TEACHING GRAMMAR

1. The importance of teaching grammar.

2. Difficulties of teaching grammar.
3. Different approaches to teaching grammar.
4. Techniques of presenting grammar structures.
5. Types of exercises for practising grammar structures.

Grammar for any language is very important because it can not be transmitted
correctly and accurately. Therefore, a language without grammar is, to some extent,
meaningless and aimless.  Grammar also helps learners convey their intended
meaning appropriately.  Grammar is to help students discover the nature of language
that consists of predictable patterns that make us say, read, hear and write intelligibly.
It gives learners a chance to express their thought correctly, either in speaking or in
writing. Also,  mastering grammar helps learners improving their style of writing.

Grammar is partly the study of what forms or structures are likely in a language.
Teachers also believe that grammar instruction helps students to produce more
accurate languages. It is a way of ensuring that students are aware of the rules of the
language. Teachers suggest that regular attention to grammar brings students closer
and closer to attaining an ultimate level of competence that will allow students to
produce error-free language.

However what is grammar exactly? Some linguists and language practitioners are of
the opinion that grammar is the collection of arbitrary rules about static structures in a
language. They associate grammar primarily with form and structure. But for others
meaningful interaction is impossible without knowledge and use of grammar, viewed
as rules and patterns which have to be obeyed in order to be communicative and
understandable in a given language.

The goals of language instruction include teaching students to use grammar

accurately, meaningfully and appropriately. In this respect grammar can be viewed as
a rational and dynamic system comprising structures characterized by three
dimensions of form, meaning and use.
Form is understood as actual words/sounds a grammar item is made of:

e.g. .Present Continuous = ‗to be‘+ full verb+ ing

Learners‘ attention needs to be focused not only on the forms of the language, but
also on the meanings these forms convey.

Meaning is the concept a grammar item expresses.

e.g. Present Continuous expresses an action in progress at the present moment.

Use is what the grammar item is used to do in a particular context; it is the way in
which a speaker / writer uses a particular language form to communicate in a
particular situation for a particular purpose. Rules of use refer to knowledge of when
and with whom an item should be used, i.e. appropriacy.

The notions of meaning and use are composed into the concept of function/

Function is a communicative purpose of a structure on a particular occasion – what

the speaker is trying to do through language (e.g. inviting, suggesting, etc.)

For example, the reason of misunderstanding in the following dialogue (a request for
information was confused with offer) is functional:

FATHER: Do you drink?

YOUNG MAN: No, thanks, I‘m cool.

FATHER: I‘m not offering, I‘m asking IF you drink. Do you think I‘d offer alcohol to
teenage driver taking my daughter out?

Since school leavers are expected to acquire linguistic competence, which is an

integral part of communicative competence, grammar teaching is in school syllabus
and appropriate grammar material should be selected for the purpose.

The English school syllabus covers not all grammar phenomena in the target
language but specially selected grammar minimum, which consists of active grammar
and passive grammar. Active grammar minimum contains some acquired grammar
structures which are used to express one's own thoughts and ideas in oral and written
discourse.
Passive grammar minimum includes those grammatical structures which help
learners to recept and comprehend thoughts and ideas of other people.

So, teaching grammar is essential at all stages of learning. It is necessary to make

sure that students understand the language and articulate themselves clearly and
coherently without ambiguity or uncertainty.

2. Difficulties of teaching English grammar

Teaching grammar is serious and incorporates a lot of challenges that teachers face.

Grammar is a challenging language skill because it perceives as a component that

could complement other language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Furthermore, grammar plays an essential part in grasping and producing spoken
language. Learning grammar is considered fundamental in acquiring the correct
utterances of the language.

The main and most common difficulties students have in assimilating grammar are
as follows:

1.In English the word order is more important than in Ukrainian. The word order
Mary bought her mother a book indicates what was bought (a book) to whom
(mother) and by whom (Mary). If we change the word order we will change the
meaning of the sentence. In Ukrainian due to inflections we can change the word
order without changing the meaning of the sentence.

2. The inversion of subject and final verb in indicates the question form (e.g. Is he?
Are you?) . Students often violate the word order which results in serious mistakes in
expressing their thoughts.

3.The English tense system also makes a lot of trouble to the students BECAUSE OF
THE DIFFERENCE WHICH EXISTS IN TWO LANGUAGESIN REGARD TO
TIME AND ENSE RELATIONS.

4. The sequence of tenses is another difficult point of English grammar because there
is no such phenomenon in their mother tongue.
5. the use of modal verbs in various types of sentences is also complicated the
students should differentiate the use of can and may for example while in Ukrainian
they are the same.

6. The specific use of the infinitive, participle and gerund may be also a difficulty.
For example, saw him read (reading).

7. The most difficult point of English grammar is the article because it is completely
strange to Ukranian speaking students.. Students are often careless in the use of
articles and other determiners and make lots of mistakes omitting them.

Hence the grammar material may be divided into the following three groups:

1. The grammar phenomena which do not require any explanation since there
are similar phenomena in Ukrainian: e.g. the forming of plural by adding
suffixes (a book- books);
2. The grammar phenomena which require corrections: e.g/ money is, the
family are (is). Students are taught the elements which differ.
3. The grammar phenomena which are completely strange to Ukrainian
students. They need explanation because new habits should be formed in
students. For example, articles, tenses, verbals, modal verbs.

While teaching grammar the teachers should approach to the grammar materal in
different ways depending on the difficulties srudents have in assimilating grammar
phenomena.

