Lee Han Sheng 0311170150 TMA 1 EED510/05 Literacy and Language Education January 2019
Presentation and practice are the most common way to teach grammar in the traditional
setting. Discrete grammar structures are taught to build up to a more comprehensive
understanding of the language. Teaching grammar is defined by Ellis (2006) as :
“……instructional technique that draws learners’ attention to some specific grammatical forms
iin such a way that it helps them either to understand it linguistically and/or process it in
comprehension and/or production that they can internalize it. “
According to him grammar lessons may consist of only of
1. either presentation or practice
2. exercise where learners discover grammatical rules for themselves
3. exposure to input contrived by providing multiple examples of the target structure
4. corrective feedback on learners’ errors
However, Nassaji and Foros (2004) emphasize on teaching grammar by presenting
instructions because :
1. lessons where learners discover grammatical rules for themselves without some degree of
consiousne4ss is theoretically problematic.
2. L2 passes through the normal language development sequence and need their lessons to
be facilitated and scafolded.
3. Lessons where communication is focused on meaning and not grammar, learners
produce meaningful and understandable language of not accurate.
4. it improves accuracy and level of L2 acquisition.
According to them grammar teaching should cover three major problems :
1. conceptualized teaching in terms of methods with an exclusive focus on grammar
2. exposure to meaningful communication
3. emerging as a set of instructional options with the focus on both grammar and
meaning.
This causes learners to learn grammar that sre explicit or implicit. Explicit grammar
knowledge refer to a conscious knowledge of grammatical forms and meaning
(Purpua,2006). It can monitor language output. IT is accessed slowly through controlled
processing although at some extent can be automated. This can be taught by explicit
grammar instructions which according to Dekeyse (1995) involves the explanation of
rules or request to focus on grammatical feature. The instructions can happen both
inductively and deductively where in the latter learners are presented with examples first
then to the general rule to make generalizations.
In that care implicit grammar knowledge, it occurs naturally in language behavior
such as conversations (Ellis, 2001). Learners need to be in a state of constant conscious
awareness and intent. According to Dekeyser (1995) it is a process done unconsciously
and quickly. No explanation or rule of is given in presentation or request to focus on
something is given.
The deductive method relies heavily on presentation where rules , patterns or principles
are given first and then examples are given. This involves only reading and writing. Activities
include rule-explanation, translation, doing worksheets and self-study grammar. The advantages
are that
1. It’s straight forward, to the point and time saving.
2. Direct practices and application can be immediately given. A number of rules expect
can be simply and clearly explained.
3. Confirms learners’ expectations
4. Respects the maturity and intelligence of older learners and acknowledges the role of
their cognitive process in language acquisition.
The inductive method starts with giving learners’ a set of examples where the rule is
inferred. Its favorable among native speakers where they can produce grammatically correct
utterance but do not know the underlying rule. It correlated with direct and natural method where
its presented in the form of students experience. They are taught to notice the grammatical rules
that have been using all along.
Based on the article Inductive and deductive grammar teaching: what is it, and does it
work?24 April 2015 by Oxford University Press ELT written by John Hird, he says:
Deductive reasoning is essentially a top-down approach which moves from the more
general to the more specific. In other words, we start with a general notion or theory, which we
then narrow down to specific hypotheses, which are then tested. Inductive reasoning is more of a
bottom-up approach, moving from the more specific to the more general, in which we make
specific observations, detect patterns, formulate hypotheses and draw conclusions.
These two approaches have been applied to grammar teaching and learning. A deductive
approach involves the learners being given a general rule, which is then applied to specific
language examples and honed through practice exercises. An inductive approach involves the
learners detecting, or noticing, patterns and working out a ‘rule’ for themselves before they
practise the language.
A deductive approach (rule-driven) starts with the presentation of a rule and is followed by
examples in which the rule is applied.
An inductive approach (rule-discovery) starts with some examples from which a rule is inferred.
– Thornbury, 1999
The rationale behind the design of tthis grammar terracing activity is as follows. I will
first have a discussion about what are cognitive, affective and linguistic factors in second
language acquisition affecting ESL students before diving on its relevance to my above lesson
plan.
Researchers have attempted a classification of interindividual variables which are
interindividual differences in language learning play an important role in the theory of transition
(Robinson,2005). Snow (cited in Robinson, 2005) proposes an interactionist approach to
interindividual differences, namely the relevant aspects of the person and the situation which the
correlations between cognitive variables and outcomes are examined in relation to informational
and, most of them (Olivares-Cuhat, 2010) agreeing with the following categories:
a. cognitive factors (language apttitude, learning strategies);
b. affective factors (attitudes, motivation, anxiety); c. metacognitive factors;
d. demographic factors
Roy E. (2013) Cognitive Factors. In: Gellman M.D., Turner J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of
Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY defines:
Cognitive factors refer to characteristics of the person that affect performance and learning.
