A good grammar presentation:
1. Is a
surprise
As strange as it
might seem, a disbelieving look, a "No, really??" or most of the class getting what
you are trying to elicit wrong are all good signs in a grammar explanation-
signs that you have really got their attention, that you are teaching them
something they don't know yet, and that it is something they are likely to be
something they are still thinking about when they leave class and so remember
for a longer time than usual. Ways to achieve this sense of surprise include
contradicting their previous teacher or lower level textbook, contrasting with
L1, contrasting spoken and written English grammar, and contrasting
prescriptive grammar and how the language is really used nowadays. Something
turning out to be much easier than they originally thought is also a nice
surprise!
2. Is
interactive
Ways of getting
students involved in the grammar explanation stage include: getting them to
give you example sentences from their imaginations, previous conversations or
the textbook; eliciting the names of grammatical forms; getting them to match
grammatical names, example sentences and meanings; getting students to prepare
grammar presentations for the class for homework; using guided discovery tasks
they work through in pairs; and deliberately making mistakes they can correct
you on.
3. Is
copied down
After a student has
understood your grammar explanation, the next stage should be copying it down. You
can ensure that everyone has a chance to copy it down accurately by having the
pause for copying written into your lesson plan, making sure nobody copies
before you want them to so that they join in the eliciting and don't make others
feel guilty for copying down later, and putting your OHP sheets etc somewhere students
can see them after class to compare their own versions to.
4. Is easy
to copy down
You can make this
easier by putting all the text on the board into a table (e.g. 3 columns for
tense, example sentence and meaning, and three rows for the three past tenses),
using very simple time lines and sketches, limiting the amount of text, and giving
them a gapped version of the grammar presentation to copy the important things
off the board into.
5. Can
be easily referred to
As well as something that
is easy to understand and easy to copy down, you will want to make sure that the
grammar explanation is something that the students and teacher can easily refer
to during later grammar practice and error correction stages. To achieve this
you will need to make sure that the grammar explained is exactly the same as is
used later in the lesson. You can also make it easy to refer to by keeping it
up on the board (in which case you will need to make sure when you write it
that there is room around it to write other things that come up), saving it as
an OHP slide you can put up when you need it, or by making students write it in
a separate grammar part of their notebooks.
6. Is actually
referred to
The easiest way of
making sure that students actually do refer to the grammar presentation later
in the lesson is to make some of the answers to the exercises you have given
them exactly the same words as you used in the grammar explanation. The same thing
can also be done with useful phrases for communicative activities, or for
sentences from the homework. You can also encourage its use by getting students
to refer back to it every time you do error correction on that grammar point in
future lessons.
7. Stays
up on the board
This point is mainly just
one aspect of the points above, but you will also need to make sure that at
least part of the grammar presentation can stay up on the board without giving
too much away- for example by erasing key words from the example sentences so
they can't copy the whole of the next grammar exercise straight from the board
or by briefly making it unavailable with paper stuck over it with magnets or sellotape
or by turning off the OHP.
8. Is
at the right time in the lesson
There are two parts
to thinking about this- making sure the students are alert enough when the
grammar explanation comes to understand it and remember it, and making sure
that it fits in with the rest of the lesson. You can make sure they are alert
by making the grammar explanation near the beginning of the lesson, perhaps
after a quick warmer. The end of the lesson is the second most alert period,
with the middle being the worst. You can add to this alertness by making them
need the grammar by getting them used to a lesson structure where practice always
follows a grammar explanation, or by asking them to do a task where the
language could be useful first as in TTT and some versions of TBA.
9. Is
at the right stage of the lesson
This depends very
much on what your teaching approach is and on the specific grammar point. For
example, do you want to introduce the grammar point after the students have had
a chance to use a task or text where it could be used and so know why they need
the language, or will they feel "safer" if you introduce it from the start? Do
you want to tackle it after revising the most recent or most similar grammar
point, or is there the chance you will get bogged down in that and not be able
to concentrate on the new point? Which stage of the lesson grammar explanations
come in can often be a compromise with the timing of the lesson in other ways.
For example, lots of revision and seeing the language in context might put the
grammar explanation right in the middle of the class when students are least
alert.