If the teachers focus on grammar as a set of forms and rules, they teach grammar by
explaining structures and regulations and then training students on them. It results in
bored students who can produce a correct form on exercises and tests but consistently
make errors when they try to employ the language in context.

Pupils are also unaware of the essential rules and structural patterns they alleged to
have learned at the lower level.

The teacher should begin with the simple grammatical items and proceed towards the
complex ones. Each succeeding grammatical item must support the previous ones
taught earlier within the class.
Thus, by carefully selecting the frequently recurring grammatical items in
conjunction with grading them as per the needs of the learners, an instructor should
provide students with constant practice in creating and using sentences. This training
should support the grammatical forms and structures in various day-to-day situations
of their lives. The most crucial problem is that students find the grammatical lesson
difficult and bored. 

4. Different approaches to teaching grammar

In terms of grammar teaching, two main approaches can be distinguished – deductive

and inductive.

The deductive approach is associated with classical Grammar Translation Approach

when learners are taught rules and given information about a language. The
application of these rules in language practice is the next step of learning language.
Graphically it may be depicted in such a way: from grammar RULES to language
USE

The inductive approach to teaching grammar is based on the idea that learners are
not taught grammatical or other types of rules directly but are left to discover or
induce rules from their experience of using the language. Firstly, learners are shown
the functioning of a certain grammar structure in speech/text and practise it, then
comes the turn of analysis. Graphically it may be depicted in such a way: from
language USE to grammar RULES

Each of these approaches has its use for specific age-groups or for particular aspects
of the language.

The deductive approach is most useful for mature, wellmotivated students with some
knowledge of language, who are anxious to understand the more complicated aspects
of the grammatical system, how language works.

The inductive approach is highly appropriate for young learners who have not yet
developed fully their ability to think in abstractions and who enjoy learning through
active application; for students who can take time to assimilate the language through
use.

5. Techniques of presenting grammar structures.

There are three stages of teaching grammar: presentation, practice and

communication. When presenting a structure it is important to show what the
structure means and how it is used by giving examples; to show clearly how the
structure is formed, so that students can use it to make sentences of their own.

Grammar items may be presented in different ways.

There are two main trends.

To present a structure the teacher may show it directly using the things the students
can see: the objects, the classroom, the students, pictures.

Another way of showing the meaning of the structure is through situation which can
be real or imaginary.

The teacher may show how the structure is formed choosing the inductive or
deductive approach. Sometimes it is important to show the difference between
structures which do not exist in the native language (e.g. How many? How much?)

The teacher can give examples to show the difference and the explanation.

Good examples are the best way to show how the structure is used.

The teacher may also give rules But knowing the rules will not help students to use
the planguahe. The explanations should be given in a simple and clear way.

One of teacher‘s main roles is to introduce, or ―present, and practice new language
and to revise language that learners have met before.

Presentation and practice techniques are particularly useful at lower levels where
much of the language that students come across is new.

Some of this new language might be acquired naturally through exposure to native
speaker discourse, but learners also need and want important areas of language to be
highlighted by the teacher: to be explored or illustrated in terms of meaning and form,
and then practiced.

There is a  suggestion the “Communicative” way of teaching grammar in a traditional

way. Grammar should be presented in context. Regardless of the technique employed
in presenting grammar, it should follow the guided practice. This helps the learner
process the language. Free practicing is widely advisable: interaction should be
encouraged and doubled. In addition to that,. Finally, you should know that the more
real communicative activities are, the better and more practical the classes will be.

5.Types of exercises for practising grammar structures

Practising grammar structures is done on the basis of the following types of exercises:
recognition, drill and creative exercises.

1 Recognition exercises are the easiest ones. They observe the grammar item in
sructures when hearing or reading. The situations should be natural and
communicatie.

For example: Listen to the sentences and raise your hands when you hear the verbs
in the Present Perfect.

I have been to China. I knew him. I have seen a monkey today.

Students listen carefully and raise hands when they hear a verb in the Present Perfect.
The teacher can see if the students understood the structure.

2. Drill exercises are more complicated as they require reproduction on the part of
the student. They are divided into

a) repetitive drill or imitation.

Students pronounce the sentence after the teacher individually or in unison.

E/g/.

T: I have eaten pizza this week.

CL: I have eaten pizza this week.

S: I have eaten pizza this week.

b) substitution

The students substitute the words or phrases in a sentence pattern.

I have eaten pizza this week.

I have eaten pasta this week.

I have eaten bananas this week.

I have eaten apples this week.

c) completion

Students complete the sentences the teacher says looking at the pictures the teacher
shows.

e.g.Look at the picture/ Mary has already made breakfast.

d) Answering the teacher•s questions.

T; Has Mary had breakfast?

S: Yes, she has.

3. Creative exercises.

It is the most difficult type of exercises. It requires creative work on the part of the
learners. These may be:

- Making statements;
- -asking questions;
- Speaking about the situation;
- Making dialogues using the grammar structures covered;
- Dramatizing the text;
- Telling the story (read, heard)
- Translating into English;
- Participating n free conversation.
All the exercises mentioned above are designed to develop the students skills in
recognizing grammar structures while listening and reading;

-To accumulate correct sentence patterns in the students• memory which they can
reproduce in speaking and writing;

-to help the siudents produce sentences of their own using grammar items for
speaking or writing an essay or annotation.

Teacher‘s role at practice stage of grammar teaching is to get a good balance

between controlled activities (e.g. drills) and free ones (e.g. information gap tasks in
pairs); exploit all four skills (where appropriate); keep up the interest (through the
varied and stimulating topics and tasks); personalize the new grammar item; guide,
support, encourage learners to succeed in language learning.