Icelt distance unit 5 grammar presentation & practice

ICELT DISTANCE UNIT 5 
Grammar presentation & 
practice 
ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Contents 
Introduction  3 
Aims .. 3 
Reading  4 
Section A – Reflection . 5 
Section B – Approaches to teaching grammar  8 
Section C – Presentation techniques .. 19 
Section D – Practice techniques .. 29 
Section E – Grammar in the young earner classroom  34 
References  35 
Feedback on unit . 36 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Introduction 
In many traditional language classrooms, grammar was viewed as the most 
important aspect of language learning. Methodology was concerned almost 
solely with ways of having learners practise the grammar with vocabulary and 
pronunciation slotted in. Nowadays most teachers would not recognise that 
situation – there has been a growing acceptance that there is much more to a 
language than grammar. In the 1970’s, the communicative approach mostly 
abandoned this emphasis on grammatical form in favour communicating the 
message successfully, despite inaccuracies. More recently, however, the 
importance of focussing on form has been addressed again. 
In this unit we will be considering different approaches to teaching grammar and 
whether we need to make form (or structure) rules explicit to learners. We shall 
evaluate a number of presentation and practice techniques. 
Aims 
By the end of this unit you should: 
• Have a clearer understanding of deductive, inductive and guided discovery 
approaches to grammar teaching 
• Have analysed lessons in relation to these approaches 
• Have analysed the learning process within a guided discovery lesson 
• Have planned a sequence of activities using a guided discovery 
framework 
• Have evaluated a number of presentation techniques 
• Have a clearer understanding or the notion of controlled and free practice 
activities 
• Have planned controlled and free practice activities for particular language 
points 
• Have considered the place of grammar in younger learner classrooms
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Essential Reading 
Cameron, L. 2001 Teaching Languages to Young Learners. CUP 
Chapter 5 – Learning Grammar 
Nunan, D. 1991 Language Teaching Methodology. Longman 
Chapter 8 – the Role of Grammar 
Ur, P. 1999 A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory CUP 
Recommended Further Reading 
ELT Forum Teacher Development Pack: Grammar 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Section A: Reflection 
Task 1 
Read the following comments which were made by different teachers. Consider 
whether you agree or disagree with them and why. If possible, do this task with a 
colleague. 
1. I usually tell the students the rule before we practice grammar. 
2. I try not to use grammar terminology in the classroom. 
3. I like to use examples from my students’ life when I am teaching grammar. 
4. I think if we provide enough good examples, then students can infer the 
rules without being told. 
5. It is easy to explain some grammar rules by others are so complicated that 
it is better not to bother. 
6. It is better to do other activities such as reading a story or listening to a 
song first that lead to grammar. 
When you have finished, look at the commentary that follows. 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Commentary 
1. I usually tell the students the rule before we practice grammar. 
This is one of the features of the deductive approach (don’t be confused by the 
name!) to grammar teaching. In this approach the teacher moves from rules to 
examples. In contrast, there is the inductive approach, in which learners are 
presented with lots of examples and they work out the rule for themselves; in 
other words they induce the rule. 
This is also very characteristic of the grammar translation method of language 
teaching and is also very common in students’ grammar books. 
2. I try not to use grammar terminology in the classroom. 
If you are teaching very young learners you probably agreed with this. 
If you are teaching older children or adults then it is very difficult to avoid 
terminology altogether unless you are using a totally experiential approach to 
language learning where the students are using the language to perform task 
with no explicit analysis of the language. 
On the other hand, over use of terminology with turn a lot of students off and it is 
important to be sensitive to the effect use of terminology is having on students. 
3. I like to use examples from my students’ life when I am teaching grammar. 
This attitude comes from a humanistic approach to language learning in which it 
is believed that affective (emotional) factors as just as important as cognitive 
factors. 
It is probably an obvious point but if learning is personalised in this way then it 
will probably be more memorable. Traditionally, the personalisation stage comes 
after the presentation but there is no reason why the presentation itself should 
not be personalised. However, this would require a great deal of skill on the 
teacher’s part. 
4. I think if we provide enough good examples, then students can infer the rules 
without being told. 
