ICELT DISTANCE UNIT Grammar presentation & practice ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Contents Introduction ………………………………………………………… Aims ……………………………………………………………… Reading …………………………………………………………… Section A – Reflection …………………………………………… Section B – Approaches to teaching grammar ………………… Section C – Presentation techniques ………………………… 19 Section D – Practice techniques ……………………………… 29 Section E – Grammar in the young earner classroom ………… 34 References ………………………………………………………… 35 Feedback on unit ………………………………………………… 36 British Council, Bogotá 2006 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Introduction In many traditional language classrooms, grammar was viewed as the most important aspect of language learning Methodology was concerned almost solely with ways of having learners practise the grammar with vocabulary and pronunciation slotted in Nowadays most teachers would not recognise that situation – there has been a growing acceptance that there is much more to a language than grammar In the 1970’s, the communicative approach mostly abandoned this emphasis on grammatical form in favour communicating the message successfully, despite inaccuracies More recently, however, the importance of focussing on form has been addressed again In this unit we will be considering different approaches to teaching grammar and whether we need to make form (or structure) rules explicit to learners We shall evaluate a number of presentation and practice techniques Aims By the end of this unit you should: • Have a clearer understanding of deductive, inductive and guided discovery approaches to grammar teaching • Have analysed lessons in relation to these approaches • Have analysed the learning process within a guided discovery lesson • Have planned a sequence of activities using a guided discovery framework • Have evaluated a number of presentation techniques • Have a clearer understanding or the notion of controlled and free practice activities • Have planned controlled and free practice activities for particular language points • Have considered the place of grammar in younger learner classrooms British Council, Bogotá 2006 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Essential Reading Cameron, L 2001 Teaching Languages to Young Learners CUP Chapter – Learning Grammar Nunan, D 1991 Language Teaching Methodology Longman Chapter – the Role of Grammar Ur, P 1999 A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory CUP Recommended Further Reading ELT Forum Teacher Development Pack: Grammar British Council, Bogotá 2006 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Section A: Reflection Task Read the following comments which were made by different teachers Consider whether you agree or disagree with them and why If possible, this task with a colleague I usually tell the students the rule before we practice grammar I try not to use grammar terminology in the classroom I like to use examples from my students’ life when I am teaching grammar I think if we provide enough good examples, then students can infer the rules without being told It is easy to explain some grammar rules by others are so complicated that it is better not to bother It is better to other activities such as reading a story or listening to a song first that lead to grammar When you have finished, look at the commentary that follows British Council, Bogotá 2006 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Commentary I usually tell the students the rule before we practice grammar This is one of the features of the deductive approach (don’t be confused by the name!) to grammar teaching In this approach the teacher moves from rules to examples In contrast, there is the inductive approach, in which learners are presented with lots of examples and they work out the rule for themselves; in other words they induce the rule This is also very characteristic of the grammar translation method of language teaching and is also very common in students’ grammar books I try not to use grammar terminology in the classroom If you are teaching very young learners you probably agreed with this If you are teaching older children or adults then it is very difficult to avoid terminology altogether unless you are using a totally experiential approach to language learning where the students are using the language to perform task with no explicit analysis of the language On the other hand, over use of terminology with turn a lot of students off and it is important to be sensitive to the effect use of terminology is having on students I like to use examples from my students’ life when I am teaching grammar This attitude comes from a humanistic approach to language learning in which it is believed that affective (emotional) factors as just as important as cognitive factors It is probably an obvious point but if learning is personalised in this way then it will probably be more memorable Traditionally, the personalisation stage comes after the presentation but there is no reason why the presentation itself should not be personalised However, this would require a great deal of skill on the teacher’s part I think if we provide enough good examples, then students can infer the rules without being told See number This is characteristic of an inductive approach to learning grammar This approach is also called a discovery approach It is comparable to the way in which we learn our first language; direct experience of the language and unconscious assimilation of rules British Council, Bogotá 2006 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice It is easy