Effective ways of teaching grammar at secondary school

Oral approach

Grammar items pupils need for conversation are taught by the oral approach, i.e., pupils laud them, perform various oral exercises, finally see them printed, and write sentences using them. For example, pupils need the Present Progressive for conversation. They listen to sentences with the verbs in the Present Progressive spoken by the teacher or the speaker (when a tape recorder is used) and relate them to the situations suggested. Then pupils use the verbs in the Present Progressive in various oral sentences in which this tense is used. Grammar items necessary for reading are taught through reading.

If the grammar item the teacher is going to present belongs to those pupils need for conversation, he should select the oral approach method for teaching.

If pupils need the grammar item for reading, the teacher should start with reading and writing sentences in which the grammar item occurs.

While preparing for the lesson at which a new grammar item should be introduced, the teacher must realize the difficulties pupils will meet in assimilating this new element of the English grammar. They may be of three kinds: difficulties in form, meaning, and usage. The teacher thinks of the ways to overcome these difficulties: how to convey the meaning of the grammar item either through situations or with the help of the mother tongue; what rule should be used; what exercises should be done; their types and number. Then he thinks of the sequence in which pupils should work to overcome these difficulties, i.e., from observation and comprehension through conscious imitation to usage in conversation (communicative exercises). Then the teacher considers the form in which he presents the grammar item - orally, in writing, or in reading. And, finally, the teacher plans pupils' activity while they are learning this grammar item (point): their individual work, mass work, work in unison, and work in pairs, always bearing in mind that for assimilation pupils need examples of the sentence pattern in which this grammar item occurs. [11, pp.14-20]

1.1.2. The major methods of grammar presentation

There are two approaches in teaching grammar that can be applied: deductive and inductive.

Inductive learning is the process of 'discovering' general principles from facts.

In a language classroom, an inductive approach involves getting learners to discover rules and how they are applied by looking at examples. The role of the teacher is to provide the language the learners need to discover the rules, to guide them in discovery if necessary, and then to provide more opportunities to practise.

The inductive approach is often thought of as a more modern way of teaching: it involves discovery techniques; it seeks in some ways to duplicate the acquisition process; it often exploits authentic material; it has learners at the centre of the lesson; and the focus is on usage rather than rules.

Deductive learning is the process of applying general principles to use.

In a classroom, a deductive approach means teaching learners rules and then giving them opportunities to apply them through practice. The role of the teacher is to present the rules and organize the practice.

The deductive approach is often thought of as a more traditional way of teaching: it is teacher-led and teacher-centred, at least at the presentation stage; it focuses initially on rules and then use; it often uses input language which is adjusted to the learners and not authentic. These do not in themselves have to be traditional ways of teaching, but they indicate a traditional approach. [17, pp. 75-83]

As can be seen, both approaches provide opportunities for learning and address the needs of different kinds of learners and learning contexts. Like almost all the decisions we make in the classroom, we must be guided by our learners’ aims.

The inductive approach may be more attractive to us as teachers but does it support our students’ learning fully?

The deductive approach may be more controllable but does it give our learners the opportunity to develop their strategies and learning styles?

And like many of our decisions regarding the way we teach, the best way forward may be to blend the two, guided by our aims and our understanding of our own learners. For example, it may be useful for a class to start with a deductive approach and then move on to a more inductive way of learning once they are used to analysis of the language and ways of describing it.