These factors serve to modulate performance such that it may improve or decline. These factors
involve cognitive functions like attention, memory, and reasoning (Danili & Reid, 2006).
Cognitive factors are internal to each person and serve to modulate behavior and behavioral
responses to external stimuli like stress. Performance on various activities of daily living has
been found to be affected by these factors. Executive functions, for example, have been shown to
predict ability to live independently in older adults such that those with poorer executive
functioning are less able to live independently (Vaughn & Giovanello, 2010)
The four development stages are described in Piaget's theory (Piaget, 1972) as:
1. Sensorimotor stage: from birth to age two. The children experience the world through
movement and their senses. During the sensorimotor stage children are extremely egocentric,
meaning they cannot perceive the world from others' viewpoints. The sensorimotor stage is
divided into six substages.
2. Preoperational stage: Piaget's second stage, the pre-operational stage, starts when the child
begins to learn to speak at age two and lasts up until the age of seven. During the pre-operational
Stage of cognitive development, Piaget noted that children do not yet understand concrete logic
and cannot mentally manipulate information. Children's increase in playing and pretending takes
place in this stage. However, the child still has trouble seeing things from different points of
view. The children's play is mainly categorized by symbolic play and manipulating symbols.
Such play is demonstrated by the idea of checkers being snacks, pieces of paper being plates, and
a box being a table. Their observations of symbols exemplifies the idea of play with the absence
of the actual objects involved. By observing sequences of play, Piaget was able to demonstrate
that, towards the end of the second year, a qualitatively new kind of psychological functioning
occurs, known as the Pre-operational Stage.
The pre-operational stage is sparse and logically inadequate in regard to mental operations. The
child is able to form stable concepts as well as magical beliefs. The child, however, is still not
able to perform operations, which are tasks that the child can do mentally, rather than physically.
Thinking in this stage is still egocentric, meaning the child has difficulty seeing the viewpoint of
others. The Pre-operational Stage is split into two substages: the symbolic function substage, and
the intuitive thought substage. The symbolic function substage is when children are able to
understand, represent, remember, and picture objects in their mind without having the object in
front of them. The intuitive thought substage is when children tend to propose the questions of
"why?" and "how come?" This stage is when children want the knowledge of knowing
everything.[47]
3. Concrete operational stage: from ages seven to eleven. Children can now conserve and think
logically (they understand reversibility) but are limited to what they can physically manipulate.
They are no longer egocentric. During this stage, children become more aware of logic and
conservation, topics previously foreign to them. Children also improve drastically with their
classification skills
4. Formal operational stage: from age eleven to sixteen and onwards (development of abstract
reasoning). Children develop abstract thought and can easily conserve and think logically in their
mind. Abstract thought is newly present during this stage of development. Children are now able
to think abstractly and utilize metacognition. Along with this, the children in the formal
operational stage display more skills oriented towards problem solving, often in multiple steps.
In Affective Factors in Second Language Acquisition Chapter 3 / Lesson 2 byYolanda
Reinoso Barzallo she says:
When our students are learning English as a second language, they are undergoing the
hard process of language acquisition. Their internal feelings can certainly affect how they
progress and this lesson gives you an overview of those factors in learning.
Affective factors are the set of emotions and attitudes people have about themselves or
the surrounding environment. In second language acquisition, these factors play an important
role. Let's analyze the main affective factors.The impact can be positive or negative, which
directly depends on the emotion or attitude the student has. Let's explore those factors:
1. Inhibition
Students who have high levels of inhibition often choose not to participate. Inhibition is the
mechanism a person uses to protect themselves from exposure to others. Inhibited students
usually feel vulnerable or even less capable than their peers. Thus, inhibition has a negative
impact on performance but not necessarily on learning. For instance, due to the fact that
Fernanda would prefer to be back home, she feels vulnerable. While her peers participate in
class, she remains silent. Fernanda's refusal to participate means she is not practicing speaking
and pronunciation skills, but she still learns from what her peers say because she listens to them
and the teacher.
2. Attitudes
A positive attitude towards anyone or anything that has to do with learning, can have a positive
effect in second language acquisition. Attitude includes the way a student feels about the teacher,
classmates, classroom, school, and even learning materials. For example, Fernanda likes her ELL
teacher, which can positively influence her learning. However, Fernanda hates the reading
textbook in her ELL lessons. She finds the material too complicated and boring. This, in turn,
negatively affects Fernanda's reading skills. Sometimes, ELL students dislike learning materials
because of the topic, the voice, and even the physical appearance.
