Teaching and Assessment of Grammar PDF

TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF GRAMMAR Christianne Roie A. Carabeo, MACDDS Assistant Professor II  SIX RULES OF GRAMMAR TEACHING ACCORDING TO SCOTT THORNBURY THE RULE OF CONTEXT  THE RULE OF CONTEXT Teach grammar in context. If you must take an item out of context...

TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF GRAMMAR Christianne Roie A. Carabeo, MACDDS Assistant Professor II  SIX RULES OF GRAMMAR TEACHING ACCORDING TO SCOTT THORNBURY THE RULE OF CONTEXT  THE RULE OF CONTEXT Teach grammar in context. If you must take an item out of context to focus on it, recontextualize it as soon as possible. Always associate grammar form with the meaning of the speaker or author. THE RULE OF CONTEXT: WHAT? Grammar teaching should consider all three: form, meaning, and use Grammar instruction should integrate aspects of both language and literature and not as distinct field of English THE RULE OF CONTEXT: WHAT? Teaching grammar in context involves making connections between grammatical patterns and the meaning of texts; wider contextual aspects such as genre, audience, subject and purpose;a reader’s feelings and responses to the text; potential authorial motivations for making decisions about language choices (Aarts et al, 2018) THE RULE OF CONTEXT: WHY? Language knowledge does not necessarily guarantee language skills Every individual is creative and has rich experiences, thus should be given opportunity to utilize these through real-world type situations in which context is a major consideration. THE RULE OF CONTEXT: WHY? Context provides avenue not just to learn grammar rules but for meaning-making Thinking of grammar in terms of concepts, that is, what is the purpose of using a specific form, what is the meaning expressed through that form, will broaden learner’s understanding and use of the target language THE RULE OF CONTEXT: HOW? Real world scenarios Interaction Use of authentic materials Scaffolding strategies Literary pieces Inductive method THE RULE OF USE  THE RULE OF USE Teach grammar with the objective of improving the learners’ understanding and production of real language – never as an end in itself. Always provide opportunities for students to put the grammar to some communicative use: practice, practice, practice!  THE RULE OF USE: WHAT? Teach grammar in order to facilitate the learner’s comprehension and production of real language, rather than as an end in itself. Always provide opportunities for learners to put the grammar to some communicative use. (Thornbury, 2004)  THE RULE OF USE: WHAT? Students understand the concepts (grammar rules) better if they are able to use and apply it I real communicative tasks. Learning English is more than just learning vocabulary and grammar rules, students need to actually use the language and listen to how others use it as well  THE RULE OF USE: WHAT? Grammar teaching should incorporate spoken interactions or communicative production tasks. A key component of grammar teaching is the integration of communicative work To teach grammar effectively, teacher should enable students to control grammar to express increasingly complex ideas.  THE RULE OF USE: WHY? The primary goal of teaching English is to help Filipino studnets acquire the necessary skills for listening, speaking, reading and writing, which enable them use the language for effective communication. Language knowledge is not equal to language production  THE RULE OF USE: WHY? Students are able to appreciate what they are learning if they see how language works and is used in real context. Students should be able to see the relationship of grammar points to how the target language is actually used.  THE RULE OF USE: HOW? Authentic samples of language Identify usage patterns Audio samples Share insights and ideas in class Communicative Approaches THE RULE OF ECONOMY  THE RULE OF ECONOMY In order to obey Rule 2 (The Rule of Use), be economical. Minimize presentation and direct explanation time in order to provide maximum practice time. By practicing, students think, communicate, experience learning and remember language. THE RULE OF ECONOMY: WHAT? The English Curriculum should be decongested, focusing on relevant grammar concepts Comprehensible input is language input that can be understood by listeners despite them not understanding all the words and structures in it. It is described as one level above that of the learners if it can only just be understood (Krashen, 2003) THE RULE OF ECONOMY: WHAT? Economize on presentation time in order to provide maximum practice time. With grammar, a little can go a long way (Thornbury, 2004) Providing comprehensible input and more time for language practice help students acquire language naturally, rather than learn it consciously. THE RULE OF ECONOMY: WHAT? As language learners’ usage of the target language increases, so does their level of comprehension. Teachers should be able to strategize how to present grammar rules efficiently and effectively, then provide more time for students to apply these rules in communicative tasks.  THE RULE OF ECONOMY: WHY? Language is primarily a skill, thus, should be practiced and used. Just studying grammar will not in itself enable you to use it. Students’ language success may be limited if what they have learned will merely stay as rules to understand.  THE RULE OF ECONOMY: WHY? Providing for more and more input may still not be sufficient, for input should be “comprehensible”. Thus, a content- jampacked syllabus does not necessarily guarantee language acquisition. Students who are at intermediate level and beyond may need more opportunities for practice rather than presentation of rules.  