Konstantin Preslavsky University Press – Shumen, 2020
Introduction The present module has been written to support full- and part-time students of English studies and Applied linguistics who have opted for receiving a teaching qualification. The content of the module is part of the theoretical course in Methods in Teaching English. The module is focused on one of the most important aspects of foreign language teaching - the role of grammar in the contemporary communication dominated instructional paradigm. Grammar instruction has always been one of the most debatable and controversial issues in English language teaching pedagogy. Foreign and second language theorists and practitioners have alternately advocated approaches grounded on explicit grammar instruction and approaches favouring communication with little attention to target language grammar. Recently, the role of grammar has become more prominent within the communicative paradigm. Grammatical, or organizational competence is seen as a major component of communicative competence, which is essential for successful meaningful communication. That is why it is important to raise future teachers' awareness of the main principles and approaches in teaching grammar, of the existing good practises, and the need to introduce new approaches and techniques, which are in line with recernt research findings. The module is comprised of seven chapters. The first chapter explains the nature of grammar and distinguishes among main types of grammar and grammar rules. It introduces the three basic dimentions of form, meaning and use, and establishes the interrelations between grammar and communication. The second chapter focuses on the process of learning grammar and its dependence on learner variables such as age, proficiency level, educational background, need and goals, etc. The third chapter introduces arguments for and against teaching grammar, and discusses the decision making processes of how, when and what grammar to teach. It distinguishes between implicit and explicit, deductive and inductive approaches to teaching grammar. The fourth chapter describes attitudes to grammar in the approaches and methods of language teaching. It discusses both traditional and relatively innovative teaching paradigms, such as task-based and focus-on-form approaches. The fifth chapter presents some contemporary input-based approaches, such as processing instruction, textual enhancement, and teaching grammar through discourse, and illustrates them with practical activities for students. The sixth chapter focuses on interaction and output-based options for teaching grammar, such as interactional feedback, structured grammar-focused tasks and collaborative output tasks. Finally, the seventh chapter summarizes the options for practical application of theory and research findings in different contexts of instruction. It outlines the nature of product and process approaches to teaching grammar and gives advice on designing the grammar componet of a course in the syllabus. At the end of each chapter there are comprehension questions, discussion topics and tasks for the students. They are aimed at facilitating students' understanding of the material, and helping them to bridge the gap between theory and its practical application. =========================
Contents Introduction Chapter 1. What is grammar 1.1. Definitions of grammar 1.2. Types of grammar and grammar rules 1.3. Dimensions of grammar: form, meaning and use 1.4. Grammar and communication 1.5. Spoken and written grammar Chapter 2. Learning grammar 2.1. Acquisition and/or learning of grammar 2.2. Grammar and learner variables 2.2.1. Age 2.2.2. Proficiency level 2.2.3. Educational background and length of exposure 2.2.4. Language skills and style (register) 2.2.5. Needs and goals Chapter 3. Teaching grammar 3.1. For and against teaching grammar 3.2. Selecting what grammar to teach and when to teach it 3.3. The nature of grammar instruction: massed vs. distributed and intensive vs. extensive 3.4. Explicit vs. implicit instruction 3.4.1. Explicit instruction: deductive and inductive approach 3.4.2. Implicit instruction: input, output and corrective feedback 3.5. Separate grammar lessons vs. grammar integrated into communicative activities Chapter 4. The role of grammar in the approaches and methods in teaching English 4.1. The origin of grammar and grammar teaching 4.2. Grammar-translation method 4.3. Direct method 4.4. Oral approach and situational language teaching 4.5. Audiolingualism 4.6. Natural approach 4.7. Communicative language teaching 4.8. Task-based learning 4.9. Form-focussed instruction Chapter 5. Contemporary input-based options for teaching grammar 5.1. Processing instruction 5.1.1. VanPatten's input processing model 5.1.2. Structured input activities 5.2. Textual enhancement 5.2.1. Textual enhancement in written and oral texts 5.3. Teaching grammar through discourse 5.3.1. Discourse-based input activities Chapter 6. Interaction- and output-based options for teaching grammar 6.1. The role of interactional feedback 6.1.1. Recasts, clarification requests and repetition 6.1.2. Metalinguistic feedback, direct elicitation and correction 6.1.3. Nonverbal feedback 6.2. Structured grammar-focused tasks 6.2.1. Explicit and implicit grammar-focused tasks 6.3. Collaborative output tasks: dictogloss, reconstruction cloze, text-editing and jigsaw Chapter 7. Grammar: from theory to practice 7.1. The role of context in choosing an approach to teaching grammar 7.2. Principles in teaching grammar 7.3. Teaching grammar as a product, process and skill 7.4. Grammar and syllabus. Designing the grammar component of a course.