3. Levels of Anxiety
Feelings of anxiety are obviously uncomfortable and our students in the process of second
language acquisition can feel anxiety due to diverse factors, such as immigration situation, social
pressure to academically perform, school tests or assignments. For example, Fernanda often feels
unhappy because her father made it clear she must learn English to succeed in school.
Meanwhile, Fernanda's inhibition and negative attitude towards learning material in English are
affecting her academic performance.
4. Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is the self-confidence level and self-respect a person has and it can influence
learning. For instance, Fernanda does not have any confidence that her speaking abilities in
English are good. On top of this lack of confidence, Fernanda compares her low grades to others'
in the class, which affects her self-esteem. This whole scenario puts Fernanda academically
behind her classmates.
Main Affective Factors that are defined by the journal “Affective factors involved in
learning a foreign language” by Ramona Henter in Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences
127 ( 2014 ) 373 – 378 which impact learning of a second language
a. Motivation
As one of the affective variables that can influence language learning, it appears as predictor of
the performance in a foreign language in a remarkable number of articles. Moreover, some
authors (Dörnyei, 1994a) found i t to bethe main determinant in learning a foreign language. The
socio-educational model of language learning by Gardner(1985) is the most common m odel in
th e research studied (Cochran et a l., 2010; Robinson, 2005). The model is based on five
motivational / attitudinal variables and their relationship with learning a foreign language
intergralization, attitude towards the learning situation, motivation, integrative orientation and
instrumental orientation
b. Attitude
Allport imposed attitudes as the most powerful determinants of behavior. Investigations have
mainly addressed the issue of training attitudes. For example, when an individual is faced with a
new task, with an unusual object, this episode causes a series of reactions charged with value,
meaning that the stimulus has the potential to cause positiveor negative reactions. Negative a
ttitude an d la ck of m otivation of l earners can become obstacles to language learning. Smith's
view (cited in Oroujlou & Vahedi, 2011) on attitudes can be summarized as follows: attitudes
can be learned, hence taught; they are situational and hence can be generalized; they act in a
certain frame of reference if an event / object itself does not generate an attitude, the situation,
the context will determine which will be the subject’s attitude. Kormos et al. (2011) suggest that
measurement of attitudes towards learning a f oreign language can be done through
questionnaires with Likert scales and provide an example of earlier researches (Kormos &Csizer,
2008).
Oroujlou & Va hedi (2011) emphasize that it is important to realize that it is mandatory to take
into account theplace of the English language in the world today as the foundation of an attitude
towards this language. Also, if a student does not like to learn, does not like school, he can
generalize this condition on language even before starting to learn it. Therefore, it takes positive
attitude to increase students’ efficiency in foreign language classes. Attitude is generally
measured in tandem with motivation, especially by AMTB, which provides very little data
particularized for attitude. Given that a single a accessible database (ProQuest) shows over a
hundred thousand studies where attitude appears associated with learning a foreign language, we
felt it necessary to include it among the factors that
can influence the results in language tests.
c. Language Anxiety
Another variable that may interfere with learning a foreign language is language an xiety, a
factor which has adevastating effect on performance in oral communication. Anxiety is seen in
psychology as either a trait (and it is a relatively stable personality trait), o r as a st ate (a
temporary situation). T here is a third type of anxiety, anxiety
specific to a situation, one that is recurrent in some kind of situation (Woodrow, 2006; MacIntyre
& Gardner, 1989,Horwitz, 2001) and research in the field of languages have shown that learning
a foreign language can be classified as a specific situation. The influence of anxiety caused by
the use of a foreign language is relatively recent in studies on factors affecting the results in lea
rning a f oreign language. In 1981, Stephen Kristen (as cited Olivares-Cuhat,2010) hypothesized
the affective filter, which credits affective factors (anxiety, motivation and self-confidence) with
the ability to influence the success in learning a foreign language. He believes them mediators
between the linguisticinput of the classroom situation and the student’s ability to learn.
Horwitz (2001) considers anxiety to a foreign language a s m ore than the sum o f i ts parts and
de fines it a s "a distinct complex of prior perception, beliefs, feelings and behaviors that o ccur
during learning in the classroom because of the uniqueness of a learning languages". Anxiety can
be seen as a construct with two dimensions, reflecting the communication in th e classroom and
beyond, in situations of everyday communication (Woodrow,2006). Foreign language anxiety
has t he same clinical picture as any other type of anxiety (Horwitz): difficult concentration,
sweating, palpitations, worry, fear and even horror of foreign language class, anxious students
having an avoidance behavior (they miss classes, do not do their homework).
