UNIT 1. WHAT IS GRAMMAR? - May I see your tickets?  Making comparisons Etc.

- Would you mind if I had to look at your Spoken vs. Written Grammar
Texts, Sentences, Words, Sounds
tickets? A: Great sausages, these, aren’t they?
Problems of learning a second language
B: Yes. The ingredients are guaranteed free of
- How the ability to recognize and produce well- Grammar and Function
additives and artificial coloring.
formed sentences is best developed. Father: Do you drink?
A: Had to laugh, though. The bloke that makes
- It is not entirely clear what well-formed really Young man: No, thanks. I am cool
them, he was telling me, he doesn’t eat them
means. Father: I am not offering. I am asking if you
himself. Want a ciggie?
- There is an exclusive focus on sentences. drink. Do you think I’d offer alcohol to teenage
B: No, thanks. Patrons are requested to refrain
drivers taking my daughter out?
Grammar and Meaning from smoking while other guests are dining.
- When we process language, we are not only
- Aside from the fact that grammar studies what Vocabulary choices:
trying to make sense of the words and the
forms are possible, grammar also A – great, bloke, a ciggie
grammar; we are also trying to infer the
communicates meaning. B – grateful, requested, refrain
speaker’s/writer’s intention (the function of
- When there is a lack of context, this is where Grammar:
what they are saying).
grammar comes in. A – I is omitted, question tags, two subjects in a
- Some easily identifiable form-function matches:
- Two Kinds of Meaning: sentence
 Would you like (invitation or offer)
1. Representational - reflects the way we perceive B – passive structures, subordinate clauses
 If only I hadn’t (regret)
the world [e.g., things happen in the world,
 If you do that, you’ll be in trouble.
and these events or processes are conveyed by Grammar Syllabuses
(warning)
(or encoded) in verbs] Two sets of decisions:
 If you lie down, you’ll feel better. (advice)
The sun set. (verb) 1. Selection – what is to be included?
 If it rains, we’ll take a taxi. (plan)
The children are playing. (subject) (Usefulness, frequency)
 If you pass your driving test, I’ll buy you a
The dog chased the cat. (object) 2. Grading – what order are the selected items
car. (promise)
These events also take place in particular to be dealt with?
 If you do that, you’ll be in trouble.
circumstances and are encoded in adverbials. Criteria for grading the syllabus:
(warning)
The sun sets at seven-thirty. 1. Complexity
 If you lie down, you’ll feel better. (advice)
The children are playing in the garden. 2. Learnability
 If it rains, we’ll take a taxi. (plan) 3. Teachability
The dog chased the cat playfully.
 If you pass your driving test, I’ll buy you a
2. Interpersonal - reflected in the way we use
car. (promise) Grammar Rules
grammar to ease the task of getting things
- Functional Labels: Rule:
done.
 Inviting - A principle or order which guides behavior, says
- Tickets!
 Making plans how things are to be done, etc.
- Tickets, please.
- Can you show me your tickets?  Requesting - The usual way that something happens
 Prescriptive rule (traditional) 2. Rules of use (e.g., the simple past tense is -
- Prescription to what is to be said or written used to indicate past actions or states) 4. Spoken vs written grammar
- Do not use different to nor different than, but -
different from Conclusion 5. Grammatical assessment
- Never use the passive when you can use Athe description of the rules for forming sentences, including an -
active account of the meanings that these forms convey 6. Pedagogical Issues
- Use shall for the first person, and will Grammar for adds meanings that are not easily inferable from the -
second and third persons immediate context
Descriptive rule (ESL and EFL teaching) Representational grammar enables us to use language to UNIT II. GRAMMAR AND COMMUNICATIVE
- Concerned with descriptive describe the world in terms of how, when, and where things
rules, COMPETENCE
generalizations about what speakers of happen the
1. Functional Grammar
language do or say, rather than with what theyInterpersonal grammar facilitates the way we interact with
should do. people, like when we need to get things done using language
2. Descriptive Grammar
- You do not normally use the with proper nouns There is no one-to-one match between grammatical form and
referring to people communicative function
- We use used to with the infinitive say Contextual
that information plays a key role in our interpretation of 3. Prescriptive Grammar
something regularly happened in the past what but a speaker means
no longer happens. While traditional grammar is based on the written form of the 4. Pedagogic Grammar
- Use some in affirmative sentences, use any language,
in spoken language has its own distinctive grammar
questions and negative statements Ways that grammar can be organized into a teaching syllabus
- Any can mean ‘it doesn’t matter which’; any according
is to such criteria as complexity, learnability, and UNIT III. WHY TEACH GRAMMAR?
common in affirmative sentences teachability  Attitudes to Grammar
- Some is specific though unspecified; any Waysis that grammar rules can be formulated, according to - “No man can run speedily to the mark of
non-specific whether they are prescriptive, descriptive, or pedagogic, and language that is shackled… with grammar
Pedagogic rule: whether they focus on form or use. precepts. By exercise of reading, writing,
- Rules that make sense to learners while at the and speaking… all things belonging to
same time providing them with the means and Key Terms and Concepts in Managing and Grammar, will without labor, and whether
confidence to generate language with a Implementing Standards-based Grammar we will or no, thrust themselves upon us.” -
reasonable chance of success. Teaching Joseph Webbe (schoolmaster and textbook
- Teachers must cater to the learners’ needs 1. Grammaring writer), 1622
rather than those of the grammarian. - - ‘There is no doubt that a knowledge –
1. Rules of form (e.g., add –ed to form the past 2. Grammaticalizing implicit or explicit – of grammatical rules is
of regular verbs) - essential for the mastery of a language.’
