Making Grammar Instruction Meaningful and EnjoyableMaryna TsehelskaKryvyi Rih Pedagogical UniversityEducational Centre “Interclass”Kryvyi Rih

Key Points:1. A short discussion about popular ways of teaching grammar.

2. Stages of grammar acquisition.

3. Teaching English tenses.

4. The power of paraphrasing.

Quick revision:In building a curriculum we have to consider the four phases of leaning – • impressing, • memorization, • authorization, • initiation.

How do the four phases work?• Impressing –

general view/ idea, • Memorization –

details, • Authorization –

getting rid of unimportant ,

• Initiation – using the knowledge.

How is this approach applicable in teaching

grammar?We need a scheme/ a

mapTasks/ exercises – may

take years Some details will never be used

Finally students will learn it!

Let’s examine some popular methods of teaching grammar:• Fragmented teaching of grammar

(according to the level of students).• Eliciting grammar.• Eidetic.

Fragmented grammar:• The present tense is the base form of the verb: I work in London.

But the third person (she/he/it) adds an -s: She works in London.• Use• We use the present tense to talk about:• something that is true in the present:• I’m nineteen years old.

He lives in London.I’m a student.

• something that happens again and again in the present:• I play football every weekend.• We use words like sometimes, often. always, and never (adverbs of frequency) with the present tense:• I sometimes go to the cinema.

She never plays football.• something that is always true:• The adult human body contains 206 bones.

Light travels at almost 300,000 kilometres per second.

Fragmented grammar:Best for the memorization and authorization stages.Will work well if there is a generalizing scheme/map.

Eliciting GrammarFor eliciting grammar, you could use a situational dialogue, a drawing or modelling. Create some kind of context for the students to understand the grammar point and then follow up with concept check questions. If you are doing a reading exercise, ask the students to give you examples of the grammar point from the text. You may also wish to ask the students questions that require the students to answer using a particular grammatical form. You may want to try telling the students the grammar point first and then asking them to give you some example sentences.

http://www.teach-this.com/ideas/eliciting

Eliciting grammar:• Best for the memorization and authorization

stages.• Will work well if there is a generalizing

scheme/map.• Takes longer time, but may be effective for

adults.

Eidetics

Употребляем артикль the с:

с названиями озер, рек, морей, океанов

с названиями горных цепей, групп островов, государств из частей

с названиями сторон света

с музыкальными инструментами

с национальностями и фамилиями во множественном числе

Past

Present Future

Simple

I he she it

we - ed you they____________________________

yesterday, last year, ___ ago

Simple

I he she it we you they ____________________________

every day, usually, seldom

Simple

I he she it we you they ____________________________

tomorrow, in ___ days, next__

Continuous

I he she it we you they

yesterday at….., from…to…..

Continuous

I he she it we you they _______________________ now, at this moment,

at present

Continuous

I he she it we you they _______________________

tomorrow at….., from…to…..

Дурень = do

Джентельмен = -ing

Eidetics:+ Great when you want to remember the rules – to learn about the language.- Not very helpful when you want to learn how to talk – the language itself.

Effective Ways• Provide a scheme/ map – it will give a general idea.• Divide it into teachable chunks (depends upon a

group).• Use all usual things (exercises, tasks,

worksheets).• Use any teachable moment for recycling grammar.

Two types of schemes:-Grammar concepts.-Speaking.

Grammar Concept: PassivePassive Voice

SIMPLE CONTINUOUS PERFECT

P R E S E N T

I am He is She is It is We are You are They are

V3 asked read put taken

I am He is She is It is We are You are They are

being

V3 asked read put taken

I have He has She has It has We have You have They have

been

V3 asked read put taken

P A S T

I was He was She was It was We were You were They were

V3 asked read put taken

I was He was She was It was We were You were They were

being

V3 asked read put taken

I had He had She had It had We had You had They had

been

V3 asked read put taken

F U T U R E

I‘ ll be He‘ ll be She‘ ll be It‘ ll be We‘ ll be You‘ ll be They‘ ll be

V3 asked read put taken

___________:)

‘ ll have He‘ ll have She‘ ll have It‘ ll have We‘ ll have You‘ ll have They‘ ll have

been

V3 asked read put taken

Speaking: As you remember, we need symbols for the parts of speech (sentence):Adjective Noun (Who?) Verb Noun (What?) Adverb

An important detail – e.g. a preposition

These symbols allow building sentences. Here is a scheme of

Present Simple:

The same principle is used for speaking:

This speaking map contains:

- Basic categories.- Categories peculiar

to this topic.- Grammar.