In his book “Affective Factors influence Classroom learning” by Richard E. Ripole, he
says current emphasis centers on cognitive processes. Many curriculum reform projects are
based on cognitive approach (Ripple and Tockcastle, 1064). Piaget, whose influences is recently
being felt in American education is concerned with the development nature and process of
cognition (Flawell,1063 as is Bruner (1964)).
This kind of cognitive growth factors centric raises concerns by the likes of Sears and
Hilgard (1964) as they think that too much emphasis on cognitive development will defeat the
attainment of the very cognitive goals that are being sought and a teacher’s awareness of the
affective interaction with the pupils is an important in a curriculum directed towards cognition as
one with the other goals, such as those of social competence of personal adjustment. They prefer
Kausmeiter (1961) method of classroom learning which states there are six main factors that
affect teaching-learning processes in any behavioral setting for learning. Six main factors are :
learners characteristics, physical characteristics of the behavioral setting, learners and teachers
behaviors, group characteristics, teacher characteristics and outside factors. Klausmeiter uses the
term, behavior implies verbalizing, doing and feeling the entire range of cognitive, psychomotor
and affective activities engaged in by teachers and learners.
Aside from cognitive and affective factors, teachers must consider linguistic factors when
designing their lesson plan. One of the linguistic factors that makes a successful leaner learn two
first languages is distinguishing separate context for the two languages. This is basically
bilingualism which can be loosely defined as the use of two languages or the native-like control
of two languages The skill in bilingualism includes code-switching, which is the act of inserting
words, phrases or even longer stretches of one language into the other. According to THE
RELATION BETWEEN CODE DIFFERENTIATION AND LANGUAGE MIXING IN
BILINGUAL THREE- TO FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN by Lenore Arnberg and Peter W.
Arnberg in Bilingual Review / La Revista Bilingüe Vol. 12, No. 1/2 (January-August 1985), pp.
20-32 was a study other measures of code differentiation (which usually was either a one-system
theory in which the languages are gradually differentiated and a two-system theory in which the
child is able to differentiate the two languages from the earliest stages of linguistic development)
and investigating the extent to which these correlated with language mixing.
Another linguistic factor is that thefirst language has an effect on the second language
acquisition, and it is claimed that L1 can interfere with the acquisition of L2. It is also believed
that the role of L1 in the L2 depends on some similarities and differences between the two
languages. as described by The Interference of First Language and Second Language
AcquisitionAli Derakhshan, Elham Karimi. The journal also explains linguistic factors that have
the similarities and differences between the first language and second language acquisition.
Linguistic factors in learning are normally subsumed within the field of educational
linguistics. This field encompasses research into multilingualism; language situations and
policies including medium of instructions; how linguistic practices and factors can guide
effective pedagogy; and classroom discourse analysis for effective teaching and learning.
Linguistic factors in learning also include more current approaches in relation to linguistics
variables and learning (dis)abilities.
Language transfer is also another (also known as L1 interference, linguistic interference,
and crosslinguistic influence) refers to speakers or writers applying knowledge from one
language to another language.[1] It is the transfer of linguistic features between languages in the
speech repertoire of a bilingual or multilingual individual, whether from first ("L1") to second
("L2"), second to first or many other relationships.[2] It is most commonly discussed in the
context of English language learning and teaching, but it can occur in any situation when
someone does not have a native-level command of a language, as when translating into a second
language. There are both positive and negative transfer.
The role of linguistics and language in learning has often been associated with second
language pedagogy. As noted by Spolsky (1978) the intersection between language studies and
education has not always been clear. The application of linguistic theorizing and descriptions, or
“applied linguistics” in the past has narrowly been associated with language teaching.
After giving a brief outline of factors needed for me to explain the rational about by my
designed grammar activity based on deductive and inductive methods, cognitive, affective and
linguistic factors. Here is my lesson plan :
Objective :
1. To understand the meaning of active and passive sentences.
2. To identify them.
3. To able to modify them from one form to the other.
4. To understand the meaning of the word ‘by’ in the context of a passive sentence
5. To cultivate good listening, answering and memory retaining techniques when
learning grammar and other good classroom habits.
Learning outcomes
1. Identify that none of the 5 sentences were active sentence although the teacher said
so.
