
pupils' minds

4. To expose children to reading and spelling when you use
word flash cards instead of pictures



1. HOW TO PLAY

Seat the players round in a circle, on chairs, or on the
floor (on cushions if you have them), with one player
standing in the middle.  Each player has a picture of an
item, or a word flash card, except for the player in the
middle.  Call out two of the picture card items or words.
The two players holding these cards have to change places
without the person in the middle grabbing one of their
spots. 

If the person in the middle manages to sit on the chair, or
the spot in the circle then the one left standing goes in
the middle.  The new person in the middle hands their flash
card to the child taking their place in the circle. 

If someone is stuck in the middle for two turns say "All
Change!".  When the players hear this they must all change
places, which gives the person in the middle a very good
chance of joining the circle.

Once everyone has had one go ask your class to pass their
picture to the right, and take the one handed to them from
the left.  You can give them another go with the new
picture.

And it's that simple!


2. Organizing the group

with anything from six to fifteen children you can have
only one circle.  With sixteen to thirty children you would
need two groups.  Each group should have the same picture
or word flash cards so that the two groups move
simultaneously when you call out the words or sentences. If
you have different age groups or abilities this is an
opportunity to put all the older ones together, or all the
brighter/more advanced ones together. 

One thing to bear in mind is that you need an odd number of
children per group - for example seven pairs in the circle
and one child in the middle.

If you have an even number then you can play too - starting
in the middle.  Alternatively you can pull out one of your
best students to call out the words or sentences.

It is very important, especially with larger groups, that
you keep the pace moving calling out the next change
immediately the players have swapped over.  Do not give the
children time to start chatting to each other.  Keep them
on their toes.



3. Language ideas to use with this game

The simplest version of the game is to call out two words,
for example, if everyone has a food or drink picture card
you could say: "bananas and pie".  The child with the
picture of some bananas, and the child with the picture of
some pie change places.  (If they can without the one in
the middle taking one of their spots first).   

You can also incorporate the two words into a sentence such
as: "I like bananas and pie". You can use more
sophisticated sentences to match the ability of your class
and to introduce phrases you would like them to learn.

Here are some examples to give you the idea:

"I would like some bananas and some pie please". "I like
bananas but I don't like pie". "Do you like bananas?...No,
I like pie". "Can I have some bananas and pie?" "Where can
I buy bananas and pie?" "Do you have any bananas and pie?"
"I really love bananas but I can't stand pie". "I feel sick
when I eat bananas and pie".

There is/there are:

"In my kitchen there are bananas and apples". "In my
kitchen there is a pie and a banana".

You can see from the above examples how you can adapt the
game to your purposes. 

You can be revising food vocabulary while introducing a new
phrase to them such as "You should eat bananas, but you
shouldn't eat pie".

Alternatively, you could be revising a phrase while
introducing new vocabulary. 

For example let's say you recently taught them the days of
the week, and now you are

going to introduce food vocabulary.  You can say:

"On Mondays I eat bananas and pie". "On Wednesdays I eat
potatoes and sausages". "On Saturdays I drink coke and
milk". "On Thursdays I drink water and I eat bacon".

And so on.


If you have an advanced class there is no reason why they
cannot enjoy this game from time to time, and you can use
it in the same way described above, simply use the
grammatical structures you are teaching them at the time,
however complex. For example:

"I only wish I could have some bananas and pie".

"You ought to eat bananas and pie". "How can you think of
eating bananas and pie".

If you like this game, remember that there are 101 great
games in my book 101 Teaching English Games for Children.
There are games for listening like this one, and also many
games for speaking practice, as well as fun reading and
writing games.

Just go to www.teachingenglishgames.com/indexlanding2.htm
to find out more.



4. More language variants   

Other vocabulary ideas for this game are: sports, Next
weekend I'm going to windsurf and play tennis, or animals,
On my farm there are pigs and sheep, or professions, My
mum's a doctor and my dad's a dentist, or places in town,
On Monday I'm going to the bank and the supermarket, or
fairy tale vocabulary, The princess married the Martian. 

If you have a few star students who pick things up quickly
you can give them the task of calling out the sentences.


5. Materials for you to try this game

you can use any pictures or word flash cards you may
already have to play All Change.  In addition I have
prepared a set of picture and words cards for you using
food. 

You can download these materials free at:

www.teachingenglishgames.com/games/allchange.htm



6. Reading and Spelling

Please see sections 1-5 for how to play, for ideas on
using the game, and for where to get your materials.

