Teaching and Assessment of Grammar
Darlene S. Velasco
1
Table of Contents
-
center, bold, 16pt Bookman Old Style
Module 1: Introduction to Grammar Pedagogy
Introduction
Objectives
Lesson 1. Parts of Speech in a Nutshell
Lesson 2. Types of Grammar
Lesson 3. Teaching & Assessing Grammar
Assessment Tasks
Summary
References
4
4
5
7
8
10
14
14
Module 2: Nouns, Pronouns, & Adjectives
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Lesson 1. When Teaching about Nouns
Lesson 2. When Teaching about Pronouns
Lesson 3. When Teaching about Adjectives
Assessment Tasks
Summary
References
15
15
16
23
28
30
31
31
Module 3: Verbs & Adverbs
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Lesson 1. When Teaching about Verbs
Lesson 2. When Teaching about Adverbs
Assessment Tasks
Summary
References
32
32
33
40
42
44
44
Module 4: Conjunctions & Prepositions
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Lesson 1. When Teaching about Conjunctions
Lesson 2. When Teaching about Prepositions
Assessment Tasks
Summary
References
45
45
46
47
52
53
53
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Course Code:
EL108
Course Description: The course engages learners in understanding the
distinctions between and among four types of grammar: functional,
descriptive, prescriptive and pedagogic. Aside from the emphasis on how
teaching and assessment vary considering the four types, the course also
provides opportunities to discover the role of grammar in achieving
communicative competence.
Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILO):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
build relevant content knowledge to facilitate students’ understanding
of the key concepts of grammar;
differentiate functional, descriptive, prescriptive, and pedagogic
grammars.
display communicative competence in both oral and written form of
teaching grammar;
show interest and appreciation of the English grammar and nurture a
positive attitude towards English as a language of instruction;
apply prior knowledge of the principles of teaching and assessment into
teaching and assessment of grammar;
teach grammar concepts in both written and oral ways to address the
needs of students with different learning styles;
adopt conducive and encouraging error correction practices;
formulate innovative and contextualized teaching and testing strategies
for grammar;
design and create a module for grammar that is suitable for remote
learning.
Course Requirements:
▪
▪
Assessment Tasks - 60%
Major Exams
- 40%
_________
Periodic Grade
100%
Final Grade = Total CS + Final Exam x 70% + 30% of the
Midterm
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MODULE 1
INTRODUCTION TO GRAMMAR PEDAGOGY
Introduction
Before diving into the rudiments of grammar teaching, the fundamentals of grammar
itself should first be revisited. After all, to be able to become an effective instructor of the nittygritties of the English language, one ought to invest in content knowledge. This module and
the rest that will follow are designed in such a way that grammar lessons are imbedded into
the discussion of methods of teaching and assessing grammar. In that way, you are
familiarized and exposed to key concepts as you are being equipped with relevant teaching
and testing tools.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
1. demonstrate familiarity and comprehension of the fundamentals of grammar;
2. build relevant content knowledge to facilitate students’ understanding of the key
concepts of grammar; and
3. differentiate functional, descriptive, prescriptive, and pedagogic grammars.
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Lesson 1. Parts of Speech in a Nutshell
This first lesson is designed to allow you to revisit core concepts of the parts of speech.
Through comprehension and familiarity of the following, you will not only be able to facilitate
the correction of misuse, but also move on to deliver more complex lessons in grammar and
composition.
Rozakis (2003), intoned that as English is a very flexible language, a word’s meaning
is derived not only from how it is spelled and pronounced but also from how it is used in a
sentence. As you review the parts of speech, remember that the way a word is used in a
sentence determines which part of speech it is (Rozakis, 2003). To further elaborate on her
claim, she provided the example below:
Example #01: I ate a fish for dinner.
Example #02: We fish in the lake on every Tuesday.
On the first example, the underlined word functioned as a noun whereas on the
second example, the underlined word is used as a verb. The examples demonstrate the
fluidity of English seeing as meaning changes in consideration of context.
Table 1.1 Review of the Parts of Speech (Rozakis, 2003):
Part of Speech
Definition
A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing. Nouns come in
these varieties: common nouns (e.g., lady, school, notebook); proper
Nouns
nouns (e.g., Darlene, Bubukal, Facebook); compound nouns, (e.g., time
capsule, great-uncle, basketball); and collective nouns (e.g., audience,
family, herd).
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun.
Pronouns
Pronouns help you avoid unnecessary repetition in your writing and
speech. A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun it stands for. The
noun is called the antecedent. The main kinds of pronouns are as
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follows: personal, possessive, reflexive, intensive, demonstrative,
relative, interrogative, and indefinite.
Verbs name an action or describe a state of being. Every sentence must
Verbs
have a verb. There are three basic types of verbs: action verbs (tell what
the subject does), linking verbs (join the subject and the predicate), and
helping verbs (added to another verb to make the meaning clearer).
Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Adverbs
Adverbs answer the questions: When? Where? How? or To what
extent?
Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns. Adjectives
answer the questions: What kind? How much? Which one? How many?
There are five kinds of adjectives: common adjectives (describe nouns
Adjectives
or pronouns), proper adjectives (formed from proper nouns), compound
adjectives (made up of more than one word), articles (special category
of adjectives for: the, a, an), and indefinite adjectives (do not specify the
specific amount of something).
Conjunctions connect words or groups of words and show how the
words are related. There are three kinds of conjunctions: coordinating
Conjunction
conjunctions (link similar words or word groups), correlative conjunctions
(link similar words or word groups, but are always used
in pairs), and subordinating conjunctions (link an independent clause to
a dependent clause).
Prepositions
Prepositions link a noun or a pronoun following it to another word in the
sentence.
Interjections show strong emotion. Since interjections are not linked
Interjection
grammatically to other words in the sentence, they are set off from the
rest of the sentence with a comma or an exclamation mark.
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Lesson 2. Types of Grammar
Larsen-Freeman (2009), ventured to say that perhaps, no term in the language
teaching field is as ambiguous as grammar as it has been used to mean:
Table 2. 1 Various Definitions of Grammar (Larsen-Freeman, 2009):
Type
Definition
Mental Grammar
Prescriptive Grammar
Descriptive Grammar
An internal mental system that generates and interprets novel
utterances.
A set of prescriptions and proscriptions about language forms
and their use for a particular language.
A description of language behavior by proficient users of a
language.
Linguistic Grammar
The focus of a given linguistic theory.
Reference Grammar
A work that treats the major structures of a language.
Pedagogical Grammar
The structures and rules compiled for instructional and
assessment purposes.
The structures and rules compiled for instructional purposes for
Teacher’s Grammar
teachers (usually a more comprehensive and detailed version
of pedagogical grammar).
Besides the seven types identified and defined by Larsen-Freeman (2009), there is
another type that is dubbed as “functional grammar”. For this type of grammar, we turn to the
definition from Hands (n.d.) who supplied that a grammar that puts together the patterns of
the language and the things you can do with them is called a functional grammar. It is based
on the relation between the structure of a language and the various functions that the
language performs (Halliday, 1994 as cited by Hands, n.d.). Functional grammar, therefore,
is concerned with how the various items of language in a text work together as part of a larger
system (Hands, n.d.).
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Lesson 3. Teaching & Assessing Grammar
In the introduction to their book entitled, Teaching Grammar: What Really Works ,
Benjamin and Berger (2010), encouraged teachers to see grammar with new eyes. Both
authors who happen to be experienced teachers of English subscribed to the belief that it is
possible to teach grammar using contemporary methods that are engaging, lively, and social
to produce durable learning. These methods include teaching through visuals and hands-on
manipulatives, rhythm, creative dramatics, inductive reasoning, problem-solving, wordplay,
and pattern-finding.
