A LEARNING-CENTRED APPROACH TO TEACHING GRAMMAR
BACKGROUND:
TRENDS IN TEACHING GRAMMAR
FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING IS CONTINUOUSLY AFFECTED BY
NEW TRENDS.
GRAMMAR TEACHING DEVELOPMENT:
 GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION METHODS
 COMMUNICATIVE METHODS
 CURRENT IDEAS ABOUT ‘FOCUSING ON FORM’
TEACHING GRAMMAR AS EXPLICIT RULES: LEARNING AS BUILDING
BLOCKS
GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION METHODOLOGY
GRAMMAR IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT PART OF THE
LANGUAGE
LANGUAGE LEARNING IS THE
ACCUMULATION OF MASTERED
RULES OF THE GRAMMAR
GRAMMAR RULES ARE INTRODUCED
ONE-BY-ONE, EXPLICITLY,TO THE
LEARNERS
HOW TO TALK EXPLICITLY ABOUT THE GRAMMAR?
 USE OF METALINGUISTIC LABELS: e.g. ‘THE PAST PERFECT
TENSE’. LEARNERS HAVE TO LEARN THE RULES AND TO
PRACTICE USING THE RULES TO CONSTRUCT SENTENCES.
ASSUMPTION = AFTER MORE PRACTICE , THE RULES SHOULD
BE USED AUTOMATICALLY.
1
TO TEACH THE LANGUAGE THIS WAY:
 THE STRUCTURES OR RULES ARE SORTED INTO A SEQUENCE.
 THE SENTENCE IS SUPPOSED TO PROGRESS FROM ‘EASY’ TO
‘DIFFICULT’.
 THE SEQUENCE FORMS A SYLLABUS.
EFFECTS IN USING THESE METHODS:
 LEARNERS, ACADEMICALLY SUCCESFULL, CAN DO WELL AND
REACH A HIGH LEVELS OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY. STUDENTS
WHO DO WELL ON GRAMMAR TESTS ALSO DO WELL ON
READING AND WRITING TESTS.
 YOUNGER LEARNERS, WHO ARE ONLY BEGINNING TO GET
FAMILIAR
WITH
FORMAL
INSTITUTIONALISED
‘SCIENTIFIC’
CONCEPTS, CAN FIND DIFFICULT TO COPE WITH LEARNING
THROUGH EXPLICIT GRAMMAR RULES. THEY ARE MORE
ACCUSTOMED TO THE THEMATIC AND NARRATIVE THAN THE
BUILDING BLOCK SEQUENCING. INTERNAL GRAMMAR IS NOT
SEEN AS AN ACCUMULATION OF DISCRETE BLOCKS OF
KNOWLEDGE
BUT
AS
THE
IDEA
OF
NON-LINEAR
AND
INTERCONNECTED GROWTH.
USING A METAPHOR
‘GRAMMAR GROWS LIKE A PLANT, PERHAPS,
WATERED BY MEANINGFUL LANGUAGE USE,
AND PUSHING OUT NEW SHOOTS WHILE
OLDER STEMS ARE STRENGTHENED’.
2
TEACHERS SHOULD STIMULATE CHILDREN’S CURIOSITY, BECAUSE
THEY NOTICE PATTERNS AS THEY MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD
AROUND THEM AND IT MAY BE FRUITFUL TO MAKE USE OF
CURIOSITY
AND
PATTERN-NOTICING
IN
FOEREIGN
LANGUAGE
LEARNING.
TALKING ABOUT PATTERNS IN LANGUAGE (EX: T REX ‘HOW BIG?’
‘VERY
BIG’
)DOES
NOT
NEED
COMPLICATED
TECHNICAL
METALANGUAGE.
GRADED INTRODUCTION OF METALANGUAGE ACROSS THE PRIMARY
YEARS,
IF
DONE
MEANINGFULLY AND
THROUGH
DISCOURSE
CONTEXT, CAN GIVE CHILDREN A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR LATER
STUDY OF LANGUAGES.
COMMUNICATIVE APPROACHES: NO GRAMMAR NEED
BEING ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE LANGUAGE
IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM
BEING ABLE TO TALK IN THE LANGUAGE
A REACTION TO THE LACK OF FLUENCY AND EASE WITH THE
FOREIGN LANGUAGE (GRAMMAR –TRANSLATION) LED TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT)
IN THE LATE 1970s AND 1980s.
LEARNERS LEARN THE LANGUAGE BY USING IT TO COMMUNICATE
WITH OTHERS
CONSEQUENCE OF CLT:
3
 GRAMMAR TEACHING LOOSES ITS IMPORTANCE IN FOREIGN
LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS.
 CHILDREN LEARN WITHOUT ANY EXPLICIT TEACHING.
TPR (TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE), A METHOD DEVELOPED BY
ASHER (1972), IS A FORM OF CLT BASED INTERELY ON LISTENING TO
COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT.