3. Error correction vs feedback
 (Penny Ur, a teacher trainer, and author of - Grammar allows for greater subtlety of able to notice certain grammatical items
Grammar Practice Activities) meaning (e.g., the use of please, may I, from his classes.
- ‘The effects of grammar teaching… appear etc.) 5. The discrete item argument
to be peripheral and fragile.’ (Stephen “I want you to take me up the North - Discrete item – any unit of the grammar
Krashen, and influential, if controversial, Mountain! Please…” system that is sufficiently narrowly defined
applied linguist) “Me Tarzan, you Jane.” to form the focus of a lesson or an exercise
- ‘A sound knowledge of grammar is essential - Though this may be possible, there are (e.g., present continuous, definite article,
if pupils are going to use English creatively.’ times when it fails to deliver, both in terms possessive pronouns; but not verbs and
(Tom Hutchinson, a coursebook writer) of intelligibility and in terms of appropriacy. sentences since they allow for further sub-
- ‘Grammar is not very important. Most  Last Monday night, I was boring in my categories)
languages have a very complex grammar house. - Because grammar consists of an apparently
and consequently it is not very important to  After speaking a lot time with him I finite set of rules, it can help to reduce the
understand it.’ (From the publicity of a thought that him attracted me. apparent enormity of the language learning
London language school)  We took a wrong plane and when I saw task for both teachers and students.
- Grammar is not the basis of language it was very later because the plane took 6. The rule-of-law argument
acquisition, and balance of linguistic up. - It follows from the discrete item argument
research clearly invalidates any view to the  Five years ago I would want to go to that, since grammar is a system of
contrary.’ (Michael Lewis, a popular writer India but in that time anybody of my learnable rules, it lends itself to a view of
on teaching methods) friends didn’t want to go. teaching and learning known as
- The teaching of grammar serves as a transmission.
 The Case for Grammar corrective against the kind of ambiguity 7. The learner expectations argument (1)
1. The sentence-machine argument presented in these examples. - Learners’ expectations that teaching will be
- Item-learning – memorization of individual 3. The fossilization argument grammar-focused may stem from
items such as words and phrases (e.g., Can - Learners who receive no instruction seem to frustration experienced at trying to pick up
I…) be at risk of fossilizing sooner than those a second language in a non-classroom
- There is a limit to the number of items a who do receive instruction (may be self- setting.
person can both retain and retrieve. Thus, it directed)  The Case against Grammar
would be helpful to learn some patterns or 4. The advance organizer argument 1. The knowledge-how argument
rules for us to generate new sentences. - Grammar instruction may also have a - the analogy of riding a bike
- Grammar is a kind of ‘sentence-making delayed effect as in the case of Richard - experiential learning (learning-by-doing)
machine’ and teaching grammar offers the Schmidt who enrolled formal language 2. The communication argument
learners the means for potentially limitless classes of Portuguese. When he “Do you drink?”
linguistic creativity. communicated with the Brazilians, he was  a question
2. The fine-tuning argument  an offer
 - Communicative Approach or Communicative - The natural order argument insists that a - the age of the learners
Language Teaching (CLT) textbook grammar is not, nor can ever - their level
- believes that grammar language (linguistic become, a mental grammar - the size of the group
competence) is merely a component of - Unpacking of lexical chunks results to - the constitution of the group
communicative competence (involves emergence of new combinations (mono/multilingual)
knowledge on the use of grammar, - Word-to-chunk learning vs. learning of - what their needs are
- the learners’ interests
vocabulary, as well as how to use it socially sentence grammar (e.g., learning fixed
- the available materials and resources
to achieve communicative goals) expressions in contrast to learning abstract
- the learners’ previous learning experience
- shallow-end-approach: you learn a grammatical categories such as past perfect and hence present expectations
language to use it; learn the rules and then or conditionals) - any cultural factors that might affect
apply them in life-like communication 5. The learner expectations argument (2) attitudes
- deep-end-approach: you learn to - Some learners are urgently in need of a - the educational context
communicate by communicating; grammar chance to put their linguistic knowledge to - according to research, children are more
will be acquired virtually unconsciously; work inclined to implicit learning, while adults
studying the rules of grammar is a waste of - Teachers need to make a compromise may do better at activities that involve
time  Grammar and Methods analysis and memorization
3. The acquisition argument - Grammar-Translation Method
UNIT IV. APPROACHES TO GRAMMAR
- Krashen’s acquisition vs. learning - Direct Method
TEACHING
- learning results from formal instruction - Audiolingualism
- acquisition is a natural process; a process - Natural Approach Modes for Teaching GRAMMAR
by which the first language and second - Communicative Language Teaching
1. Linguistic mode
languages are picked up solely through - Task-Based Learning
contact with speakers of those languages  Basic Principles for Grammar Teaching 2. Story-telling mode
4. The natural order argument 1. The E-factor: Efficiency = economy, ease,
- Krashen’s acquisition/learning hypothesis: and efficacy
there is a natural order of acquisition of  Economy – the shorter, the better; the
grammatical items irrespective of the order more the instructor piles on instruction, the
in which they are taught more confused the trainee is likely to
- Noam Chomsky’s universal grammar: become.
humans are “hard-wired” to learn  Ease – the easier the activity to set up, the
languages; there are universal principles of better
grammar that we are born with; helps  Efficacy – Will it work? (Attention,
explain the similarities in the in the understanding, memory, motivation)
developmental order in L1 as well as L2 2. The A-Factor: Appropriacy
 GRAMMAR AND METHODS
APPROACH PROPONENT/S WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT? STRATEGY STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

1. AUDIO-LINGUAL Historical  The audio-lingual method (ALM) was 1. The teacher orally  Controlled drills  Students who
METHOD Approaches developed during World War II in presents a phrase to the may encourage need the written
reaction to approaches that did not students. shy students to word to reinforce
adequately develop speaking skills. 2. Stu dents are then asked speak. their speaking
 ALM was strongly influenced by ideas to repeat the phrase  Because ALM and listening
from behavioral psychology that led quickly. lessons and drills may find “pure”
to the belief that language was a 3. If a student pronounces tend to go very ALM very con
system of habits that could be the phrase correctly and quickly, they fusing.
