a) be able to find your way around a grammar b) have more understanding of grammatical terminology c) understand the importance of knowing grammar

Transcription

1 Unit 2 The Study of English Grammar At the end of this module you will:- a) be able to find your way around a grammar b) have more understanding of grammatical terminology c) understand the importance of knowing grammar d) have begun to consider issues involved in teaching grammar See Harmer : Describing Language. These references at the beginning of each module refer you to the chapter in Harmer relevant to the module content.

2 GRAMMAR This module is designed to make sure that you are aware of your own grammar, and aware that it is essential to get to grips with it. When you are teaching ESOL you do not need to tell your students the grammatical terminology unless they specifically ask for the information (language-conscious nationalities will, even at lower levels) or unless you are teaching advanced students who need the terminology. However you do need to know the terminology for yourself, both to be able to answer such questions if the students ask you and to be clear about what point you are teaching and why you are teaching it. In order to complete this unit you will need to use a reference grammar. If you have not examined different grammars, we do not suggest that you buy one at this stage, as there are many on the market and you may not be comfortable with the first one you see. A good library will have a selection to choose from. When you have examined a few we suggest that, for this work, you get hold of a copy of Practical English Usage by Swan or a recent edition of A Practical English Grammar by Thomson and Martinet, whichever you feel you can most comfortably use. If you are already working in the field of TESOL and have a different grammar you should be able to use that so long as it was not written for use by Shakespeare! The English language is not static and some older grammars will now be out of date - both in the language they choose to describe and the way they describe it. Check for example what your grammar book says about the difference between will and shall. If it tells you that: the correct way to use them is shall with the I form : I/we shall and will with other forms and gives examples like: I shall not clean the kitchen, he will clean it, then you are in trouble and need a new book! It is worth remembering that people enter the world of TESOL from a variety of backgrounds. Therefore some of you will find these tasks quite straightforward due to your academic background, while others will need to spend time searching through a grammar in order to make sense of them. Take your time, that is the advantage of a Distance Learning Course. After you have studied a topic in your grammar book it is useful to give yourself time to listen out for it in daily life, just as your students try to do! There is no pressure to be the first to finish. But there may be pressure on you from students if you do not take time do this section well! Do not depress yourself with the notion that there is somewhere one ultimate set of grammatical rules which we 'know' and you must learn. This is not true. The famous adage: Rules are made to be broken. was never truer than for English grammar. But there are useful rules to share with students and knowing a rule can help them succeed. When you are teaching and you do not know the rule (let us assume this is Unit 2 1

3 a momentary lapse as you should know it!) use deductive analysis (explained in this module). By definition you, as a native speaker (if you are a native speaker), 'know' the grammar of English perfectly - your problem is to see it as a foreign language, to know about it and to understand the problems it poses to a foreign learner. (Nonnative speakers have a distinct advantage here!) Think of this all the time that you are doing the tasks; think of simple examples where you are asked for them, make life easy for yourself and your future students! DEDUCTIVE ANALYSIS Always check out any grammatical structure which you are unsure of and are expected to teach. Have your own 'bible' which you can rely on as a reference before a lesson. You will need your grammar throughout your TESOL career. In this unit you are expected to use your grammar, to familiarise yourself with the layout and become skilled at using it as a quick reference. BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF I HAVEN'T GOT MY GRAMMAR WITH ME? If you do not know a particular grammatical structure well, but you wish to explain it to your students try using DEDUCTIVE ANALYSIS. This means working it out for yourself. Write yourself some examples. One example is very dangerous in English, there is a good chance it will be an idiom or an exception. Two examples have a better chance of illustrating an emerging pattern, but there is still a chance that one will be an exception. Three examples are much safer, hopefully two of the three will illustrate the structure and you should then be able to explain the structure successfully. In theory it should never happen that you do not know a grammatical structure well enough to be able to explain it, exemplify it and name it. HOWEVER, early on in your TESOL career it may happen. It may also happen if you are given no warning nor preparation time before a lesson. This can happen if you are substituting for an absent colleague or on badly organised summer schools. Otherwise you should MAKE SURE you know what you are teaching by thoroughly preparing your lessons. NB One hour of preparation is the minimum for a one-hour lesson, especially in your first year of teaching. SELF-CHECK Try to use Deductive Analysis here: 1. Explain when to use the preposition 'at' Unit 2 2

4 Explain the use of the three prepositions 'on', 'in' and 'at' as used with expressions of time. 3. Explain the difference between 'count' and 'mass' nouns Unit 2 3