Their strategy to help us see grammar through a new set of eyes involve the review of
the traditional ways of viewing grammar instruction. They do this to help highlight the negative
mentality that we have to unload and discard before we can finally look at and entertain new
possibilities.
What do teachers say about teaching grammar? Asked Benjamin and Berger (2010).
The usual responses as discussed by Benjamin and Berger (2010), include:
teaching
grammar is frustrating, it does not work, students seem to need the same lessons over and
over, they forget the grammar that they learn in school and fail to use it to create better
language. The fabled “better language” mentioned above was clarified by Benjamin and
Berger (2010), to mean and/or refer to language that is well-suited to the audience and
purpose.
Benjamin and Berger (2010) also emphasized that “assessments that measure
whether students can pick out certain parts of speech or circle the correct choice of singular
or plural verb in a premade sentence don’t say much about what happens, grammatically
speaking, in the real world of the students’ language. Real world consists of various audiences
for various purposes, informal as week as formal, reflective of the ever-changing nature of all
languages” (Benjamin & Berger, 2010).
A pessimistic view of grammar teaching is seen demonstrated in the claim that we can
liven up the instruction of grammar with gimmicks like grammar bees, contests, rewards, and
mnemonics, but in the end, it is all about memorizing the rules and deferring to the answer
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key. According to tradition, critical thinking does not play a part in grammar instruction
(Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
To add to the negativity, exasperated teachers complain that the burden of teaching
the basics of grammar should not be at their levels and that students should have been taught
grammar in the lower grades. This phenomenon is known as “blame-down” in educational
circles. It is a continuous spiral of expectations with regards to what students should know
and be able to do at given levels. According to Benjamin and Berger (2010), this blame-down
is an unproductive mindset for teachers under any circumstance, but especially grammar. In
conclusion, old-fashioned grammar instruction is not going very well for most students, no
matter how often, or how loudly it is taught (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
How then can we get teachers to see grammar with new eyes? What Benjamin and
Berger (2010) have done on the initial part of their introduction is to lay out objections,
concerns, and misconceptions that prevent teachers from teaching grammar well or that
excuse them from teaching grammar at all. Th paradigm identified by Benjamin and Berger
(2010) is what they termed as “teaching grammar with old eyes” which happens to be a familiar
three-step process: (1) A concept such as a subject-verb agreement, or a definition, such as
relative pronoun, is introduced at the outset. The student feels no connection to the concept
and has expressed no curiosity about it; (2) Examples given in the form of unrelated, contrived
sentences that have no meaning to the student; (3) Given a list of sentences, the student is
required to correct an error or recognize words that fit the definition.
Considering all three (3) steps, old grammar teaching is all about low-level thinking
that is based heavily on the skill of identification. If the old ways of teaching grammar through
worksheets, drills and exercises don’t work, and if “addressing the problems as they come up”
doesn’t seem to be getting the job done either, what are some better ways? Benjamin and
Berger (2010) said that these negative attitudes and futile methods must be countered.
A counter-measure that both Benjamin and Berger (2010) have sworn by are based
on sound principles about how humans learn and, in particular, how humans learn about
language. These principles call upon students to be actively involved and thinking, not just
memorizing (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
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Assessment Tasks
Task 1.A. True-False Questions (Written Task)
Direction: Answer the following through a combination of the module content and your prior
knowledge. Write “Sublime” if the statement expresses an indisputable truth and “Sablay”
if it is erroneous.
_________ 1. A noun names a person, place, or thing.
_________ 2. Common nouns name any one of a class of person, place, or thing.
_________ 3. Proper nouns name a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are never
capitalized.
_________ 4. Plural nouns show ownership.
_________ 5. Verbs express action, condition, or state of being.
_________ 6. There are six basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs,
transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, and plural verbs.
_________ 7. Helping verbs are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer. Helping
verbs include any form of to be.
_________ 8. Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns.
_________ 9. Never use an adjective after a linking verb.
_________ 10. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Task 1.B. Completion Questions (Written Task)
Direction: Answer the following through a combination of the module content and your prior
knowledge. Select the word that best completes each sentence.
1. Proper adjectives are formed from (common nouns, proper nouns).
2. The three articles are a, an, and (the, then).
3. The is called the (indefinite article, definite article).
4. (Predicate adjectives, Proper adjectives), which describe the subject of the sentence,
are adjectives separated from the noun or pronoun by a linking verb.
5. (Interjections, Conjunctive adverbs) are used to connect other words and to link
ideas and paragraphs.
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6. There are (three, seven) different coordinating conjunctions.
7. Correlative conjunctions also link similar words or word groups, but they are always
used (in pairs, one at a time).
8. Collective nouns (name groups, show ownership).
9. (I, Which) is a personal pronoun.
10. (Yours, Herself) is a possessive pronoun.
Task 1.C. Multiple-Choice Questions (Written Task)
Direction: Answer the following through a combination of the module content and your prior
knowledge. Identify the part of speech for the underlined word in each sentence.
1. The outside of the boat needs scraping.
(a) Noun
b) Adjective
(c) Adverb
(d) Preposition
2. You should scrape the boat without outside help.
(a) Noun
(b) Adjective
(c) Adverb
(d) Preposition
3. Let’s sit outside and laugh at you as you work in the blazing sun.
(a) Noun
(b) Adjective
(c) Adverb
(d) Preposition
4. The ambulance is parked right outside the yard, next to the beehive.
(a) Noun
(b) Adjective
(c) Adverb
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(d) Preposition
5. The politician repented of his past mistakes.
(a) Noun
(b) Adjective
(c) Adverb
(d) Preposition
6. Turn right past the store with the neon sign in the window.
(a) Noun
(b) Adjective
(c) Adverb
(d) Preposition
7. Did you hear that song before?
(a) Conjunction
(b) Adjective
(c) Adverb
(d) Preposition
8. Always follow through with what you start.
(a) Interjection
(b) Conjunction
(c) Adverb
(d) Preposition
9. The remark went right through one ear and out the other.
(a) Noun
(b) Adjective
(c) Conjunction
(d) Preposition
10. The gardener mowed the lawn after he reread, She’s Dating the Gangster.
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(a) Conjunction
(b) Adjective
(c) Adverb
(d) Preposition
Task 1.D. Matching Type (Written Task)
Direction: Find the appropriate matches of the items below from the items in the grey row.
Place your answer on the space provided.
Mental Grammar
Prescriptive Grammar
Linguistic Grammar
Reference Grammar
Teacher’s Grammar
Descriptive Grammar
Pedagogical Grammar
Functional Grammar
1. _________ A work that treats the major structures of a language.
2._________ A grammar that puts together the patterns of the language.
3._________ The structures and rules compiled for instructional purposes for teachers.
4._________ An internal mental system that generates and interprets novel utterances.
5._________ A description of language behavior by proficient users of a language.
6._________ The focus of a given linguistic theory.
7._________ Structures and rules compiled for instructional and assessment purposes.
8._________ A set of prescriptions and proscriptions about language forms and their use for
a particular language.
Task 2. Composition (Performance Task)
Directions: Considering the principles of grammar assessment that involve active critical
thinking, select one of the eight (8) parts of speech and briefly discuss how you will go about
teaching its key concepts to an elementary student.
Selected Topic: ___________________________
Students’ Grade Level: ____________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Summary
Points to remember:
•
“Grammar” is highly ambiguous as it has been used to mean and/or refer to:
(1) mental grammar; (2) prescriptive grammar; (3) descriptive grammar; (4)
linguistic grammar; (5) reference grammar; (6) pedagogical grammar; and (7)
teacher’s grammar (Larsen-Freeman, 2009).
•
To be able to teach grammar and assess grammatical competence, a teacher
needs to be equipped with sufficient content-knowledge.