to explain some grammar rules by others are so complicated that it is better not to bother Most experienced teacher would accept this and plan their teaching accordingly Perhaps a more important point is that some rules are very difficult to induce or discover For example the correct placement of adverbs – I like football very much or He is often late may never be noticed by students unless they are pointed out explicitly It is better to other activities such as reading a story or listening to a song first that lead to grammar This is an underlying principle in such approaches as task-based learning and the whole language approach – you learn best by doing British Council, Bogotá 2006 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Section B: Approaches The tasks in this section have been taken from Thornbury, 2004) Task Read through the following three mini lessons and for each one decide: • • • Sequence: Rule: Guidance: Which comes first the rule or the example? Is the rule stated explicitly or is it implicitly understood? How much does the teacher guide the learners? Lesson Teacher “to form the present perfect continuous, use the auxiliary verb have plus the past participle of the verb to be (been) plus the present participle, for example …” Teacher writes on the board: I have been working Has Jeff been watching TV? They haven’t been listening “You use the present perfect continuous to talk about activities that started in the past and continue to the present (or very recent past), especially when you want to focus on the process itself, or its duration, for example…” Teacher writes on board: We have been living here since we got married How long have you been studying Chinese? Why is your hair wet? I’ve been swimming “Now make sentences using the present perfect continuous for these situations… Jeff started watching TV at five o’clock Hi has just switched the TV off It is now nine o’clock I first came to live in this town five years ago I’m still living here Our company was set up over 100 years ago We manufactured bicycles them and we are still manufacturing them.” British Council, Bogotá 2006 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice _ Lesson Teacher: “Dawn is standing outside the cinema She is waiting for her friend Dawn arrived at eight o’clock It’s now ten past eight She has been waiting for ten minutes When did she start waiting? (Learners: “Eight o’clock.”) Is she still waiting? (Learners: “Yes.”) How you express the idea of waiting that started in the past and is still continuing? (Learners: “She has been waiting.”) How is the tense formed? (Learners: “Have plus been plus –ing.”) This tense is called the present perfect continuous Here is another situation: It is now nine o’clock and Jeff is watching TV He started watching TV at five o’clock He has been watching TV for four hours Use the present perfect continuous to make a sentence for each of these situations: I first came to live in this town five years ago I’m still living here Our company was set up over 100 years ago We manufactured bicycles then, and we are still manufacturing them.” _ British Council, Bogotá 2006 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Lesson Teacher: “Once upon a time, Goldilocks visited the Bears’ house There was nobody home She ate some of Baby Bear’s porridge She smoked one of Father Bear’s cigars She drank some of Mother Bear’s coffee, and she rode Mother Bear’s motorbike She played with Buddy Bear’s toys, and she played Buddy Bear’s guitar She read some of Missy Bear’s magazines, and she used Missy Bear’s computer Well, finally, she felt tired so she went upstairs to sleep When the Bears came home, Baby Bear said, “Who’s been eating my porridge?” Repeat (Learners: “Who’s been eating my porridge?”) Mother Bear said, “Who’s been drinking my coffee?” Repeat (Learners: “Who’s been drinking my coffee?”) Father Bear said, “Who’s been smoking my cigar?” Repeat (Learners: “Who’s been smoking my cigar?” What did Missy Bear say about her magazines? (Learners: Who’s been reading my magazines?” And her computer? (Learners: “Who’s been using my computer?” What did Buddy Bear say about his toys? (Learners: “Who’s been playing with my toys?” And his guitar? (Learners: “Who’s been playing my guitar?” What did Mother Bear say about her motorbike? (Learners: “Who’s been riding my motorbike?” Now tell the story to your partner.” British Council, Bogotá 2006 10 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice PRACTISING AND PRESENTING The teacher gives out the table below asking learners to work in pairs and ask and answer the questions The learners are familiar with the vocabulary in the table but not with the present perfect tense He does a few examples with individual learners first Have you ever seen an elephant? your great-grandmother ? a TV programme about dolphins? a UFO? a shooting star ? the Mediterranean Sea? Rio de Janeiro harbour ? etc No I haven’t Yes , I have The teacher gradually elicits the present perfect tense questions by asking his class, What question did I ask you ? Some learners will reproduce her question with prompting The teacher eventually writes on the blackboard: Present Perfect Tense Questions Has/have + person + past participle ? (Have) (you) (seen) He asks the class when they think these type of questions are used The learners explain to the teacher what they think The teacher explains to the class that the present perfect tense is used with Have you ever ……? To ask general questions about what people have done in the unspecified past Your mark DISCOVERING The teacher asks