Once your students have learned the vocabulary by heart,
you can practice reading and spelling by playing All Change
with word flashcards instead of pictures. This allows the
children to read the words and become familiar
subconsciously with the spelling.


7. Tell me what you think

we’d love to hear how you get on with the game.

Please send your comments, questions, and ideas for
upcoming issues to us at: [e-mail]

Let us know what you want.  Your feedback matters.

Kind regards

Shelley Vernon

www.teachingenglishgames.com
Games for preschool, primary and teens and adults!

Tel:   [phone] Land line in France
Do leave me a message if I am not in, I will call you back.


PS Remember my offer to include my 64 games for one to one
teaching with the main eBook of games is only available for
a few days.

Copyright 2006-2008 by Teaching English Games. All rights
reserved.



Teaching English Games
Stockham Park
Dulverton
Somerset TA22 9JH
United Kingdom I hope you are enjoying the free games I am sending you and

 

Neuro Linguistic Programming in ELT
Steve Darn, Izmir University of Economics, Turkey

NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) has been around in language teaching longer than we may realise. Those teachers who incorporate elements of suggestopedia, community language learning, music, drama and body language into their lessons are already drawing on NLP as it stood twenty years ago.

• The roots of NLP
• NLP and language learning
• NLP in the classroom
• Conclusion

The roots of NLP
NLP, with its roots in psychology and neurology, is about the way the brain works and how the brain can be trained for the purpose of betterment. It encompasses or is related to 'left / right brain' functions, 'visual / auditory / kinesthetic' learning styles, multiple intelligence and other areas of research which are attempting to identify modes of learning whilst recognising the importance of the individual learner.

NLP and related subjects have their sceptics, particularly in terms of general classroom applicability and how NLP is commercially marketed as a method of self-improvement. NLP has been labelled a 'quasi science' and criticised on the grounds of lack of empirical studies, but there are sound reasons why NLP is compatible with current classroom practice.

• NLP is about recognising patterns.
• NLP is concerned with process rather than content.
• NLP provides a model of how we communicate with ourselves and others.

NLP and language learning
The NLP model explains how we process information which comes to us from the outside and is based on the work of Richard Bandler and John Grinder, who initially recognised the importance of eye contact and movement in identifying emotional states and how (rather than what) individuals think.

In NLP, information arrives via the senses, and 'six modalities' are identified as ways that different individuals perceive the messages. These modalities are:

• Visual Remembered
• Visual Constructed
• Auditory Remembered
• Auditory Remembered
• Auditory Digital
• Kinesthetic

These clearly form the basis of what we now know as 'VAK'- The identification of visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners and the need to cater for different learning styles in the classroom.

As externalities arrive, our perception of these is modified by three major elements - deletion, distortion and generalization. These processes are instantly recognisable in language learners:

• Deletion
  There is too much information for the learner to handle. Learners delete or omit some information in order to make input manageable. From the teacher's point of view, we have already learnt not to present too much new language at once, and the principle of 'less is more'.
• Distortion
  Language learners will distort information into forms which are understandable and learnable. This process is both negative, in that it produces errors and misunderstandings, and positive in that it contributes to learnability and motivation.
• Generalisation
  This is one of the ways that we learn, by taking the information we have and drawing broad conclusions. At its worst, over-generalisation occurs, causing misuse of rules and poorly formed hypotheses.

However, what is actually learnt by individuals is dictated by their own personal filters. NLP identifies these as 'beliefs', 'values', 'decisions' and 'memories', broadly defined as the way someone handles information.

In NLP, these filters affect our model of the world and our behaviour. In language learning, they explain a wide range of learning styles and strategies:

• Learners make decisions based on beliefs and value judgements. They are often in a state of conflict because their previous learning experiences do not coincide with their current learning environment.
• Values provide the basis for decisions about what is right and wrong, what they want / need to know and don't want / need to know. In certain cultures, some beliefs are disabling, in that they prevent learners adopting strategies such as risk-taking which teachers would like to encourage.
• Memories and prior decisions create beliefs which are affect our current behaviour. Learners often revert to previously adopted strategies and require deconditioning, while it can be argued that adult learning patterns merely replace earlier learning strategies which have been forgotten.

NLP also recognises the importance of non-verbal communication, particularly eye contact, posture, breathing and movement. 'Congruency' is achieved when there is a match between verbal and non-verbal communication. Congruency, here, may have a language learning parallel in the concept of fluency, suggesting that non-verbal communication should be taught alongside functional language and phonology in order to achieve natural language production.

