Teaching English Grammar Penny Ur 2015

Focus on form: planned or spontaneous?

Originally: spontaneous (Long and Robinson, 1998)

Later: planned (Ellis et al. 2002).

The grammar may even be built in to the original task or text.

Advantages

Focuses on the target form when it is actually needed for communication

Shows the grammar in context

Disadvantages

May hold up the communicative activity

A bit ‘hit or miss’: does not ensure systematic coverage

Probably best

… as an occasional reinforcement of features, as needed

… as a back-up to regular ‘conventional’ teaching of grammar, based on explanation + practice.

Practice

Based on skill theory:

declarative stage

proceduralization

automatization

Practice is the ‘proceduralization’ stage, where the learner produces the target forms ‘…while temporarily leaning on declarative crutches’ (Dekeyser, 1998: 49)