taught by reinforcing correct grammatically, the student may help create  ALM frequently
responses and punishing is praised. Students who a sense of uses
incorrect responses. do not say it correctly are fluency for some nonauthentic
 In an ALM lesson, students are asked asked to repeat until they students. language. Some
to correctly repeat the word or can say it correctly. students may be
phrase that the teacher has said. 4. The teacher modifies the unable to make
 Students are praised for correctly phrase by changing a word the transition
mimicking the teacher or are asked in the phrase. from controlled
to repeat the phrase until it is 5. Students continue with drills to more
correct. drills in which they try to open-ended and
 Although aspects of this method, say the phrase quickly and creative
such as drills in the beginning stages accurately with various language use.
of language learning, continue to be modifications.
used, most language educators now
realize that language is more
complex than mere mimicking.
2. DIRECT METHOD Francois Gouin  His premise was that it was best to  This method often  This is a quick  Some students
(1880s) – he learn another language by listening develops around a set of way for students may be
developed this to it and speaking to it just as pictures that portrays life in to learn basic overwhelmed
method in Europe. children do instead of learning a set the country of the target conversation without access to
of grammar rules and vocabulary language. skills. their first
Charles Berlitz – lists.  From the beginning,  This teaching language.
he popularized this  The goal of this method is to teach students are taught, and method is helpful  Higher-order
method in United students, usually adults, how to must respond, in the target to teachers who discourse is not
States and called it converse in everyday situations language. do not know likely to be
Berlitz Method. in another language.  Be ides pictures, realia and their students’ learned through
 From this idea developed the direct simple actions are used to first language this method.
 method as an antithesis to the get across meaning. (L1).  Not appropriate
grammar-translation approach.  Lessons often focus on for learning
 A couple of decades later, the direct question-and-answer academic literacy
method was popularized in the dialogues. skills.
United States by Charles Berlitz (who  Correct pronunciation is
called it the Berlitz Method) and used also emphasized, but
it in his commercial Berlitz language correct structure is not.
schools.  Students may also read
 Other aspects of the direct method passages for information
include classroom instruction about the target culture.
exclusively in the target language,  Teachers may ask
only everyday language is taught, questions about the
and grammar being learned reading to check
inductively. comprehension, but it is
 Although this method’s initial never translated.
insistence on using only the second
language (L2) in the classroom as
well as its lack of activities to develop
reading and writing prevented it from
being accepted in public education, it
has, with modifications, influenced
some contemporary approaches such
as communicative language teaching,
the natural approach, and total
physical response.
3. GRAMMAR-BASED  Grammar-based approaches to 1. The teacher presents the • Students who • If grammar isn’t
APPROACHES language learning have been used grammatical structure or are analytical taught as part of a
since ancient times. The most well- rule. learners may whole, students may
known of historical grammar-based 2. Students practice of the need to know find that they know
approaches is the grammar- structure. the grammar to the grammar rules
translation method in which 3. Students use the structure make sense of but not how to use
students are presented a text and in a holistic, authentic a language. the language. It
are asked to translate the text word manner (in contemporary • Stu dents who must be emphasized
for word. grammar-based have learned to students that
 While translating, students’ attention approaches). other grammar is a tool to
is brought to the appropriate languages help learn a
grammar points to be taught. through language, not a
 Although the grammar-translation grammar-based means to an end.
method has fallen out of favor mainly approaches • Students may
because of its inability to foster may find it focus so much on
 communicative ability, other types of easier to learn grammar that they
grammar-based approaches are still through this don’t learn the other
in common use. approach. aspects of language.
 What most contemporary uses of • Students, • Students who are
grammar-based teaching have in especially older more holistic
common is the use of grammatical ones, may need learners may find
structures to guide the syllabus or to know some grammar lessons
lesson. grammar to re boring or even
 Unlike earlier grammar-based produce the confusing.
approaches, more contemporary language
approaches, while presenting and correctly.
using grammar points as a guiding
force, enlarge on the grammar point
to make the syllabus or lesson more
communicative and authentic.
4. COMMUNITY Solo Approaches Charles Curran  Curran believed that students were 1. Students sit in a small  CLL’s • CCL requires a
LANGUAGE (Counseling- often inhibited in learning a second circle. humanistic number of condi
LEARNING Learning in Second language. 2. The teacher stands behind approach, tions that may make
Languages, 1976)  In his method, teachers are viewed a student. which views it dif fi cult to use in
more as counselors and are expected 3. The student makes a students and many sit u a tions.
to facilitate language learning as op statement or poses a teachers as a To
posed to teaching it. question in his or her own community, be most ef fec tive,
 He believed that creating a language. and thus the it re quires teach ers
humanistic learning community 4. The teacher translates the teacher as who are spe cif i
would lower students’ defenses and statement or question into more cally trained in this
encourage open communication, thus the language being facilitator method and also,
allowing students to comprehend and learned. than teacher, ide ally, trained in
absorb language more efficiently. 5. The student repeats what fits in nicely coun sel ing
 This approach is an example of an the teacher said. with current techniques.
affective approach. Affective 6. The new phrase is trends in • CLL re quires bi lin
approaches attempt to make recorded on a tape education. gual teach ers and
students more emotionally recorder. small, ho mo ge
comfortable within the classroom in 7. The procedure is repeated neous classes.
the belief that if students are relaxed with other students until a
and open, they will be able to short conversation is
perform better. recorded.
