THREE TECHNIQUES FOR “TEACHING” GRAMMAR

February 26, 2009

Kari Miller, Academic Coordinator DLIC-CEC-EPN

1. Use the Conversation Activities in the Book:

(Also check out the Fresh Ideas section at the back of your teacher’s book)

  • underline examples of the grammar
  • circle and explain reasoning (so that students are circling the grammar)
  • count the number of times you hear/see
  • predict

Pair the conversations with the grammar focus

  1. Do one of the activities above in order to get the students to notice the grammar.
  2. Have students work on the controlled grammar practice in the book.
  3. Have students compare their answers in pairs.
  4. Have students discuss why their answers are what they are. Only then have students check their answers against a rule or formula.

Note:Notice that in the above activity the teacher is presenting the grammar after the students have already tried to use it and understand it on their own.

2. Do a Dictogloss

Dictogloss is a classroom dictation activity in which the students hear a passage, take notes, and then work together to recreate the passage.Use the conversations provided in the book.

  1. Ask students to listen to the dialog. The first time they listen it may be for the general idea.
  2. Next, students listen to the conversation again and take notes on the most important ideas. [For lower levels, the teacher could take out the key words and have students listen for them, or put them in the order they hear them. Another variation would be for the students to look at the dialog and then take out a key word or two per line of dialog.]
  3. Finally, in pairs or small groups, the students try to reconstruct the dialog by themselves. As they do so, they will begin to notice the grammar they need in order to do the activity. This is the first step in noticing the gap, which refers to having the students realize what they know and what they don’t but need to in order to do a task.
  4. To check answers students can listen a third time, read the dialog, perform the dialog as a class, etc.
  5. The next step is for the teacher to take the students’ dialogs and their attempts at “using” the grammar and introduce the target language that will help the students express their ideas.

Variation: A similar type of activity can be done with pictures instead of with a listening text. In this activity, students will look at a picture and try to explain something that is happening. As they try to explain the picture, they will begin to notice types of grammar that they are missing. The teacher will later use these examples with the rest of the class in order to introduce the target language.

3. Personalize the grammar

Personalizing the grammar will make it much more meaningful and practical for the students. When the grammar is personalized, it means more and therefore students are more likely to remember it because they applied it to a situation in their personal lives.

  • Use student photos
  • Use students’ examples in class (from a Dictogloss activity, for example)
  • Use realia