TESL Malaysia » Grammar

Teacher, Y U NO TEACH GRAMMAR?

Chuah Kee Man — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:58:30 +0000

I considered myself lucky (though some would say I am crazy) to be given the chance to teach English language to several groups of foreign students at a local university. Not because I get to know students from different countries, but it allows me to cope with diverse challenges in English language teaching. The students that I have taught thus far, are mainly with low proficiency level since their country of origin does not have proper English language education due to several political and social issues. Some are keen learners, some are simply lost (perhaps due to cultural shock). Yet, I tried my very best to ensure they can at least communicate sufficiently in English.

In was not long ago, one student came to me during the first week of class and asked this question “Teacher, why you no teach grammar?”. It’s pretty hard for me to justify my teaching methodology to her, so I answered “Well, you are learning it every second in my classes“. Not convinced, she showed me a thick book on English grammar and asked me to check the exercises that she did after class. I checked for her but told her that it’s good to do exercises but there is limited room for improvement if she does not practise those “rules” in context. She was still a bit pessimistic since in her country, everything needs to be memorised and the learning environment is rigid.

However, after spending several weeks with me, she noted improvements in her use of the language, particularly in speaking and writing. The same with other students. To me, while it is possible to highlight the sets of English grammar rules (e.g. the difference between adjectives and adverbs), it is always good to embed them according to skills and context. In teaching the students how to write a specific academic genre, for instance, students are explicitly told to focus on certain sets of language features salient in that genre. This is better than forcing them to do pages and pages of grammar exercises without knowing its proper use in context. The same with vocabulary. Highlighting list of words commonly used for a context helps students to practise them properly. Of course, it can always be mixed-and-matched with other activities in the classroom in order to engage the learners.

A lot of patience is needed when teaching beginning learners, particularly when the motivation to learn is low and they come from diverse countries. I am deeply humbled by some of their comments upon completing the intensive course with me, not their “thank you” or compliments, but the way they convert their thoughts into comprehensible English sentences when talking to me by the end of the course. Some may not be sufficiently ready for undergraduate studies but they have improved from perhaps a level of Primary 3 English to Form 3. They just need more time and hard work.

“Y U NO Teach Grammar” or not, U Cannot Give Up on Them!

Well, I think many of you out there may have similar experience, and I would love to hear your stories too.

Teaching Present Perfect Tense using U2′s Song (Sung by David Cook)

Chuah Kee Man — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:58:48 +0000

Using pop song’s lyrics to teach tenses can be a good way to start a grammar lesson especially for beginners. Instead of going straight to the rules, enjoying a song while identifying the pattern could test students’ listening skill as well. I am sharing a simple lesson using U2′s song “I still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” to teach students present perfect tense since the usage is repeated in the lyrics.

The version that I am using is sung by David Cook, the American Idol (just to lure students’ interest). You can always get other versions as well including U2′s original version.

The PowerPoint slideshow is available here:

Happy Trying!

Note: You can download the PowerPoint presentation here.

Grammar Games for Verbs in Simple Past

TESLMalaysia Admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:01:38 +0000

This is one of the activities taken from the book “Games for Grammar Practice: A Resource Book of Grammar Games and Interactive Activities”. It’s a good activity for students to practise wide range of verbs in the simple past and habitual past with used to. It also helps to enhance student’s speaking and listening skills since conversations are needed to play the game.

This lesson is free to be downloaded and photocopied as long as it is not used for commercial purposes. Of course, feel free to generate more activities from this lesson idea.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Grammarly: A tool to Check Grammar Errors

TESLMalaysia Admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:48:28 +0000

Though it would be almost impossible for a machine to check your English grammar for 100% accuracy, sometimes a little bit of help and advice would be very beneficial. Now, Grammarly is just what you need. Grammarly is a free Microsoft Office 2010 add-in which assists in identifying spelling and grammatical inaccuracies to ensure your documents are edited and proofread before they are read by your readers.

Download via the link here, Grammarly, a useful proofreading and grammar checking tool that uses powerful grammar checking technology to trace and find mistakes in users’ writing and gives direct to the point explanations and suggestion to improve it. Once it is installed, users will notice there is an additional Grammarly tab added in the menu bar.

To check and analyze grammar mistakes, users just need to click on the “Check Grammar” button and the checker will do the checking and analyzing online instantly. It will give users a comprehensive report on their grammar as well as problems in spelling, plagiarism, vocabulary, etc. This grammar checking tool’s report is quite comprehensive and detailed. However, it doesn’t correct or rectify your mistakes. Users need to subscribe and pay to get the grammar checking tool to correct errors for you. Grammarly is compatible with MS Office 2003, 2007 and 2010.

For more info: http://www.grammarly.com/

Lesson Plan: Teaching Prepositions – Going Places

TESLMalaysia Admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:31:37 +0000

A lesson plan on prepositions for intermediate Form 4 students. Focusing on reading, using games such as “Guess Me If You Can” and “Find me if you can”. The topic is Going Places.

Download the File

Jennifer’s ESL: Phrasal Verbs and Compound Words

TESLMalaysia Admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:39:02 +0000

Jennifer from Pittsburgh has produced a magnificent channel on YouTube featuring useful video clips that can be used to explain complex concepts of English grammar. You can use the video as your teaching aid or get some inspiration on how to teach your students.

Here is an example of what she offers on YouTube:

Do subscribe to her channel on YouTube for more updates: http://www.youtube.com/user/JenniferESL

Grammar Revision – with Answer Keys

TESLMalaysia Admin — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:59:55 +0000

A zipped pack of 13 grammar tests for Primary and Lower Secondary students with answer keys. This would come in handy for teachers who don’t want to crack their heads thinking of grammar exercises.

DOWNLOAD THE FILE

Grammar Games for Practice

TESLMalaysia Admin — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:51:20 +0000

This is a nice 19-page excerpt of the book by Maria Lucia on how to practice Grammar through games and interactive activities. You can use it as drills or incorporate it in your English language lessons. You may also modify the activities to make it more localised.

Download the File