MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE STUDY

OF SYNTAX AND GRAMMAR

Teaching Grammar in Context

Jill Kerper Mora

San Diego State University

Dear Educators,

Teacher credential candidates who are preparing for the RICA exam should be familiar with these grammatical terms and their definitions. These concepts are part of RICA Domain IV Content Area 13.1.

These concepts of grammar are important for two reasons:

1) Knowledge of help teachers to assess and remediate the errors and error patterns of second-language learners.

2) The points of grammar can be used as the basis for teaching sentence structure and vocabulary.

This web page includes a description of how to teach an explicit grammar lesson and grammar-based literacy teaching activities. Click here to go directly to the following topics contained in this instructional module:

Components of grammar and syntax

Structure of a grammar lesson

Sentence transformation

Using sentence transformation to teach specific points of grammar

Sentence recombination

Teaching grammar in situation contexts

Other resources available on

Dr. Mora's website:

Click here for further information on the grammar-translation method and other grammar-based methods for second-language teaching.

Click on the hot-text for a discussion of the role of syntactic knowledge in reading and assessment of grammar in second-language writing.

Components of Grammar and Syntax

1. The principle elements of the sentence

Subject

Verbs and verb phrases

Direct and indirect object(s)

Complements with verbs that express feeling, appearing, being and seeming

Modifiers

Clauses

Phrases

2. Parts of speech and their functions within sentences

Nouns and nominals (infinitives, gerunds, etc.)

Articles

Verbs

Pronouns

Adjectives

Adverbs

Prepositions

Conjunctions

Interjections

3. Types of sentences and their syntax

Simple

Compound

Complex

Basic & variations on basic sentence patterns

Sentence structure: Complete, incomplete, run-on, coordination of verb tenses

4. Verb Usage

Agreement

Tense

Mood

Active or passive voice

Sequence and consistency of tenses

Modals

Phrasal verbs

5. Word usage or lexicon

Idiomatic constructions

Formulaic expressions

Use of phrases within sentences

An excellent resource for definitions and examples of these points of grammar is Research & Education Association (1996). REA's Handbook of English Grammar, Style and Writing. Piscataway, NJ: Author. ISBN No. 0-87891-552-4.

Steps in Presenting Points of Grammar Using Direct Instruction in ESL and Foreign Language Instruction

1. Motivate the teaching of structures by showing how they are needed in real-life communication.

2. State the objective of the lesson.

3. Review the familiar items, e.g. calendar, time, name of objects, auxiliary verbs in the target language that will be needed to introduce, explain, or practice the new item.

4. Use the new structure (adjective of color, for example) in a brief utterance in which all the other words are known to the students.

5. Model the utterance several times.

6. Engage in full class, half-class, group and individual repetition of the utterance.

7. Give several additional sentences in which the structure is used. Class and groups will repeat with you.

8. Write two of the sentences on the board. Underline the new structure and (where relevant) use curved arrows or diagrams to illustrate the relationship of the structure to other words and/or parts of the sentence.

9. Point to the underlined structure as you ask questions that will guide students to discover the sounds, the written form, the position in the sentence and the grammatical function of the new structure. ("What does it tell us?")

10. Help students (age 11 or older) to verbalize the important features of the structure. Use charts and other aids to relate to other familiar structures such as verb tenses.

11. Engage the students in varied guided oral practice.

12. Require students to consciously select the new grammatical item from contrasting one learned in the past.

13. Have the students use the structure with communicative expressions and familiar or new notions.

14. Where feasible, do a translation exercise (provided this will not promote interference from L1).

Click here for more hints on effective grammar teaching in ESL and foreign language classrooms. This lesson on the present perfect is an example.

Sentence Transformation: From Basic to Complex Sentences

1. Take a basic sentence:

Juan lost his book.

2. Expand on it:

Juan lost his science book.

3. Expand again with additional information:

Juan lost his science book at the playground.

4. Combine two sentences:

Juan lost his science book. He was playing on the swings.

Juan lost his science book while playing on the swings.

Juan lost his science book while playing on the swings at the playground.

5. Make substitutions:

Juan lost his science homework ...

Juan lost his math book...etc.

6. Transform a sentence to elaborate or link ideas:

Juan lost his math book. Did Juan lose his science book, too?

7. Add information and construct a short narrative around the sentences students have created:

Juan was playing on the swings at the playground when he lost his math book. Juan also lost his science homework because it was in his math book.

Sentence Transformation

Focusing on Specific Points of Grammar

Subject pronouns

I, you, he, she, we, they

Forms of verb to be

_____ are running down the hill.

_____ is going to school.

_____ was at the school play.

_____ were not at the school play.

Changes in verb tense

Bill is sitting down. Bill will sit down.