Stages of English Tenses Acquisition:Level 1 – Structure of the English sentence. (We’ve just seen the examples of maps) Noun + Infinitive

Level 2 – Noun + Infinitive, V+er, Three forms of the verbs (V1, V2, V3) + Irregular verbs Level 3 – V+er, Ving, V3, Simple, Continuous, Perfect TensesGerund

Level 4 – All tenses in Active Voice, Gerund

Level 1 – Simple sentences носить …. в

to carry … in складывать …. в

to put … in

портфель

a school bag

папка

a folder

пенал

pencil box/ case

писать to write

рисовать/ чертить to draw

ручка

a pen

записная тетрадь

a notebook

дневник

a diary

карандаш

a pencil

учебник

a text book

тетрадь для упражнений

an exercise book

рисовать красками to paint

краски

paints

кисточка

a brush

альбом

a sketch book.

проводить линии to make lines

измерять to measure

линейка

ruler/ line

затирать to erase

ластик

eraser

Student(s) with….. ……./ in….. in…….

Student(s)

with….. with….. Student(s)

This page from the textbook

shows how the vocabulary is

given.

This vocabulary will be used in

schemes:

Level 2 – Sentences with adverbial modifiers, question

words.1. Use the table to speak about people at school.

People Verb Places директор

headmaster, principal __________________

контролировать to control

______________________

кабинет директора principal’s office

______________________ завуч

principal’s assistant ___________________

составлять расписание to make timetable

______________________

учительская teachers’ room

______________________ учитель teacher

___________________

учить to teach

______________________

класс classroom

______________________ ученик student

___________________

учиться to study

______________________

компьютерный класс computer room

______________________

People place in/at work

Speaking Card “My Day” Level 2

Level 3 – Irregular Verbs:• We start learning irregular verbs from Level

2. At first – like poems, using videos.• Then, at Level 3 Irregular verbs are studied

with Tenses Scheme:• V1 = Infinitive – «чtо делать»• V2 = Past Simple – «делал»• V3 = Past Participle – «сделанный»• Ving = Present Participle – «делающий»

Most attention is paid to

the sentence and word

order, time adjuncts

are second.

Ving and V3 will be practiced in adjectives where possible:

1. Trace the pictures and complete the sentences below:

перелом fracture

______________

растяжение sprain

______________

смещение dislocation

______________

синяк под глазом black eye

______________

порез

cut ____________

царапина graze/ scrape/

scratch ________________________

синяк bruise

____________

заноза splinter

____________

шишка lump

____________

солнечный

ожог sunburn ____________

ожог burn

____________

укус bite

____________

жало sting

____________

сыпь rash

____________ 2. Say it differently:

1. His bone is fractured. – He has _________________________ 2. His leg is sprained. – He has ________________________ 3. Her finger bone is dislocated. – It is _____________________ 4. She has cut her arm. – It is _______________________ 5. Her arm is bruised. – It is __________________________ 6. His finger is splintered. – It is _______________________

V3 also helps to learn and practice

vocabulary:

Level 3: V + -er = a device or a doer

Looking After Your Hair 1. Do or do not? Fill in the table with verbs and speak about your hair hygiene:

мыть _______________

hair

шампунь sha mpoo

ополаскивать (наносить кондиционер) to _____________

кондиционер conditioner

сушить to _____________ фен a ha i r -dryer расчесывать to ___________ расческа a comb расчесывать щеткой to ____________

щетка a brush

укладывать to ___________ гель для волос styli n g gel сбрызгивать to ____________ лак для волос ha i r spray красить to _____________ краска для волос ha i r -dye

with product How often?

do not

Cleaning

мыть to wash ________________ мыть посуду to wash up ________________ to wash dishes ________________

стиральная машина a washing machine ________________ посудомоечная машина a dish washer ________________

натирать, полировать to clean ________________

window/ oven/ toilet/ bath ____________________

жидкость для мытья… (window/ oven/ toilet/ bath) cleaner __________ ______________________