2. Able to modify a declarative sentence to become an active one.
3. Able to change 8 out of 10 active sentences into their correct present, past and future
passive forms
4. Able to explain briefly the different usage of active and passive forms.
Here are rational behind every step of the grammar activity ( in italics ) and it’s response
from my students ( underlined ) when the activity was ran in my classroom. The student profile
was 6 (3 amle and 3 female) teenager between the age of 15-16 studying the Malaysian syllabus
in
Warm-up
Student are told that this class is for my masters research purposes and as much I
would retain their anonymous, the performance would be in permanent record. They are being
told to listen carefully and follow directions diligently. This includes reading the questions and
text thoroughly and properly. They were also implored to ask questions whenever they have
trouble understanding anything. They are told that there is no shame of not knowing and it’s the
reason why their parents spent money for them to come to class to learn. They are encourage to
be not afraid of making mistakes. That I am a friendly teacher and all I care is about teaching
them because it’s my passion. I also impose a rule in class that students are not allowed to make
fun of each other if they make mistakes. That is better to ask and be laugh at but finally getting
the answer compared to being silent and staying stupid. I also tell them I wasn’t born knowing
everything but I learn a lot because I wasn;t afaird to ask.
The above gives students clear instruction and a change of mindset of being ashamed of
not knowing and too shy to ask. My stating my honest goal of teaching them and their purpose in
class and telling them how I overcame my anxiety to be who I am today/ this abates anxious
students (Horwitz, 2001; MacIntyre & Gardner, 1989) feel unable to meet the demands
oflearning a foreign language, feel less competent than their peers, are afraid of being
negatively evaluated by them,are afraid of making mistakes.
Text 1:
Read the passage silently. Circle the words you don’t understand.
Yesterday, this was what happened.
This murder was definitely caused by my mother. This dastardly deed was done none
other by my own flesh and blood. If she want’s let in to the house by the maid, Chardonnay,
none of this would happen. My mom was taken over by her jealousy. She was helped by my
brother ,who was a doctor. because it is him that gave her the poison. My dad was hated by
brother. But his urge to kill was also abated by my presence. My brother went to the house by
bus bus instead of a his car to car to avoid suspicion. As if, he wouldn’t be recognized by the
maid.
Today, I have to clean up the mess.
By the way, I enjoy all these drama caused by my family because it makes me feel so
much better of myself. I know what kind of poison my brother usually have because all his
inventory is done by me. I know the maid would need to be killed by me to eliminate the sole
witness. She has been working for the family for 20 years and will be missed by all. I placed
both bodies by the island in the kitchen and placed 2 glasses of 1983 Cabernet Sauvignon on it.
Injected a bit of a poison by use of a syringe. I have a gift given by God. I can imitate any one
handwriting just by looking at it. The letter that is going to be found in the maid’s bedroom is
written by me. The letter is believed by everyone,says that my Dad and her were start0crossed
lovers and if my dad wouldn’t leave my mother’s side, it’s bes that they both die.
Tomorrow, I will just pretend nothing happen.
The house will be raided by the police. My mother will be pretending to be crying and
morning by the lost of her ‘dearest’ husband. Yes, my brother will be suspected by the
authorities because it’s easy to presume that the poison was given by him. And even I might be
questioned as I was familiar with his medical drugs. But then again it’s not like his clinic,
Riesling is guarded by strict security. The fact that my father had a lot of enemies will be found
out by the prosecutor.
The above text is way to motivate students to read literature is through better text
selection. The most important criterion in text selection is probably students’ interest. This does
not mean that the texts have to be about teenagers’ issues only. ESL Students’ Attitude towards
Texts and Teaching Methods Used in Literature Classes, Siti Norliana Ghazali (2—9)
Practice 1:
1.
What are the tenses used in the 2nd, 4th and 6th paragraph?
To test the affective factors of students.
Despite being asked to read carefully in the warm-up, none of students are able to answer
this questions correctly which in my opinion stems from bad attitude that led to not reading the
text carefully
2.
Other than this, try to guess what other grammar points I am trying to teach? The
clue is that I use one word very often when making these kind of sentences using these grammar
skill. You don’t need to give me the name of the grammar skill i.e. past tense but give me an
example.
This question follows an inductive approach starts with some examples from which a rule
is inferred. In grammar teaching, teachers present the examples at the beginning then
generalizing rules from the given samples as stated in THE EFFECT OF INDUCTIVE
LEARNING APPROACH IN TEACHING GRAMMAR, Serliah Nur (2018|)
Students were not able to identify that the text was mainly passive sentences .
4. Most of the word ‘by’ in the text are used as the same meaning. Can you explain to
me what the meaning is by subsisting it with other word?
This is to test students ability to use abtract thought to find other words that could
replace the word ‘by’
Students only are able to define the meaning using other langaues.
5. Which sentences uses the word ‘by’ in other ways than the above? Explain what the
word ‘by’’ means in these sentences.
I wanted students to have abstract thought consider possible outcome.At this point,
the person is capable of hypothetical and deductive reasoning, Piaget (1973) Trying
to test students abstract thinking. To try to explore the different usage of the word
‘by’. To use their cognitive abilities to override the assumption that ‘by’ has only one
meaning. A word used so common they do not truly investigate their function in a
sentence.