8. Students take a tape home
or copy written
conversation from the
board to study at home.
 9. Direct instruction of
grammar or vocabulary
may take place from
conversation.
5. SILENT WAY Caleb Gattegno It is grounded in the be lief that stu 1. The teacher in tro duces a • Stu dents are in an • Some stu dents
(1960s) dents should learn in de pend ently of dis crete sound or struc ture by en vi ron ment that may need more
the teacher. Gattengno pro posed that point ing at Si lent Way charts en cour ages in de teacher in put than
stu dents would learn better if they de - or by us ing pend ence. what is pro vided
vel oped per sonal re spon si bil ity for Cuisinare rods to dem on through this method.
their own learn ing. Thus, for much of strate a struc ture or gram mar • Lan guage is not
the les son, the teacher re mains si lent. point. learned as a whole
Teach ing is viewed as sub or di nate to 2. Stu dents then fig ure out nor is it au then tic.
learn ing. Stu dents are en cour aged to what they are learn ing and re • Teach ers must
work with one an other to fig ure out pro duce the sound or struc have ac cess to ma
mean ing. Stu dents are in tro duced to ture. te ri als and to the
new ma te rial once through the use of 3. Be tween ac tiv i ties or ses sys tem.
Cuisinare rods (small col ored rods of sions, stu dents may ask ques
vary ing lengths) and a se ries of wall tions of the teacher.
charts. Af ter the teacher in tro duces 4. The teacher then in tro
the ma te - rial, it is up to the stu dents duces an other dis crete sound
to de ter mine what they need to learn or struc ture in the same man
and in de pend ently work to ward their ner.
ac a - demic goals. Cer tain as pects of 5. Stu dents again fig ure out
this ap proach, such as the use of the mean ing and re pro duce
Cuisinare rods and de vel op ing stu dent the sound or struc ture.
in de pend ence, con tinue to be used. 6. As time goes on, stu dents
How ever, this ap proach alone is rarely are ide ally able to com bine
used be cause it is not prac ti cal within dis crete sounds and struc
the class room, and students need and tures to cre ate
desire more teacher input. lon ger strings of lan guage.
6. SUGGESTOPEDIA George Lozanov Lozanov con - tended that stu dents 1. Stu dents sit in com fort • Some of the re lax • The method re
(1970s) have dif fi culty learn ing an other lan able arm chairs in a semi cir ation meth ods, in quires a class in
guage be cause of psy cho log i cal bar ri cle to cre ate a re laxed at mo clud ing back ground which all the stu
ers. He be - lieved it is nec es sary to sphere. mu sic, may be help dents share the
reach the stu dents’ un con scious for 2. The teacher reads or speaks ful to stu dents. same first lan guage.
the new lan guage to be suc cess fully ab a new text in har mony with • It does not ad
sorbed. If these bar ri ers are re moved, the mu sic. dress speak ing and
then stu dents would be suc cess ful. To 3. Stu dents read the text that writ ing.
re move such bar ri ers, Lozanov sug - has been trans lated into the • It is not com mu ni
gested drama, art, phys i cal ex er cise, tar get lan guage at the same ca tive or cre ative.
 psy cho ther apy, and yoga. He also en time as the • The ma jor ity of
cour aged stu dents to choose new teacher says it in the na tive lan guage ac qui si
names and iden ti ties. He es pe cially be lan guage. tion re search ers
lieved that play ing mu sic in the back 4. There is a pe riod of si feel that
ground dur ing a class, par tic u larly Ba lence. Suggestopedia does
roque mu sic, cre ated a re laxed state of 5. Next, the teacher re peats not work.
mind in the stu dents leading to the the text while the stu dents lis • Few class rooms
ability to absorb large quantities of ten but do not look at the text. have com fort able
information. 6. At the end, stu dents si arm chairs.
lently leave the class room. • Some stu dents
7. Stu dents are told to read may be both ered in
the text quickly once be fore stead of re laxed by
go ing to bed and once af ter back ground mu sic.
get ting up in
the morn ing.
7. COMMUNICATIVE Communicative Com mu ni ca tive lan guage teach ing Be cause CLT is such a broad • Be cause the orig i • A ca veat to this ap
LANGUAGE Approaches (CLT) was de vel oped in the 1960s from ori en ta tion, it is dif fi cult to nal im pe tus for this proach is that some
LEARNING the re search and writ - ings of ap plied give spe cific strat e gies. How ori en ta tion was in prac ti tio ners may
lin guists in both Eu rope and North ever, the broad re ac tion to gram see com mu ni ca
Amer ica who em pha sized that lan guide lines are as fol lows: mar-based and au tion as only oral/au
guage equaled com - mu ni ca tion 1. De ter mine the com mu ni diolin gual ap ral skills and may
(Canale & Swain, 1980; Savignon, 1983; ca tive goals of the stu dents. proaches, the not put enough em
van Ek, 1975). In Eu rope, this ap proach 2. Cre ate sit u a tions and ac strength of CLT is pha sis on the read
led ini tially to the in sti tu tion of the no tiv i ties in which stu dents pro that it cre ates a ing and writ ing skills
tional-func tional ap proach. In CLT, the duce au then tic, mean ing ful, learn ing en vi ron that some stu dents
goal of lan guage teach ing should not and ment that closely rep may need. An other
be trans lat ing and learn ing a set of contextualized com mu ni ca li cates how stu ca veat is that in an
rules but should be based on the goal of tion. dents will use lan at tempt to pro duce
com mu ni ca tive com pe tence. Com 3. Fo cus on ac cu racy only in guage in real-life sit com mu ni ca tive
mu ni ca tive com pe tence is most fre as much as er rors that would u a tions. That is, skills quickly, ac - cu
quently de fined as the abil ity to cre ate im pede com mu ni ca tion are stu dents par tic i racy may be over
mean ing when in ter act ing with oth ers cor rected. pate in real, au then looked or given lit tle
in the tar get lan guage. Thus, the fo cus tic, and in ter ac tive at ten tion. Whether
in CLT is on com mu ni ca tion in au then language use in the stu dents will ob tain
tic sit u a tions. Since the 1970s, this ap classroom. that ac cu racy in
proach has been ex panded on and has time on their own
come to play a central role in most con tin ues to be an
contemporary language teaching area of discussion in
situations. the ESOL field.
