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Grammar is central to the teaching and learning of
languages. It is also one of the more difficult aspects of language to
teach well.
Many people, including language teachers, hear the word
"grammar" and think of a fixed set of word forms and rules of usage.
They associate "good" grammar with the prestige forms of the language,
such as those used in writing and in formal oral presentations, and
"bad" or "no" grammar with the language used in everyday conversation or
used by speakers of nonprestige forms.
Language teachers who adopt this definition focus
on grammar as a set of forms and rules. They teach grammar by explaining
the forms and rules and then drilling students on them. This results in
bored, disaffected students who can produce correct forms on exercises
and tests, but consistently make errors when they try to use the
language in context.
Other language teachers, influenced
by recent theoretical work on the difference between language learning
and language acquisition, tend not to teach grammar at all. Believing
that children acquire their first language without overt grammar
instruction, they expect
students to learn their second language the same way. They assume that
students will absorb grammar rules as they hear, read, and use the
language in communication activities. This approach does not allow
students to use one of the major tools they have as learners: their
active understanding of what grammar is and how it works in the language
they already know.
The communicative competence model balances these
extremes. The model recognizes that overt grammar instruction helps
students acquire the language more efficiently, but it incorporates
grammar teaching and learning into the larger context of teaching
students to use the language. Instructors using this model teach
students the grammar they need to know to accomplish defined
communication tasks
Goals and Techniques for Teaching Grammar
The goal of grammar instruction is to enable students to
carry out their communication purposes. This goal has three
implications:
- Students need overt instruction that connects grammar points with larger communication contexts.
- Students do not need to master every aspect of each grammar point, only those that are relevant to the immediate communication task.
- Error correction is not always the instructor's first responsibility.
Overt Grammar Instruction
Adult students appreciate and benefit from direct instruction
that allows them to apply critical thinking skills to language learning.
Instructors can take advantage of this by providing explanations that
give students a descriptive understanding (declarative knowledge) of
each