NLP in the classroom
Teachers using music to create atmosphere and stimulate creativity, or using mime and drama techniques to build confidence and add body language to speech acts are already drawing from the NLP repertoire. Only recently, however, have classroom activities specifically and overtly based on NLP been developed by ELT practitioners.

Many of these activities also integrate the skills and are extensions or modifications of existing techniques such as storytelling, guided fantasy, role-play and simulation. Areas where NLP can have a real impact, however, are those which explore the relationships between students and between students and teacher, and those which help to create a healthy and positive learning environment:

• Creating rapport
  Rapport is the sense of ease that develops when people are interacting with others they feel comfortable with, and is essential for meaningful communication to take place. Rapport is most likely when like-minded people interact. In the classroom, mingle and 'getting to know you' activities, as well as continuous negotiation between teacher and students foster rapport, while communication gap activities and group work reinforce it.
• Mirroring
  One way of establishing good rapport is to mirror the behaviour of those we wish to influence or to be influenced by. Mirroring of posture, gestures, facial expressions and even breathing can easily be practised in the classroom, while simple drilling achieves the same results with phonological features of connected speech and key lexical phrases. To achieve natural communication, verbal and non-verbal aspects need to be combined in communicative activities. Learners may be asked to mirror the behaviour of characters on television before mirroring each other and the teacher.
• Creating positive states and anchoring
  This is about motivation and maintaining positive attitudes to learning. In NLP, a positive state is created through a mental image formed by the process of achieving something mentally or physically, and this state is anchored by a gesture, expression or body movement which is repeated to maintain or recall the state. Guided fantasy may be used to create the state, and a movement or sound selected to represent it. Some teachers, often subconsciously, opt for different positions in the classroom to carry out certain actions, such as give instructions, teach grammar or tell a story. In ELT this is a type of anchoring by which students automatically know what is going to happen next in a lesson, and are prepared for it.
• Maintaining flow
  NLP fits in nicely with 'Flow Theory', the notion that learning flows like water and that the best learning takes place when uninterrupted. For the purposes of lesson planning, flow is achieved when there is a balance of skills development and new challenges, clear task goals and the need for concentration. Successful learning takes place when learners feel a sense of control over what is happening in the classroom, do not feel self-conscious, and receive positive feedback from each other and the teacher. In good lessons, time seems to pass quickly. There are clear messages here about balance of activities, interest, attitude to errors, confidence building, learner training and autonomy. Competitive and collaborative games, jokes, songs and anecdotes, personalisation and well-stuctured information gap activities all help to maintain flow.

• Pacing and leading
  A set of strategies requiring the listener to 'tune in', accept and correctly state the speaker's point of view (pacing) before suggesting an alternative point of view (leading). Acceptance of an argument will be accompanied by the listener's mirroring of the speaker's behaviour. Activities involving listening without response, turn-taking, planning and decision making are useful for raising awareness of this process.
• Perceptual positioning
  This is an extension of mirroring used in NLP for resolving conflicts and involving a neutral third party as a mediator in disputes. An ELT application here would be in a reading or storytelling lesson, where one position is taken by the writer / teller, another by a character in the story, and a third by a reader or neutral observer of events.
• Modelling good practice
  NLP asks us to mirror what others do well. In ELT, much of this is about learner training, particularly when learners discover each other's strategies or adopt new study skills, for revision and examination preparation for example.

Conclusion
Whether one is a disciple of NLP or not, what is clear is that NLP and ELT are complementary in that NLP learns by observing communication patterns, and ELT learns from what NLP suggests as best practice in improving interpersonal communication and therefore learning. There is nothing in NLP that is contrary to current ELT methodology in terms of communicative language learning and humanistic approaches, while NLP has much to contribute to the already vast repertoire of the informed eclectic.

This article published: 1st December, 2005

Further reading
Revell and Norman, In your Hands, Saffire Press
Ravell and Norman, Handing Over, Saffire Press
Rinvolucri and Baker, Unlocking Self-expression Through NLP, Delta Publishing
O'Connor and Seymour, Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Thorsons

Related

Think - Article - Listening to Body Language
Think - Article - Non-verbal communication

 

Teaching Grammar: Implicit or Explicit?

By: Prof. Larry M. Lynch

Based on my 15 years of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching experience, the statement “grammar teaching should be implicit, not explicit” could be argued both for and against. Whether to teach grammar as an extracted focus of ELT (English Language Teaching) or more passively as an inductive, integral topic has been the theme of countless debates on the part of institutions, professors, grammarians and language researchers for decades. Grammar is the branch of linguistics dealing with the form and structure of words or morphology, and their interrelation in sentences, called syntax. The study of grammar reveals how language works, an important aspect in both English acquisition and learning.