8. COOPERATIVE An in ter ac tive ap proach re fers to lan 1. To im ple ment co op er a • When stu dents • For group work to
LANGUAGE guage learn ing that is au then tic and tive learn ing, the teacher are in ter act ing in be suc cess ful, it
LEARNING gen u ine and takes place be - tween must de cide whether co op er groups, they are re must be care fully
two or more peo ple, and co op er a tive a tive ac tiv i ties will help quired to use au planned. A weak
learn ing is the most fre quent ap pli ca meet the goals of the class. then tic and fairly flu ness in this method
tion of this ap proach. The goal of an in 2. The teacher de cides how to ent com mu ni ca is that some teach
ter ac tive ap proach such as co op er a put the groups to gether. tions skills, which ers may just put stu
tive learn ing is to cre ate mean ing ful 3. Once the teacher has de pre pare them for dents in groups with
learn ing ex pe ri ences that will help stu cided on the co op er a tive ac the ac tual com mu out plan ning and
dents de velop gen u ine flu ency in an tiv ity, he or she ex plains to ni ca tion skills they find that the groups
other lan guage. Co op er a tive learn ing the group mem - bers what will need in real life. are not par tic u larly
con sists of groups of stu dents work ing they will do. suc cess ful. Some
to gether in a co op er a tive, as op 4. Stu dents be gin, and the stu dents may re sist
posed to com pet i tive, man ner to com teacher checks with the groups co op er a tive work
plete a task, an ac tiv ity, or a pro ject. to make sure that they un der if they do not un -
While work ing to gether, the stu dents stand what they are sup posed der stand the
have mean ing ful in ter ac tion with one to be do ing. purpose.
an other in the tar get lan guage. Both 5. When the group is fin ished
co op er a tive and col lab o ra tive learn with its ac tiv ity, which may
ing re fer to stu dents work ing to - take sev eral min utes to sev
gether in a group to ward a goal, but col eral weeks de pend ing on the
lab o ra tive group ings may also re fer ac tiv ity, there should, in most
to teach ers and stu dents, parents and cases, be a fi nal prod uct or
students, students and the community, dis cus sion.
or the school and the family
collaborating.
9. EXPERIENTIAL John Dewey Ex pe ri en tial lan guage teach ing (ELT) ELT’s main strat egy is to have • Stu dents are in • Ex pe ri en tial ac
LANGUAGE ini tially grew out of ed u ca tional and stu dents be in volved in do volved in ac tu ally tiv i ties must be
TEACHING psy cho log i cal the o ries pro pos ing ing. An ex pe ri en tial lan us ing the lan guage care fully thought
that a sub ject is learned best if stu guage les son can be in au then tic sit u a out with their goals
dents are in volved in con crete, hands- con ducted in mul ti ple ways, tions. and ped a gog i cal
on ex pe ri ences with the sub ject. The and a num ber of dif fer ent ac pur - poses kept in
Amer i can ed u ca tor John Dewey was tiv i ties can be in cluded un mind or ex pe ri en
one ad vo cate of the method. The be der the um brella of tial ac tiv i ties may
lief is that stu dents will learn better if ELT. For ex am ple, realia, end up hav ing lit tle
they use the lan guage as op posed to show-and-tell, games, and vid or no educational
be ing pas sive re cep tors of ar ti fi cial eos are ex am ples of teacher- value.
lan guage. It is also thought that stu fronted ELT ac tiv i -
dents will be able to an a lyze and dis ties. Be cause the fo cus of
cover their own in for ma tion about the ELT is more of ten on the stu
topic and lan guage use as they are in dent than on the teacher, how
 volved with tasks or pro jects. In lan ever, stu dent-cen tered
guage teach ing, ELT cre ates sit u a ac tiv i ties such as hands-on
tions in which stu dents use their new pro jects, cross-cul tural ex pe
lan guage in stead of just learn ing about ri ences, field trips, role-plays,
it. This method is seen as par tic u larly and sim u la tions are
well suited for use with chil dren but is fre quently used ELT ac tiv i
now be ing practiced with students of all ties. In ad di tion, po etry,
ages in many learning situations. songs, and drama may also be
considered ELT
activities.
1. The teacher iden ti fies a
task or ac tiv ity that will help
stu dents learn the lan guage
needed in their
par tic u lar con text.
2. The teacher plans how the
task should be im ple mented
in clud ing any nec es sary lan
guage items
that may need to be in tro
duced or re viewed for the stu
dents to per form the task or
activity.
3. The teacher ex plains the
task to the stu dents.
4. The stu dents dis cuss the
task and iden tify their roles.
5. The stu dents do their task
or ac tiv ity.