Mary walks too fast. Mary walked too fast.

"When" clauses

Mr. Black will sit down. Mr. Black will take off his coat. When Mr. Black sits down, he will take off his coat.

The girls will arrive at school. The bell will be ringing. When the girls arrive at school, the bell will be ringing.

Relative Clauses

The book is on the desk. The book is red. The book that is on the desk is red.

The girl is in the kitchen. The girl is my sister. The girl who is in the kitchen is my sister.

Negatives

He likes to go for a walk after dinner. He doesn't like to go for a walk after dinner.

Mary likes to go for a walk after dinner. She isn't thinking about her homework.

Interrogatives ((Is/Are)

John is running away from the wolf. Is John running away from the wolf?

Interrogatives (Do/Does)

We walk to the market every afternoon. Do we walk to the market every afternoon? Do you walk to the market every afternoon?

Interrogatives (Modals-Can)

(Can) My brother can ride his bike to school. Can my brother ride his bike to school? What can your brother do on his bike?

Sentence Recombination

Sentence recombination is an effective activity for teaching sentence structure, paragraph structure, punctuation, transition and coherence, and parts of speech. Students must also use critical thinking skills to cluster and organize ideas and concepts. Sentence recombination exercises are thematic and can be easily constructed in advance by the teacher or as a group activity with the students. Here is an example.

Combine these sentences into a passage by using compound subjects, compound predicates and other compound sentence elements. In rewriting, be sure to include introduction and transition sentences so the passage flows smoothly.

1. People all over the world build houses.

2. People all over the world like their homes.

3. Houses are built in many shapes.

4. Houses are built in many sizes.

5. Houses are built of grass.

6. Houses are built of palm leaves.

7. Houses are built of wood.

8. Houses are built of steel.

9. Houses are built of stone.

10. Houses are built of adobe.

11. Houses are built of plaster.

12. Houses are built of concrete.

13. Houses are built of other materials.

14. The construction may be simple.

15. The construction may be complex.

16. Construction must be adapted to the climate.

17. Construction must be adapted to the materials available.

18. Construction must be adapted to the skills of the workers.

There are many variations on the paragraph or composition that students can create in this exercise. Evaluate the product based on linguistic and conceptual complexity and coherence.

Teaching Grammar in Situational Contexts

Situation or Context Points of GrammarFollow a recipe or instructions from a boxed cake mix to bake a cake.

Imperative verb formPresent continuous tense

Give directions to another person to get to a store, the post office, or a bank using a map.

Present tenseNon-referential it

Discuss plans for a class field trip to the zoo.

Future tenseIf-clauses

Conditional tenseDescribe a past vacation, weekend, etc.

Simple past tenseQuestion formationForms of verb to doWord order in negation

Role play a shopping trip to buy a gift for a family member or friend.

May, mightCollective nouns and quantifiers (any, some, several, etc.)Indirect object

Answer information questions: Name, address, phone number, etc.

Present tense of verb to bePossessive adjectives

Tell someone how to find an object in your kitchen.

Locative prepositionsModal verbs (can, may, should)

Fill out a medical history form. Then role play a medical interview on a visit with a new doctor.

Present perfect tensePresent perfect progressive

Make a daily weather report Non-referential it Forms of verb to beIdiomatic expressions

Report daily schedules of people (in the class, buses in the city, airline schedules, trains, etc.)

Habitual presentPersonal pronounsDemonstrative adjectives

Extend an invitation over the telephone to someone to come to a party

Would like…Object-Verb word order

Interrogative pronounsExplain rules and regulations to someone, i.e. rules for the school cafeteria; doctor’s instructions to a sick patient

Modal verbs: Can, must, should, ought to

Adverbs of time & frequency

Report a historical or actual past event and discuss conditions under which a different outcome might have resulted

Past conditional and past perfect tenses

If clauses

React to the burglary of your house or apartment in the presence of another person upon discovery (active voice) and in making a police report (passive voice)

Present perfect tenseContrast between active and passive voiceDirect and indirect object

Additional resources:

Click here for a checklist of grammar and syntax for discerning patterns of usage in students' oral and written production.

Click here for a roadmap to effective English language development instruction.

Here is a link to guided writing in L2 classrooms.

Click here for a step by step plan for guided story construction for L2 learners.

Click here for a sampling of grammar lesson's from Karin's Grammar Teaching Page.

This page was last updated on 12/15/03

http://www.sitemeter.com/stats.asp?site=lanena http://www.sitemeter.com/stats.asp?site=lanena