•
Benjamin and Berger (2010) posited that when the grammar that comes from
the grammar book differs the grammar of real communication, practice and
application diverge.
References
•
Benjamin, A., & Berger, J. (2010). Teaching Grammar: What Really Works (1st ed.).
Routledge
•
Hands, P. (n.d.). A Functional Grammar. Collins English Language Teaching Blog.
Retrieved
January
14,
2021,
from
https://news.collinselt.com/tag/functional-
grammar/#:~:text=A%20grammar%20that%20puts%20together,functions%20that%2
0the%20language%20performs.
•
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2009). Teaching and Testing Grammar. In M. Long and C.
Doughty (Eds.) The Handbook of Language Teaching (pp. 518-542). Malden, MA:
Blackwell.
•
Rozakis,
L.
(2003).
English
Grammar
for
the
Utterly
Confused .
https://doi.org/10.1036/0071430970
14
MODULE 2
NOUNS, PRONOUNS, & ADJECTIVES
Introduction
As nouns and pronouns perform the same functions in the sentence and because
adjectives describe both nouns and pronouns, all three will be discussed in this module.
Following the pattern set forth by Benjamin and Berger (2010), topics that they deemed worthy
of attention and emphasis such as: recognition, properties, morphology, functions, as well as
problems with usage and comprehension in all three parts of speech will be covered.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
1. build relevant content knowledge to facilitate students’ understanding of the key
concepts of grammar;
2. apply prior knowledge of the principles of teaching and assessment into teaching and
assessment of grammar; and
3. formulate innovative and contextualized teaching and testing strategies for grammar.
15
Lesson 1. When Teaching about Nouns
A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing, but as all teachers eventually
find out, this definition is not and will never be enough. According to Benjamin and Berger
(2010), it is a mere starting point. It is ‘sufficient’ only as long as you are talking about concrete
nouns and proper nouns, but as soon as you get into abstract nouns, the definition provided
just falls short.
Benjamin and Berger (2010) claimed that there is a way of knowing nouns – be they
abstract or concrete, proper or common, countable or noncountable – that will not fail you.
This technique involves putting the article “the” in front of a word and then ask yourself if it
makes sense. If it does, the word is a noun (or at least, the word is functioning as a noun in a
given context). Benjamin and Berger (2010) hastened to clarify that this technique is not really
equitable to a working definition. It is rather, a “linguistic device” or a device that works in a
way that is true to English language and it works beautifully because it draws from the
speaker’s intuitive knowledge (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
Benjamin and Berger (2010) are not saying that we should abandon the “person,
place, thing” definition (although retaining it will require the addition of the word ‘abstraction’
to the definition and this change although little will confuse students), they are merely
suggesting that one ought to include the “the” frame to supplement it. It is through both these
ways of learning that students will come to know nouns more accurately (Benjamin and
Berger, 2010).
To better illustrate their points and consequently add supplemental information about
nouns, Benjamin and Berger (2010) came up with a series of instructional snippets like the
one below:
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Figure 1 Noun: Owner’s Manual
Source: Routledge. (2010)
Benjamin and Berger (2010) warned that although the ‘the’ frame will work for all
nouns, there are a few others that will open the learners’ eyes to a much fuller understanding
of the cogs and gears of the English language, thus, they provided:
Table 2.1. Plurals (Benjamin and Berger, 2010):
Plurals
Elucidation
Only nouns can be made plural. When it comes to plurals, there’s a lot to
be taught, as you know. One thing that we don’t have to teach, because
children know it from a very early stage, is the concept of a plural noun and
that regular nouns are pluralized by adding -s. But we do need to teach, at
various levels, the following conventions about plurals:
1. Regular plurals are formed by adding -s, but not all nouns can be
pluralized this way. Many words end up with another whole syllable,
and for them we acknowledge the additional syllable by adding -es.
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Most words ending in -y transform the -y into -ies. These are all
considered variations of regular plurals.
2. English also has a set of nouns that pluralize oddly, the irregular
plurals. The most common of such words add some kind of -n
structure: e.g., child-children; ox-oxen; man-men; woman-women.
We even have a set of words that still pluralize in their old Latin way,
with an -i: e.g., hippopotamus-hippopotami; octopus-octopi; radiusradii. Then there are those words that are commonly-though not to
everyone’s approval-used as if the plural were singular: e.g., datumdata; medium-media. Finally, a few words have what can only be
called the invisible plural form: e.g., deer, sheep, salmon. Their
irregular plurals are showing their age and their parentage. The
reason ‘child’ pluralizes as ‘children’ is that it has retained its AngloSaxon plural form. Interestingly, the child/children form is the
counterpart to the brother/brethren form, but while ‘brethren’ has
yielded to ‘brothers’, the word ‘children’ is a plural that has kept its
Anglo-Saxon form.
3. Some nouns don’t seem to want to pluralize at all, even though we
can easily conceive of more than one of the items they name. We
call such words ‘noncountable nouns’: e.g., furniture, happiness,
silverware. Among this group, some nouns can go either waypluralizing or not, depending on the context: e.g., trouble, water,
coffee. Such words maybe countable or noncountable.
Application
Although native English speakers don’t need to be instructed in the
difference between ‘cat’ and ‘cats’, knowledge about the kind of plurals
applies to at least three areas of mechanics and usage: spelling, subjectverb agreement, and knowing when to use ‘fewer’ and ‘many’ as opposed
to ‘less’ and ‘much’, respectively.
Suggestions
•
Elementary: Have elementary students make their own charts to
illustrate the different kinds of plurals. Send them into authentic text
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sources to locate plural nouns. Have them write the plural nouns
that they find in the proper place on their chart. The chart can take
the form of a tress, an artist’s palette, a house, a village, or any other
visual in which discrete segments can be represented.
•
Middle School: Have middle school students convert a segment of
a text, making all the plurals singular and vice versa. Note that doing
so will trigger awareness of subject-verb agreement. Students will
have to make adjustments in the subject-verb connections
immediately.
•
High School: Lead high school students into a discussion about the
difference between singular and plural nouns in English and those
of another language. This discussion will recruit grammatical terms
that students need in order to learn a second language.
Teaching
Students need the ability to talk about and understand information about
Procedure
plurals so they can solve problems in their usage and spelling. Of course,
we don’t advocate the use of fill-int-the-blanks worksheets to designate a
word as singular or plural. We do advocate the use of constructivist learning
models along with rich use of the key terms, modeled by the teacher by
repeated use and then used by the student in the course of communication
(speaking and writing).
As both Benjamin and Berger (2010) are based in the U.S. their suggestions operate
on the assumption that the students are native English speakers, but that does not detract
from the ingenuity of their methods. A teacher need only to tailor and contextualize the
suggestions and teaching procedures for a better fit. For instance, the suggested activity for
high school students in which students are led to engage in a discussion about singular and
plural nouns in English and another language. As the Philippines is dialect-rich, and as the
most widely used mother-tongue, Tagalog, is built different from English, the English pluralsingular noun rules do not really apply.
19
For instance, the plural is used with humans, objects and animals in Tagalog is usually
formed by adding the word “mga” in front of the word you intend to pluralize (e.g., babae –
mga babae; bahay – mga bahay; pusa – mga pusa). It is important for grammar and language
teachers in the Philippines to put emphasis on this difference.
Table 2.2. Possessives (Benjamin and Berger, 2010):
Possessives
Elucidation Nouns can be made possessive to show ownership. We use an apostrophe
and -s to signal the possessive form. When a noun exercises its possessiveforming option, it functions not as a noun anymore, but as an adjective (as its
job is to answer the question ’which one?’).