10. Is
at the right point in the day
Similar to being at
the right point in the lesson, students are usually most alert first thing in
the morning, with the second most alert time being in other parts of the
morning, the next being late in the evening and the least alert period being in
the hour or two after lunch.
11. Is
at the right point in the week
Similar
to the points above, for a particularly difficult or important grammar point
the beginning and end are good and the middle is bad in terms of alertness, but
you will also need to take into account having a chance to practice it enough before
they forget it all over the weekend.
12. Is
at the right point in the course
Ditto. A particularly
big, difficult or important grammar point should be dealt with near the beginning
of a course when the students are still keen and unconfused by other input, and
if possible the same thing should be revised right at the end of the course
after the rest of the less troublesome points. This approach of putting the most
important grammar first often doesn't match with a step by step approach to
grammar, and how you compromise between the two can depend on things like how likely
the students are to actually use that grammar outside the classroom, how
possible it is to explain the grammar without studying more "basic" forms
first, and how much they will need their confidence boosted with easier points
before tackling something big.
13. Is
at the right point in their language development
The difficulty of
choosing to tackle a grammar point just by when the students are most alert is that
their brains still might not be ready to take that particular grammar point in.
This is often connected to the idea of Natural Order (the theory that both L1
and L2 language learners make progress with grammar points in a predictable
fashion), but sometimes is more just simple logic of whether it is easier to
explain the use of will for predictions before or after teaching the use of
will for conditionals.
14. Comes
at the right interval since the last connected grammar explanation
Another factor worth bearing
in mind when putting grammar into a syllabus is how long it will take students
to really absorb a grammar point and therefore be ready for the next step with
it. This factor can both shorten and lengthen the amount of time you wait. For
example, students might be able to produce the first conditional at the end of
the lesson but for them to really get a subconscious feeling for what it means
and how it is used they will probably need at least another couple of weeks of
chances to mull on it, use it in conversation and/ or see it in context before
they will benefit from more conscious examination of this or a related grammar
point (e.g. will for predictions or the second conditional). At the same time,
the theory of Natural Order suggests that however much time and help we give
students, they will still make errors with the Present Simple, so we shouldn't get
stalled on that before we move onto forms we can contrast it with like the Simple
Past or Present Continuous just because they are still making mistakes.
15. Comes
at the right interval since the last unconnected grammar explanation
As well as needing
time to absorb the last connected or contrasting grammar point, students might
just need a bit of a rest for their brains after even a totally unrelated grammar
or even vocabulary explanation in order to make sure they have a clear space in
their heads and the energy for the next grammar explanation. Ways of giving
them a rest whilst still improving their English include mechanical tasks like
drilling, skills development like reading and listening, fluency tasks where they
can use the language they already know, and other kinds of revision.
16. Is
for the most useful language at that point
As well as looking at
what language students are mentally ready to learn, we also need to look at
what language they need. This can be defined by what they need for their work
or studies, what they need for an EFL or other exam, what they need in order to
cope with the next class they are going to go into, what they need to catch up
with the better students in this class, what they need in order to boost their
motivation, what they need to be able to understand classroom instructions, what
they need in order to be ready for the next grammar point, what they need in
order to understand important functional language (e.g. Can for ability leading
onto Can for requests), what they need in order to use a particular communicative
skill (e.g. relative clauses for talking your way around a word you don't
know), or what they need in order to benefit from English that is all around
them (e.g. popular songs or station announcements in English).
17. Is something
students understand the need for
A teacher who has
decided a particular grammar point is what students need will also need to make
sure that students identify that need. This can be achieved by some explanation
from the teacher ("With this grammar you will be able to..."), by doing a
communicative activity where that grammar would be useful before you present
it, or, even better, something that is obvious to students straightaway as something
they can use inside or outside the classroom.
18. Is
the right length
This usually means short,
so that they can write it all down in their notebooks and there is plenty of
time for practice. Sometimes, however, grammar presentations can be too short.
You might need to plan for extra example sentences if they don't understand the
ones you have chosen and/ or an extra little tricky bit of that grammar if they
knew all the rest of it before you started the presentation.
19. Includes
revision
This could be
revision of the form you are contrasting it with (e.g. Going to when presenting
Will), revision of the grammatical forms it is similar to (e.g. Present Continuous
or Past Continuous when presenting Future Continuous), or revision of a different
meaning of the same form (Present Continuous for Present and Future).
