Grammar and the English Class!

The most important thing as an English teacher is to realise grammar’s place in the grand scheme of things.

After studies on learning to teach grammar, not only will your own use of grammar be more advanced, but you will also be ready to take it to your own students. There are two main fields of thought regarding the use of grammar in the classroom. On one side we have strict grammarians; those who insist that poor English usage is ‘killing the language’ or who refer to those who use English with ‘mistakes’ as users of ‘bad’ or ‘poor’ English. This is in contrast with another group, applied linguists, who feel that all effective communication (even with mistakes) is still communication in its own right and therefore has a place in the ‘grand scheme of things’.

My view is somewhat more neutral. It is important to present grammar rules logically and practically for your students without bogging them down or demoralising them with language-related rules and regulations. Also, your ‘target grammar’ is somewhat dependent on the age-level of your students. For instance, children tend to acquire grammatical rules automatically through ‘use’ and ‘play’ whereas adults tend to need grammatical/logical ‘rules’ on which to ‘build’ their new language skills.

The other thing to keep in mind is that your future students, regardless of your personal views of use of grammar in the classroom, may ask you questions that need a stronger response than ‘It just sounds natural to me, that’s why I know it’s right’.

What is grammar?

In a nut-shell ‘grammar’ relates to ‘the rules for constructing words and sentences’.

Every language has a grammar and the study of grammar dates back thousands of years; the ancient Indians, Greeks and Romans, along with the medieval Chinese, and of course Arabs and Jews all did grammatical work in their favourite languages (For instance read about how the finding of the ancient ‘Rosetta stone’ unlocked the ability to read ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics). Just as sports, movies, and food all have associated subcategories, so too does grammar. The three main word classes (or parts of speech) are nouns, verbs, and adjectives. These can then be broken down further into other sub-categories.

In my experience second language students are often very familiar with English grammar – For instance, in countries such as South Korea and China the students are often taught ‘grammar-heavy’ English lessons (quite often to pass university entrance examinations) – at times I have observed second language students having a better understanding of grammar (the rules of constructing words and sentences) than a native speaking teacher…

The disadvantage for such ones is an ability to talk freely ‘about’ grammar coupled with a severe limitation in regard to simply communicating in other areas of English. If you decide to take your TESOL overseas in a EFL (English as a Foreign Language) setting you will be called on mainly to fill this void. Your job will most likely be to deliver communicative-based classes aimed at getting the students to ‘use’ the language and not simply to study its rules. The grammar teaching will be left up to the local teachers.

Do I Really Have to Teach Grammar?

Despite this trend, grammar-based lessons are still unavoidable; especially if you want to be an effective teacher. This is usually not a problem if you have prepared a lesson on a point of grammar prior to conducting your lesson (perhaps an overview of a grammar point prior to presenting a communicative-based language lesson). However, at times your students will ask grammar-related questions in order to understand something in your lesson and really put you on the spot. This calls for you to have on hand a number of resources for teaching grammatical points. At the beginning of your teaching career it may be best if you note down such questions and tell the students you will deliver a brief lesson on that point in the following lesson. As you get more experienced and comfortable with teaching/using grammar you will progress to the point that you have the ability to use these ‘magic moments’ to provide extremely valuable information to your students’ spontaneous requests with tips and examples that are tried and tested.

Use A Grammar Reference!

Another strongly recommended suggestion is to get very familiar with a ‘Grammar Text’ – Use it as your Grammar Bible! Preparing some brief explanations of common grammar points will help you to get familiar with the concepts.. often knowing them is also different to explaining and teaching them so becoming highly familiar with a text such as this will be of great benefit in the future as you will be able to readily access teaching points that you may not necessarily have been able to recite ‘of the top of your head’. NOTE! In addition to becoming masterful at finding your way around a grammar text, it is very important to get into the habit of filing any resources you make throughout your course and/or your teaching career… the time you spend now putting together little lessons like the ones you will produce in the QIE TESOL units is time saved in the future. You may use them for ever… (or you may even look back on them and see how far you have progressed 3 or 4 years on in your TESOL career!)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT – Auxiliary Verbs “Be,” “Do,” “Have”

An auxiliary verb helps the main (full) verb and is also called a “helping verb.” With auxiliary verbs, you can write sentences in different tenses, moods, or voices.

Auxiliary verbs are: be, do, have, will, shall, would, should, can, could, may, might, must, ought, etc.

1. I think I should study harder to master English.
2. I am having a cup of coffee.
3. You have been practicing hard.
4. It was written by a petitioner.
5. You may choose what you like.

The verb forms of be, do, and have can be used either as a main (full) verb or an auxiliary verb. The following examples show these verbs used as auxiliary verbs.

“Be” as an auxiliary verb

a. Used in progressive sentences

1. I am taking a bath.
2. She is preparing dinner for us.
3. They have been studying all night.

b. Used in passive sentences:

1. I was given a free meal.
2. He was seen by fans at the airport.
3. This song has been sung by all nations

“Do” as an auxiliary verb

a. Used in negative sentences:

1. I do not know the truth.
2. She doesn’t agree with me.
3. They didn’t arrive here yet.

b. Used in questions:

1. Do you want to have another one?
2. Did he finish his homework?
3. Do we need to keep going straight?

“Have” as an auxiliary verb

a. Used in perfect sentences:

1. I have been following you for a mile.
2. We have done a lot so far.
3. She had been queen of the town.

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1

Identify all auxiliary verbs in the following paragraph.

I have just heard that you didn’t attend the meeting yesterday. Did you have a conflict with that time? I must ask that you explain the reason.

Activity 2

Which of the following sentences does not show any auxiliary verbs?

1) I didn’t have any reason to go there.

2) Have we practiced this song enough?

3) Three seats have been reserved for us.

4) I am a professor in the economics department.

Activity 3

Here are some questions from some of my students that may make you think (or glaze over):

1. What is the difference between at and in?

E.g. What is the difference between someone being at the library, or in the library? Are they ever interchangeable?

2. Is there a difference between the use of unless and until? When do I use them?

3. What is the difference between affect and effect? Can you give me some examples?

4. What is the ‘tense’ we use to describe habitual actions?

5. Is there a difference between although, though, and despite? Can you give me an example?

6. How can I change the statement ‘I’m doing my homework.’ to reported speech?

Reference

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