Introducing
new language: examples.
(a) Physical surroundings: prepositions.
The
teacher starts by producing some objects. They can be very ordinary,
for example a stapler, a pen, a bag, a pencil, a pencil case, etc.
The teacher elicits the words for these objects from the students and
if they do not know them models the words and leads choral and/or
individual repetition.
The teacher gives one of the objects (a book.
for example) to one of the better students and then says something
like “Put the book on the table.” If the student docs not
understand the teacher helps by pointing and by gesture. When the
student has put the book on the table the teacher says “Well
done” and then chooses another student who is told to “Put
the ruler in the box”, etc. As the students gradually do what
they are asked they are getting wonderful listening practice.
The
teacher now asks the students if they can give instructions thus
eliciting the new language. When the students give their instructions
the teacher will decide whether it is necessary to interrupt and
model some or all of the new language or whether to move straight on
to the immediate creativity stage where students are giving whatever
instructions they want (within reason!).
As a written
stage the teacher can write up some instructions on the board as
models. Students can now be asked to write their own instructions
which they give to their classmates who
then have to do what is written there.
(b)
Likes and dislikes
This
presentation will consist of two stages. In the first students will
learn to
say
“Do you like ______?” and in the second they will be
presented with “He/she likes/doesn't like ____”.
The
teacher starts the sequence by asking students “Do you like
coffee?”. With mime and expression he or she will soon convey
the meaning of the question and a student will answer “Yes”
or “No”. The teacher then gets
choral
and individual repetition of the answers (“Yes I do/No, I
don't”) if this is necessary. For a very brief period the
teacher asks students questions and they give their answers. Then the
teacher elicits the question (which the students have heard the
teacher using). If necessary the question is explained and the
teacher goes through the accurate reproduction stage, cueing students
to ask and answer different questions. The students then work in
pairs doing the same thing. This is a form of immediate creativity.
While
the students are working in pairs the teacher puts the following on
the blackboard:
NAME | FISH | CAVIAR | SPAGHETTI | LIVER | BANANAS |
The
teacher selects a student, for example, Carlos, and puts his name in
the name column. The other students now ask him whether he likes the
items on the chart and the teacher puts a tick (V) if he does and a
cross (X) if he doesn't. The procedure is now repeated with other
students until the chart looks like this:
NAME | FISH | CAVIAR | SPAGHETTI | LIVER | BANANAS |
Carlos | V | V | X | V | X |
Maria | V | X | V | X | V |
Juan | X | X | V | V | V |
Ctl'WI | V | V | V | V | V |
The
teacher then asks the students what they can say about Carlos and
fish, hoping to elicit 'Carlos likes fish'. This new presentation (of
the third person singular of the present simple with 'likes') now
proceeds in the normal way using Carlos' likes and dislikes for the
accurate reproduction stage and the other preferences for immediate
creativity.
The
teacher can later introduce the question 'Does Carlos like fish?',
etc.
For
the introduction of writing the teacher can use the fill-in idea (see
(a) above) or the students can see the following model:
Carlos
likes fish, caviar and liver, but he doesn't like spaghetti or
bananas.
They
can then be asked to write similar sentences about one of the other
names on the list. This is a simple form of parallel writing.
(c)
Using hands and gestures
Teachers
can use their hands and various gestures to make grammatical form
clearer.
One of the
things we often need to do is to show how a full grammatical form is
contracted in speech.
One
way of explaining this to beginning students is to use the fingers of
one hand to represent the different parts of the sentence, e.g.
do
not
like
pears
I
Figure
As we
say the words we point to the fingers of the hand which represent
those words.
Now
we can
show how “I do not like pears” becomes “ I don’t
like pears”
don’t
like
I
pears
Figure
The use of
the fingers has given a graphic description to the class.
We can pretend to hold the word ‘do’ in
one hand and ‘not’ in the other. By bringing the hands
together we show how ‘don't’ is formed.
(d)
Explaining statements
In
this case the teacher wishes to explain such model as:
She
goes to school.
Here
is a procedure we can follow:
Stage
I The
teacher says the sentence in a normal way with a clear voice using
correct stress and intonation. This may he done two or three times.
Stage
2 The
teacher isolates a particular feature of the model.
Stage
3 The
teacher distorts this feature showing how it is constructed.
Stage
4 The
teacher returns to the isolated element.
Stage
5 The teacher gives the normal model again.
W
T
normal
model
e can represent this procedure in Figure :
Isolation
Distortion
T
returns to
isolated
element
T
normal model
Figure
Sometimes,
however, the teacher may not have to distort the isolated feature
(where it is only a one syllable word).
