Teaching the Language System - Grammar & Vocabulary

Module 5: Ways of Presenting Grammar

As a new teacher I would be more inclined to teach grammar deductively. I believe this strategy would be best considering my low comfort level with grammar rules. I might know instinctively how to write or speak grammatically correct texts and phrases. However teaching grammar principles would require on my part more familiarity with the rules and vocabulary of grammar to become a content expert for the students. If using an inductive approach I feel because of lack of experience I could get confused in guiding learners to achieve an accurate formulation of the rule.

One of the advantages of a deductive approach is it gets straight to the point. This appeals to my preferred teaching style since I'm not big on lectures. I prefer to keep my explanations clear and concise and then have lots of practice time for the students. I do believe adult learners need to perform the task in order to learn rather than listen to an instructor go on and on. One of the reasons I would hesitate to choose teaching grammar inductively is because of the time taken to work out a rule takes away from practicing communication skills.

I can understand if teaching only with the "chalk-and-talk" approach as cited by S. Thornbury lesson plans can become dull and boring. This type of approach might not appeal to everyone's learning style either, for example as in young students. How can I encourage myself to be more comfortable with the inductive strategy? I myself am a visual learner. S. Thornbury's sample lesson of teaching the present simple using realia (Beginners) appealed to my senses. I like the idea of using objects and keeping students interests high by using detective work as the activity. This seems like a fun activity, which focuses on the meaning rather than the form of the rule making it less dry as a lesson. When trying a new approach I would like to get feedback from the learners and act accordingly to their opinions on how the lesson went. Learning from experience and building confidence I would like to plan lessons using a generative situation. I like that this type of presentation offers a wide variety of visual media. If you don't have diversity in your lesson plans you risk tuning people out and you might even get bored by not challenging yourself from time to time. 

Teaching the Language System - Grammar and Vocabulary

Day of the Girl - Toronto Oct. 11

"If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls." 
Creg Mortenson, 
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . .   One School at a Time

Module 4: Developing a Grammar Lesson

I believe when there are clear goals established in your lesson plan it creates a path to learning that flows. When the objectives are focused on what adult students need and want they are more engaged in the process. It is very important to know students' backgrounds, prior learning and reasons for wanting to learn a second language because it determines the context you use in planning lessons. Participants appreciate when goals are introduced at the beginning of the lesson plan. When both teacher and students are heading towards the same goals learning becomes a joint effort. For adults the lesson plan activities need to be relevant and authentic to hold meaning for them. Students want to transfer their learnt skills and be able to communicate with others in the real world. 

As a new teacher in grammar I would use a lesson plan checklist to conduct a grammar lesson that flowed. I find a plan would be a better way for me to go instead of facilitating a project then finding the teachable moments for grammar points. My knowledge of grammar isn't high enough to go that route. I liked the format: Background Information - Presentation Phase - Focused Practice - Communicative Practice. I found there were several activities for learners to practice the language both in a structured-focused and communicative-focused methods. I like the way the form precedes the function giving students a base to build from. With this plan there is a variation of activities which keeps the interests of your participants. By applying different learning styles and by using a variety of single, pair and group work you are bound to involve your students and their preferred method of learning. You may even introduce learners to new ways  of learning communication skills, which they might appreciate instead of only the grammar translation method.

I find immediate feedback valuable but you must consider the timing. I think the most practicable time is during the Focused Practice phase. First you don't want students to carry over repeated mistakes into the next phase. Fellow students can be part of feedback during this phase and correct each other. During the communicative phase I don't believe feedback should be given during the activity. When you interrupt to give feedback you are interrupting the flow of the activity and learning. Since the goal is for the use of communicative language at this stage it seems counterproductive and maybe even discouraging for the participants. When I instruct safety training and we are at the final activity of role plays during emergency response procedures, I never interrupt the flow of their role plays. I wait until they are finished and then we begin feedback. I begin with the person giving themselves feedback, the group and lastly myself if I need to clarify any points. I don't know what a person is thinking while they are problem solving and acting in their emergency situation. I don't want to interrupt their train of thought while they reach for their goal. In language class I would give general feedback at the end of the activity as a group and not target any one individual at this stage.

I think an activity becomes "autotelic" when the students are stimulated and the activities challenge their skill level. The teacher needs to know the skill level of students to arouse their interests but not so high as to frustrate learners. That is why I like the lesson plan checklist since students' backgrounds are the first on the list. This information would be acquired during a needs assessment for the course.