As forming the possessive is a difficult concept for many, people typically
resort to using a possessive phrase instead. To make more students start
using and/or preferring the use of possessive apostrophes, teachers need to
do something other than exercises out of the grammar book in which you edit
sentences in which apostrophes are amiss.
Teaching Procedures
1
The “of phrase” test: every phrase having a possessive can be translated into
an “of phrase”. This test is handy for students because sometimes an
apostrophe signifies a possessive relationship in which “ownership” is not
easy to see. For example, it is easy to see that “John’s book” refers to a book
that “John owns”: students can visualize John holding a book. But in a phrase
like “a week’s vacation” they cannot picture the possessive relationship.
However, just as “John’s book” can be translated into “the book of John” they
can also translate “a week’s vacation” into “vacation of a week”.
2
The “backpack” visual: when you own something, you can put it in your
backpack. Use this idea, cementing it with a visual, to teach the concept that
determines whether the possessive apostrophe is needed: fill a backpack with
its typical contents, then, unpack the items one by one as you cue students to
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write the possessive phrases for each item. So, if you decide that the owner
of a backpack is Amanda, the students should be writing: Amanda’s science
book, Amanda’s ballpen, Amanda’s notebooks, Amanda’s shoes, etc. You’ll
find that you have a natural combination of singular and plural items.
3
The “his/her” replacement test: as pronoun can replace any noun (plus its
modifiers), possessive pronouns would fit any noun that requires a possessive
apostrophe. In other words, anytime students would say, “Amanda’s science
book, Amanda’s ballpen, Amanda’s notebooks, or Amanda’s shoes”, they
could, if they wanted to, replace the word “Amanda’s” with the word “her” (and
his if Amanda were Andrew). This is a handy mental device also because
when “their” would be required, rather than “his or her”, students will be alerted
that they have a plural possessive. Lead your students through an activity in
which you focus in a block of authentic text and whenever you encounter an
apostrophe, ask: “Why is there an apostrophe here?” If the apostrophe is there
because of a possessive phrase, then the “of phrase” test, the “backpack”
visual, or the “his/her” replacement test will apply. If the apostrophe is there
because of a contraction, then you can translate the contraction into the long
form. If the apostrophe is there because it signifies the plural of a single letter
or number, then you can note the convention that requires an apostrophe in
these situations. Help your students construct a three-column graphic
organizer to sort out the three reasons for an apostrophe: possessive (Amy’s
class, Joan’s cellphone); contraction (won’t, it’s, shouldn’t); plural of single
letter or number (the four s’s and four i’s in Mississippi).
Benjamin and Berger (2010) posed that perhaps the problem in learning the
possessive apostrophe convention thoroughly is that we tend to rush through it. Students
learn about the singular possessive form in the elementary grades, and that concept is not
terribly difficult. The problems come in when we start talking about words that happen to end
in -s and plural possessives. The fact is, plural possessives are relatively rare. (The confusion
over plural possessives is further complicated by the irregular plurals, which do not end in -s
21
and so look like singular possessives.) Matters are made more complicated because plural
possessives are easily confused with singular entities that own plural items (Mary’s lambs).
Although it’s tempting to put all kinds of singular and plural combinations together and show
where the apostrophes would go—or not go—in every permutation, doing so is not productive
(Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
As a clincher, Benjamin and Berger (2010) suggested for teachers to spend more time
on the concept of using an apostrophe to signify a possessive relationship between two nouns.
Table 2.3 Using a Noun as an Adjective (Benjamin and Berger, 2010):
Using a Noun as an Adjective: Understanding Functional Shifting
Elucidation
Just as nouns can function as adjectives when they take the possessive
form, any noun can actually function as an adjective under the right
circumstances.
The Noun Owner’s Manual says this: Your NOUN may be easily converted
into an adjective. All you have to do is put another NOUN after it and have
them make sense together (COW pasture, for example).
That nouns can function as adjectives is something that your students have
known unconsciously since they’ve been hearing and speaking English. So
when you call this phenomenon functional shifting, make students aware
that they are not learning anything new: what they are learning is what to
call a feature of the English language that they’ve been using since they
began been speaking English. Learning about functional shifting as such
will not improve your students’ ability to use the English language. It will
simply illuminate the way this language works.
Often, we need to change the form of a noun to get it to do the work of an
adjective in a slightly different way. We may have to add an ending such as
-y (greed is the noun, greedy is the adjective; water the noun, watery, the
adjective) or -ous (traitor, traitorous; carnivore, carnivorous) or -ful (harm,
harmful). A water tower is not the same as a watery tower.
22
Teaching
It’s fun (and informative) to make word chains that shift the function of nouns
Procedure
into that of adjectives. Begin with any noun:
Noun: card
Noun used as adjective: card table
Noun: table
Noun used as adjective: table top
Noun: top
Noun used as adjective: top dog
Noun: dog
Noun used as adjective: dog fight
Noun: fight
Noun used as adjective: fight club
Noun: club
Noun used as adjective: club soda
This kind of wordplay brings one pattern of the English language to the
conscious level and will result in advancement for English language
learners as well as native speakers. Any time students are actively engaged
in fast-paced, social word profusions like this, they exercise their creative
thinking muscles.
Lesson 2. When Teaching about Pronouns
After the fashion of Benjamin and Berger (2010), pronouns go hand and hand with
nouns as they perform the same functions in a sentence. The traditional definition of a pronoun
as a word that replaces a noun does not tell the whole story of the ingenious work of pronouns.
In fact, you can delineate the borders of a nominal group based on the words that get replaced
by a pronoun (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
As practitioner of education themselves, Benjamin and Berger (2010) noted that
students’ use of pronouns comes naturally. They don’t need a pencil and paper to figure out
23
what words are replaced by a pronoun. They advised for teachers to help heirs students bring
their unconscious knowledge about pronouns to the conscious level: They know that a
pronoun, contrary to what the grammar book says, does not simply “replace a noun.” What a
pronoun replaces, in fact, is the entire nominal group—the noun plus all its modifiers, even if
those modifiers are whole clauses, even if those modifiers fall on the post noun side (Benjamin
and Berger, 2010).
Benjamin and Berger (2010) expressed their aversion towards the strategy of asking
students to pick out pronouns on worksheets. Their rationale was anchored on this logic: A
pronoun replaces all the words that act together to satisfy a noun slot in a sentence. If students
want to know what the subject of a sentence is—where the subject begins and ends—just
using a pronoun will tell them “who or what” the sentence is about. The pronoun will instantly
gobble up the entire subject (or the entire direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition,
etc.). The same holds for any noun function (aka nominal group) anywhere in the sentence.
To better illustrate their point the example below was supplied:
A girl went to the zoo.
•
Reasoning: We could obviously replace a girl with she and the zoo with it. We could
load up those nouns with all kinds of modifiers, before and after, and the same
pronouns would still gobble them up:
A fancy little girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead went to the zoo with the
strangest animals in all the world.
•
Further: A fancy little girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead is still she, and the
zoo with the strangest animals in all the world is still it. And let’s notice that we added
more noun structures that live within the expanded noun slot. Those noun structures,
like all noun structures, can be replaced by a pronoun. Interestingly enough, if the next
sentence were to begin with It, we would know that It refers to the zoo, and not the
world, its nearest noun phrase.
24
The noun structure can include a whole clause:
A girl I know went to the zoo.
Reasoning: Here, what the pronoun she would replace—a girl I know—consists of a
•
determiner and its noun (a girl) plus something else: an adjective clause, one that
answers the question which girl? But it’s the whole entire thing that is the noun
structure replaced by she. The amazing thing is that we learn to use pronouns as
toddlers. There’s something going on in our brains that allows us to group nouns
together with very sophisticated modifiers both before and after and consider the whole
structure as a unit, a unit replaceable by a single pronoun.