6. The stu dents per form or
dem on strate what they have
learned or ac com plished
10. NOTIONAL- Council of Europe In this model, the con tent of what The fol low ing for mat is of • Prag matic, au • The ap proach can
FUNCTIONAL (1970s) should be taught fo cuses on no tions ten used: then tic use of lan be too lim ited with
APPROACH and func tions as op posed to a gram 1. A di a logue fo cus ing on guage is em pha lit tle fo cus on ac a
mar-based cur ric u lum. No tions are cer tain func tions and no tions sized. demic or pro fes
con tent ar eas such shop ping, health, is pre sented. • The ap proach sional needs and
travel, per - sonal iden ti fi ca tion, and 2. Stu dents prac tice the di a helps stu dents to un skills.
so on. Func tions are how we use lan logue with class mates. der stand dif fer ent
guage such as ex press ing opin ions, 3. Stu dents may cre ate their reg is ters of lan
 ask ing for ad vice, apol o giz ing, and so own di a logues for role-play guage.
on. Con cepts pre sented in this ap ing.
proach have been sub sumed by 4. Stu dents may re in force us
experiential language teaching. age through as sign ments in
which they choose or fill in the
ap pro pri -
ate words in a writ ten di a
logue.
5. Stu dents may ex pand on
the pre vi ous tasks by go ing
into the com mu nity and prac
tic ing
“real-life” di a logues.
11. TOTAL James Asher (1960 He be lieved that learn ing new vo cab u Strat egy • Re sults in lower • In its orig i nal
PHYSICAL and 1970s) lary in con junc tion with cor re spond 1. The teacher gives com anx i ety lev els form, TPR may be
RESPONSE (TPR) ing mo tor ac tiv ity would re in force the mands such as among lan guage too lim ited to use
learn ing of words and ex pres sions—es Open the door Touch your learn ers. alone. Thus, TPR is
pe cially in chil dren, but he also ad vo nose Draw a cir cle • An ac tiv ity or of ten used at the be
cated its use with adults. Ac tive par tic i Close the win dow Stand up, move ment re in -
pa tion also keeps stu dents in ter ested. sit down Draw a square forces lan guage gin ning lev els or as
Asher also be lieved that the use of such 2. The stu dent com pletes the learn ing in au then part of a more com
com mands would re duce anx i ety ac tion of the com mand. tic ways plex les son. It is
levels and make use of the right brain. 3. If the stu dent does the com also pos si ble that
mand cor rectly, the teacher com mands can be
knows the stu dent un der length ened into a
stands the com - pro cess. For ex am
mand. ple, the teacher can
4. The stu dent’s un der stand say, “draw a square
ing is re in forced by per form with a line
ing the ac tion. through it. Then
draw a tri an gle on
the right side of the
square,” and so on.
Teach ers can have
stu dents use prob
lem-solv ing tasks
such as show ing
three boxes with dif
fer ent pic tures in
side
 and say, “touch the
box where the
woman is stand ing.”
• Other mod i fi ca
tions in clude hav
ing stu dents take a
more par tic i pa tory
role by giv ing com -
mands or in struc
tions to one an
other. TPR can also
be done in a game
form such as “Si
mon
Says.” Ad vo cates of
TPR have also de vel
oped the method
into TPR Storytelling.
12. LANGUAGE Language Arts Orig i nally de vel oped to teach read ing 1. The stu dent tells a story, • Schema is al ready • Be cause it re
EXPERIENCE Approaches and writ ing to preliterate mono lin gual usu ally based on a real-life ex pres ent so stu dents quires some knowl
APPROACH stu dents, this ap proach was later used pe ri ence, to the teacher. have im me di ate edge of oral L2 vo
to teach lit er acy skills to adults, in clud 2. The teacher writes down the un der stand ing of cab u lary, it may
ing those learn ing Eng lish as an ad di story ex actly as it is told in text. not work with adults
tional lan guage. Sup port ers of the lan clud ing the er rors made. • Stu dents can see or
guage ex pe ri ence ap proach (LEA) be 3. The stu dent reads the writ that the sym bols of older chil dren with
lieve that stu dents can learn to read and ten story with the teacher help read ing have per lim ited speak ing
write by us ing their own level of oral vo ing as needed. sonal and au then tic skills or who are
cab u lary. In ad di tion, be cause stu 4. Af ter the stu dent is com mean ing. afraid to speak in
dents are us ing sub ject mat ter fa mil fort able read ing the story, in • Stu dents are learn the tar get lan
iar to them, the in for ma tion will be di vid ual words, gram mar ing lit er acy skills at guage.
relevant to their needs. points, and so on their own level. • Some be lieve this
may be stud ied. ap proach may re in
force er rors if there
is not enough ad e
quate fol low-up.
13. LITERATURE- In stead of teach ing read ing through 1. Stu dents use au then tic lit • Eng lish lan guage • Ef fec tive only
BASED APPROACH tra di tional, bot tom-up ap proaches us er a ture to ex plore var i ous learn ers en coun ter with in ter me di ate
ing basal read ers, stu dents are given gen res in clud ing re al is tic au then tic lit er ary and ad vanced stu
the op por tu nity to ex plore read ing fic tion, fan tasy, texts. This means dents.
through the use of au then tic texts. his tor i cal fic tion, bi og ra that stu dents read • Vo cab u lary can
 There are var i ous meth ods within the phy, and so on. books and sto ries be po ten tially over
pa ram e ters of this ap proach, in clud 2. Stu dents work in co op er a writ ten as lit er a whelm ing if Eng lish
ing lit er a ture-based dis cus sion groups tive groups for shared read ing ture rather than spe lan guage learn ers
outlined here. and are ex pected to com plete cially writ ten sto do not have ap pro -
var i ous ries de signed with pri ate strat e gies to
tasks in di vid u ally, such as con - use. Texts in clude
notating un fa mil iar vo cab u trolled vo cab u lary words used in new
lary, mak ing pre dic tions, par to de velop par tic u ways, used col lo qui
tic i pat ing in lar reading skills. ally, used with
group discussions, and so on. • Stu dents may de spe cific cul tural ref
3. Stu dents within the group velop a love of read er ents, or used met
are as signed var i ous tasks or ing. They feel a a phor i cally. Teach
roles, such as dis cus sion sense of em pow er ers need to teach
leader, group ment and be come strat e gies such as
re corder (au dio and writ ten), vo ra - inferencing to help
word wiz ard, ge og ra phy lo cious read ers. learners.
