Confusion regarding method of teaching.

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Sandy rocks

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I have no experience in teaching but have been requested to teach English including grammar for some school students as I am reasonably fluent in English. I observed that the first chapter in their grammar book starts with Present simple of be (am, is, are). When I studied grammar in school, the first chapter was always definition of sentence, then kinds of sentence, then subject and predicate, etc. I am really confused and wondering how to go about teaching the students. I would appreciate it if anyone could enlighten me as to why some grammar books are different from the other books.

Thanks and regards,
Sandhya
 

Brownie1

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Most grammar books designed for ESL that I've found usually start with the verb "to be". Especially if they are true beginners. It would be impossible to start teaching people the ideas of a sentence/kinds of sentences etc. if they have a very limited knowledge of English. The important thing here is first to find out their levels. Are they beginner/intermediate/advanced etc.? Once you have assessed their needs you can begin selecting material and working with it. If you are serious about teaching English, you should really consider some sort of certification. I've learned that is isn't just enough to speak the language to be able to teach it. There are lots of theories out there and you can eventually choose which theory or philosophy of teaching you agree with the most.
 

5jj

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Welcome to the forum, Sandy rocks. :hi:

There are many ideas about the best way to help learners acquire a new language, and there will probably never be any universally accepted idea.

However, most of us in the profession agree that we should probably try to help learners use the language, not teach them about the language. Most of us get by pretty well in our own language without ever coming across such words as subject or predicate. Why should we burden our learners with such words? Surely we are trying to teach them to understand and use the the spoken and written language, not discuss the grammar.
 
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