IN THIS METHOD STUDENTS LISTEN TO COMMAND IN THE FOREIGN
LANGUAGE AND RESPOND ONLY THROUGH MOVEMENT AND ACTION.
EX: PUT UP YOUR PEN, PUT DOWN YOUR PEN, STAND UP, SIT
DOWN…
THE DIFFICULTY OF THE INPUT IS GRADUEALLY INCREASED AND
STUDENTS CAN HAVE THE TEACHER’S ROLE AND GIVE COMMANDS
IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE.
LISTENING
AND
SPEAKING
ARE
THE
SKILLS
THAT
CAN
BE
DEVELOPED TROUGH TPR.
FOCUS ON FORM: THE REVIVAL OF GRAMMAR TEACHING
THE IMMERSION PROGRAMMES IN NORTH AMERICA ALLOWED
KRASHEN AND COLLEGUES TO SET OUT THE THEORY THAT SECOND
LANGUAGE LEARNING COULD FOLLOW THE SAME ROUTE AS FIRST
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (DULAY, BURT AND KRASHEN 1982), AND
IMMERSION CLASSES FORMED A HUGE EXPERIMENT IN LEARNING
TRHOUGH COMMUNICATING IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE.
IT IS TRUE THAT:
 CHILDREN PICK UP THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE QUICKLY AND
DEVELOP VERY GOOD ACCENTS AND LISTENING SKILLS.
 THEY CAN ACHIEVE GOOD RESULTS THROUGH THE SECOND
LANGUAGE.
BUT
4
 IN TERMS OF GRAMMAR, CHILDREN TOUGHT THROUGH THE
SECOND LANGUAGE DO NOT DEVELOP THE SAME LEVELS OF
ACCURACY AS NATIVE SPEAKERS AND, WITHOUT THIS ATTENTION
TO THE FORM OF THE LANGUAGE, PROBLEMS WITH BASIC
STRUCTURES CONTINUE (LIGHTBOWN AND SPADA 1994).
SOME IDEAS AND POSSIBLE PROBLEMS
 COMMUNICATING THROUGH A LANGUAGE AND LEARNING A
LANGUAGE CAN ACTUALLY CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER.
 FOCUSING
ON
MEANING
IN
CLASSROOMS
DOES
NOT
AUTOMATICALLY, AS WAS ASSUMED WITH CLT, GUARANTEE
CONTINUING LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT ON ALL FRONTS.
 IF A TASK (IN TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING) CREATES
PRESSURE TO COMMUNICATE, LEARNERS MAY RESPOND WITH
INACCURATE USE OF THE LANGUAGE OR WITH FIRST LANGUAGE.
 GRAMMAR MAY EMERGE NATURALLY IN FIRST LANGUAGE, BUT
THE GRAMMAR OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IS ‘FOREIGN’, AND
GRAMMAR DEVELOPMENT REQUIRES SKILLED PLANNING OF
TASKS AND LESSONS, AND EXPLICIT TEACHING.
 FROM THE LEARNERS’ POINT OF VIEW EMERGES THAT ATTENTION
TO FORM IS VITAL, AND THAT LEARNERS NEED TO BE HELPED TO
NOTICE GRAMMATICAL PATTERNS OF THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE,
BEFORE THEY CAN MAKE THOSE PATTERNS PART OF THEIR
INTERNAL GRAMMAR (VAN PATTEN 1996).
 NOTICING AND ATTENTION ARE NEEDED NOT ONLY IN INPUT BUT
ALSO IN OUTPUT. LEARNERS NEED TO BE HELPED TO FOCUS ON
THE ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF THEIR LANGUAGE USE (SWAIN
1985,1995).
5
GRAMMAR LEARNING ACTIVITIES SUGGESTED BY BADSTONE (1995)
(RE) NOTICING
(RE) STRUCTURING
PROCEDURALISING
NOTICING = ACTIVE PROCESS IN WHICH LEARNERS BECOME AWARE
OF THE STRUCTURE, NOTICE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN FORM AND
MEANING, BUT DO NOT THEMSEVES MANIPULATE LANGUAGE.
SUCCESSFUL NOTICING ACTIVITIES WILL USUALLY:
 SUPPORT MEANING AS WELL AS FORM;
 PRESENT
THE
FORM
IN
ISOLATION,
AS
WELL
IN
DISCOURSE AND LINGUISTIC CONTEXT;
 CONTRAST THE FORM WITH OTHER, ALREADY KNOWN,
FORMS;
 REQUIRE ACTIVE PARTECIPATION BY THE LEARNER;
 BE AT A LEVEL OF DETAIL APPROPRIATE TO THE
LEARNERS;
 LEAD
INTO,
BUT
NOT
INCLUDE,
ACTIVITIES
THAT
MANIPULATE LANGUAGE.
