Teaching English grammar using modern technologies and methods

INTRODUCTION AND MAIN PART

Learning grammar consist of two main stages: learning the meaning and form of each new structure and putting it into practice. Grammar is “the way a language manipulates and combines words in order to form larger units of meaning” (Ur,1988,p141). Grammar is undeniably an essential compotent of effective communication (Vijayalakshmi, 2014). We know that in many schools the teaching of English grammar is carried out in the old ways, methods, theoretical rules. Unfortunately, these are all traditional, outdated, outdated methods. The following is a comprehensive explanation, offering new and easy, convenient methods and technologies. Once the learners can imagine how/when/where they themselves might use the grammar point. In this instance, it is more likely they will give it a try on their own. Innovative Techniques of Teaching English Grammar Teaching of grammar refers to methods, i.e. systematic ways of grammar teaching, that are used to help learners develop competence in an unfamiliar grammar. The methods are comprised of the description and analysis of particular forms and structures of a language. The teaching of grammar includes teacher talk (a type of language used by the teacher for instruction in the classroom), learning aids, and practices (Mesthrie at. el., 2009: 348). Furthermore, the teaching helps learners to be aware of specific and „correct‟ language properties (Ruin, 1996:99). Therefore, teaching of grammar can be defined as instructional techniques used to help learners pay attention to grammatical features. The following presents some innovative ideas that will help EFL teachers reinvent their grammar teaching methods and make their classes interesting. Vijayalakshmi (2014) suggests including songs and poems, music, games, and tasks in the teaching of grammar. Below you can get acquainted with new and innovative techniques of teaching and learning English grammar in secondary schools.

• 1 .Boardwork presentations . For a quick and easy presentation of new language, the board is the obvious resource to exploit. Start by building a context. For example, a traveller’s suitcase covered in stickers of places she’s been provides an easy-to-establish context for the present perfect for experiences. Make sure you include on your board: the affirmative, eg a sticker saying ‘Mexico’ elicits She’s been to Mexico; the negative, eg She hasn’t been to China; and question forms and short answers, egHas she been to Malaysia? Yes, she has / No she hasn’t. Underline or use a different colour to highlight the structure, ie has been, contractions I’ve / she’s / etc., and aspects of pronunciation, eg been = /bɪn/. See Unit 18.1 and Unit 29.7 for examples of boardwork presentations of the present continuous and present perfect continuous.

• 2 .Using the students and you, the teacher. A direct context for language can often be found in the lives and experiences of the people in the room. Personal contexts immediately show how applicable the grammar is, and can also be more memorable than stories of people from outside the students’ worlds. Throughout the book we suggest activities where students talk about themselves, their experiences, their lives, their opinions. We also suggest ways that you can use stories from your own life to present grammar, for example in Unit 24.1 we suggest that the teacher use photos of themselves when they were younger to introduce was/were. Student photos can also be a great resource. Most students

• 3 .Using realia. Bringing objects into the classroom or using the objects you find in the classroom can help bring a grammar point to life and create a physical memory hook. Realia can be used to create a context for the target language. In Unit 7.1, for example, we suggest using such things as a bag of rice, a glass of water, a balloon and a tea bag to introduce the concept of countable and uncountable nouns. It can also provide further practice. In Unit 4.6, for example, objects that the students have brought to class provide a talking point to present and practise possessive structures.

• 4 .Dialogue . This collaborative technique involves setting a scene and, with the students’ help, writing a dialogue on the board including the language you want to focus on. In Unit 10.6, the teacher provides a framework for a dialogue between waiters and customers in a restaurant. This is a familiar situation in which the indefinite pronouns something, anything and nothing occur naturally. Students then either practise the dialogue in pairs as it is or with variations (eg different choices of food and drink, a different type of restaurant). A great way to push students towards memorising the language is to gradually erase the text, word by word, until the students are repeating the dialogue from memory.

• 5 .Dictation .With grammar points where the written form is already familiar to the students, but where meaning needs to be explored in more depth, a quick and effective means of introducing the language is to dictate model sentences to the class. Dictation immediately gets students working with the language and tests listening skills and spelling, as well as grammatical knowledge. It also promotes conversation management skills, such as asking to clarify and repeat: Sorry, could you say that again, please? In Unit 9.4 the teacher dictates sentences containing verbs used with and without reflexive pronouns to start exploring the differences in

• 6 .Dictogloss . In a dictogloss, the teacher has a text prepared to dictate to the class, but instead of dictating it slowly to ensure students write a faithful copy, they read it at a more natural speed two or more times. Prepare a text of no more than 100 words (fewer for lower-level students). Read it out first for content, and check comprehension. Then tell students to write down keywords, such as nouns and verbs, as you read it out again. Explain that even though they will not be able to write every word, they should keep writing as much as possible. Using their notes, students in pairs or small groups reconstruct the text in complete sentences. The idea is not to reproduce the text verbatim, but to focus in on certain aspects of the language used. For example, Unit 30.6 is a dictogloss activity focusing on the use of would to talk about past habits. Others can be found in Units 14.3, 34.2 and 42.7.

• 7 .Drilling. To help students pronounce new language correctly, get them to say it repeatedly so you can check for accuracy. By experiencing the movement of the mouth as they say it, students reinforce their learning in a different way from when they write it down and see it. Simple drilling can be either choral, all students repeat the structure at the same time, or individual. A suggested order is to let students practise chorally first, but to insist on individual repetition so that you can check everyone is pronouncing it correctly. There are ways to vary drilling so that it doesn’t get repetitive. Substitution drilling involves the teacher prompting students to substitute words for other words in a drilled sentence, for example:

will have photos on their mobile phones that they can share with each other to support any number of practice activities.

meaning and use. Unit 33.3 involves another basic dictation to teach the meaning of reporting verbs.

See a simple substitution being used in Unit 9.1. Drilling can be disguised as a game, as in the circular drill in Unit 48.2, where students inadvertently ‘drill’ each other. And although the board game in Unit 43.4 is not recognisably drilling, students need to repeat the second conditional over and over in order to win the game.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, English grammar has been taught through chalk and board method. It has to be taught in innovative and creative way that it will help students not just to speak and write and listen but to communicate through various engaging activities that emphasize form-meaning, mappings for day-today communication. That is the purpose of the teaching of English grammar and that is what it must be used for. Innovative methods, therefore, help in bringing a change and most of the times for the better. It helps the students learn faster and in an efficient, interesting and an interactive manner and it is the teacher’s responsibility to leave the traditional methods and make way for new and better methods for the students benefit. Using innovative methodologies in teaching English grammar in the classroom will pave a positive way to students to learn the language meaningfully.