THE RULE OF ECONOMY: HOW? Plan your grammar lessons well Be clear with your goal Provide instructional scaffolding THE RULE OF RELEVANCE  THE RULE OF RELEVANCE Do not waste time on grammar items or rules that students already know or will soon forget (e.g., every kind of question tag in one lesson or more than one or two contrastive examples). Allow Chinese to facilitate learning objectives, not to simplify or replace English. THE RULE OF RELEVANCE: WHAT? Teach only the grammar that students have problems with. This means, start off by finding out what they already know. And don’t assume that the grammar of English is a wholly different system from the learner’s mother tongue. Exploit the common ground. (Thornbury, 2004) THE RULE OF RELEVANCE: WHAT? The rule of relevance prompts the language teachers to make learning become more personal to the students. This rule puts students at the center of English Language teaching and learning. THE RULE OF RELEVANCE: WHAT? Depending on the target language, teachers should teach grammar concepts in relation to the students’ mother tongue. Communicative tasks should cater to cultural differences. Teachers should make sure that examples are accurate and appropriate for certain groups. THE RULE OF RELEVANCE: WHAT? The Glossary Of Education Reform (2013) points out two kinds of relevance: Personal Relevance and Life Relevance. Personal Relevance occurs when learning is connected to an individual student’s interests, aspirations, and life experiences. Meanwhile, Life Relevance occurs when learning is connected in some way to real- world issues, problems, and contexts outside of school. THE RULE OF RELEVANCE: WHY? Relevant, meaningful activities that both engage students emotionally and connect with what they already know are what help build neutral connections and long-term memory storage (Briggs, 2014) Students may disregard important concepts if they do not find relevance to them THE RULE OF RELEVANCE: WHY? Students become more interested to learn if they see the importance and connection of the concepts taught in the classroom to their real-life encounters. Students may become disinterested in the things they already know; thus teachers should start where they are. If students acknowledge that the concepts are worth knowing, it will hold their attention and engage them. THE RULE OF RELEVANCE: HOW? Provide examples that are grounded on how concepts learned are used in the real world Let students experience authentic use of the language Create activities to showcase students’ communicative abilities Watch movies Anchor your lessons on real world problems Let students publish their poems, stories, narratives Encourage students to build and create connections to what has been taught and to what is happening in the real world  THE RULE OF NURTURE  THE RULE OF NURTURE The most difficult rule: teaching does not cause learning. The right environment, conditions and opportunity for learning do. Language learning is not an “ah ha! Eureka!” kind of learning. It is orienteering: finding one’s way through a jungle step by step, accumulating knowledge and skills through a long, slow, deliberate process.  THE RULE OF NURTURE: WHY? A nurturing environment is a learning-rich environment Students tend to withdraw and lose interest in learning if the classroom does not reinforce self-esteem. Reinforcing self-esteem in the classroom is associated with increased motivation and learning.  THE RULE OF NURTURE: WHY? Students need to feel that the classroom is a place for trial and error and learning from mistakes. They need to feel safe, supported, cared for in your classroom. Teachers should be able to provide a conducive learning environment free from fear and humiliation  THE RULE OF NURTURE: HOW? Get to know your students and allow them to know you as well. Create a sense of order through clear behavioral and academic expectations Provide constructive feedback and allow students to learn from their mistakes Celebrate success and class achievements Choose appropriate teaching methods to cultivate students motivation and creativity Teachers may use the teaching method Suggestopedia  THE RULE OF APPROPRIACY  THE RULE OF APPROPRIACY Consider all these rules according to the level, needs, interests, expectations and learning styles of the students. These same rules may lead one teacher to focus on explicit grammar teaching more and another to explicitly focus on grammar...not at all. THE RULE OF APPROPRIACY: WHAT? Teachers should design classroom activities not just according to efficiency but also appropriacy. Grammar practice and communicative tasks should suit to the context of each learner These questions can help teachers evaluate if what they are doing in the classroom is somehow appropriate to their students. THE RULE OF APPROPRIACY: WHAT? This rule prompts teachers to consider their students I the context of being language learners – What do they already know? What do they need to know immediately? What do they need to know in the future? Teachers should consider the individual differences of students and use this to plan an effective and productive teaching- learning process. THE RULE OF APPROPRIACY: WHY? People are more different than they are alike. Teachers have to respond to the diversity of learners. These individual differences in a language classroom can make for success or failure in attaining the goal of acquiring the target language. The teaching-learning process should be student-centered. THE RULE OF APPROPRIACY: WHY? Regardless of how diverse the classroom is, students should be given equal opportunity to learn and achieve their goals. Teachers need to evaluate what students really need and design classroom activities suited to their needs. THE RULE OF APPROPRIACY: HOW? Teachers may conduct needs assessment analysis or diagnostic tests to gain necessary data on students’ proficiency level and needs Talk to your students and let them share their language learning challenges and how they want o be supported. THE RULE OF APPROPRIACY: HOW? Determine your students’ learning styles, previous learning experiences and present expectations Take into consideration all other rules of teaching grammar Start where your students are Student-centered learning