ca tor, and re search specialist. • Books are read in • Lit er a ture re
4. Stu dents work to gether to Eng lish. flects cul tural val
de ter mine var i ous lit er ary ues, shared knowl
el e ments in the story—char edge, and dis course
ac ters, plot, set - or ga ni za tion,
ting, and so on. which may
5. The teacher checks the ac be dif fer ent from
cu racy of stu dents’ in ter pre that of stu dents’ na
ta tions through group or in di tive cultures.
vid ual di a - • “Speed read ers”
logue. fin ish the books
6. Stu dents are en cour aged ahead of the rest.
to make mean ing by dis cuss Oth ers may be
ing var i ous is sues in the text slower read ers.
with rel e -
vance to their lives.
7. A mul ti tude of break out ac
tiv i ties can be in cor po rated
af ter read ing the text.
8. As sess ment can be au
then tic or tra di tional.
14. NATURAL Stephen Krashen This method emphasizes that peo ple “ac 1. The teacher speaks to the • Stu dents are more • The ap proach
APPROACH and Tracy Terell quire” lan guages best by learn ing nat u stu dents in the tar get lan likely to par tic i pate does not ad dress ac
(1970s) rally like chil dren do. Krashen and guage at a level they can more ac tively and mean a demic needs of stu
 Terrell be lieved that com pre hen sion or less un der - ing fully when they dents, in clud ing
should pre cede pro duc tion and that stand. The teacher may use feel they are read ing and writ
stu dents should not be forced to speak pic tures, ac tions, or realia to ready to do so. ing.
un til they are ready. They pro posed com mu ni cate meaning. • Stu dents can be • Some stu dents
that pro duc tion would emerge in 2. The teacher asks ques tions come flu ent in the may need more im
stages. They be lieved that the course that the stu dents can an swer. tar get lan guage. pe tus to speak.
syl la bus should be based on com mu ni As stu dents be come more • Such an ap proach • Stu dents, es pe
ca tive goals and that ac tiv i ties should com fort able low ers the anx i ety cially older learn ers,
be planned to lower the af fec tive fil ter with the lan guage, more dif fi level of stu dents, do not nec es sar ily
and elim i nate, as much as pos si ble, cult tasks such as role-plays, which is not only learn a sec ond lan
any anx i ety that stu dents may feel open-ended di a logues, dis kinder but also more guage (L2) as they
about speak ing a new lan guage. In the cus sion, likely to pro duce learned their first lan
ory, if these prin ci ples are fol lowed, and group work can be used. pos i tive re sults. guage (L1)
stu dents will feel com fort able with the 3. Stu dents do not have to
new lan guage and learn the lan guage speak un til they are ready to.
at an au to matic level just as chil dren They can be en cour aged to
learn their first lan guage (L1). The ap speak but
proach is in tended to help stu dents ac should not be forced to do so.
quire, as op posed to learn, a new lan The fo cus should be on com
guage so that they will be able to mu ni ca tion, and er ror cor
understand and speak it automatically rec tion
and fluently. should be lim ited and
nonthreatening.
15. WHOLE Whole lan guage phi los o phies or ap 1. This ap proach im merses • Whole lan guage al • Per for mance can
LANGUAGE proaches fo cus on the use of au then tic stu dents in a rich lan guage lows in ter ac tions be dif fi cult to eval
APPROACH lan guage that is mean ing - ful to stu and lit er acy en vi ron ment. with a va ri ety of u ate ob jec tively
dents, pro ceed ing from whole to part 2. The teacher pro vides time, texts, ex pe ri ences, when us ing au then
and in te grat ing de vel op ment of lan ma te ri als, space, and ac tiv i and ac tiv i ties in a tic as sess ment.
guage modes and do - mains. This ap ties for stu dents to be lis ten class room at mo
proach is a constructivist phi los o phy of ers, speak ers, sphere that sup
learn ing that places em pha sis on the in read ers, and writ ers. ports lit er acy
te gra tion of lan guage and con tent, fos 3. The teacher fo cuses on the development.
ter ing per son ally and ac a dem i cally whole be cause the mind
mean ing ful lan guage de vel op ment. makes sense of or con structs
Lis ten - ing, speak ing, read ing, and mean ing from
writ ing—the four lan guage modes or ex pe ri ences—whether the ex
skills—are taught as an in te grated pe ri ences are spo ken, lis
whole, with writ ten and oral lan guage tened to, read, or de scribed in
de vel oped si mul ta neously. Whole lan writ -
guage fo cuses on us ing lan - guage, fo ing—when they are com mu ni
 cus ing on mean ing first, get ting stu cated as wholes.
dents to write early and of ten, ac cept 4. The teacher acts as a com
ing in vented spell ing for be gin ners but mu ni ca tion role model in lis
ex pect ing con ven tional spell ing as stu ten ing, speak ing, read ing,
dents ad vance in the writ ing pro cess, and writ ing so
ex pos ing stu - dents to high-qual ity lit that in struc tion, func tion,
er a ture and au then tic texts from di and pur pose are mean ing ful.
verse writ ten gen res, al low ing stu 5. The teacher cre ates an at
dents to make choices in read ing, and mo sphere of ex pec tancy and
en cour ag ing all to be vo ra cious read a cli mate that is en cour ag
ers. Les sons are learner cen tered and ing and sup port ive in
mean - ing ful to stu dents’ lives in side which stu dents are ex pected
and out side of school. Lan guage les to con tinue their lit er acy de
sons en gage stu dents in so cial in ter vel op ment and feel com fort
ac - tion and col lab o ra tive learn ing. able do ing so.