In the early 20th century grammarians like the German-American anthropologist Franz Boas and the Danish linguist Otto Jespersen began to describe languages and Boas' work formed the basis of various types of American descriptive grammar study. Jespersen's work was the forerunner of such current approaches to linguistic theory such as Noam Chomsky’s Transformational Generative Grammar.

Chomsky, who studied structural linguistics, sought to analyze the syntax of English in a structural grammar. This led him to view grammar as a theory of language structure rather than a description of actual sentences. His idea of grammar is that it is a device for producing the structure, not of a particular language, but of the ability to produce and understand sentences in any and all languages. Since grammar is the means by which we can understand how a language “works”, a definitive study of language grammar is essential to language study.

Strictly explicit grammar study however, and even grammar-focused lessons are often not communicatively based. They can therefore be boring, cumbersome and difficult for students to assimilate. The strict teaching of grammar / structure, except with students of the Logical – Mathematical or Verbal – Linguistic multiple intelligences, can be frustrating and highly ineffective.

Grammar teaching should be implicit

In the early 20th century, Jespersen, like Boas, thought grammar should be studied by examining living speech rather than by analyzing written documents. By providing grammar in context, in an implicit manner, we can expose students to substantial doses of grammar study without alienating them to the learning of English or other foreign language. I also agree with this implicit approach of teaching grammar. The principal manner in which I accomplish this is by teaching short grammar-based sessions immediately followed by additional function-based lessons in which the new grammar / structure is applied in context.

The hypothesis is that adult language students have two distinct ways of developing skills and knowledge in a second language, acquisition and learning. Acquiring a language is “picking it up”, i.e., developing ability in a language by using it in natural, communicative situations. Learning language differs in that it is “knowing the rules” and having a conscious knowledge of grammar / structure. Adults acquire language, although usually not as easily or as well as children. Acquisition, however, is the most important means for gaining linguistic skills. A person’s first language (L1) is primarily learned in this way. This manner of developing language skills typically employs implicit grammar teaching and learning.

Grammar teaching should be explicit

This does not exclude explicit grammar teaching entirely, however. Some basic features of English language grammar structure are illogical or dissimilar to speakers of other languages and do not readily lend themselves to being well understood, even in context. In cases where features of English grammar are diametrically opposed or in some other way radically different from the manner of expression in the student’s L1, explicit teaching may be required.

Aspects of English language grammar that may offer exceptional challenge to EFL students include use of word order, determiners (this, that, these, those, a, an, the), prepositions (in, on, at, by, for, from, of), auxiliaries (do, be, have), conjunctions (but, so, however, therefore, though, although), interrogatives, intensifiers (some, any, few, more, too) and distinctions between modal verbs (can, could, would, should, may, might, must). Phrasal verbs also present considerable difficulty to Spanish speakers learning communicative English.

Some students also are logical or linguistically-biased thinkers who respond well to structured presentation of new material. Logical-Mathematical and Verbal-Linguistic intelligence learners are prime examples of those that would respond well to explicit grammar teaching in many cases.

Based on my English language teaching and on my second and third foreign language learning (L2, L3) experience, an exclusive approach using either implicit or explicit methodologies is not as effective as utilizing one or the other of these approaches as required. Although it is essential to teach elements of language and develop communicative abilities in our students, there is no one best way to introduce and provide practice in them. Young learners have more natural facility in acquisition, while adults may benefit substantially from more “formal” language learning. Learning styles and intelligence strengths are also a significant factor.

There are many generally accepted ways of introducing the sounds, structure and vocabulary of English, including colloquial forms of conversation and the four basic communication skills. Grammar provides for “communicative economy”. Grammar teaching should be implicit, or explicit, as teaching / learning conditions may dictate helping to minimize the student response teachers fear most, “Teacher, I don’t understand.”

Note: Academic references for this article are available on request (see below).

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About the Author:

Prof. Larry M. Lynch has taught EFL, published ELT articles as an expert author, presented at numerous TESOL conferences and trained teachers in the USA, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Panama and Spain. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape from America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines. At present, he teaches at the Universidad Santiago de Cali in Cali, Colombia. To get original, exclusive articles and content for your newsletter, blog or website or information on TEFL presentations, specialized teacher training programs or conference speaking engagements contact him at: lynchlarrym at gamily dot com

 

 Musical/Rhythmic Learners
Musical/rhythmic learners recognize tonal patterns. For optimal learning, suggest they hum or sing information they want to grasp, or have them move their bodies while they study.