All pronouns stand for something, and understanding what they stand for is key to
comprehension, whether we are receiving information aurally or through text. Conversely, as
writers and speakers, whenever we use a pronoun, we need to be sure that the audience
understands that pronoun’s referent (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
The efficacy of the “pronoun replacement test” championed by Benjamin and Berger
(2010) is very high seeing as it can be used to identify all the words in a noun structure
including even abstract concepts, gerunds, and noun clauses:
For demonstration, Benjamin and Berger (2010) supplied the samples below:
•
Abstract concept: Beauty (replaceable by it) is in the eye of the beholder.
•
Gerund phrase: My favorite pastime is sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time
(replaceable by it).
•
Noun clause filling the subject slot: That you have been late three times this week
(replaceable by it) has not gone unnoticed.
Benjamin and Berger (2010) also called attention to another problem area. They
identified that when there’s only one pronoun in the nominal group slot, students don’t have a
problem knowing which case to use. But, for some reason, many students do have a problem
when there’s a compound pronoun structure:
25
*Can Judi and me borrow some money?
* between you and I
* If you have any questions, see Joe or I.
Any of the speakers of the above examples would say:
*Can I borrow some money?
*Between us
*If you have any questions, see me.
As a tip, Benjamin and Berger (2010) said that the old rule that you may have learned
is still in effect: Simply take the other party out of the compound and go with the pronoun that
comes naturally when there’s only one pronoun left. There’s a home remedy called the “pencil
test,” meaning that you cover up one of the pronouns to see how the remaining one sounds
(Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
Table 2.4 Sample Approaches in Teaching about Pronouns (Benjamin & Berger, 2010):
Clarify Your Pronouns: Activity Ideas
Teaching
Students spend a significant amount of time telling each other stories that they
Strategy 1
find funny or infuriating, either way, these stories are loaded with pronouns.
As an activity you can ask your students to write one of their stories as an
anecdote. You want them to use an informal tone—just get the story down on
paper. If the story can be told in about two hundred words, that would be
sufficient. Then, have students exchange their stories and rewrite them,
adding another character, who will be represented by a pronoun. If all goes
well, they will find themselves composing many sentences that call for either
a subjective or objective case pronoun. They will also have to adjust the verb
to reestablish subject-verb agreement because they will be going from a
singular to a plural subject. This will be a natural way to supply the right
pronoun in context.
26
Teaching
A variation is to have students inject themselves into an existing narrative that
Strategy 2
is written in the third person. Take any work of fiction the students are reading
and have them locate several sentences that refer to the main character by
name. Then have them rewrite those sentences, adding themselves as though
they are part of the story. They will have to decide whether to use I or me.
This is how it would work with sentences taken from The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer. Benjamin and Berger (2010) added conjunction/pronoun structure in
parentheses:
•
Tom (and I) arrived at home in a dreary mood, and the first thing his
aunt said to him (and me) showed him (and me) that he (and I) had
brought his sorrows to an unpromising market.
•
Tom Sawyer (and I) stepped in at the door and caught a glimpse of the
picture.
•
Tom (and I) went to bed that night planning vengeance against Alfred
Temple.
Strategy 3
To get students to understand the concept of pronoun cases as replacement
sets, use the metaphor of teams. Students can draw a picture of any team
sport in progress—baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, football. Have them
dress their players in contrasting uniform colors. On each uniform, they write
either an S (subjective case) or O (objective case). Instead of player numbers,
the players wear their pronouns: I, we, he, she, they, who (they play for the
Subjectives); me, us, him, her, them, whom play for the Objectives. (Because
the second person pronouns are the same for both cases, and the same for
singular and plural, we’ll leave them on the bench.)
If you want to get students up on their feet, you can set up the two pronoun
teams with students themselves as the players and conduct any kind of
competition.
27
Lesson 3. When Teaching about Adjectives
Benjamin and Berger (2010) offered that the traditional definition of an adjective as a
word that modifies (or describes) a noun, though true might not be the best way students can
be taught to recognize adjectives. In this connection, Benjamin and Berger (2010),
encouraged teachers to help students identify adjectives by having them mentally ask
themselves these questions: What kind? Which one? How many?
They also cited that derivation of the word “adjective” as it may assist students in
learning the core concept of adjectives. Thus, they explained that the Latin root of the word
adjective is “ject”, meaning “to throw.” And the word begins with the combining form ad,
meaning “in the direction of, toward, at.” So, the word itself reveals that an adjective is a word
(or words) thrown at a noun.
Figure 2. Adjective: Owner’s Manual
Source: Routledge. (2010)
28
Table 2.5 Sample Approach in Teaching about Adjectives (Benjamin & Berger, 2010):
Understanding Basic Information about Adjectives Using the Owner’s Manual
Procedures
1
Because students aren’t going to retain much about adjectives by staring at
the Owner’s Manual, we suggest that you give students a bunch of words to
handle and have them pull out which ones appear to be adjectives. Then,
have students take a closer look at the words determined to be adjectives.
2
Where might you get your hands on this bunch of words we’re talking about?
If you have the time and inclination, you can cut individual words out of
magazines or newspapers and laminate them for easy handling and
durability. About a hundred words will supply a class of students working
cooperatively, but if you have the patience to gather more, you can always
use them.
As we’ve noted, any noun can function as an adjective (fruit truck). However,
a noun will not fit into the frame *The truck was very fruit. To determine
whether a word should be considered an adjective for the purpose of this
activity, students should test the word in both frames.
3
Have the students use the frames on their Owner’s Manual to separate out
the adjectives from the nonadjectives. Once they have a stack of words they
determine to be adjectives, students can consider what kinds of adjectives
they are, based on the questions that they answer. They should place the
adjectives in three separate piles: What kind? Which one? How many?
The adjectives that tell what kind? may be further divided into those that form
the comparative and superlative forms by adding the suffix -er or -est and
those that use the words more or most to express comparative or superlative
degree.
4
There may be irregular adjectives, ones like good (better, best) and bad
(worse, worst). The idea is for the students to recognize patterns and
29
irregularities: Let them find a governing rule that determines whether an
adjective accepts the -er/-est suffix or whether it takes the more/most form.
Allow them the discovery that comes with observation and inductive
reasoning.
5
Now, have students examine the other adjectives. Those that answer how
many? are obviously numbers. But many of those that answer which one?
are both adjectives and pronouns. We have the demonstrative pronouns:
this, that, these, those (all of which can function with or without a noun after
them). We have possessive case pronouns: my, our, your, his, her, its, their.
And although you can say “my truck”, no native speaker of English would
say “The truck is very my”.
Assessment Tasks
Task 1. Learning Barriers (Written Task)
Directions: Look further into the differences of the grammar of 1 Philippine dialect to that of
English. Use what you’ll find to fill the table below. Once the table is filled with entries, reflect
on how the differences you identify pose a barrier to learning:
Differences
(Insert Philippine dialect of choice
English
here)
1
2
3
4
5
30
Task 2. Spring-board (Performance Task)
Directions: Visualize yourself as an English teacher, pick one topic from the list below and
devise an engaging motivation/warm-up/primer activity for students that is connected to
and/or relevant to the topic of your choice. Fill out the table below with the details and
mechanics of your self-made activity.
Morphology of Nouns
Morphology of Pronouns
Order of Adjectives
Pronouns and Usage
Degrees of Comparison
Title
Grade Level
Time Allotment
Materials
Mechanics
Summary
What to remember:
•
The traditional definitions of nouns, adjectives, and pronouns are only starting
points. While it is easy to get students to recite definitions, we need to bring
out understandings of these word classes (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
Reference
•
Benjamin, A., & Berger, J. (2010). Teaching Grammar: What Really Works (1st ed.).