See number 1. This is characteristic of an inductive approach to learning 
grammar. This approach is also called a discovery approach. It is comparable to 
the way in which we learn our first language; direct experience of the language 
and unconscious assimilation of rules. 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
5. It is easy to explain some grammar rules by others are so complicated that 
it is better not to bother. 
Most experienced teacher would accept this and plan their teaching 
accordingly. Perhaps a more important point is that some rules are very 
difficult to induce or discover. For example the correct placement of adverbs 
– I like football very much or He is often late may never be noticed by 
students unless they are pointed out explicitly. 
6 It is better to do other activities such as reading a story or listening to a 
song first that lead to grammar. 
This is an underlying principle in such approaches as task-based learning and 
the whole language approach – you learn best by doing. 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Section B: Approaches 
The tasks in this section have been taken from Thornbury, 2004) 
Task 1 
Read through the following three mini lessons and for each one decide: 
• Sequence: Which comes first the rule or the example? 
• Rule: Is the rule stated explicitly or is it implicitly understood? 
• Guidance: How much does the teacher guide the learners? 
____________________ 
Lesson 1 
Teacher 
“to form the present perfect continuous, use the auxiliary verb have plus the 
past participle of the verb to be (been) plus the present participle, for example 
” 
Teacher writes on the board: 
I have been working. 
Has Jeff been watching TV? 
They haven’t been listening. 
“You use the present perfect continuous to talk about activities that started in 
the past and continue to the present (or very recent past), especially when 
you want to focus on the process itself, or its duration, for example” 
Teacher writes on board: 
We have been living here since we got married. 
How long have you been studying Chinese? 
Why is your hair wet? I’ve been swimming. 
“Now make sentences using the present perfect continuous for these 
situations 
Jeff started watching TV at five o’clock. Hi has just switched the TV off. It is 
now nine o’clock. 
I first came to live in this town five years ago. I’m still living here. 
Our company was set up over 100 years ago. We manufactured bicycles 
them and we are still manufacturing them.” 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
 _____________________ 
Lesson 2 
Teacher: 
“Dawn is standing outside the cinema. She is waiting for her friend. Dawn 
arrived at eight o’clock. It’s now ten past eight. She has been waiting for ten 
minutes. 
When did she start waiting? 
(Learners: “Eight o’clock.”) 
Is she still waiting? 
(Learners: “Yes.”) 
How do you express the idea of waiting that started in the past and is still 
continuing? 
(Learners: “She has been waiting.”) 
How is the tense formed? 
(Learners: “Have plus been plus –ing.”) 
This tense is called the present perfect continuous. 
Here is another situation: 
It is now nine o’clock and Jeff is watching TV. He started watching TV at five 
o’clock . He has been watching TV for four hours. 
Use the present perfect continuous to make a sentence for each of these 
situations: 
I first came to live in this town five years ago. I’m still living here. 
Our company was set up over 100 years ago. We manufactured bicycles 
then, and we are still manufacturing them.” 
 _________________________ 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Lesson 3 
Teacher: 
“Once upon a time, Goldilocks visited the Bears’ house. There was nobody 
home. She ate some of Baby Bear’s porridge. She smoked one of Father 
Bear’s cigars. She drank some of Mother Bear’s coffee, and she rode Mother 
Bear’s motorbike. She played with Buddy Bear’s toys, and she played Buddy 
Bear’s guitar. She read some of Missy Bear’s magazines, and she used 
Missy Bear’s computer. 
Well, finally, she felt tired so she went upstairs to sleep. When the Bears 
came home, Baby Bear said, “Who’s been eating my porridge?” Repeat. 
(Learners: “Who’s been eating my porridge?”) 
Mother Bear said, “Who’s been drinking my coffee?” Repeat. 
(Learners: “Who’s been drinking my coffee?”) 
Father Bear said, “Who’s been smoking my cigar?” Repeat. 
(Learners: “Who’s been smoking my cigar?” 
What did Missy Bear say about her magazines? 
(Learners: Who’s been reading my magazines?” 
And her computer? 
(Learners: “Who’s been using my computer?” 