the learners to look at a reading passage which they have studied before as a reading text The learners then guess in groups which of the following sentences (a) to (g) are grammatically correct (C) or incorrect (I) and circle the letter C or I next to each sentence A B C D E F The children have brought pencils to the lesson The children has understood Miss Honey’s speech Matilda have begun school a bit late The children have just start school The lessons has started today Matilda has not been to school before British Council, Bogotá 2006 C/I C/I C/I C/I C/I C/I 22 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Learners then complete the two substitution tables below If they have problems, the teacher supplies them with the words have and has , but does not tell the learners where to place the words until they have tried for themselves This gives this activity an element of discovery learning THE PRESENT PERFECT : STATEMENTS Subject I, you, we, they, children He , she, it, Matilda have /has Rest of sentence the _ school After the learners have completed the table, the teacher asks them to correct the original incorrect sentences (a) to (g) He checks their answers Your mark USING A CHART The teacher draws the following chart on the board : Name Alicia Geovanny USA Venezuela 3 Britain Spain The teacher asks different learners in the class, Have you been to Britain ? or , Have you been to Venezuela? Completing the row by ticking (3) the appropriate box as the learners give their answers Once the chart is complete without about learners he asks the class what question he was asking He then writes his question on the board and gives a short explanation of the form of the present perfect tense and the question form He rubs the ticks off the board Learners then copy the empty table into their notebooks leaving space for names and ticks They then ask each other the question Have you been to ……… ? and tick the appropriate boxes in their tables Afterwards they write sentences in their notebooks about the five people they interviewed (for example , Alicia has been to Spain and Venezuela ,but she hasn’t been to the USA) Your mark British Council, Bogotá 2006 23 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice 10 ELICITING The teacher tells his class what he has done this morning: I’ve had my breakfast I’ve said goodbye to my children I’ve drunk two cups of coffee I’ve driven to school (etc) He writes on the board, What have you done this morning? And then asks individual this question gradually eliciting present perfect sentences If the learners make mistakes he corrects them gently He slowly builds up correct present perfect sentences on the board (I’ve fed my dog, I’ve eaten some bread) He then points out that the present perfect tense is used for unspecified past time – if the time in the past when an event happened is not mentioned the present perfect tense is often used Your mark 11 COMPARING SPANISH AND ENGLISH A Spanish speaking teacher of English introduces the present perfect tense pointing out the differences between the use and the form of the present perfect tense in English and the perfect and past tenses in Spanish Your mark 12 DICTOGLOSSS The teacher writes a short paragraph about his life using the past tense (which it is assumed the learners have already seen and the present perfect tense which may be new to the learners) e.g: I began teaching twenty years ago From 1982 to 1990 I worked in Buccaramanga Since 1990 I have worked in Bogotà From 1990 to 1995 I worked in Gimnasio La Salle but since 1995 I have worked in the AngloColombiano school The teacher reads this passage once at normal speed and tells the learners to just listen and not to try to write anything When he has finished reading the teacher tells the students to write down anything they can remember, any date, any fact The teacher then reads the passage again at normal speed and asks the learners to get into groups and to try to reconstruct the passage exactly When learners have tried to this the teacher takes an OHT transfer and slowly reveals the passage to the learners.* The teacher then asks using the present perfect tense: How long have I worked in Bogotà? British Council, Bogotá 2006 24 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice How long have I worked in the Anglo- Colombiano? And concept questions: Do I work in Gimnasio La Salle now? Where I work now? The student then write paragraphs about their own life and compare them in groups * If you use an OHT transfer it is a good idea to reveal the text slowly line by line by putting a piece of paper over the transfer and slowly pulling it down so that learners are able to check exactly what they have written against the original text It is also more exciting and hence more motivating to reveal the text in this way If you not have an overhead projector the text can be written out on a piece of cardboard which can then be stuck to the board with sellotape Another piece of cardboard can then be stuck over the first one and this piece of cardboard can be slowly pulled down to reveal the text bit by bit just as with an OHT transfer Your mark TASK If you were introducing the present perfect tense for the first time, which of the eleven presentation techniques would you use? (You may choose to combine two or three of them) In which order would you use your chosen presentation techniques? Use one or more of these techniques to present grammar structures in your class The structure presented doesn’t have to be the present perfect tense When you have used a few of these techniques