STRUCTURING = BRINGING THE NEW GRAMMAR PATTERN INTO THE
LEARNER’S
INTERNAL
REORGANISING
THE
GRAMMAR
INTERNAL
AND,
GRAMMAR
IF
NECESSARY,
(PROCESS
OF
ACCOMODATION AND ASSIMILATION).
STRUCTURING
USUALLY
REQUIRES
CONTROLLED
PRACTICE
AROUND FORMS AND MEANINGS.
6
IN STRUCTURING ACTIVITIES:
 LEARNERS
SHOULD
MANIPULATE
THE
LANGUAGE,
CHANGING FORM IN ORDER TO EXPRESS MEANING;
 LEARNERS CAN BE GIVEN CHOISES IN CONTENT THAT
REQUIRE ADJUSTEMENTS IN GRAMMAR TO EXPRESS
MEANING;
 THERE WILL BE LIMITED IMPACT ON SPONTANEOUS USEMOST OF THE RESULTS OF STRUCTURING WORK ARE
STILL INTERNAL.
PROCEDURALISATION = THE STAGE OF MAKING THE NEW GRAMMAR
READY FOR INSTANT AND FLUENT USE IN COMMUNICATION, AND
REQUIRES
PRACTICE IN CHOOSING AND USING THE FORM TO
EXPRESS MEANING.
THE POSSIBLE CONFLICT BETWEEN COMMUNICATIVE PRESSURE
AND ACCURACY CAN BE AVOIDED IF WE ARE AWARE THAT TASKS
USED FOR PROCEDURALISATION MUST REQUIRE ATTENTION TO
GRAMMAR AS WELL AS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.
PRINCIPLES FOR LEARNING – CENTRED GRAMMAR TEACHING
YOUNG
LEARNERS
NEED
TO
PARTECIPATE
IN
MEANINGFUL
DISCOURSE IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE, AND IT WOULD NOT
CONCEPTUALLY APPROPRIATE FOR GRAMMAR TO BE EXPLICITLY
TOUGHT AS FORMAL.
HOWEVER TEACHERS SHOULD HAVE:
 AN AWARENESS OF GRAMMAR ISSUES
 A RANGE OF FORM-FOCUSING TECHNIQUE
7
SO
THAT
THEY
CAN
TAKE
ADVANTAGE
OF
LEARNING
OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARISE WHEN LEARNERS NEED GRAMMAR TO
TAKE THEIR LANGUAGE LEARNING FORWARDS AND CAN BRING
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF STORIES, DIALOGUES, SONGS, ETC. TO
THE ATTENTION OF EVEN THE YOUNGEST CHILDREN IN NONFORMAL WAY.
AS CHILDREN GET OLDER , THEY ARE ABLE TO LEARN FROM MORE
FORMAL INSTRUCTION, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT
GRAMMAR TEACHING CAN OFTEN DESTROY MOTIVATION AND
CONFUSE CHILDREN RATHER THAN ENLIGHTEN THEM.
GOOD LEARNING-CENTRED GRAMMAR TEACHING REQUIRES ACTIVE
PARTECIPATION
FROM
LEARNER
TO
BE
MEANINGFUL
AND
INTERESTING AND WILL WORK WITH HOW CHILDREN LEARN AND
WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF LEARNING.
GENERAL
PRINCIPLES
FOR
LEARNING-CENTRED
GRAMMAR
TEACHING:
 THE NEED FOR GRAMMAR:
o GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY AND PRECISION MATTER FOR
MEANING;
o WITHOUT ATTENTION TO FORM, FORM WILL NOT BE
LEARNT ACCURATELY;
o FORM-FOCUSED
INSTRUCTION
IS
PARTICULARLY
RELEVANT FOR THOSE FEATURES OF THE FOREIGN
LANGUAGE GRAMMAR THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE
FIRST LANGUAGE OR ARE NOT VERY NOTICEABLE.
8
 POTENTIAL CONFLICT BETWEEN MEANING AND GRAMMAR:
o IF LEARNERS’ ATTENTION IS DIRECTED TO EXPRESSING
MEANING, THEY MAY NEGLECT ATTENTION TO ACCURACY
AND PRECISION.
 IMPORTANCE OF ATTENTION IN THE LEARNING PROCESS
o TEACHING CAN HELP LERNERS NOTICE AND ATTEND TO
FEATURES OF GRAMMAR IN THE LANGUAGE THEY HEAR
AND READ, OR SPEAK AND WRITE;
o NOTICING AN ASPECT OF FORM IS THE FIRST STAGE OF
LEARNING IT; IT THEN NEEDS TO BECOME PART OF THE
LEARNER’S INTERNAL GRAMMAR, AND TO BECOME PART
OF THE LEARNER’S LANGUAGE RESOURCES READY FOR
USE IN A RANGE OF SITUATIONS.
9