What did Buddy Bear say about his toys? 
(Learners: “Who’s been playing with my toys?” 
And his guitar? 
(Learners: “Who’s been playing my guitar?” 
What did Mother Bear say about her motorbike? 
(Learners: “Who’s been riding my motorbike?” 
Now tell the story to your partner.” 
 ________________________ 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Commentary 
 Sequence Rule Guidance 
Lesson 1 Rule example Explicit High 
Lesson 2 Example rule Explicit High 
Lesson 3 Examples only Implicit Low 
Lesson 1 
This is typical of a deductive approach where the rule is stated at the 
beginning, example are provided, and then further examples are given by the 
learners as evidence of their learning. The teacher guides the whole process 
with very little or no learner involvement until the practice stage. (Though it is 
possible for the teacher to involve the learners from the beginning by 
eliciting). 
Lesson 2 
This is a typical inductive presentation, in which an example is given and from 
which the rule is discovered and then made explicit. Another example is 
given before the learners go on to practise the rule themselves. There is high 
teacher guidance through the use of leading questions. This is an example of 
learning by guided discovery 
Lesson 3 
This is an example of a presentation in which examples of the target form are 
given in context, but where the rule is not made explicit. Learners are 
expected to demonstrate awareness of of the rule in their responses. If they 
do so, they have shown evidence of discovery learning in its unguided form. 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Task 2 
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the approaches 
above. Complete the table below. When you have finished look at the 
commentary. 
 Advantages Disadvantages 
Lesson 1 
Deductive 
Lesson 2 
Guided discovery 
Lesson 3 
Unguided discovery 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Commentary 
 Advantages Disadvantages 
Lesson 1 
Deductive 
• Direct 
• Aim is clear 
• Suits particular learner 
types who like clear 
grammar explanations 
• Can involve complicated 
explanations and a lot of 
metalanguage 
• Can demotivate learners 
who are ‘afraid’ of 
grammar 
• Not very involving – 
learner needn’t make 
much mental effort – so 
may not be memorable 
Lesson 2 
Guided discovery 
• Involving and 
challenging for 
learners 
• Suits particular 
learning types who are 
good at discerning 
patterns 
• Usually more engaging 
to start with example 
especially if 
personalised 
• May frustrate those 
learners who like clear 
explanations at 
beginning 
• May take a lot of time 
• May exclude learners 
who are not good at 
discerning patterns 
Lesson 3 
Unguided discovery 
• Reflects natural process 
of language learning 
• Exposes learner to 
examples in context 
• Learners are practising 
language at the same 
time as learning it 
• Focus on USING the 
language rather than 
TALKING ABOUT the 
language 
• Encourage learner 
autonomy 
• May put too much 
responsibility on learner 
• Difficult to check if the 
correct rule have been 
‘discovered’ 
• May be inefficient use of 
time 
• Mau frustrate some 
learner types 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
According to Thornbury (2004), in a guided discovery approach the teacher 
guides and supports the learning process by: 
a Problem-framing setting a problem-solving task for the learners 
b Providing data giving sufficient examples to help learners solve the 
problem 
c Focussing attention Drawing learners’ attention to key features of the data 
(structure) 
d Asking leading questions Using questions to guide the learners to a solution 
e Making connections Referring to, and building on, what the learners already 
know 
f Giving feedback Providing messages on the state of the learners’ theory-
building 
g Recapping / summarizing 
Task 3 
Look at the following transcript of the presentation stage of a lesson. Try to 
identify the purpose of each of the teacher interventions that are numbered – 
choose from the list above. 
T (1) Now. I’m going to dictate some sentences, and I want you to write 
them dowm. Are you ready? 
Number one: 
I have teaching for twelve year now. [pause] 
Number two: 
Before that I was a student teacher. [pause] 
Number three: 
I have been living in Cali for a year now. [pause] 
Number four: 
Last year I was living in Bucaramanga. [pause] 
Number five: 
At present, I am living in a friend’s apartment. [pause] 
I am going to repeat the sentences then I want you to check in pairs to see 
if you both have the same  
T OK. All those sentences are about me, but some are true and some are 
false. Can you guess which is which? I’ll give you a clue. Only one of 
them is false. Yes, Andres .? 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
T OK. Well done, Andres. So you guessed it correctly. Last year I wa 
living in Barranquilla not Bucaramanga. (2) Now let’s look at those 
sentences about now and sentences about the finished past.? 