Routledge
31
MODULE 3
VERBS & ADVERBS
Introduction
As you might have noticed in module number 02, the parts of speech have been
divided and clustered together either because they complement each other or because
understanding of one can be made more durable in comparison to another. It is common
knowledge that verbs are words that expresses an action or a state of being whereas and
adverb is a word that is used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb (Rozakis,
2003).
In this module, teaching procedures, innovative strategies, as well as important core
concepts that will help you address problems with usage and facilitate durable student
learning of verbs and adverbs will be discussed.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
1. adopt conducive and encouraging error correction practices;
2. apply prior knowledge of the principles of teaching and assessment into teaching and
assessment of grammar; and
3. display communicative competence in both oral and written form of teaching
grammar.
32
Lesson 1. When Teaching about Verbs
Benjamin and Berger (2010) claimed that verb acts as the central nervous system of
grammar, the organizing principle of every clause. As advocates of teaching with relevant
visuals, Benjamin and Berger (2010) introduced “visual metaphor” which acts as a map of
what the duo dubbed as “verb territory”. They use the said map to explain the two major
categories of verbs, action verbs and linking verbs, and the two subcategories of action verbs,
transitive verbs and intransitive verbs.
Benjamin and Berger (2010) advised for teachers to teach learners to recognize the
verb or verbs in a sentence in a way that departs from the traditional definition of verbs as
“word that expresses action or state of being.” They once again, mentioned that definitions of
the kind are not particularly accurate or helpful. What they suggest is for teachers to offer this
instead: “the verb is that part of the sentence that changes when they flip the sentence from
present to past tense or vice versa” (Benjamin & Berger, 2010).
To demonstrate this new found method they introduced an activity called “Find the
Verb”. The activity operates on the principle that the simplest way to discover verbs is to look
at simple sentences in the present tense. To get these, and to control the kinds of sentences
that the teacher will work with, the teacher can ask the class to describe an experience, such
as eating a pizza, playing a video game, going to the zoo, or anything that the teacher think
they can say a lot about.
Table 3.1 Find the Verb Activity (Benjamin & Berger, 2010):
Activity: Find the Verb
Write
a
simple Eating Pizza
experience/phrase
describing an activity on the
board.
Have the students generate
•
You need a napkin.
a list of descriptions as if
•
It has sauce, crust, cheese, and spices.
they are experiencing the
•
It’s drippy.
topic you wrote, currently, in
•
You want more than one slice.
the present.
•
You order two toppings.
33
•
You take big bites.
•
You fold your slice.
•
It gets all over your chin and fingers.
•
It burns the roof of your mouth.
•
The cheese stretches.
To locate the verb, ask
•
Yesterday, you need a napkin.
another batch of students to
•
Yesterday, it has sauce, crust, cheese, and spices.
place the word “yesterday”
•
Yesterday, it’s drippy.
or any other indicator that
•
Yesterday, you want more than one slice.
the action has come to pass
•
Yesterday, you order two toppings.
in front of the sentences.
•
Yesterday, you take big bites.
•
Yesterday, you fold your slice.
•
Yesterday, it gets all over your chin and fingers.
•
Yesterday, it burns the roof of your mouth.
•
Yesterday, the cheese stretches.
As they perform step 3, tell
•
Yesterday, you need a napkin.
them to analyze whether the
•
Yesterday, it has sauce, crust, cheese, and spices.
alteration demands for a
•
Yesterday, it’s drippy.
word in the sentence to be
•
Yesterday, you want more than one slice.
altered.
•
Yesterday, you order two toppings.
•
Yesterday, you take big bites.
•
Yesterday, you fold your slice.
•
Yesterday, it gets all over your chin and fingers.
•
Yesterday, it burns the roof of your mouth.
•
Yesterday, the cheese stretches.
changes
•
Yesterday, you needed a napkin.
when they fully convert the
•
Yesterday, it had sauce, crust, cheese, and spices.
sentence from past tense to
•
Yesterday, it was drippy.
present tense is the verb.
•
Yesterday, you wanted more than one slice.
•
Yesterday, you ordered two toppings.
•
Yesterday, you took big bites.
•
Yesterday, you folded your slice.
•
Yesterday, it got all over your chin and fingers.
The
word
that
34
•
Yesterday, it burned the roof of your mouth.
•
Yesterday, the cheese stretched.
If a sentence is already in
•
Yesterday, you need a napkin.
the past tense, converting it
•
Yesterday, it has sauce, crust, cheese, and spices.
to present tense to locate
•
Yesterday, it’s drippy.
the verb by identifying the
•
Yesterday, you want more than one slice.
word that will change will
•
Yesterday, you order two toppings.
work just as well.
•
Yesterday, you take big bites.
•
Yesterday, you fold your slice.
•
Yesterday, it gets all over your chin and fingers.
•
Yesterday, it burns the roof of your mouth.
•
Yesterday, the cheese stretches.
activity
•
The cheese stretches and drips.
give
•
You fold your slice and take big bites.
Do
this
simple
several
times
to
students
confidence
that
they can find the verb. Then Then use sentences with more than one clause:
take advanced steps. By
using
clauses
compound verbs.
with
•
The cheese stretches and the oil drips.
•
Some cheese always sticks to the box, and you try
to scrape it off.
Limitation
Note that with a helping verb, the tense conversion test will
operate only on the helping verb, not the main verb.
We are eating pizza becomes We were eating pizza; the
progressive form (-ing) remains the same, and the helping
verb signals the tense.
Yet another innovative technique mentioned by Benjamin and Berger (2010) is the
“Verb Map” or a Visual Metaphor to Accompany a Detailed Explanation of the English Verb
System. “The Verb Map metaphor, first of all, creates the vehicle through which students will
process the information by getting their fingers into it, drawing their own maps as you explain
it. The act of copying the map as you draw and explain it gets students to focus and process.
35
If students use, as we recommend, the inside of a file folder as their canvas, they will be
writing nice big letters, so that the process feels more like creating a map than taking grammar
notes. The large format creates a memorable visual and frees up the hands for a vividly tactile
learning experience. (We like to say “making your fingers smart.”) The visual is enriched by
color-coding the different “neighborhoods” on the Verb Map. The color-coding helps to
consolidate related concepts, such as transitive and intransitive verbs. Besides, making up a
territory about verbs and mapping it is whimsical and fun” (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
As a testament to the efficiency of this innovation the teacher will be able to establish
from the start that there are two kinds of verbs: action verbs and linking verbs. Action verbs
and linking verbs operate with different rules when it comes to modifiers and pronoun case
(Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
“The logic behind the oft-cited response This is she rather than the more natural This
is her can be explained only through understanding that verbs that live in Action Town require
objective case pronouns as direct objects while verbs that live in Linking Town require
subjective case pronouns to complete them. When students understand that a direct object
receives the action initiated by the subject, and that the direct object and the subject are not
the same entity (hence different pronoun cases), but that a subject complement is in fact the
same exact entity as the subject, as in This is she, the system actually does begin to make
sense” (Benjamin and Berger, 2010)
Benjamin and Berger (2010) concluded that the Verb Map is capable of making the
difference between action verbs and linking verbs obvious. From there, students will be able
to learn about the variations and distinctions within the action verb and linking verb categories,
treating each as a “neighborhood.” When the map is complete, students will have laid out the
features of the entire English verb system:
•
The forms of verbs (conjugation)
•
Helping verbs and modal helpers
•
Linking verbs other than be
•
Transitive and intransitive verbs
36
Figure 3.1. Verb Territory: Lesson 1
Source: Routledge. (2010)
Figure 3.2. Verb Territory: Lesson 2
Source: Routledge. (2010)
37
Figure 3.3 Verb Territory: Lesson 3 & 4
Source: Routledge. (2010)
Figure 3.4 Verb Territory: Lesson 5
Source: Routledge. (2010)
38
Figure 3.5 Verb Territory: Lesson 6
Source: Routledge. (2010)
Figure 3.4. Noun: Owner’s Manual
Source: Routledge. (2010)
39
Lesson 2. When Teaching about Adverbs
Benjamin and Berger (2010) reasoned that because it is so convenient to learn about
the -ly suffix that many students and even adults know nothing else about adverbs. “Students
can probably recite the definition of an adverb as a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or
another adverb. They may understand how an adverb modifies a verb but they probably don’t
understand the “adjective or another adverb” part. That is why it is a good idea to learn parts
of speech based on the questions that they answer. When students understand adverbs via
the questions they answer, they can easily identify words like soon, tomorrow, again, very,
and too as adverbs. They do so by thinking about word functions rather than just picking out
the-ly word and hoping for the best” (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
Figure 3.5. Adverb: Owner’s Manual
Source: Routledge. (2010)
The Adverb Owner’s Manual also talks about something called adverbials. Just as adjectivals
are groups of words that get together to do adjective work, and nominal groups are groups of
words that get together to do noun work, adverbials are groups of words that get together to
do adverb work. They include adverbial phrases such as prepositional phrases that give
information about time, place, and reason.