The fo cus is on the so cial con struc tion
of mean ing and un der stand ing
through the pro cess of read ing and writ
ing. Stu dents first ac quire lit er acy
through their own writ ings and share
chil dren’s lit er a ture as well as ex pe ri
ences across the cur ric u lum through
sci ence ex per i ments, rec i - pes,
games, in struc tions for mak ing things,
math prob lem solv ing, in ter ac tive
com puter com mu ni ca tions, and map
read ing. Lan guage is de vel oped for
mean ing ful pur poses in side and out
side of school. Whole lan guage avoids
the practices of teaching skills in isolation
(sounds, letters, grammar rules, and
words) or in a strict sequence, using
books with controlled vocabulary, or
using worksheets and drills.

SO WHICH AP PROACH IS BEST?

There is no one best ap proach be cause the cir cum stances and needs of ESL stu dents vary so greatly. To choose ap proaches that are the most ap pro pri ate for your stu
dents, you must take into ac count many vari ables. What are your stu dents’ needs? Where will they use their Eng lish? Will they need their Eng lish for school? Will they need
their Eng lish for work? What kind of work do they do? How old are they? How much time do they have to learn Eng lish? Have they stud ied Eng lish or an other lan guage be
fore? How well do they know their own lan guage?
Direct Translation – took grammar as the starting
point of instructions. Grammar-Translation courses
followed a grammar syllabus and lessons typically
began with an explicit statement of the rule, followed
by exercises involving translation into and out of the
mother tongue. Focused exclusively on the written
language.
Direct Method – by claiming to be a ‘natural’  Such an approach encourages the belief that HOW TO TEACH GRAMMAR FROM EXAPMLES
method, the Direct Method prioritized oral skills, and, learning a language is simply a case of
INDUCTIVE LEARNING
while following syllabus of grammar structures, knowing the rules.
rejected explicit grammar teaching. Induction, or learning through experience, is seen as
ADVANTAGES:
the ‘natural’ route to learning.
HOW TO TEACH GRAMMAR FROM RULES
 It gets straight to the point and can therefore
ADVANTAGES:
A DEDUCTIVE APPROACH be timesaving. Many rules – especially rules of
form – can be more simply and quickly  Rules learners discover for themselves are
 A deductive approach starts with the
explained than elicited from examples. This will more likely to fit their existing mental
presentation of a rule and is followed by
allow more time for practice and application. structures than rules they have been presented
examples in which the rule is applied. Rule-
 It respects the intelligence and maturity of with. This in turn will make the rules more
driven learning.
many – especially adult – students and meaningful, memorable, and serviceable.
 An inductive approach starts with some
acknowledges the role of cognitive processes in  The mental effort involved ensures a greater
examples from which a rule is inferred. Rule-
language acquisition. degree of cognitive depth which, again,
discovery learning.
 It confirms many students’ expectations about ensures greater memorability.
It is important to stress that the deductive method is classroom learning, particularly for those  Students are more actively involved in the
not necessarily dependent on translation. In fact, learners who have an analytical learning style. learning process, rather than being simply
many popular student grammar practice books adopt  It allows the teacher to deal with language passive recipients: they are therefore likely to
a deductive approach, with all their explanations and points as they come up, rather than having to be more attentive and more motivated.
exercises in English. anticipate them an prepare for them in  It is an approach which favors pattern-
advance. recognition and problem-solving abilities which
DISADVANTAGES:
suggests that it is particularly suitable for
RULES AND EXPLANATIONS (Michael Swan)
 Starting the lesson with a grammar learners who like this kind of challenge.
presentation may be off-putting for some  Truth: Rules should be true. Rule must bear  If the problem-solving is done collaboratively,
students, especially younger ones. They may resemblance to the reality it is describing. and in the target language, learners get the
not have sufficient metalanguage to talk about  Limitation: Rules should show clearly what opportunity for extra language practice.
language such as grammar. Or they may not the limits are on the use of a given form.  Working things out for themselves prepares
be able to understand the concepts involved.  Clarity: Rules should be clear. students for greater self-reliance and is
 Grammar explanation encourages a teacher-  Simplicity: Rules should be simple. therefore conducive to learner autonomy.
fronted, transmission-style classroom; teacher  Familiarity: An explanation should try to
DISADVANTAGES:
explanation is often at the expense of student make use of concepts already familiar to the
involvement and interaction. learner.  The time and energy spent in working out rules
 Explanation is seldom as memorable as other  Relevance: A rule should answer only those may mislead students into believing that rules
forms of presentation, such as demonstration. questions that the students’ needs answered.
 are the objective of the language learning,
rather than a means.
 The time taken to work out a rule are the
objective of language learning, rather than a
means.
 Students may hypothesis the wrong rule, or
their version of the rule may be either too
broad or too narrow in its application: this is
especially a danger where there is no overt
testing of their hypotheses, either through
practice examples, or by eliciting an explicit
statement of the rule.
 It can place heavy demands on teachers in
planning a lesson. They need to select and
organize the data carefully so as to guide
learners to an accurate formulation of the rule,
while also ensuring the data is intelligible.
 However carefully organized the data is, many
language areas such as aspect and modality
resist easy rule formulation.
 An inductive approach frustrates students who,
by dint of their personal learning style or their
past learning experience (or both), would
prefer simply to be told the rule.