teaching grammar

[Maria Bicbic]

For beginning L2 learners, which do you prefer to do first?
a) introduce the grammar rules, vocabulary, etc.? or,
b) get them to be exposed to the target language immediately?

In my methodologies class, there seems to mixed opinions about this the teaching of grammar mostly has drills and tendency to lose the "meaningful" element of the language use. Meanwhile, the immediate exposure to the target language also does not provide the necessary "building blocks."

_____

How often do we use culture in our language classes?
Do we tend to separate culture from the language that we are teaching?

I for one believe that the language represents a great deal of the culture of the people speaking it (L1) and having to integrate these two can make a great deal of advantage like exposing the students to the real context of the language and opening their minds to the world outside their own.

[Tdol]

I don't see that we have to stick rigidly to one approach or the other. I think there are good arguments for exposing them to structures slightly in advance of what they know, but also fr teaching the rules. Why can't we take a mixed approach? I see nothing wrong with exposing learners to, say, some past tense before teaching it.

I don't think that culture can be completely separated from the language, which is, after all, the main vehicle for a culture. What matters is how we approach the cultural aspects.