Grammar

To young second language learners, grammar learning is only meaningful and purposeful if it is used in play or in effective communication, rather than for the mastery of individual language forms. Children have an amazing ability to absorb language through play. Teachers should note that grammar learning is not a simple linear process, i.e. the mastery of one form after another, nor does memorization of rules guarantee effective communication. Grammar learning depends on meeting the same form again and again in different contexts, so that an ever-fuller understanding of when and how a form is used develops. Teachers may also provide support by pointing out the grammar rules to the learners explicitly at appropriate stages of learning.

Ample opportunities should be given to learners to have fun with English, to become familiar with the language form and to use it in a purposeful and meaningful way, so that links between form, meaning and use can be forged.

Learning and Teaching Grammar in Context

• The task-based approach to learning and teaching English provides suitable contexts in which grammar can be shown as a means to convey meaning or achieve an outcome, rather than taught as a set of items and rules. Tasks not only provide an appropriate and meaningful context for learners to become aware of when, why and how target grammar items and structures are used for communication, but they also provide a purpose for learners to put grammar to use for communication. In task-based learning, grammar can be learnt and taught at different stages of the task cycle. Teachers can draw learners’ attention to target grammar items and structures in some way when preparing them to carry out a task, and later they can design exercises and activities, including games, which enable learners to practise and use them.

• In the process of doing a cluster of well-planned tasks and exercises, learners can be exposed to both authentic and non-authentic texts.

Through these, they can explore the form, meaning and use of target

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grammar items and structures, internalize them through practice, and apply them in suitable communicative contexts. Below are some suggestions for the learning and teaching of grammar at different stages of a task:

− In the pre-task stage, the teacher selects the target grammar items and structures that learners may need in order to do the task. For example, in conducting a class survey on the classmates’ likes and dislikes for food, learners may need to make use of the question form “Do you like ... ?” to ask about their classmates’ preferences.

They may also need to use some nouns or noun phrases to refer to food items. The teacher can play a guessing game with the class to practise the use of the question form and food items before they carry out the class survey. The teacher prepares a set of silhouettes of food items and invites learners to guess what they are. In this way, the class practises the use of the question form and food items before they carry out the class survey.

− In the while-task stage, grammar exercises or activities can be provided to facilitate work on the task if learners are experiencing difficulties in using the language. For example, in the process of taking telephone messages, if learners are not able to ask short questions about the name of the caller, his or her phone number, and the message itself, communication may break down.

Exercises or activities may be needed to help learners revise or practise the different question forms, before learners can carry out the task.

− In the post-task stage, the teacher should cover those grammar items and structures which learners were having difficulty with during the task. For example, when writing a report on the things that happened on a particular sports day, the learners may show that they are having problems with the use of the past tense to describe past events. If so, the teacher can play a matching game to help them revise the form and spelling of past tense verbs. In the matching game, learners are given two sets of cards and they identify those verbs that can be used with adverbs of time like

“yesterday” and “two days ago”.

• Reading texts can serve to introduce the context of a task, and they can also serve to show how grammar items and structures are used to

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convey meaning. Texts with repeated structures can facilitate the learning and teaching of grammar in the primary English classroom by exemplifying how the same structure can be used in different sentences. Through shared reading, the teacher can draw the learners’ attention to the use of specific grammar items and structures in context. After repeated reading and re-reading of the same text over a period of several days, learners will internalize the target grammar items and structures without too much conscious effort.

Then teachers can design appropriate follow-up activities or tasks to help learners use the grammar items and structures for communication in a new context. It is a good idea to engage learners in games, which provide them with the opportunities to play with language and explore it in a meaningful, fun-filled context.

• The learning and teaching of grammar is also effective in the context of improving writing skills. For example, learners are usually asked to go through stages of drafting, revising and then editing their work in process writing. The teacher can help learners improve their writing by guiding them to draw upon their knowledge of grammar when revising and editing. It helps when the teacher sets a limited and specific focus in the process of editing and redrafting. Learners may be asked to focus on subject-verb agreement when they edit their first draft, and focus on the use of tenses and punctuation when they edit their second draft. Learners may also be provided with an opportunity to apply the same skills when editing their peer’s written work.

The Teaching of Grammar Rules and Terms

• The modes of grammar learning and teaching suggested above might lead teachers to question whether the teaching of grammar rules and terms is being given due attention. Teachers need to understand that young children’s ability to use a foreign language does not depend on the number of grammar rules that they can explain or terms that they can use. Very often, children can use the grammar effectively and accurately to convey messages, but they are not yet ready to articulate

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second language can develop intuitive understanding of grammar rules and be able to put them to use in communication, without being able to explain how they do it.

• Grammar rules are abstract concepts and different models of grammar exist. There are controversies about which type of grammar is most appropriate for pedagogical purposes. Understanding language conceptually as sets of grammar rules put to use in communication requires a sophisticated analytical ability. The introduction of grammar terms should be kept to a minimum at the primary level, especially in teaching young learners in Key Stage 1, as they do not need to develop a command of the use of grammar terms at this stage of learning. Asking them to use analytical skills that are more appropriate to later stages of cognitive development may be counter-productive and could demotivate children.

• Teachers should be aware that although explanation of grammar rules is sometimes necessary, it may only help learners use English to a limited extent. Learners differ in learning styles and strategies.

Some of them may not benefit from a deductive approach. In other words, some do not learn very effectively when the teacher just explains the rules and meaning to them. They need to listen to, read and use the language to master the grammar rules. Teachers should not introduce grammar through a heavy concentration on decontextualized and mechanical drills. Formal explanation and memorization of rules are not always useful in helping learners internalize the forms. While the notion that learning about grammar is less useful and sometimes unpleasant for young second language learners is true in general, this does not preclude all learning and teaching of grammar in an explicit and deliberate way in primary schools. According to the age of the learners and their cognitive development, teachers may decide to introduce a small number of useful and not overly complex grammar rules and terms to help them develop a conscious understanding of the language forms they are using. It is important from time to time that learners are given an opportunity to discover language patterns and rules for themselves.

• Learners can be exposed to the use of different aspects of grammar through careful planning by their English teachers. For example, through strategic selection of text types, the learners can be gradually

exposed to the nine structural patterns included in Section 2.2.2. This may help learners construct sentences by analogy and edit their own writing to refine the expression of meaning.

• Although mastery of the use of the linguistic system is a basic requirement for using the language to communicate one’s meaning effectively, teachers are advised to give equal emphasis to the development of fluency in their learners. Too much emphasis on accuracy will intimidate the learners, since they will always be frightened of making mistakes and this will discourage them from taking risks and exploring what they can do with the language.