20. Gives
the students something new
One of the biggest
criticisms of PPP is that the teacher often ends up presenting language that
the students already know. You can make sure that you are adding something new
by gauging what students know as you elicit from them and then add one of the
extra back up points you have prepared just in case. Possible back up points
include exceptions (e.g. state verbs when presenting the continuous) and extra
meanings (e.g. Present Simple when the word makes something true in "I name
this ship" or "I do solemnly swear).
21. Gives
the students a sense of anticipation
From your own experience
of being taught grammar at school, it might seem unrealistic that a class of
students could be on the edge of their seats waiting to see how a grammar explanation
turns out. There are, however, plenty of techniques to ensure that. One is to
make sure that something about the grammar explanation is completely new to
them (see other points). Another is to give them a spoken or written task they
cannot achieve properly without the grammar and let them try it again after
your explanation. In a similar way, starting a grammar presentation with a
collection of real student mistakes from that class is great for getting their
attention, Perhaps the most effective is to start with a statement that what they
thought about the grammar before is (at least in part) wrong.
22. Is
asked for by the students
This is an example of
the point above. The important thing to aim for is the letter ‘s', i.e.
students asking (or at least wanting to know) rather than just one student. If more
than one student asks for the same grammar explanation, then that is the
ultimate sign that you have planned the lesson perfectly. Again, the best way
of achieving this is to give them a task where certain grammar is necessary to
complete it. Please note that many tasks in textbooks and communication games
books are perfectly doable with much lower level language than the level of the
book, and research suggests that at least some of your students will be
perfectly happy with having dealt with such a task in pidgin English and so
will be unlikely to listen carefully to any further explanation. The secret,
then, is to design an activity where it comes to an end without a successful
outcome without the language you are about to present, which as mentioned in a
point above should be something that is in at least part new to them. It is
very difficult to design a free communication task where particular language is
absolutely vital, so this is generally easier with a comprehension question
that most people will get wrong because of grammatical reasons (sometimes
available in EFL exams like IELTS and TOEIC), or pairwork tasks where students
try to achieve a language-based task together. Examples of the latter include
grammar auctions and pairwork grammar correction tasks where one student has
the correct version for each pair of sentences.
23. Is something
the students want to use straightaway
Another advantage of giving
students a task that stops half way through or comes to an unsuccessful end
until they get the grammar is that they are likely to want to turn straight
back to the task at hand and finish it off successfully with their new
knowledge. As with anything students do unguided by a teacher, this is likely
to increase how much they learn.
24. Uses
a familiar format
In order to make sure
that students can concentrate on the grammar being explained rather than the explanation
itself, it is good to develop a familiar format of grammar explanations so that
students instantly understand (consciously or unconsciously) what each part of
your explanation means. Things to standardize include the colours of pens (red=
name of tense etc), the layout of board (you always use tables and the right
column is always the meaning of the grammar etc), the use of names and symbols
(writing out "noun" or "subject verb" in full or just using first letters
etc.), and gestures (hand over the shoulder to illustrate "past", always
exactly the same hand positions to illustrate each preposition etc.)
25. Breaks
the format
Once you have set up
a format, it becomes time to break it. This can be done systematically in steps
so that they gain the ability to understand more and more difficult grammar explanations
(moving from labelling just SVO to labelling the adverb, noun, pronoun etc.) or
just to add a bit of variety to get their attention (the use of amusing
pictures, new technology etc.)
26. Is visual
This makes a grammar explanation
catch the eye more, cuts down on the amount of difficult language you need to
explain the grammar, caters well to students who have a visual learning style,
allows you to approach the same grammar for several different directions, and
can be easier to copy down and recall than the part of the grammar explanation
that has words. Probably the most effective way of using pictures is to have a
striking and memorable image such as a famous TV commercial or painting that
the whole lesson is built around and students can use to recall the grammar point
by picturing the image. Other techniques involving a visual element include the
use of different colour pens to mean different things, time lines, simple stick
man drawings and using flashcards.