40
“Because of the variety of questions that adverbs are capable of answering, adverbials are
extremely important. They are the structures that provide detail beyond the basics. Novice
writers arrive at the next level when they begin to insert adverbials that comment on whole
sentences, opening sentences with such adverbs as unfortunately, luckily, unexplainably, for
no reason, contrary to popular belief, and suddenly. These words act as grace notes, giving
personality and voice to the written piece. Adverbial commentary words may introduce a
sentence or may be inserted, embraced by commas, within the sentence. Like other adverbs,
adverbial commentary words are movable. Their placement affects the pace and emphasis of
the sentence” (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
Adverbial commentary words convey the author’s attitude about the subject. Benjamin
and Berger (2010) suggested for teachers to engage their students in an activity of identifying
“adverbial commentary words” from pieces of writing that are subjective (like personal
narrative, editorials, and reviews) as another supplemental enrichment task.
41
Assessment Tasks
Task 1. Reinforcing Brittle Confidence (Written Work)
Directions: As language and grammar learning is extremely hard for the students, their
motivation to pursue it is very brittle. Committing mistakes is inevitable, but damaging your
students’ interest is avoidable. With this in mind, formulate a conducive and encouraging
error correction method for both the scenarios below. Devise one that can be done orally
and another in written form.
Error Correcting Methods
Scenario 1
Kimberly, a grade 9 student from your Oral Communication in Context
Class, delivered her self-made speech in front of her classmates as part of
the activity you made them perform. As it has been your practice to give
your feedback after every performance for students to be able to identify
the points they can still improve on, you keep a notepad and write
comments as you listen and watch. Your comments about Kimberly’s
performance are as follows:
Considering your notes, how will you orally comment on Kimberly’s
performance? What exactly will you tell her? Write your exact feedback
here:
42
Scenario 2
You made your Grade 10 students write a composition about their views on
this topic, “Abortion: Good or Bad?”. While checking their submissions, you
noticed that Miguel Abay, wrote some interesting and revolutionary
opinions, but he kept on using too many adverbs ending and -ly as he
heavily relies on them for description, besides that, his work is obviously
stellar.
What will you write at the bottom of his paper to communicate your thoughts
about his work? Write an exact copy of your comment here:
Task 2. Breaking the Mold (Performance Task)
Directions: A one-size fits all approach to learning does not exist; hence, it is important to
devise multiple ways to teach a single concept. Oftentimes, teachers who have structured
lesson plans that are so deeply internalized find it hard to deviate from what has been laid
out, and coming up with an alternative approach on the spot is extra-challenging. In this
connection, it is important to have multiple strategies prepared beforehand. Your task is to
select a sub-topic on either verbs or adverbs and formulate different teaching approaches
for learners with different learning styles. Fill in the table below with what is asked.
Topic of Choice:
Approach for Visual Learners
Approach for Auditory Learners
Approach for Kinesthetic Learners
43
Summary
What to remember:
•
The importance of verbs and adverbs in grammar and rhetoric cannot be overstated.
It is ever important to devise ways to teach both in ways that students will find fun and
exciting. Teach through word patter and play instead of fill-ins and be considerate of
students with different learning styles (Benjamin & Berger, 2010).
References
•
Benjamin, A., & Berger, J. (2010). Teaching Grammar: What Really Works (1st ed.).
Routledge
•
Rozakis,
L.
(2003).
English
Grammar
for
the
Utterly
Confused.
https://doi.org/10.1036/0071430970
44
MODULE 4
CONJUNCTIONS & PREPOSITIONS
Introduction
In order for students to be skillful in composition and communication, they need to
familiarize themselves with linking devices and load their toolboxes with prepositions. This
module will supply you with just the right materials that you can draw from once you are out
in the field practicing your profession.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
1. apply prior knowledge of the principles of teaching and assessment into teaching and
assessment of grammar;
2. teach grammar concepts in both written and oral ways to address the needs of
students with different learning styles.
3. show interest and appreciation of the English grammar and nurture a positive attitude
towards English as a language of instruction.
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Lesson 1. When Teaching about Conjunctions
According to Benjamin and Berger (2010), students are somewhat familiar with the
term “conjunction”, but the word “coordinating” throws them. They get even more confused
when “subordinating conjunctions” enter the scene. Benjamin and Berger (2010) also went as
far as claiming that even English teachers get heartsick at the terms “coordinating” and
“subordinating” in front of conjunction. The duo posited that at this point is where we hear
complaints like “Do we really have to teach all these terms?”. Heartsick or not, yes, yes, of
course.
Benjamin and Berger (2010) emphasized that there’s a very important distinction
between coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions. According to them, each
is licensed to do certain work, and only that work. “Coordinating conjunctions are licensed to
join independent clauses to create compound sentences, and some coordinating
conjunctions—most commonly and, but, or, nor—can join words and phrases together within
a clause. Coordinating conjunctions usually require a comma when doing the heavy lifting of
fastening independent clauses together to create a compound sentence. (Should the comma
alone attempt the task, we call the result a comma splice. If the clauses are fairly short and
there is no chance of misreading, then the comma can take the day off.) (Benjamin & Berger,
2010).
One of the most common misconceptions, even among teachers, is that a long
sentence is a run-on sentence. The truth is that we determine that a group of words constitutes
a run-on sentence not by length but by whether multiple clauses are properly joined by the
hitching devices available.
Benjamin and Berger (2010) hazarded to guess that we’re all familiar with the acronym
FANBOYS to represent the coordinating conjunctions. They even claimed with confidence
that we like this acronym because it is a complete, reliable mnemonic and many students
come to us already trained in it. The only drawback is that the very first letter, F, stands for
for, which might cause a little trouble only because its use is not very modern, certainly not
used in ordinary conversation. However, for as a conjunction meaning because does appear
frequently in literary text.
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As you’ll see in the figure below, Benjamin and Berger (2010) exercised a liberty and
stretched the truth a bit by demanding that the comma be used along with the coordinating
conjunction when forming a compound sentence. As mentioned, there are many times in
informal text when that comma doesn’t show up for work, and no one seems to mind.
However, because it wouldn’t be wrong to include the comma, we’re erring on the side of
caution and simplicity by giving students a rule that they can break without too much
consequence when they think they have a good reason to omit the comma (Benjamin and
Berger, 2010).
Figure 4.1 Common Hitching Devices
Source: Routledge. (2010)
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Benjamin and Berger (2010) cautioned that sometimes a sentence may already
contain so many required commas that adding one more to accompany the coordinating
conjunction may weigh it down. In such cases, the inclusion of the comma in a compound
sentence is a judgment call.