.

Intrapersonal Learners
Almost the exact opposite of interpersonal learners, intrapersonal learners thrive by working alone. Self-paced instruction and individualized projects work best with these students. Suggest that intrapersonal learners keep a daily journal, as their thoughts are directed inward. They have a great degree of self-understanding and they rely deeply on their instincts.

Naturalist Learners
Naturalist learners observe and understand the organized patterns in the natural environment. Provide them with visualization activities and hands-on activities that are based on nature. Bring the outdoors into the classroom, or assign projects that require spending time in nature. Assign activities that call on the naturalist learner's abilities to measure, map, and chart observations of plants and animals.

Personality Types
In her classroom, Dr. Fiedler summarizes the eight learning styles explained above into four personality types: order seekers, debaters, groupies, and loners. A less clinical approach to personalities than Myers-Briggs or the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, Fiedler’s categories are based on years of observation in the classroom.

“Order seekers,” Fiedler says, “like lectures and linear, sequential thinking. They need a syllabus, and they need to know the goals and objectives for the course.” Like the logical/mathematical learner, these students “need to have knowledge dispersed to them.”

The debaters may be more like verbal/linguistic learners. “I’m just playing devil’s advocate,” is often heard from a debater, Fiedler explains. “You feel they are heckling, but that’s how they learn. The best arguments contain thesis, antithesis, synthesis. The debater is comfortable with abstract/random thinking,” she says. Bodily/kinesthetic learners and musical/rhythmic learners may also be debaters.

"Groupies want to get constructively involved with hands-on experiential learning. They want to make meaning out of things, create things together, and work with other people,” Fiedler states. Like interpersonal learners, groupies need to work in cooperative learning groups. along the way for them, and let them learn in their own way.

Catering to different learning styles may seem like creating a program of individualized learning for each student. In a way it is, yet it is simpler than it initially sounds. By stepping away from the lecture podium and providing all students with a variety of different teaching strategies and assessment methods, educators are able to reach students within their own comfort level of learning. While one student may be more comfortable with group discussions, another will learn more readily and deeply by working alone, while still another student needs bodily movement activities, and yet another needs visual stimulation.

By providing a variety of teaching strategies in the curriculum, educators are reaching a greater number of learners. By reaching out and providing students with activities that reach them in the ways they best learn, educators are able to give students more information in a shorter time. After all, this is what education is all about—helping students learn.

 

Bodily/Kinesthetic Learners
The brain’s motor cortex, which controls bodily motion, is the key to the intelligence of bodily/kinesthetic learners. Provide these learners with hands-on activities, such as sports, dancing, acting, and crafts. These learners need to touch, move, interact with space, and process knowledge through bodily sensations.

Fiedler’s final category is the loner. “They don’t want to listen to lectures or debates, not even group discussion. They don’t particularly want to be in the room,” Fiedler says. “They are independent, self-directed learners. They want to go to the library or work on a computer. They are not involved. It’s not that they don’t want to learn; they want to make meaning of the work independently.” These intrapersonal learners will engage in self-paced learning with minimal guidelines. Provide individual guidance, assessment, and checkpoints See this week’s Teaching Tips, and look in the Download Depot for an assessment of students’ learning styles.

.

Sources: Dr. Ellen Fiedler: [e-mail]

Teaching Today publishes innovative teaching tips on a weekly basis. Written with the busy teacher in mind, each tip is concise, practical and easy to implement in the classroom right away. Topics covered in Teaching Today are classroom management, career development, high stakes testing, instruction and planning, parental involvement, reading in the content areas, using technology in the classroom, and portfolio development. Teaching Today also offers free weekly downloads that correspond to the tips. Our free downloads make implementing the teaching tips even easier. Teaching Today provides educational resources for teachers looking for everyday solutions to the challenges of the classroom.

 

Incorporating Learning Styles into Your Teaching Strategy

“We who teach adults must respond to their needs,” states Dr. Ellen Fiedler. Fiedler, an educator at Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, teaches graduate students pursuing M.A. degrees in education for gifted students. She believes educators need to provide alternative teaching strategies for adult learners and alternative methods for students to document their learning. The alternative teaching strategies and alternative methods for learning documentation are based on students’ learning styles.

Greater knowledge of students’ learning styles has developed over the last several years, giving both educators and students a step up from the old lecture-only methods primarily used in higher education. Today the classroom is alive with the excitement of bodily/kinesthetic learning alongside the more traditional logical/mathematical learning. Below are descriptions of the different learning styles and how educators can incorporate the different styles into their instructional strategies.