27. Is active
This can partly be a
case of getting the students involved by asking you questions or joining in
when you are eliciting, and partly a case of making sure the physical movement
and noise you can easily build into a warmer doesn't die to be replaced by
still bodies staring blankly at the board when this stage comes. This can be achieved
by using gestures to illustrate grammatical forms (e.g. pointing forward = future),
example sentences ("I was jumping when you shouted stop"), word and sentence
stress, and right and wrong answers.
28. Is personalized
As with many things
in language learning, making sure the example sentences used in grammar explanations
are personalised to the students can really help them understand more easily,
and make the language more memorable and obviously useful. Ways of
personalising the language include statements about individuals in the class ("William
is next to John"), statements about the teacher ("He is wearing a pink tie"),
or statements about the class as a whole ("Most people live in a flat"). Another
way of looking at personalisation is telling students that the language covered
is aimed particularly at their weaknesses, most common mistakes, upcoming test,
jobs or studies.
29. Is topical
Another way to make
any language stick in the mind is to make it connected to the particular time
and day it is being explained on. In a similar way to using a striking picture,
many people find they can then help recall the relevant grammar point by bring
back to mind the time it was explained. Ways of making it topical include using
recent news, celebrity gossip, weather, seasonal changes, natural events,
national holiday etc. as an example sentence.
30. Is memorable
The tips about being
visual, physical, personalised and topical above can all really help with
making a grammar explanation and therefore the grammar you are explaining more
memorable. Other tips relevant to this dealt with elsewhere include making sure
students are awake and ready to take it in. The use of humour and making sure
you connect the grammar to things the students already know can also help a
lot. Teaching grammar in context is also important.
31. Is true
Although this one is
very obvious, how difficult it is to achieve in practice is quite complex. The
first problem is that the most accurate grammatical explanation is probably not
the easiest to understand, easiest to remember or easiest to copy down, for
example because it will need to include lots of exceptions. It might also be
the case that the theory that students are mentally prepared to learn and that
covers the most important uses for them is not the same as the most strictly
correct definition of a grammar point. You may also find that the grammatical
explanation that explains the language you are going to cover in the most
generalizable way contradicts something you said in a previous lesson. It is
also possible that grammar experts don't even agree on what the truest explanation
is, or that there is still a gap between what most people say and what most people
think you should say.
A practical way of working
your way through this minefield is to choose lots of grammar explanations for
the point you are going to teach and then to put them in order of how generally
true they are. You can then reject or change the explanations by how well they
fit in with the level and needs of your students until there is only the one or
two best compromise explanations left.
32. Is easy
to understand
Ways of ensuring this
include the use of gestures and visuals, but you will need to make sure that
you introduce even these simple techniques for the first time during easy grammar
explanations and that you use the same ones consistently. The same is true of
grammatical terminology such as the names of types of words and the names of
tenses. You can also simplify this point by using grammatical jargon that is
most similar to that used in the students' first language, school system or
dictionaries. For example, many students know SVO without knowing the words Subject
Verb Object, and the same is true of dictionary abbreviations such as (n) for
noun and (adj) for adjective.
33. Is
easy to reproduce
As well as being easy
to copy down, a grammatical explanation should be something that students can
easily repeat back to you when it comes to eliciting an explanation of the same
grammar point for revision or to contrast it with another grammatical form. For
example, you can make the grammatical terminology more memorable by explaining why
an adverb is called an adverb and what the Simple in Present Simple
means, so they can use those words the same way you do next time you ask them
to correct their own or their partner's mistakes.
34. Is linked
in theme to the rest of the class
For example, you could
make the character names and place names of your example sentences the same as
in the textbook, use example sentences straight out of a listening or reading
text, use student mistakes from a previous speaking exercise, or give sentences
that could be useful in a future speaking exercise. This not only makes how the
language links to the rest of the lesson clear, but can make everything dealt
with in that lesson sit together as one memory in students' heads and so make
recall easier. You can consciously use this effect in future classes by
eliciting error correction with comments like "What was happening when the
Italian waiter Paolo came into the room? Can you remember?"
35. Is
relevant to the tasks in the rest of the lesson/ course
The most well-known
ways of tying in with the course is by choosing suitable practice tasks and (if
you are using PPP) making free speaking tasks ones students could use that same
language in. Other things you might want to look at is tying the grammar in with
a present or future class graded reader, end of term student presentations,
project work, a production (free speaking) task a couple of weeks later when
they have had a chance to really get to know the language, a future reading or
listening, or GTKY (getting to know you) tasks at the beginning of the course
at the next level up.
