Grammar

SEMINAR ON TEFL:

GRAMMAR

A.    Definition of Grammar

Grammar is the set of structural rules that governs the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics, and pragmatics. Another definition of grammar is the whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics.

B.     The Reason Why We Should Teach Grammar

Teaching grammar to the students is important because grammar is the foundation that supports a language. With grammar the intended messages that one wishes to communicate can be easily conveyed, but there would be no supporting structure for language to lean on without grammar. Thus, the English teacher must be able to teach the students the basic grammar of the language. Good grammar for English language teachers is therefore important to facilitate the learning of the students, especially if they are not native speakers who want to learn English and adapt it as their second language.

Here are some importance of grammar in language:

·         To Maintain Uniformity

If everyone starts using language as their own fancies, then the language will have too many variations and will give language an ambiguity. More than that, we would have communication problems, as no one language would be accepted as a universal standard.

·         To Be Legible

If the language doesn’t make sense, it will not work. Use of wrong words or mismatched punctuation can actually change the entire meaning of the sentence, thereby leading to miscommunication. We need to understand that the end purpose of grammar is communication of thoughts and ideas through language. If we are not understood, then the whole point of communication is lost.

·         To Sound Good & Interesting

A grammatically sound piece of prose or verse sounds good and interesting. For the language to have a flow and seem interesting, it is very necessary to abide by the rules of grammar in the sentences. The communication becomes ineffective if the other person is disinterested in what we are putting forth.

·         Professionalism

Language used in business and professional speaking and documents should be free from any grammatical error, as the whole responsibility of pushing deals through and effective interrelated work is dependent on these documents and discussions.

C.    Deductive and Inductive Approach

Deductive approach is a more traditional style of teaching where the teacher would firstly present the grammar rule and then provide examples in which this grammar rule is applied. For instance, if the structure to be presented is present perfect, the teacher would begin the lesson by telling the rules of the present perfect structure would be outlined and the students would complete exercises, in a number of ways, to practice using the structure. In this approach, the teacher is the center of the class and is responsible for all of the presentation and explanation of the new material. The advantages of this approach are teachers can get straight to the point, and can therefore be time-saving. Many rules can be more simply and quickly explained than elicited from examples. So it is preferred by those teachers who are experienced in both languages and many students, especially those whose listening and speaking ability is not good enough to follow the teacher in class if the whole class is given in total English. However, deductive approach has some disadvantages:

·         Grammar is taught isolatedly

·         Little attention is paid to meaning

·         The practice is often mechanical

Inductive approach is teaching approach where the new grammatical structures or rules are presented to the students in a real language context; teacher gives the examples and then the students discover the grammar rules. The students learn the use of the structure through practice of the language in context, and later realize the rules from the practical examples. In the inductive method, the teacher provides learners with authentic language data and induces the learners to realize grammar rules without any form of explicit explanation. Students will become evident to the grammar rules if they are given enough appropriate examples. The advantages of inductive approach are:

·         inspire students’ thinking activities

·         motivate students’ learning interests

·         Grammar is taught in context

The disadvantages of inductive approach are:

·         The presentation of grammar is more complex and time-consuming

·         Grammar is not taught directly

·         Some rules cannot be induced easily

D.    Strategies for Learning Grammar

There are some strategies that we can do in learning grammar, those are:

• Learn grammar is not isolated and interrelated from vocabulary

Learn vocabulary in chunks can help us to be easier internalizing grammar rules.

• Own a grammar book

Make it a habit to look through the book and read a short section about one aspect of grammar. Afterwards, repeat in our mind what we have read.

• Do grammar exercises

Repetition is essential. After learning some new grammar, try to apply what we have learnt.

•  Be an explorer

Read and listen to texts in the foreign language and try to notice characteristics of grammar use. Then take our grammar book and look up the correspondent rules. After that, make up our own sentences applying the rules you have learnt.

• Write down phrases that contain and apply certain grammar rules

Study and repeat these phrases every day. Then make up your own.

•  Learn grammar from the simple one

When learning about grammar, we need to aware with the complexity of grammar itself, such as complexity of the form, the meaning, and concept. We should start learning grammar from the easier to the difficult one.

E.     Grammar Exercises

This is example of grammar exercise in the form of fill-in-the blanks (phrasal verbs):

1) Quick! _________ the bus. It's ready to leave. (get on)

2) I don't know where my book is. I have to _________ it. (look for)

3) It's dark inside. Can you _________ the light, please? (switch on)

4) _________ the form, please. (fill in)

F.     Technique in Teaching Grammar

Grammar is the cornerstone of any language, and without mastering grammar, students cannot master a language. Studying grammar is often boring and unappealing to students. These are some technique that teacher can apply in teaching grammar:

• Teaching with examples (discovery method)

Making connections between learning material and actual things that students relate to is always a good approach. Read texts that we think will interest the students, and then explain various grammar rules we find into in the text. Ask the students grammar related questions from the text, and let them discover and explain which grammar rule is applied where. The examples should always be correct and age-appropriate.

• Correcting errors

As teacher, we should always correct students when students are doing structured output activities that focus on development of language skills. On the other hand, with communicative activities, which focus on the content of their communication rather than the grammatical form, we should only correct them if their mistakes distort comprehension.

• Task-Based Grammar learning

An effective approach to teaching English grammar is by assigning communicative tasks to students and letting them figure out the grammar on their own. After the students are done with their task, ask them to explain and discuss how they went about completing it.

•  Keep the lessons interesting

Students will gain most from a class that is versatile and asks them to do a variety of different types of grammar work. The more they approach the language from different angles, the quicker they will learn.

Other techniques that we can apply in teaching grammar, such as The Grammar-Translation Method, transformational drill in The Audio-Lingual Method, and Desuggestopedia