. Verbal/Linguistic Learners
Verbal/linguistic learners relate to words and language, both written and spoken. These learners learn by saying, hearing, and seeing words. They can easily memorize names, dates, places, and trivia. To help verbal/linguistic learners, use descriptive language. Give these learners assignments involving reading, writing, telling stories, playing word games, and working with jokes and riddles. You’ll find that verbal/linguistic learners are good at creating imaginary worlds.

What is grammar and how should
we teach it ?
by Jeanette Corbett 
- 3

How has Grammar been taught

Grammar Translation
It used to be that a study of a language was the study of the grammar, as in the grammar translation method, with a syllabus focus and explicit rules. Learners were instructed to do exercises involving translation in and out of L1 & L2.

Direct Method
Which challenged the above by prioritising oral skills. Learners acquired the language through the formation of correct habits, irrespective of rules. A syllabus was graded list of sentence patterns which were practised through drilling. Involved explicit language teaching.

Audiolingualism
There after the explicit teaching of grammar was rejected, as in audiolingualism. Learners acquired the language in a similar form to the direct method, but LA was viewed as an innate human capability rather than habituated behaviour. Probably it was here that the focus of language learning shifted towards the learner. We became more interested in how they learnt and sought to apply this to our teaching.

Natural Approach
It was apparent that there was genuine interest in the learner. The approach underlined the views of Krashen that language could be picked up by immersion, as a child with their mother tongue.

Communicative Language Teaching
Which can be split between ´shallow´ and ´deep´. The shallow approach did not reject grammar teaching and sought to use grammar and vocabulary to achieve communicative goals. Whereas the deep approach rejected grammar teaching and acquisition was encouraged through a system of tasks and the emphasis was on the successful completion of the task.

Synopsis of past teaching methodologies
Grammar seemed to have been taught indecisively, swinging from a pro to anti approach. Yet learners did acquire the necessary language. We created double edged sword- it may have been irrelevant if the methodology was pro or anti, learners acquired the language through the natural process as argued by Krashen or what was formally learnt did pass into the acquired system as argued by McLaughlin.

The earlier methodologies placed a higher emphasis on production in a limited form (Grammar Translation, Direct Method), but never considered the needs of their learners or presented language as a package, therefore in my opinion failed the recipient of instruction - the learner. Whereas later methodologies did not, they combined learners needs with tasks to enhance their communicative competence but arguably sacrificed accuracy over fluency, as there was no focus on form (CLT shallow & deep approach).

Bibliography, reference : 4 & 5

Bibliography

1. Teaching grammar in context,
Nunan, ELT Journal 52/2 April 1998

2. The role of context in the presentation of grammar,
Petrovitz, ELT Journal 51/3 July 1997

3. Grammar and the Language Teacher,
Bygate, Tonkyn & Williams, Prentice Hall International, 1994

4. How to teach grammar,
Thornbury, Longman, 1999

5. Language Teaching Methodology,
Nunan, Longman, 1998

6. Defossilizing,
Johnson, ELT Journal 46/2 April 1992

 What is grammar and how should
we teach it ?
by Jeanette Corbett 
-2

I say this as each learner learns at a different pace, as they learn they need to complete various stages, they notice, structure, elaborate, restructure before it becomes part of their internal language. As there are various stages, it is clear that learning is a process however deductive presentations expect production of structure accurately .We cannot expect instant results, accuracy is not linear based and learning is cyclical, generally a learner needs to get it wrong before they can get it right (1).

Neither do deductive presentations take in account the cognitive needs of the learner. A deductive presentation I particularly remember, was with a class in Poland. I gave the students two sentences to contrast and define the rule, then after controlled practice attempted a freer speaking activity - it failed. Quite rightly, the students had switched off after seeing the two sentences. A lesson I learnt that day was - think motivation, they need a process to get to the language and think about it, before being asked to use it, if indeed they chose to use it

Additionally, explicit presentations fail to consider language as a whole. With guided discovery we can present grammar in a context through a task, listening or text. Also guided discovery includes activities which aim to motivate the learner and activate their cognitive skills. From experience, I know a motivated learner is one who is discovering the information for themselves and the teacher acts as a guide in the process.