36. Helps
the next grammar explanation
For example, explaining
"going to" as "a plan i.e. something in your head" in today's lesson can help
explain Present Continuous as "something in your diary" when you introduce it
in next week's lesson
37. Stretches
the teacher
Ways of making sure
you are as interested in the grammar explanation as the students are and therefore
pass on some of your passion include introducing new technology such as a video
extract, teaching an exception to the rule that you have always tried to avoid
before, dealing with the stages of a grammar lesson in a different way (e.g.
TTT instead of PPP), teaching the same grammar but to a different level (all
the uses of Present Simple to an Advanced class or Simple Past before Present Continuous
to a Beginner class), using an explanation from a different book, finding the
best explanation from all the possible books, adding phonemic symbols to the
drilling of the grammar, and copying the grammar presentation of another
teacher you have observed.
38. Looks
at the grammar in a different way
As well as adding a
little something to the understanding of the students each time they see the
same point, looking at the same grammar in a totally different way in the hope
that is suddenly clicks in a different part of their brain is always worth a
try to maintain interest and boost learning. Methods include combining grammar
points in unusual ways (e.g. a lesson on all the Continuous tenses to cover
Future Continuous instead of a future tenses review) and teaching grammar just
as sentence stems ("If I were you I'd...").
39. Looks
at grammar in a different way
Even better than the
point above is if you have manage it is to get the students to reconsider
grammar in general, e.g. by looking at the different uses in spoken and written
English, looking at the point where collocations merge with grammar, or looking
at how quickly grammar has changed. In some classes you can also get the same
effect with the much simpler techniques of making grammar interesting and
explaining it without the use of translation.
40. Is a
myth buster
This is another way
of stating a couple of the points elsewhere. If you can choose a common language
myth such as something that is usually badly taught or that is different in old
fashioned prescriptive grammar books, that will make sure that all the students
in your class are learning something new and that you will really get their
attention.
41. Takes
into account common student difficulties
For example, is designed
with difficulties in mind such as commonly confused grammar, common
misconceptions, common mistakes in EFL exams, or common mistakes in academic
writing.
42. Takes
into account L1
For example, deals
with grammatical forms that look the same in English and L1 but have different meanings
or uses, and is designed in such as way as to subtly point out the differences-
also possible without using L1 if you have an English-only policy.
43. Takes
into account how that grammar is usually taught
If 90% percent of the
grammar books around the world teach that you must always say "If I were you...",
you'll need to know that before deciding whether to give them a jolt with the expression
"I was you..." or just to go with the flow on that point so you can teach
something more important such as Second Conditionals in general.
44. Takes
into account the education the students have already had
This includes taking
into account the grammar explanations they have probably already had as a basis
for you to build on, a source of your myth-busting surprise, or just a warning
to yourself on possible problems. Knowing about how grammar is dealt with in
their country can also give you some information on how much grammar terminology
they are likely to know, their attitude to the conscious teaching of grammar,
the use of L1 in grammar teaching, and their attitudes to prescriptive and
descriptive grammar. How they were taught their own language can sometimes be
as relevant to these points as how they were taught English. Please note,
however, that many people will go into an English class they have chosen
precisely because they expect the opposite approach to grammar to the one they
had at school.
45. Isn't
contradicted by what you are going to do in the book
Despite the
suggestions above on giving students the truest grammatical explanation from
the best of all possible sources and one that contradicts common
misconceptions, if you then go onto do a grammar practice exercise in the book
that is based on a much more simplified or old-fashioned view of the language,
you are in for trouble. Ways of combining your best practice with the textbook's
less than best practice is to use the exercise before the grammar presentation
TTT-style so you can then correct the book to get their attention and then
carry on with a better grammar practice exercise you have written or found
elsewhere. Another possibility is to get students to just skip controversial
questions in the book, perhaps by giving it to them as a photocopied page with
the dodgy bits Tippexed out.
46. Is
in context
You can make the
language easier to understand and more memorable by making sure the sentence on
the board has as much context as possible. This can be achieved by basing it on
a previous book listening or reading or a previous communication activity, or by
the tips above on personalisation, making it topical, using character names
etc.