assess how successful they were on a scale of to 4: • Not successful at all The students completely confused as to meaning and not using the structure at all Not very successful The students made some attempt to repeat the structure but didn’t see to be using it in a meaningful or creative way Reasonably successful The students were using the structure quite a lot and seem to have some idea of its meaning Very successful The students are using the structure accurately and creating their own utterances using the structure British Council, Bogotá 2006 25 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice TASK Read the passage below on form and use, and then the task which follows FORM AND USE When we present a new grammar point to learners, it is useful to present two different aspects: its form and use Form means the grammatical form of an item and the rules for it For example does a word have an s at the end ? When we add –ed to the end of a verb and when not? What is the word order of a question ? When you use and when you use did in a question Form also includes phonology Use deals with the context When or where is an item used ? To discover the use of an item , ask yourself, In which situation is an item used in natural communication? For example one use of the present simple tense is for describing actions that people every day (I get up at 7.30), so in your presentation for the present simple tense you might include a natural situation where a person is telling someone else what they every day, such as a learner writing to a new penfriend , telling her about a typical day at his school In the 12 presentations in task the form and use were both presented But which use of the present perfect tense was presented in each one ? Complete the table below with the use of the present perfect which was presented in each case Two examples are done for you British Council, Bogotá 2006 26 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Technique Which use of the present perfect is presented ? Using a song text • Using a time line • Reading • Using realia • Personalisation • Explaining directly • Practising presenting Discovering and • Questions and tag questions; general questions int the past with ever • Using a chart • 10 Eliciting • 11 Comparing Spanish and English 12 Dictogloss • British Council, Bogotá 2006 unspecified time in the past • 27 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Commentary Using a song text unclear; it depends on the song chosen Using a time line unspecified time in the past Reading something started in the past which is still true now Using realia unspecified time in the past Personalisation used with just to talk about something that has happened in the very recent past Explaining directly unspecified time in the past and something started in the past which is still true now Practising and presenting questions and tag questions; general questions in the past with ever Discovering unspecified time in the past and something which started in the past and is still true now Using a chart unspecified time in the past and general questions 10 Eliciting unspecified time in the past 11 Comparing Spanish and English unclear (presumably all uses) 12 Dictogloss something which began in the past and is still true now Task Read: Ur, Penny (1999) A Course in Language Teaching CUP Module 1: unit one Presentations and Explanations Module 1: unit two Examples of presentation procedures Module 1: unit three Explanation and instructions Take time to the tasks suggested by Penny Ur in the text If possible this task with a colleague British Council, Bogotá 2006 28 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Section D – Practice Task Read the following conversation between Andres, a teacher at a school in Bogotá, and Simon, a teacher trainer from the British Council They are talking on the telephone Then answer the questions that follow Andres: Simon: Andres: I’ve got a problem What kind of problem? My students won’t speak English in class Can you help me? • How many people need to be involved in communication? • What people when they communicate? • Why people ask questions in real life? • Why is Andres asking questions? • Why does she need information? • What’s Simon doing? • What makes this conversation more difficult? Can the two speakers see each other? Commentary • • • • • • • • Communication involves interaction When we communicate, we exchange or transfer information Information can include facts, opinions, attitudes, feelings etc In real life, people ask questions because they not know the answer – there is a gap Andres is asking questions because she does not know how to solve the problem – there is a gap Simon is offering to help the gap He is also checking and clarifying Communication involves transferring information over a gap – an information gap Communication involves checking and clarifying We should try use grammar practice activities in the classroom that incorporate these communicative features most of the time There are, of course, noncommunicative practice activities that are also useful, for example drilling British Council, Bogotá 2006 29 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Task The terms controlled practice and freer practice are often used when discussing practice activities What you understand by these terms? If possible discuss your answers with a colleague and note down your ideas Commentary Controlled (or restricted) practice activities: • Are accuracy focussed – the teacher is concerned that the students are using the correct form • The students