Students were able to deduce the various meaning of ‘by’ like ‘using’( ride by bike),
preoposition ( by the side) and in passive sentences ( done by the action of )
6.Without looking at the text, ask how many French word the students can remember
from the text?
To test the affective factors of students.
Lacking proper attitudes towards learning. They completely ignored these unique words
that were actually common name of wines in Frech. However, one student did notice that they
were names given to certain things in the story.
Intro
Illicit response from students their understanding of the word ‘active and passive’.In what
areas can these word apply to describe things i.e. government, school, character etc.Focus on
how a student can describe a passive and active attitude. Ask them to give examples in their life.
Ask them about the pros and cons. Challenge them to realize that both can be beneficial in
different situations. Give examples in your own life.
Take this opportunity to address students difficulties and challenges in learning. This
them how to over come them. Teach them to be less critical about their failures and other peoples
option about them. Teach them what it be successful in learning. How active and passive
attitudes can come into play. Use honest personal examples to gain students respect and trust.
Explain how an active participation in a classroom can lead to not only academic success but a
good future.
The above is to motivate students by explaining the long term benefits of concentrating in
class, listening to the teacher and excel in the instructions. The correlations is shown in Affective
factors involved in learning a foreign language by Ramona Henter (2013)The results are partly
consistent with those in Robinson's research (2005), which showed that motivation and aptitude
are the best predictors for successful outcomes in learning a foreign language after training.
It also aims to increase students self-esteem by encouraging participation, lessing the
inhibition to ask questions and it’s benefit and to reduce mockery from other students A
confident student feels less anxious and has the strength of risk-taking in writing. Learners with
more competence in writing feel less anxious, and subsequently become fluent and proficient
writers (Zahibi, 2018).
Presentation 1:
Tell students the objective of the class. The meaning of active and passive sentences.
How to identify them. Their uses and how to change them from one form or the other.
Ask students to read this but to ask questions if they don’t understand.
Explain how this applies to today’s lesson. Where there are going to learn the meaning
active and passive in sentences sentence although they have a different from normal meaning.
Active and passive sentences although written in different way has the same meaning .
First, explain to them although they are many parts of a sentence. Active and passive
sentences focus on the modification of the subject, verb and object. Where a subject is doing
something to an object.
Ask students to give a normal sentence with a subject, verb and object. Pick one that is an
active sentence i.e. I tear a book. Tell them that ‘I’ is the subject and tear is the verb and although
‘a’ is an article it is not of paramount concern in this grammar skill. ‘Book’ however is and is the
object.
Now to change an active sentence to a passive one, the subject needs to be place in front
followed by a ‘to be’ modifier’ ( is, was, are, were depending on the grammar needed by the
object) followed by the past participle of verb in the original active sentence whether it was in
presnt of past tense form. In this case ‘torn’. Followed by adding ‘by’ and then the4y subject.
When it comes to future tenses. When changing an active sentence to passive ‘to - be’
needs to be added.
Active sentence
I will slice my cat’s neck tomorrow.
Passive sentence
My cat’s neck will be slit by me tomorrow.
Example :
1.Present tense
Active Sentence
I broke my mother’s leg
Passive Sentence
My mother’s leg is broken by me
2. Past tense
Active sentence
The ghost in the cupboard frightened my sister.
Passive sentence
My sister was frightened by the ghost in the cupboard.
2. Future tense
Active Sentence
The vampire will drink the blood of the innocent baby after dark.
The blood of the baby will be drunk by the vampire after dark.
3. Changing a passive sentence to an active one follows the same rules but in reverse.
Things to be noted.
Subject and objects are not just one word noun. They can be longer i.e. The boy in ther
blue
school
Remember to use the proper (to be) verb in front of each subject i.e. am, is, are, was
,were
Remember to change the pronoun accordingly. ‘I’ if it is a subject and in an active
sentence and ‘me’ if it’s a subject in a passive sentence.
Remember to use the part participle of the verb not the past tense.
Notice the active and passive sentence convey the same meaning
Ignore other parts of sentences and retain it. Just identify the active(or passive) sentences
to be changed.
Speaking
Show students Article 1 that explains active and passive sentences and when it is used.
A.
passive
Ask students to explain in their own words the difference between active and
sentences.
Students are only able to answer this question if the presentation was given by the teacher
and with visual aids on the whiteboard.
B.
Ask student why situation should they use active and passive sentences.
Students are unable to use cognitive factors to deduce the use of passive sentences
because I think they have not been expose to many instances where passive sentences are used.
Teacher fill in the knowledge gaps.
Show students Article 1 that explains active and passive sentences and when it is used.
