Transcript Beyond Grammar Drills: Integrating Grammar with Other

Beyond Grammar Drills:
Integrating Grammar with
Other Language Skills, Part 1
Dr. Latricia Trites
Fulbright Yilan Project
Academic Advisor 2008-2009
Importance of Grammar
• Grammar gives students the structure with
which to communicate effectively in a
language.
• How should we teach grammar?
Inductively or deductively?
Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman Model
FORM
MEANING
How it is formed?
(Accuracy)
What does it mean?
(Meaningfulness)
USE
When/Why is it used?
(Appropriateness)
(Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman, 1999)
Communicative Competence
• Grammatical Competence: sounds,
words, rules
• Discourse Competence:
cohesion/coherence
• Sociolinguistic Competence: social
appropriateness
• Strategic Competence: when and how to
use, what to do when language fails
(Canale & Swain 1980)
Tips for Going Beyond the Drills
• Bring in AUTHENTIC texts that illustrate
the grammatical point being used.
• Create REALISTIC situations that would
create meaningful use of the grammatical
point.
Describe the Picture
Compare the Pictures
Picture 2
Picture 1
Common Lesson Suggestions
• Describe a picture – using adjectives,
comparatives/superlatives, adverbs, action verbs
• Summarize a story in their own words –
sequencing events, past tense
• Read horoscopes and then write their own – Future
tense
• Create shopping lists – quantifiers
• Answering an email, invitation, etc. – verb tenses
(conditionals)
• Interviews/Polls – comparatives/superlatives
• Time tables – present tense, past tense, future
tense
• 20 Questions – Yes/No Questions and answers
• Proverbs – student research for a particular tense
Take a Chance
• Taking a page from the textbook, think of
at least one way of extending the grammar
exercise to make it meaningful to the
students. Focus primarily on reading and
writing activities.
• Share with the group.
Next Time
• Bring your own textbook, we’ll brainstorm
for more ideas specifically focusing on
listening and speaking activities.
References
Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases
of communicative approaches to second
language teaching and testing. Applied
Linguistics, 1, 1-47.
Celce-Murcia, M., & Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999).
The grammar book: An ESL/EFL teacher’s
course (2nd ed.). USA: Heinle & Heinle.
Ur, P. (1988). Grammar practice activities: A
practical guide for teachers. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.