I admit that my favourite medium of presentation, using guided discovery is text, as learners can see the language in use. Recently, I used an email from a friend teaching in Saudi Arabic to guide students towards the language to express obligation. Students were genuinely interested in learning about a different culture, which lead to natural conversation, comparing the countries. After completing comprehension questions they identified the target language and the differences in use and meaning. Then they compared Spain to Saudi Arabic, using the email as a springboard and focusing on an different area such as work, life, differences between men & women etc. There was a context for the students and a process to get to the language, while allowing them to think about it.
Previously, I have used a letter about my home town to compare against a Spanish town, focusing on comparatives. This lead on to several student tasks including a introductory letter to a pen pal and a tourist poster for their town.
I have found postcards from friends on holiday have been particularly useful to contrast language used and style of comments made, focusing on the overall meaning of the message by the structures used rather than a specific formulae for postcard writing.

Presentation does not have to be through text. I recognise there is a need to vary the form of presentation to generate student interest and supply a balanced input of skills. It is important that a teacher's preferences do not create a skills imbalance among learners.

I know that Spanish learners are concerned about their listening skills. Though current coursebooks do provide us with usable tape scripts for language presentation, sometimes it is good to use authentic tape scripts. Last year I used a radio interview with a pop star to present different question forms. First we looked at the meaning of the question and the reaction of the interviewee, before focusing on the form. Then we focused on word stress. It generated a lot of interest and equally was a natural springboard for a later freer speaking activity.

Another form of presentation which was particularly motivating is the use of puzzles, students had to solve the problem using a set of clues. As they used a clue, they ticked a box to indicate either yes or no. When they had all possible combinations, they used the information to complete a smaller chart, which formed the rule. It is cognitively challenging but not to the extent that it excludes attention to form.

In my opinion, quite often the success of a grammar presentation comes from the context, it is important for the learner. From it they have the opportunity to explore discourse by noticing the language in use and develop as active learners as they make their choices on how to use the language, as in the email from Saudi Arabic and holiday postcards.

Above all I feel context is important because it allows students to see how and why different forms and meanings exist. Language is context sensitive, if language is presented in a text a learner can use the surrounding text to understand the meaning of the words. If the presentation is through a dialogue, they can use the situation and relationship of the speakers to understand the meaning of individual items, as with the radio interview.

Here we have returned to meaning, I believe by presenting grammar in context, our learners will develop a better understanding of meaning. A good analogy for a presentation would be that of an upside down pyramid, first introducing the wider meaning of the situation to learners then moving down to focus on the form, as I did with the email and radio interview. Then introducing a open task to allow learners to use the language in context. An open task, would be one which has a communicative purpose and will stretch the learner's language.
Tasks that I have used, always link back to the context of the lesson but allow students to personalise the language. I believe it is important to personalise a task or activity for students, then they can apply the language to their own lives and probably this helps them in their language development. Also it is more motivational, students always enjoy sharing information about their experiences or lives.

When considering a context, I consider whether to use authentic or pedagogical material. I generally believe it is important to provide learners with a balanced mix. Quite often pedagogical material is necessary because it is difficult to match authentic material to a particular rule (2). However from experience, I prefer to use authentic material - it is real world and it deals with communicative meaning more effectively than course written materials. I feel it is better that a learner understands the wider message and meaning as well as the form of the language. Equally student have a highly sense of achievement if they have understood something from the real world.
With real world material I think we can start to redress the balance between what is pedagogical and descriptive, then allow the learner to make choices about what language they would like to use.

Finally linking back to my experience, I know that learners learn better when they have discovered grammar for themselves.
Consider both these scenarios- number one a teacher begins a class, then asks the students what grammar they studied last week - she will probably be met with silence. Number two a teacher begins a class, then asks the students about the previous lesson what they talked about, read or listened to in class - someone remembers a topic, a task then it generally leads on to students using the language as they remember parts of the lesson, occasionally the teacher may need to prompt students with comments they said, but language is produced. This to me, this is evidence that learning is taking place - students recall the topic/ context then several activities before they elaborate with the language that they remember. They may not reproduce the language accurately but recalling it they are part of the way. It also tells me that were motivated to learn as the style of presentation had been challenging, they may comment about what was difficult or easy. Also that the context was applicable to their lives - real world, as they remember perhaps making personal comments.

Finally, when I began teaching, I was often frustrated when a student got a structure wrong from a previous lesson or didn´t remember a particular word. But now as listen to my students in class, I agree with Nunan.

As our learners learn, we need to remind ourselves they do not need to learn something perfectly but numerous things simultaneously (1)

But then to add my own personal comment - then plan presentations which allow them to focus on language from a context, then activities which allow them to make their own choices about the language to use.