have a very limited choice of language to use – the language used in the activity is controlled by the teacher Free (or less controlled) activities: • Are fluency focussed – the teacher is concerned that the students are communicating effectively • The students can use whatever language resources they have – the control what language is used Actually we should think of controlled and free practice as part of a continuum CONTROLLED FREE Task There are two activities here Where would you place them on the above continuum? Activity Complete these sentences with the past simple or the present perfect David Beckham (play) for Real Madrid for 34 years He _ (move) to Spain with his family in 2002 etc Activity Write a fan letter to your favourite English football player Tell him a little about yourself and why you like his team British Council, Bogotá 2006 30 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice Commentary Both these activities give the learners an opportunity to use language but in different ways is very controlled and would be placed on the far left on the continuum Activity is almost entirely free and would be placed quite far right on the continuum Many of the activities we in the classroom would however be placed between these two Task On the next page, you will find eight activities from four different lessons A) Read through the activities carefully and try to complete the table below: In column identify the target language (the language point that the class in working on) In column identify the activity the teacher chose to provide accuracy focussed controlled practice In column identify the activity the teacher chose to provide fluency focussed freer practice B) Where would you place these activities on the controlled/free continuum? C) Are all the activities communicative? 1.Target language 2.Controlled practice activity Freer practice activity E B EXAMPLE Personal questions information British Council, Bogotá 2006 31 Task – eight activities from four lessons A Find someone who Go/Cali Live/outside Bogota Eat/ants Swim/Pacific Ocean Go/Miami _ _ _ _ E In grid of boxes, sts draw important people in their life, women, men, families Sts swap with their partner, ask and fill in (who/where live/what do/ old) B Students bring in family photos Students work in groups They spread the photos on the floor and discuss them C Give groups students a map of Colombia They discuss where they have and haven’t been F Students work in groups of They each have a set of place cards (Cali, Tunja, etc) and a set of adjective cards (cold, big, green, quiet, etc) In turn sts pick up place cards and adjective card They make sentences comparing the places using the adjective G Students a mini-survey They each ask students about their childhood, (live/look like/watch on TV/hate eating) D Divide the class in two groups Assign one group the city Bogota and the other group Medellin Each group notes down why their city is better than the other Then have a debate between the groups H Students draw a picture of the school they attended In pairs students discuss their childhood routines Commentary 1.Target language 2.Controlled practice activity Freer practice activity E B Present perfect simple for experience A C Used to ( for past habits and states) G H Comparative adjectives F D EXAMPLE Personal questions information Task Now think of a controlled practice activity and a freer practice activity for the following language points Make sure the activities are communicative When you have finished, post you ideas on the website forum for others to comment on If possible, this task with a colleague going to (to talk about future plans) like / don’t like in / on / under past continuous Task Read: Ur, Penny (1999) A Course in Language Teaching CUP Module 2: unit one The function of practice Module 2: unit two Characteristics of a good practice activity Module 2: unit three Practice techniques Module 2: unit four Sequence and progression in practice Take time to the tasks suggested by Penny Ur in the text If possible, this task with a colleague Section E – Grammar in the Young Learner Classroom Task Think about the following statements and note down your ideas If possible, discuss these with a partner Grammar is too difficult for children and it should not be taught in youn learner classes Young learners need to be taught grammar in order to communicate effectively Grammar is the most important part of a language If we not focus on form in the young learner classroom then our pupils will learn inaccurate rules Task Read Cameron, L (2001) Teaching Languages to Young Learners CUP Chapter 5: Learning Grammar ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice References Tanner, R & Green, C 1998 Tasks for Teacher Education Longman Thornbury, S 2004 how to … introduce new language Oxford University Press Nunan, D 1998 Language Teaching Methodology Prentice Hall Ur, Penny (1999) British Council, Bogotá 2006 A Course in Language Teaching CUP 35 ICELT distance unit Grammar presentation & practice FEEDBACK on Grammar practice & presentation unit How long did it take you to work through this unit? Less than hours About hours More than hours In general, how did you find the unit? Good OK Poor Was the level of the material? Too challenging About right Too easy Please assess the overall presentation of the unit Good OK Poor Please assess the clarity of the writing in the unit Good OK Poor Please write any other comments you have here Thank you for taking time to complete this form We appreciate your comments British Council, Bogotá 2006 36