вытирать пыль to dust ________________

тряпка для пыли, щетка для обметания a duster ____________

натирать, полировать to polish ________________

полироль (furniture) polish _____________________

мыть шваброй to mop ________________

швабра, мопа a mop ____________

supplies Who? place/things in

with

Actions Kitchen Utensil Processed Food варить to cool ______________

кулер a cooler _______________

морозить to freeze ____________

морозилка a freezer ________________

смешать to mix ______________

миксер a mixer ________________

смешать до однородной массы to blend _____________

блендер a blender ________________

The power of paraphrasing:Adj + N(er) Verb + Adv:

3. Transform the sentences using adverbs as in the example: Example: He is an early riser – He rises early. 1. Mary is a late riser - ________________________________________. 2. Stephen is a big eater - ______________________________________. 3. Marta is a little eater - _______________________________________. 4. Jim is a fast eater - _________________________________________. 5. Ms. Smith is a good teacher - ______________________________________. 6. Pete is a bad writer - __________________________________.

7. He is a quick runner - __________________________________.

It will help in further learning:Invention

Word families are taught from early

stages:+ Students start getting the logics of English and playing with it.- The teacher has to be “tuned” to do this.

Using tenses at further stages:Describing a past event.

“Story” grammar:

Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece 1.Explain the verb forms in red. Complete the sentences.

The Contest of Athena and Poseidon Once the people of a new city in Greece were looking for a god to protect

them. Both Athena, the goddess of ____________________ and Poseidon, the god of __________________ wanted the job. They had been looking for this job for already two years because some gods had already got cities for protecting.

While the citizens of Athens were watching them, Athena and Poseidon were presenting their gifts.

First, Poseidon struck the ground with his ______________(symbol) and water started pouring up. The water turned into the river and then into the sea. People were very _____________ (emotion) because they had received a route for travel. But then Athena told them to taste the water – it was very salty and tasted awful.

Then Athena gave her gift. She struck the ground with her spear and the people, who were watching the contest, saw that a new tree started growing up. Athena said that she had created this olive tree for the people – its wood was for good for building and for heating houses. Also, its fruits – olives had good taste and olive oil was useful for cooking. And the people of the city chose Athena’s gift because they had liked it more!

Poseidon was ______________ (emotion) because the citizens had not chosen him. He struck his trident and caused such natural disasters as ____________________________, but the citizens were not _____________ (emotion) because Athena had protected them.

They soon called the city Athens in Athena’s honour. It became the greatest city of all times – as Athena is the goddess of _________________, many famous philosophers lived there.

Now Athens is the biggest city in Greece and its capital.

Paraphrasing at upper levels = structural conversion:

Explain the tense forms:• 1. I haven’t written any letters for a year.• ________________________________________________________• 2. We last visited Oxford four years ago.• __________________________________________________________• 3. I haven’t been mountain-climbing for two years.• ________________________________________________________• 4. He hasn’t woken up yet.• ______________________________________________________• 5. She still has been reading the book.• _______________________________________________________• 6. You moved here in January, didn’t you?• _______________________________________________________• 7. They have been telling interesting stories the whole evening.• ___________________________________________________________

Paraphrasing at upper levels = structural conversion:

Explain the tense forms:• 1. I haven’t written any letters for a year.• The last time I wrote a letter was a year ago• 2. We last visited Oxford four years ago.• We haven’t visited Oxford for four years. • 3. I haven’t been mountain-climbing for two years.• The last time I mountain-climbed was _____________________________________• 4. He hasn’t woken up yet.• He is still sleeping.• 5. She still has been reading the book.• She hasn’t finished it yet.• 6. You moved here in January, didn’t you?• You’ve been here since January, haven’t you?• 7. They have been telling interesting stories the whole evening.• Many interesting stories have been told_____________________________________

Other ideas: Metaphors

Here we use metaphors to explain the

use of articles.

Phrasal Verbs: the meaning of post-positives

Textbook Level 4:2. Ways of reading. Review prepositions and guess the meaning of the following phrasal verbs:

On = _________________. To read on something = _________________________. Up = to make better, to improve. To read up on something/ somebody = ______________________ For = _________________. To read for something = _____________________________________ Off = _________________. To read something off = ______________________________________

Through = ______________. To read through = ____________________________________________