5 Work out some rules for the use of count and mass nouns. (Include the verb) MY RULES Unit 2 4

6 Write examples to show the use of 'some' and 'any' in these cases: 1. Beginners - 'some' in positive sentences (in contrast to 'a') 2. Elementary - 'any' in negative sentences 3. Elementary - 'any' in questions Elementary - 'some' with questions (when you expect a positive answer) 5. Intermediate - 'any' in positive sentences Each time a new aspect of the structure is introduced, the previous forms should be practised again and consolidated. Each form can be taught as a definite case which must be followed and only later do you point out and teach alternatives and contradictions. You usually work from the commonest first up to the more unusual forms. SELF-CHECK 2:1 1 Now check your work with the reference grammar you have bought. Correct your work and add in any other points that are in the grammar but that you did not think of. Unit 2 5

7 TEACHING GRAMMAR POINTS AND GIVING EXAMPLES TO STUDENTS. The days are gone when teachers used to stand at the front of the class and tell the students about grammar. It helped them with what the grammar looked like but not with how to use it. These days we need to give the students clear examples in a context of how grammar works. SELF-CHECK 2:1 2 There are thousands of teachers and books all over the world trying to help learners by giving them example sentences to help them with their grammar. Look at the exercises below. What is wrong with them? Why would they not help students with their grammar or verb tenses very much? Exercise 1 - Articles 1. Jackie ordered (the / an / a) printer from Ebay. 2. Everyday I exercise with (the / an / a) Denise Austin video I got for my birthday. 3. We enjoy (the / an / a) lovely dinner with friends on Sunday evenings. 4. At the zoo, we saw (the / an / a) seal and (the / an / a) otter. Exercise 2 - Tenses In these sentences fill in the verb in the correct tense. 1. John (play) tennis every Sunday. 2. I (live) in Egypt for 3 years 3. I (play) football next Sunday. 4. I (have) coffee with my breakfast. Problems: Unit 2 6

8 COMMENT The comment section does not appear for all self-check tasks but only for those where there are specific answers or discussion to be considered. Did you spot the problems? Articles exercise It is very difficult to practice articles in short out of context sentences, as the article we choose depends on the context. Look at the two options below. Jackie ordered (the / an / a) printer from Ebay. A: Any news on the printer? B: Jackie ordered the printer from Ebay rather than the one from the local shop in the end. A: How s the business going? B: Badly. Jackie ordered a printer from e bay and it broke on the first day. Every day I exercise with (the / an / a) Denise Austin video I got for my birthday. The article chosen depends on how many videos there are and whether the video is shared knowledge or not! Every day I exercise with the Denise Austin video I got for my birthday. Every day I exercise with a Denise Austin video I got for my birthday. We enjoy (the / an / a) lovely dinner with friends on Sunday evenings. We enjoy the lovely dinner with friends on Sunday evenings, the trip to the pub afterwards and the fact that we can walk home. We enjoy a lovely dinner with friends on Sunday evenings and I always provide the wine. There is an added problem that this is a rather strange sentence. Keep things as natural as possible. At the zoo, we saw the seal and an otter. At the zoo, we saw a seal and the otter. At the zoo, we saw the seal and the otter. Unit 2 7

9 At the zoo, we saw a seal and an otter. The article choices depend on which animals are known about before (the) and which were seen unexpectedly (a an). Tense exercises. There are similar problems with these sentences. They do not have enough context to show students which tense to use. John (play) tennis every Sunday. John is going to play/plays/is playing/played. There is no clue as to whether he has started playing yet, or finished it or is still playing at the moment. I (live) in Egypt for 3 years Lived (not anymore) /have lived (still there) am going to live (plan for later this year) I (play) football next Sunday. Am going to (plan) am playing (diary plan) will play (promise to yourself or someone else etc ) I (have) coffee with my breakfast. Have (everyday) had (have just finished) have had(so I don t want another) ll have (selection from menu) So try to follow these rules when you are teaching grammar or tenses. Give key words usually, next week, both to help them choose, for example, the difference between singular and plural, or present and past tense. Give contexts that they can understand and might want to use themselves. Where were you last night? I only saw Peter at the party. Is a more useful example than: Where was the orange last night? I only saw an apple. Sometimes give students a text and get them to pick out the tenses for themselves - this gives them a very clear idea of how words are used. Put tenses into a paragraph rather than single sentences when you give examples. Then students can see clearly how they work. Unit 2 8