Where
there is more than one item that needs isolating the teacher goes
through the procedure in Figure.
with the first item to be isolated and then repeats the sequence with
the second item.
The following example clearly shows the procedure in
action. The teacher wishes to isolate both the verb form and the
pronunciation
T: Listen … she goes to
school … she goes to school … listen …goes …
goes … go … /z/ …go … /z/ … goes …
she goes to school … listen … she goes to school.
The
teacher may back up this oral explanation by writing the following on
the blackboard:
She
goes to school.
The
use of a box to highlight the main grammar points helps to focus the
students' attention on that point.
(e)
Explaining question forms
When
we have to do the same kind of explanation for a question form we may
follow the same procedure as for (a) above. However, particularly
where a question form is taught after the affirmative version of the
same grammar point has already been the subject of practice, some
extra techniques may help the students to understand the form of the
question.
Unlike
many languages English uses inversion to signal a question. Thus if
we take an affirmative sentence such as "He is running" we
find that the equivalent question form has the subject and the
auxiliary in a different order, e.g. 'Is he running?'. Even where we
put a question word (such as ‘which’, ’what’,
‘how’, ‘when’, etc.) at the beginning of the
question this inversion is still used. Students of English frequently
find this confusing.
When
introducing a question teachers will follow the same procedure as for
(a) above. They will, however, isolate and distort in a slightly
different way, and it will be advisable to use the blackboard and/or
gesture to make the inversion clear.
Suppose
we wished to 'explain' the question model 'Is he running?' We might
do it in the following way:
T:
Listen ... Is he running? Is he running? ... listen ... he is
running? ... no (teacher
shakes head and crosses arms in un 'inversion'
gesture}
... Is he running? ... Is he running?
We can
write the following on the blackboard at the same time:
He
is running
Is
he running
The | The | ||||
Task | Task | Task | Task | Task | |
Yura | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Tanya | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Andrey | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Maxim | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Sasha | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Misha | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Yana | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Dima | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Sveta | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Zhenya | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Natasha | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Vova | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Tolya | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Vasya | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Misha | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
“1”
- more than 3 grammar mistakes
“2”
- 1-2 grammar mistakes
“3”
- 0 grammar mistakes
The
results can be commented in levels.
80%
- those children who have the receptive grammar skill
20%
- those children who have a part of the receptive grammar skill
71%
- those children who have the reproductive grammar skill
20%
- those children who have a part of the reproductive grammar skill
9%
- those children who have no reproductive skill
Conclusion.
In order to understand a language and express
oneself correctly one must assimilate the grammar mechanism of a
language. Indeed, one may know all the words in a sentence and yet
fail to understand it, if one does not see the relationship between
the words in the given sentence. And vice versa, a sentence may
contain one, two, and more unknown words but if one has a good
knowledge of the structure of the language one can easily guess the
meanings of these words or at least find them in a dictionary, No
speaking is possible without the knowledge of grammar, without the
forming of a grammar mechanism. Children need grammar to be able to
speak, and write in the target language.
Our
aim is to form grammar skills and prevent children from making
grammar mistakes in their speech. The aim of foreign languages in
primary schools is to develop pupils’ skills in order to
understand speech and participate in conversation.
The
method and techniques the teacher should use in teaching children of
primary school is the direct method and various techniques which can
develop pupils’ listening comprehension and speaking.
We
have examined two kinds of grammar skills: the reproductive and
receptive grammar skills. The reproductive grammar skills give pupils
an opportunity to make up their own sentences in oral and written
forms in other words to communicate and the receptive grammar skills
give them an opportunity to read texts or aud and understand it.
To
master the reproductive grammar skills one should study the basic
sentences or models (grammar is presented as itself in the basic
sentences), to master the receptive grammar skills one should
identify and analyze the grammar item. We teach children to read by
means of grammar. It reveals the relationship between the words in
the given sentence.
We
have such a conclusion that the forming of grammar skills depends on
training. Training is of great importance to realize the grammar
item. We must use a lot of training exercises for the assimilation of
grammar. We should provide the motivation of learn English, encourage
children to communicate and remember that the correction of errors in
the early stages of a language course may foster the following
negative aspects:
children
lose confidence when they have fear of making grammar mistakes.
Children
become reluctant to take risks: they only the say the information
they know they can say.
School
practice helped me to realize the importance of training exercises
and the role of the individual approach to teaching the children of
the primary school, Besides, the teacher must have a clear idea of
the grammar of the language, its structure and usage; everything he
teaches must be based on it; he should always be conscious of
introducing or practicing some point of grammar.