To help make students retain the concept of coordinating conjunctions and not just
merely memorize the FANBOYS mnemonics, Benjamin and Berger (2010) suggested the
“weight lifter visual” to demonstrate the concept of a coordinating conjunction’s role in creating
a compound sentence. “A weight lifter holding a barbell with both hands over her head
represents the comma with the coordinating conjunction that joins two independent clauses.
But the weight lifter lifting a dumbbell with a single hand is doing a smaller job: She represents
the coordinating conjunction that joins words or phrases within the clause. She does not need
the assistance of the comma” (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
Additionally, the B & B duo suggested for teachers to spend some time analyzing the
word “coordinate” as they teach coordinating conjunctions. “The prefix co- should be familiar
to students, and they’ve probably been using the words coordinated and uncoordinated to
evaluate performance on the playground for years. Make that connection. Have students
associate the physical gesture of bringing things together as they say the word coordinating.
Hold off moving on to subordinating until you feel that students (and you) are perfectly at ease
talking about coordinating conjunctions” (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
Benjamin and Berger (2010) advised that when it’s time to move on to the second
column in the Common Hitching Devices chart, start by reviewing what clauses are. It is
essential that students can pick out clauses and know whether a sentence has just one clause
or several. This is because there are specific ways to join clauses. We know that some
teachers are uncomfortable talking about clauses, to demystify the term, Benjamin and Berger
(2010) supplied the following guide questions with answers:
Q: What is a clause?
A: A clause is a subject-predicate pair.
Q: What is the difference between a clause and a phrase?
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A: A phrase is a group of words that stick together, but a phrase does not consist of both a
subject and a predicate. A phrase can be a noun plus its modifiers or a verb plus its
modifiers.
Q: What is the difference between a clause and a sentence?
A: If a clause can pass any of the “complete sentence tests,” then it is a complete sentence.
Q: What kinds of clauses are not complete sentences?
A: A clause is not a sentence when it begins with a conjunction or relative pronoun.
The following examples show the difference between clauses that are sentences and
clauses that are not sentences (Benjamin and Berger, 2010):
Clause that is a sentence:
Dogs bark.
Clause that is not a sentence because it begins with a coordinating conjunction:
And dogs bark
Clause that is not a sentence because it begins with a subordinating conjunction:
If dogs bark
Clause that is not a sentence because it begins with a relative pronoun:
When dogs bark
According to Benjamin and Berger (2010), sentences in authentic text that begin with
coordinating conjunctions are extremely common and acceptable as sentences to most
readers. However, technically, sentences beginning with coordinating conjunctions do not
qualify as complete sentences. Many teachers object to sentences that begin with
coordinating conjunctions because students overuse this style. Benjamin and Berger (2010)
encouraged teachers to limit but allow, sentences that begin with coordinating conjunctions if
the student is using the coordinating conjunction to emphasize a connection and if the student
uses this technique sparingly.
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Lesson 2. When Teaching about Prepositions
Benjamin and Berger (2010) recommended using patterns to teach students to
recognize prepositions. There are two enduring old tricks that can be utilized for teaching
students to recognize prepositions, Benjamin and Berger (2010), elaborated on these tricks
although they did comment that while one of the two tricks is fairly useful, the other is not so
much.
The one they like goes like this: “picture a bee and a bottle. Now, put the bee in motion.
Anything that the bee can do in relation to the bottle yields a prepositional phrase: in the bottle,
on the bottle, around the bottle, across the bottle, and so on. Benjamin and Berger (2010)
stated that this is a good way for students to learn about prepositions and prepositional
phrases because it is visual, fun, easily learned and remembered. More importantly, it
generates a healthy, if incomplete, list of prepositions. From that list, students can deduce the
concept of what prepositions do: They express relationships of the nouns that they precede
(Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
The etymology of the word preposition reveals its meaning: pre, meaning “before” and
the Latin root pos, meaning “placement” (Benjamin & Berger, 2010).
The other old and, unfortunately, still popular way to teach students to recognize
prepositions is to have them memorize a list of prepositions set to the tune of a familiar song.
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a favorite. The problem with this method is that it leads to rote
memorization rather than a concept. Benjamin and Berger (2010), further explained that
students who memorize a rigid list of prepositions are likely to end up thinking that a
preposition is any small word. Without a concept to tie prepositions to sentences, students
who have nothing but a memorized list can do no more than identify them on worksheets, a
nonproductive skill (Benjamin and Berger, 2010).
Benjamin and Berger (2010), did more than just veto one of the two methods above.
They presented two additional effective ways for teaching students to recognize prepositions.
The first is based on visuals; the second on auditory-rhythmic patterns.
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Table 4.1. Visual-Based Preposition Location (Benjamin & Berger, 2010):
Teaching Procedure: Visual Method of Locating the Preposition
Description
The idea is to have students find things that are hidden and then say where
they found them. They will naturally be using prepositional phrases to
explain where they found things: on the table, under the plant, in the
baseball glove, etc.
Materials
Several children’s books and magazine features are appropriate for this
activity.
Procedures
Don’t begin the lesson by announcing that it is a lesson on prepositional
phrases! To do so would puzzle students in a way that would not arouse
their curiosity. Instead, simply give them the “finding-an-object” picture cue.
You won’t have to tell them what to do. They will, without your prompting,
go to work looking for hidden images. Then, have them tell you where they
found things. They won’t know it, but they will be generating a list of
prepositional phrases. Write these on the board, but don’t repeat any of the
prepositions. Prompt the students to come up with other, more specific
words to explain where things are in the picture so you don’t have a list in
which every item begins with in or on. (In this sense, this activity is also a
vocabulary generator.) Write just the prepositional phrases on the board.
When you have a list, ask the students how they would characterize the
items on the list: “Are they sentences or just phrases? What do they all
have in common?” When the students have collected data from their
observations, that is when you say, “And there’s a name for this kind of
phrase: We call it a prepositional phrase. The first word in each of these
phrases is called a preposition.”
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Assessment Tasks
Task 1. Eye-Catcher (Written Work)
Direction: In light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, alternative learning modalities like DepEd’s
“Distance Learning” has been implemented. Visualize the scenario below, and do what is
asked at the bottom:
As a newly hired Public School English Teacher you have been enlisted to prepare a
video presentation about “subordinating conjunctions”. Your output will be uploaded to
DepEd’s online resource portal as a supplement to the distributed modules. For the
purpose of your lecture, you will have to prepare a PowerPoint Presentation that is
student friendly.
Your task is to prepare the aforementioned PPT that will be used for the filming of the lecture
video on Subordinating conjunctions. Submit your output via the assigned task that will
materialize upon schedule on Edmodo.
Task 2. Digital Teacher (Performance Task)
Directions: Using the PPT that you have created on task 01, film a 30 second to 1 minute
video of yourself as you are initiating/starting your lesson on subordinating conjunctions.
Your video must include the following parts:
•
Greetings
•
Introduction of the self as the teacher
•
One thought-provoking question that will lead to topic title
Further details on output submission will be provided via Edmodo.
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Summary
What to remember:
•
As have been repeatedly emphasized by Benjamin and Berger (2010), you don’t really
need worksheets and memorized definitions to become an effective grammar teacher.
What you do need are visuals that clarify, connect, reinforce, and remind. You need to
get students to move their hands and bodies. You need wordplay. You need authentic
language (Benjamin & Berger, 2010).
References
•
Benjamin, A., & Berger, J. (2010). Teaching Grammar: What Really Works (1st ed.).
Routledge
•
Rozakis,
L.
(2003).
English
Grammar
for
the
Utterly
Confused .
https://doi.org/10.1036/0071430970
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