47. Is
not swamped by other grammar
This includes making
sure they have had a good break since the last grammar point as mentioned
above, but also making sure small but important grammar points seem more
important than they do small. This can be achieved by making it the only
grammar point of that lesson or week, or by linking it together with several
other related grammar points.
48. Is
adaptable
For example, is
adaptable if students ask you questions half way through by leaving space on
the board to add extra stuff.
49. Involves
everyone in the class
If there is one
student who is too shy to speak out in whole class activities like eliciting
grammar or one student who dominates all grammar presentations due to level or
personality, you can tackle this by using guided grammar discovery tasks in
their books or on worksheets and helping out each group individually. Alternatively,
you can give parts for the grammar presentation like the example sentences and
names of sentences to different people or groups, and ask them to cooperate to
put it all together.
50. Is
the right level for everyone in the class
This means the right
level in terms of which grammar point you present, which of the possible uses
of and exceptions to that grammar point you deal with, what language you use to
describe it, what approach you use to presenting the language first or not, and
what texts and practice activities you use before and after.
51. Uses
the learning styles of everyone in the class
This can generally be
achieved by using the visual and active techniques described above, but how
much you use of each of those techniques and others such as setting grammar up
like a logic puzzle will depend on individual students and classes.
52. Ties
in with the teaching philosophy of the school
This could be a case
of thinking about how to tie it in with the use or not of L1, not letting
grammar explanations interfere with student talking time, following a school
syllabus, sticking to the textbook, cutting down on photocopies, getting
through as much grammar as possible, or providing lots of student correction. Some
of these can be difficult to tie in with the points I have made elsewhere, but
most of them are possible.
53. Ties
in with the teaching philosophy of the textbook
To make life easier
on yourself when you first start using a textbook, it is best to look at what
its approach to grammar is (prescriptive, descriptive, discovery, TTT, PPP,
(over) simplified, based on a particular native speaker model, mainly spoken grammar,
mainly written grammar, taught in context, taught in isolation, taught
consciously, taught unconsciously, building up grammar terminology, avoiding
grammar terminology, step by step, and/ or needs based) and try to teach the
first few lessons that way, maybe by following the teachers' book as closely as
you can bear to. Otherwise you might have problems with practice exercises that
do not fit in with the explanation you have just given, discovery exercises in
the book that reproduce what you have just done on the board, or even a grammar
explanation that contradicts yours. Students might also believe the book more
than you until they have learnt to trust you.
54. Stretches
the teaching philosophy of the textbook
Once you have worked
out what the textbook is trying to do with grammar and how much you are happy
with it, it is time to throw some adaptation into the mix. Easy techniques
include getting photocopiable communication games from elsewhere to use as
practice or production tasks, mixing up the stages, replacing the grammar explanation
there with one on the board, using a different warmer, and using a different prompt
(e.g. a picture) to get the grammar presentation started.
55. Ties
in with your preferred teaching style
For example, if you
have a very dynamic classroom personality, trying to subtly guide groups of
students through a textbook grammar discovery task might not work when they are
looking up from their books all the time to see which of your jokes the other
groups are laughing about- in which case a whiteboard presentation might be
better.
56. Stretches
your teaching style
When you and a new
class have got used to you teaching them the way you like, it's time to make a
change or two. This can sometimes be as simple as trying to follow the book
more closely. Other possibilities include using different supplementary
materials, planning the language to cover less and responding more to student
needs on the spot, and letting the students give the grammar presentations.
57. Doesn't
overload the brain
As even a good
grammar explanation can take a lot of mental power to understand, remember and
use in future activities, any parts of the brain that are being used to work
out other things that are going on will sap that vital energy away. Possible distracters
include names of unfamiliar or difficult to pronounce people and places in the
example sentences (e.g. "Jose went to Gdansk" for the Simple Past), needing
some logical power to transfer the situations in the text into example
sentences (e.g. because the text is a murder mystery), grammar terminology,
trying to remember previous grammar points that are used elsewhere in the
example sentences, unfamiliar vocabulary, pronunciation difficulties, the
teacher's handwriting, new or only half remembered phonemic symbols, difficult
timelines or timelines used for the first time, difficult or unfamiliar
gestures meant to illustrate the grammar, and jokes and other examples of going
off topic.