Contents
Introduction
Theoretical
part
Practical
part
Conclusion
Appendix
1
Appendix
2
Bibliography
Introduction.
Language is the chief means by which the human
personality expresses itself and fulfills its basic need for social
interaction with other persons.
The aim of the foreign language is primary
schools is to develop pupils` skills and understanding English speech
and participating in conversation based on the topics covered.
Robert Lado wrote that language functions owing
to the language skills. A person who knows a language perfectly uses
a thousand and one grammar lexical, phonetic rules when he is
speaking. Language skills help us to choose different words and
models in our speech.
In my diploma paper I examine the forming of
grammar skills. Grammar is known to be an important component of the
language as a system. Communicative skills without regular using
grammar are limited.
It is clear that the term “grammar”
has meant various things at various times and sometimes several
things at one time. This plurality of meaning is characteristic of
the present time and is the source of confusions in the discussion of
grammar as part of the education of children. There have been taking
place violent disputes on the subject of teaching grammar at school.
The ability to talk about the grammar of a
language, to recite its rules, is also very different from ability to
speak and understand a language or to read and write it. Those who
can use a language are often unable to recite its rules, and those
who can recite its rules can be unable to use it. Nowadays we can
hear the following opinions among teachers of foreign language: One
teacher says, “ I do not favor teaching any grammar before
the fifth grade, and not much then,” another is likely to
reply, “But if you do not, how will your students learn to
capitalize correctly, to punctuate sentences, or to spell
accurately?” Another teacher remarks,
“If you teach no grammar, how can you expect
to have correct usage in speech and writing?”
In the elementary grades the major emphasis
will be upon the actual use, rather than upon knowledge of the
language itself and attention to restrictive rules. Grammar of the
analytical and structural sort will have little place or no place in
the elementary grades, but the oral and written conventions of
English, those which function in actual speaking and writing, will be
of chief concern.
Grammar organizes the vocabulary and as a
result we have sense units. There is a system of stereotypes, which
organizes words into sentences. But what skill does grammar develop?
First of all it gives the ability to make up
sentences correctly, to reproduce the text adequately.
(the development of practical skills and habits)
The knowledge of the specific grammar
structure helps pupils point out the differences between the mother
tongue and the target language.
The knowledge of grammar develops abilities
to abstract systematize plural facts.
Examining the problem of grammar skills we must
acquire how they are defined in literature. We must differentiate
their kinds, features, and the conditions under which they are
formed, the steps of forming grammar skills, and the grammar minimum
for the primary school.
Learning grammar and forming grammar skills are
important tasks of the subject “Foreign language” at the
primary school. It is necessary for children not to make grammar
mistakes. Roberto Lado wrote that a mistake is the wrong skill the
aim of my diploma paper is to prevent children from making grammar
mistakes, i.e. to form grammar skills. I think that the best way to
form grammar skills is to use a lot of training exercises and
individual approach in teaching grammar.
T
Theoretical part
he
Importance of Grammar in Learning a Foreign
Language.
To judge by the way some people speak, there is no
place for grammar in the language course nowadays; yet it is, in
reality, as important as it ever was exercise of correct grammar, if
he is to attain any skill of effective use of the language, but he
need not know consciously formulated rules to account to him for that
he does unconsciously correctly.
In order to understand a language and to
express oneself correctly one must assimilate the grammar mechanism
of the language studied. Indeed, one may know all the words in a
sentence and yet fail to understand it, if one does not see the
relation between the words in the given sentence. And vice versa, a
sentence may contain one, two, and more in known words but if one has
a good knowledge of the structure of the language one can easily
guess the meaning of these words or at least find them in a
dictionary.
No speaking is possible without the knowledge
of grammar, without the forming of a grammar mechanism.
If learner has acquired such a mechanism, he can
produce correct sentences in a foreign language. Paul Roberts writes:
“ Grammar is something that produces the sentences of a
language. By something we mean a speaker of English. If you speak
English natively, you have built into you rules of English grammar.
In a sense, you are an English grammar. You possess, as an essential
part of your being, a very complicated apparatus which enables you to
produce infinitely many sentences, all English ones, including many
that you have never specifically learned. Furthermore by applying you
rule you can easily tell whether a sentence that you hear a
grammatical English sentence or not.” *1
A command of English as is envisaged by the
school syllabus cannot be ensured without the study of grammar .
Pupils need grammar to be able to aud, speak, read, and write in the
target language.
*1
Roberts P. English Sentences. New York, 1962, p.1
A
Brief Review Of The Major Methods
Of
Foreign Language Teaching.