Example:
When I get home , I stab my dog with a knife because it ate my pokemon.
Change to :
When I get home, My dog is stabbed by me because my pokemon is eaten by it.
Remember there might be 2 active sentences in a sentence.
Exercise 1:
1.
Write a present tense sentence each in in (a) active form (ii) passive form
2.
Write a past tense sentence each in (a) active form (ii) passive form
3.
Write a future tense sentence each (b) active form (ii) passive form
Students are unable to perform this task using cognitive factors by just reading the
presentation. However when the presentation was given by the teacher with visual aid on the
whiteboard, they were able to answer.
C.
Ask students after knowing more in detail about active and passive sentences,
how do they feel about the Article 1 they had to read. Do they agree?
Student are able to use meta-cognition to come up with their own opinions after reading
Article 1.
Change these sentences to passive sentences:
1.
The teacher said that the drawing was very detailed.
2.
When I got home, I realized the vase was broken.
3.
I felt very excited when my mother divorced.
4.
Captain Marvel is an insane movie.
6. Some questions have no answers because you did not read everything properly.
The above questions have no answers because there are not active sentences. I want students to
think about the explanation that I have given and think about it’s validity despite what I have led
them to believe. This is Metacognition, the capacity for "thinking about thinking" that allows
adolescents and adults to reason about their thought processes and monitor them.
Students were able to use cognitive factors to deduce that all the above sentences were not active
nor passive sentences.
Explain to students that the above exercise can’t be done because none fits the criteria of
being an active sentence. Ask students to explain their though process success or failure in doing
this exercise.
Presentation 2
Now the teacher repeats presentation out loud taking account to student’s reactions and
questions and writing examples on the board and instruction on how to modify the sentences
from one form to the other. There are also made to read Article 1 entitled ‘'When to use the
active and passive voice in writing'’
This teacher-centered approach is chosen based on Silvia (2006) in her research
elaborates deductive approach which is also known as rule-driven teaching enjoys the following
advantages: 1.The deductive approach goes straightforwardly to the point and can, therefore, be
time-saving.2. A number of rule aspects (for example, form) can be more simply and clearly
explained than elicited from examples 3. A number of direct practice/application examples are
immediately given. 4. The deductive approach respects the intelligence and maturity of many
adult learners in particular and acknowledges the role of cognitive processes in language
acquisition. 5. It confirms many learners' expectations about classroom learning particularly for
those who have an analytical style.
Exercise 2
Change the active sentences to passive one.
1.
Teenagers which are the main problems of society are only using their parents
money because they are too lazy to work.
2.
Children born after the year 2000 drink a special liquid called Pi Jiu died quicker
than others children born before them
3.
None will marry a student if they did not have a boyfriend or girlfriend by the
time they wew 13 no matter how beautiful they are.
4.
Princess Elza
6.
Researchers says that anyone that doesn’t agree that Princess Mulan is better than
should die.
In the past, parents gave birth to more kids because in the present all offspring are
useless and they secretly want them to grow up and leave the house forever.
7.
Anyone that loves to eat curry will get cancer because that is the secret way that
Satan tempts Asians to die faster.
8.
Superman and Batman are secretly gay and should get married before they get
killed by Joker
8.
The reason why you are not academically strong is because your parents do not
love you enough to put you in a Pin Hwa school instead of home-schooling you.
9.
Reports says that girl students bully boys because they are lazy in school and do
not concentrate on their academics.
10. Rich and handsome boys will never love academically smart Gong Ju girls because
they cannot control their jealousy.
The text in the above questions are purposefully to provoke discomfort in students which I
am follonw the research of (Roza, 2014, p.1) where in Indonesia a “model of grammar teaching
through consciousness–raising activities involving the learners to identify and understand the
grammatical point in context” was used without exploring learners‟ needs and preferences in
Indonesia a “model of grammar teaching through consciousness–raising. I would like to see
what kind of response it would gasther from student and whether it would affect their learning
ability.
Students were distracted due to affective factors to properly do this exercise but atleast
able to identify which were active sentences or not.
Without looking at the above exercise, ask how many Chinese word the students can
remember from the text.
Students were distracted due to affective factors to even remember that there were
Chinese words in the exercise.
Exercise 3
Change paragraph 4 in Text 1 into only active sentences without changing its meaning.If
you complete this exercise with excellent handwriting you will get a chocolate.
As discussed, motivation is a complex and multifaceted concept and cannot be considered
only as a cause or an outcome since it is a socially mediated process. The individual’s
motivation not only comes from within, but also develops through interacting with others in the
surrounding sociocultural context. As the findings in suggest, most participants experienced
changes in their motivation for studying English. by teachers. Since most participants in the
study in English Language Learners’ Perceptions of Motivational Changes by Hsuan-Yau Tony
Lai1 & Kuang-yun Ting (2013”) considered teachers to be the most important influence on their
motivation. Thus me giving out rewards is not only motivating but the impact being more
because I am their teacher.