T  That’s right. So we have two sentences about the finished past . And 
three sentences about now. (3) How do you know they are about now? 
S1 ‘Now’ 
S2 ‘At present’ 
T Good, ‘I have been teaching for twelve years now. I have been living in 
Cali for a year now. At present, I am living in a friend’s apartment.’ OK. 
(4) Now let’s look at these last two sentences. ‘I have been living in Cali / I 
am living in a friend’s apartment.’ (5) Can you see the difference? 
S3 have been 
T have been living, and  
S4 am living 
T So what’s the difference? 
S5 have been living is finished 
T (6) Is it? Are you sure? ‘I have been living in Cali for a year now.’ Is that 
finished? 
T (7) When did I start living in Cali? 
S3 One year ago. 
T Good. ‘I have been living in Cali for a year now’ Am I still living in here in 
Cali?’ 
Ss Yes 
T Obviously! ‘For a year now.’ I started living in here a year ago and I am 
still living here. ‘I have been living in Cali for a year now.’ From the past 
to the present. So what about ‘I am living at a friend’s apartment.’ Do we 
know when it started? 
Ss No 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
T (8) Are we talking about the past only, or the present only, or from the past 
to the present? 
S1 The present only. 
T (9) Exactly. But I have been living in Cali for a year.’ ? 
Ss Past and present 
T Good. From past to present. (10) Do you remember what we call this 
tense: I am living? 
S6 Present continuous. 
T Good. So what do we call this one, have been living, do you think? 
[pause] Have been  what is that? 
S4 Present perfect. 
T Good. (11) So have been living? 
S6 Present continuous perfect. 
T Not quite. Try again. The other way around 
S6 Present perfect continuous 
T Excellent. And so we use the present perfect continuous as a way of 
connecting the past to the present  
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Commentary 
This teacher here uses a guided discovery approach in this lesson. The teacher 
personalises the data, and makes it into a kind of game (true / false) in order to 
engage the learners and to encourage them to think about the meaning of the 
sentences – this helps them to make sense of the rule. 
The teacher includes a time adverbial in each of the sentences so that the 
students can make sense of them even before the focus on present continuous / 
present perfect continuous. 
1 providing data 
2 problem framing 
3 asking leading questions ( or focussing attention) 
4 focussing attention 
5 problem framing 
6 giving feedback 
7 asking leading questions 
8 asking leading questions 
9 giving feedback 
10 making connections (or asking leading questions) 
11 making connections (or asking leading questions) 
12 recapping / summarizing 
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ICELT distance unit 5 Grammar presentation & practice 
Task 4 
Try to do this task with a colleague. 
Choose one of the structures in the box below. Design a guided discovery 
presentation for the structure. 
You need to follow the sequence of a guided discovery presentation (from 
examples to rule and that you provide support and guidance for the learners in 
the form of problem framing and leading questions. 
Think about the following: 
• Will the examples be easily understood by the learner? 
• Do the examples include vocabulary that needs to be explained or pre-
taught? 
• Is there a very clear context for the examples? 
• Do the examples provide a typical, and natural, context for the targeted 
language structure? 
• Are there sufficient examples for learners to work out the rule? 
To have something done (e.g. I’ve had the kitchen painted) 
To be getting used to something (e.g. I’m getting used to this classroom,) 
Would you mind  -ing? (e.g. would you mind opening the window? 
Too+adjective+infinitive (e.g. it’s too hot to play tennis) 
Should+have+past participle (e.g. you should have brought your sunglasses. 
Please post your ideas on the website forum for comments from your colleagues. 
Task 5 
Read: Nunan, D 1998 Language Teaching Methodology Prentice Hall – chapter 
8 Focus on Form The role of grammar. 
This is an overview of research into grammar and second language acquisition. 
Before reading, note down what theories y