Techniques for Teaching English Grammar

A good command of grammar is the basis of any language.

Grammar is the cornerstone of any language, and without mastering grammar, students cannot master a language. Studying grammar is often boring and unappealing to students. It's most likely to be unappealing when teachers present grammar as a set of rules students need to memorize and apply where appropriate. However, teachers and professors have developed new and more effective ways of teaching grammar.

1.    Teaching With Examples

o    Making connections between learning material and tangible things that students relate to is always a good approach to studying. Rather than asking your students to learn the rules of English grammar by heart, explain its rules with the help of examples. The method is also known as the discovery method, according to the article on the One Stop English website. Read texts you think will interest the students, and then explain various grammar rules you bump into in the text. Ask students grammar related questions from the text, and let them discover and explain which grammar rule is applied where. The examples should always be correct and age-appropriate.

2.    Correcting Errors

o    Not correcting grammatical mistakes can cause your students to develop bad grammatical habits. Additionally, if you don't correct the mistakes, the students will not know they're doing anything wrong or how to do it the right way. However, try not to overcorrect students in normal conversation because you may discourage them. According to the National Capital Language Resource Center, you should always correct students when students are doing structured output activities that focus on development of language skills. On the other hand, with communicative activities, which focus on the content of their communication rather than the grammatical form, you should only correct them if their mistakes distort comprehension.

3.    Task-Based Grammar Learning

o    According to an article on the One Stop English website, an effective approach to teaching English grammar is by assigning communicative tasks to students and letting them figure out the grammar on their own. After the students are done with their task, ask them to explain and discuss how they went about completing it. After discussion, read the task out loud, and explain which grammar rules apply where and why.

4.    Keep the Lessons Interesting

o    Students will gain most from a class that is versatile and asks them to do a variety of different types of grammar work. The more they approach the language from different angles, the quicker they will learn. For example, a student will benefit from doing his or her own grammatical worksheets but will gain just as much, if not more, from correcting the work of a fellow student. For that reason, include worksheets, peer-to-peer reviews and listening exercises in lessons.

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