TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR

TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING GRAMMARBy:ASSHADWI PANEERSELVAMYASOTHAI NATHANINTRODUCTIONFor a good grammar teaching, teachers should take the language learning forwards and bring in grammatical features of stories, dialogues, songs, etc. to the attention of their pupils in order to attract the pupils attention.

According to Chitravelu (2005), there are several features that a teacher has to consider when planning suitable techniques in his/her grammar classes. Be meaningful Be purposeful Have a social function Provide plenty of practice Use a multimedia approach Provide variety Encourage active participationSONGS AND CHANTSSONGSSongs are very good tool to motivate the pupils' learning processSongs could be an essential part of English teaching. You should choose a song according to their level and try to see if the song is suitable for them. Songs are a good way to teach because they incorporate all the language skills:

Listening (to the song) - Following the song to determine words. Reading (following the lyrics to determine the words) Writing (filling in the blanks) Speaking (singing the song)Kind of songs Special songs Children's songs Action songs Teaching structure songs Telling stories songs Pop SongsHOWPupils listen to a song and as they listen they have the lyrics with gaps in for them to fill in as they listenThis activity is not as simple as it sounds and before making one yourself think about why you are taking out certain words It may be better to take out all the words in one group, such as prepositions or verbs, and tell the pupils what they should be listening out for Another option is to take out rhyming words. Dont be tempted to take out too many words, eight or ten is normally enough. To make the task easier you could provide the missing words in a box at the side for the pupils to select, or you could number the gaps and provide clues for each number.Comic stripsSongs that tell stories are great for pupils to make comic strips out of. You have to choose your song carefully and spend time looking at the lyrics with the pupils and making sure they have understood the main ideas. Lower levels may need guidance as to how to divide up the song into suitable chucks that can be represented pictorially. How to use songs?Classic gap-fillSpot the mistakesComic stripOrder the versesDiscussionTranslationCHANTSGrammar chants can be a lot of fun to use in classes.Using a chant is pretty straight-forward.Remember that through the use of repetition and having fun together.

Example of 'make' and 'do' chant:

She

She makes

She makes the bed.

We

We do

We do our homework.

Be creative, and you'll find your students having fun while learning important English basics.

Baseball, basketball, golf.

Baseball, basketball, golf.

Baseball, basketball, baseball, basketball

Baseball, basketball, golf.To reinforce grammar, add a pattern:

He plays baseball.

She plays basketball.

They play golf.

They play golf.STORIESvery good way of helping students learn language more deeply and naturallymotivating and fun; they create a deep interest and a desire to continue learningshared social experience; it provokes a shared response of laughter, sadness, excitement and anticipationexercise the imagination; children can become personally involved in a story as they identify with the characters and try to interpret the narrative and illustrations.

1. Children, adolescent and adults all love stories & this generate positive attitude to the lesson for which the story acts as a framework.

2. Stories provide a context for several grammatical structures.

3. A story can provide contexts for real use of English (variety of emotions and issues).

Circle Story The class create stories word by word. You can begin by saying: "One Monday morning I was" or whatever beginning you like. Then go round the class in a circle [not randomly]. The first pupil must repeat "One Monday morning I was" and then add a single word that makes sense and fits in grammatically. The second pupil repeats all the first pupil has said, adding one more word. The third pupil repeats all and adds a word, and so on, until a story develops around the class.This technique can be fun, requires no preparation and focuses on the accurate use of language. It can make a good warmer. With a small class it's possible to go round the class twice. The teacher can choose whether the story is to be told in present tense [if they are beginners] or used to practice the simple past tense, or with no restrictions on the language used.Question Story

Write 4 or 5 questions on the board. For a very low level class these might be: "What's his/her name?" "Where is he/she?" "What's he/she doing?" "What does he/she say?" Run through a few possible answers orally with the class. Then give a piece of paper to every pupil. Tell them you want them to write an answer to the first question only. Encourage them to be creative.

They then fold back their paper, so the answer they have written is folded away from the page and not visible when the paper is flat on the desk. All pupils then pass their paper to the pupil on the left. They all then write the answer to the second question, fold the paper again, then pass to the next pupil on the left, and so on, until all the questions have been answered. The pupils can then unfold the papers, correct where possible, and then read aloud the slightly crazy stories to the class.

Retelling Stories Another way of using stories which requires minimal preparation, yet is a very powerful learning tool, is to have the pupils retell stories. The best stories to begin with are interesting anecdotes from your life, or interesting or unusual news stories. Once this activity is familiar, the pupils can then contribute with their own stories. This activity works well as a warmer and as practice or review of the simple past tense.