 What is grammar and how should we teach it ?

 

 by Jeanette Corbett – 1

 

As so much has been written about grammar we could be forgiven if we admitted to confusion. Each person whether a learner or a teacher has an opinion. Likewise different styles of teaching equate to the varying opinions on how it should be taught, if indeed it should or can be taught.

So two questions with very open answers, which I will attempt to reply to in this paper. Firstly, I will look at what grammar is considered to be from the learners perspective and that of the teacher, including my opinion. Then I will answer second question looking at how grammar is being taught today, focusing on it's usefulness for the learner and my experience.

So then what is grammar ? When I asked a learner recently, the reply was a rule. He then went on to comment, it is so because it helps him construct a sentence, referring to his means to communicate (either spoken or written). Arguably the learner in general could just communicate using words but without a context or shared knowledge his words would fail to have meaning. Therefore grammar acts as his tool to create meaning. But grammar alone fails to create meaning, other elements are also necessary.
I´d like to focus on the key word - meaning, it is the most important thing in language that from which successful communication results. Does the learner understand the importance or do they tend to focus on the form regardless of the meaning it conveys? This is something I will return to later in this paper.

Teachers define grammar differently but invariably the word rule is used, which they split it 3 ways: prescriptive, descriptive & pedagogical; what we should say, do say and what we teach. Perhaps, by splitting them we have created our own dilemma, we will always question which to highlight to the learner. Quite rightly a pedagogical rule gives them a guideline as what to use, but often it is over simplified. Arguably by simplifying the rules we fail our students as we do not allow the language we use with our friends to be governed by the same rules as that produced by our students.
We constantly aim to enhance the communicative competence of our students yet we still limit them by rules. How should we create a balance ? Well Batstone suggests from the teachers perspective there is a need to view rules at different levels according to the competence of the learner. Equally for the learner, Chalker suggests that they need to accept they will constantly refine their pedagogical rules as they learn more about the language. I agree with both but I always hesitate to use the word rule when defining grammar, to me it denotes something governed. I prefer a definition by Bygate.

Conventions according to which lexical items, phrases and clauses are combined, their roles and relations are identified in the communication of meaning.(3)

Conventions evolve through custom, customs always come and go. To me this is what language is, evolving constantly according to its use. While I always provide my learners with a rule as a guide for their learning, I generally expose them to more language - their knowledge is stretched, they may not use it immediately but they may notice it for future use.

As already demonstrated, we cannot define grammar exactly, it is a different thing to different people. Likewise among teachers there are different opinions about how it should be taught. This forms the second part of my paper, here I will focus on how we are teaching grammar today and if it is of benefit to the learner. I will not discuss how grammar has been taught, but an outline of historical methodologies is available in Appendices.

In my opinion, there is no debate as to whether or not it is necessary to teach grammar - formal instruction is necessary. I say this as it is part of language, learners need to use it to communicate when words are not enough. Perhaps they could rely on their strategic competence but in my opinion leads to pre-mature fossilisation in learners. In her article Johnson (6), cites that in CLT success comes too soon for learners, the emphasis on communication means that learners use highly developed strategic competence to achieve results. As a result any subsequent language input appears secondary and unnecessary to the learner, as they have already communicated their message.
Equally, though there may be a natural order of language acquisition, formal instruction does act as a tool to speed up the process. With instruction, we can provide learners will new forms to think about, remind them that they have not mastered everything and create an environment for further language development, therefore pre-empting fossilisation before it occurs.
Finally we also need to remind ourselves why learners come to our academics, in my opinion among other things - they pay for the opportunity to get it right. The principal goal of teaching is to realise mutual goals - allow restructuring, focus on accuracy and develop fluency (3). Anyone can learn a language by post or on cassette, but with formal language instruction we give them opportunity to overuse a form in order to get it right. They may have noticed the language item outside the classroom but we create the environment to master it. Formal instruction is not only necessary it is what our learners pay for.

Today grammar teaching is focused on form and consciousness raising, there is a need to focus on form with learners to facilitate accuracy. With consciousness raising activities, we create a learning environment, where the learner notices new language and exploits it in genuine communication activities. (3)

So how then do we present it in the classroom ? We can choose between two types of presentation, either deductive or guided discovery. Though I accept that a deductive presentation may be applicable in some situations such as an intensive course or revision class but from experience I prefer a guide discovery presentation. In a deductive presentation grammar is viewed more as a product, admittedly it gives the learner a clear framework and there may be systematic learning (3 & 4). But I question the benefit to the learner and how useful is it in their learning process.