This sort of motivation technique was not effective at all.
Exercise 4
Write a story about a preparation for a birthday party done last week by using only
passive sentences. Write at least 12 sentences.
As said by English Language Learners’ Perceptions of Motivational Changes by HsuanYau Tony Lai1 & Kuang-yun Ting (2013”) teachers ought to be dynamic and flexible. Adopting
a learner-centred approach and giving students a sense of autonomy for their own learning are
crucial to increasing intrinsic motivation to study a second/foreign language. Thus I am giving
them a choice that they would have to consider carefully as there are consequences.
Piaget (1973) stated that "hypothetico-deductive reasoning" becomes important during
the formal operational stage. This type of thinking involves hypothetical "what-if" situations that
are not always rooted in reality, i.e. counterfactual thinking. So I gave them an easy to write in a
hypothetical settting.
Students enjoyed the opportunity to use the grammar skilled learnt to describe realistic
situation that has personal meanings to their lives.
The reason why I have chosen the deductive approach is :
1.DeKeyser inYassi 2014) notes that "grammatical teaching that focuses on form or forms is
beneficial for certain situations, and certain learners”
Malaysian students are often put in educational situations that are exam orientated. Often
these objectives are short-sighted as it is not deemed wholesome education. However, often these
are the expectations of the parents of students who are not often seen the objective of learning
English beyond scoring in examination. As much as good grades does open doors to good
education and professional opportunities but more holistic approach is needed for successful
integration to the English speaking community. This unfortunately are not being put into
awareness to most learners that are generally not interested in learning English as much as their
native tongue and see learning English only as a means to an end. Thus only seeking shortcuts
and spoon-feeding and do not see the benefits of inductive approaches as it requires going
through more materials. They do not understand that the inductive approach is the foremost way
native English speakers acquire the language.
2. Deductive approach applied by Rivers and Temperley (1990) represents a more traditional
style of teaching in the grammatical structure or teacher- centered approach.
Parents of students are often not open to different types of educational methods. This is
seen as often p parents allocate similar teaching methods and educational opportunities similar to
what they have gone through even though they know it’s shortcoming. They trust the traditional
way of teaching although they want their children to have more modern achievements. This is
seen in the Malaysian educational system that seem to be resistant to employing native speaking
teachers. Parents and students alike are more impressed with a teacher that uses majority of the
class time to spew out dry and abundant knowledge instead of being skillful enough to attend to
other student needs like motivation, critical thinking and teamwork. As Malaysian students are
shy and often afraid to make mistakes thus they do not appreciate that valor of trial and error and
not to express themselves freely or at all. Thay are not totally to blame as often teachers and
parents to not encourage thinking out of the box, are not open minded to more creative answers
or even punish or ridicule students when they are wrong. Teacher-centered approach although
favorable in the Malaysian educational system is a lazy way for a teacher to conduct themselves
as it seldom take to an account of the students point of view.
4.Silvia (2006) in her research elaborated that deductive approach which is also known as ruledriven teaching goes straightforwardly to the point and can, therefore, be time-saving. It is more
simple and clearly explained than elicited from examples. A number of direct
practice/application examples are immediately given. The deductive approach respects the
intelligence and maturity of many older learners in particular and acknowledges the role of
cognitive processes in language acquisition. It confirms many learners expectations about
classroom learning particularly for those who have an analytical style.
Since my sample group are young adolescence according to Piaget (1972( there are in the
formal operational stage. They have metacognition, the capacity for "thinking about thinking"
that allows adolescents and adults to reason about their thought processes and monitor them.
They are able to think about the logic behind the grammar rule and extrapolate to other
examples. As they are able to monitor their thought process they are able to memorize the
grammar rule without rote learning thus teaching can be more straight forward. They are
problem solving orientated thus prefer to be rule-driven as opposed to exploring. They are more
mature and are not bored by being exposed to many grammar rules (and its exceptions) all at
once. They prefer not to be patronized and ‘tricked’ into learning something. They want to trust
in information given to them at face value. They like to have the objective of the lesson
presented to them and have clear goals specified to them as they are able to analyze their
performance base on them.
After all. deductive approach in which the explanation of a grammatical principle
precedes its application is more logical and leads to a higher degree of certainty of grammatical
knowledgeas said in “THE EFFECT OF INDUCTIVE LEARNING APPROACH IN
TEACHING GRAMMAR” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Volume-7 | Issue-9 | September-2018 by Serliah Nur.