58. Shows
similarities
If you can show that
the Present Continuous, Past Continuous and Future Continuous are all basically
the same thing shifted along in time a little, that can mean the class is both
a new grammar point and revision, that the explanation will be easier, that you
can reuse timelines etc that they already know and so reduce the mental load,
and hopefully that the grammar will stick together in their brains and so be
easier to recall and to use.
59. Shows
differences
The human mind seems
to respond well to oversimplified dualities like "good and evil" and "black and
white", so contrasting two tenses, "make and do", "in and on" etc. should
easily stick in their minds.
60. Is
not replacing something more useful
This not only means
not interfering with another more important grammar point such as a little point
that is usually left out or revision that would be more important than
something new, but also on whether more vocabulary, skills development or
functional language might be what your students need for their daily lives, to
pass an exam or to get up to the next level rather than tacking more grammar at
all.
61. Teaches
students how to pick up other grammar they come across/ makes students self-sufficient
language learners
To justify the
conscious teaching of grammar to those who still think that it is better picked
up the way a child does in L1, we need to show not only that students learn
each grammar point we teach better than just by reading examples of it in a
text, but also that they will have more chance of picking up other grammar
points that they see in texts because of the skills they have developed through
talking about grammar. Techniques to achieve this include encouraging student
questions, taking a discovery approach to grammar, and teaching them to use
self-study grammar resources such as the grammar summary section at the back of
their textbooks to do homework with a grammar point you haven't tackled in class
yet.
62. Combines
prescriptive and descriptive grammar
Students will need to
know not only what things native speakers don't say, but also the things native
speakers do say but others don't approve of and so could get them in trouble in
a language test, academic paper or translation of a company brochure.
63. Doesn't
take too much preparation
Ways of cutting down
on preparation include: keeping the OHPs for previous grammar presentations;
keeping laminated picture resources to elicit example sentences; having files
of supplementary materials arranged by grammar point; and having lots of reference
books to refer to for timelines, grammar explanations and simple drawings.
64. Is
given with you facing the students
This can be difficult
to achieve when giving a whiteboard presentation, but techniques include using
an OHP, guiding them through a discovery task in their books or on a worksheet,
and explaining each point once orally facing them and again (maybe with
different example sentences or just a summary of what you said) on the board.
65. Boosts
their confidence
This can be achieved
by eliciting things they knew already but making a grammar explanation they
didn't know they knew out of it, by tackling something that seems difficult but
making it very simple, by emphasizing how simple it is, and by emphasizing how
well they have done to understand it and to contribute when you are eliciting.
66. Reminds
them of something
One of the easiest
ways of making a grammar explanation stick in students' memories is to make it
stick to something they already knew before the class started, e.g. a song they
know the lyrics to, maybe even one they did in kindergarten, or a famous quote
or film line.
67. Explains
something they have always wondered
This could also be
the explanation of grammar in a line they already know, or an explanation of something
they have always been taught as a collocation, sentence stem or functional language
for use in restaurants etc. that doesn't fit in with the other grammar they have
been taught.
68. Takes
into account what nationalities students will be speaking to/ EIL
This could mean whether
they will be encountering more British English or American English, or which
non-native speakers they are likely to communicate with through the immigrant
communities or business dealings. When taking into account which non-native
speakers they will be speaking to, that gives you the option of telling them
what mistakes people from that country usually make so that they notice the
grammar each time they hear the mistake- meaning they not only don't copy the
mistake but actually learn that grammar point more easily. Alternatively, you
might want to avoid a grammar point as something that only native speakers use
and therefore of little use to students who only communicate with other non-native
speakers.
69. Talks
about real usage
For example, by
saying "this grammar also exists, but 95% percent of the time we use this form".
This can help make the distinction between two forms that seem interchangeable,
help students concentrate on the most useful language, and be a way of introducing
grammar that is different to what other teachers have shown them without being
too aggressive about it.
70. Is
fun
Hopefully the sixty
nine points above haven't made grammar presentations as daunting for the
teacher as it was for the students before these kinds of things were taken into
account. As with all parts of teaching, having a good atmosphere in class with
smiling, joking and feeling like a group working together is at least as
important as any more easily analysable technique like the ones described here.