The grammatical systems of Russian and English are
fundamentally different. English is an analytical language, in which
grammatical meaning in largely expressed through the use of
additional words and by changes in word order. Russian is a synthetic
language, in which the majority of grammatical forms are created
through changes in the structure of words, by means of a developed
system of prefixes, suffixes and ending. ( p. 121,
Brown C. and Jule “Teaching the spoken
language”, Cambridge, 1983)
No one knows exactly how people learn languages
although a great deal of research has been done into the subject.
Many methods have been proposed for the
teaching of foreign language. And they have met with varying degrees
of success and failure.
We should know that the method by which
children are taught must have some effect on their motivation. If
they find it deadly boring they will probably become de-motivated,
whereas if they have confidence in the method they will find it
motivating. Child learners differ from adult learners in many ways.
Children are curious, their attention is of a shorter duration, they
are quite differently motivated in, their interests are less
specialized. They need frequent of activity; they need activities
which are exciting and stimulating their curiosity; they need to be
involved in something active.
We shall examine such methods as “The
Grammar – Translation Method”, ”The Direct Method”,
“The Audio-lingual Method”. And we pay attention to the
teaching grammar of the foreign language. We shall comment those
methods, which have had a long history.
The
Grammar Translation method will be discussed.
This method was widely used in teaching the
classics, namely Latin, and it was transferred to the teaching of
modern languages when they were introduced into schools
In
the grammar-translation mode, the books begin with definitions of
the parts of speech, declensions, conjugations, rules to be
memorized, examples illustrating the rules, and exceptions. Often
each unit has a paragraph to be translated into the target language
and one to be translated into native one. These paragraphs
illustrate the grammar rules studied in the unit. The student is
expected to apply the rules on his own. This involves a complicated
mental manipulation of the conjugations and declensions in the order
memorized, down to the form that might fit the translation. As a
result, students are unable to use the language, and they sometimes
develop an inferiority complex about languages in general.
Exceptionally bright and diligent students do learn languages by
this method, or in spite of it, but they would learn with any
method.
(R.Lado)
W
Classes
are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the
target language.
Much
vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.
Long
elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given.
Grammar
provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction
often focuses on the form and inflection of word.
Reading
of difficult classical texts is begun early.
Little
attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as
exercises in grammatical analysis.
Often
the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences
from the target language into the mother tongue.
Little
or no attention is given to pronunciation.
Brown H.,
Douglas ‘Principles of language teaching’, N.Y., 1987
e list the major characteristics of Grammar Translation.
The grammar-translation method is largely
discredited today. With greater interest in modern languages for
communication the inadequacy of grammar-translation methods became
evident.
The
Direct Method.
The Direct Method appeared as a reaction
against the grammar-translation method.
There was a movement in Europe that emphasized
language learning by direct contact with the foreign language in
meaningful situations. This movement resulted in various individual
methods with various names, such as new method, natural method, and
even oral method, but they can all be referred to as direct methods
or the direct method. In addition to emphasizing direct contact with
the foreign language, the direct method usually deemphasized or
eliminated translation and the memorization of conjugations,
declensions, and rules, and in some cases it introduced phonetics and
phonetic transcription.
The direct method assumed that learning a
foreign language is the same as learning the mother tongue, that is,
that exposing the student directly to the foreign language impresses
it perfectly upon his mind. This is true only up to a point, since
the psychology of learning a second language differs from that of
learning the first. The child is forced to learn the first language
because he has no other effective way to express his wants. In
learning a second language this compulsion is largely missing, since
the student knows that he can communicate through his native language
when necessary.
Classroom
instruction was conducted exclusively in the target language.
Only
everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught.
Oral
communication skills were built up in a carefully graded
progression organized around question-and-answer exchanges between
teachers and student in small, intensive classes.
Grammar
was taught inductively, i.e. the learner may discover the rules of
grammar for himself after he has become acquainted with many
examples.
New
teaching points were introduced orally.
Concrete
vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures;
abstract vocabulary was taught by association of ideas.
Both
speech and listening comprehension were taught.
Correct
pronunciation and grammar were emphasized.
The basic premise of Direct Method was that second language
learning should be more like first language learning: lots of active
oral interaction, spontaneous use of the language, no translation
between first and second languages, and little or no analysis of
grammatical rules. We can summarize the principles of the Direct
Method:
The Direct Method enjoyed considerable
popularity through the end of nineteenth century and well into this
one.
Now we shall discuss “The
Audiolingual Method”.
The Audiolingual Method (It is also called
Mimicry-memorization method) was the method developed in the
Intensive Language Program. It was successful because of high
motivation, intensive practice, small classes, and good models, in
addition to linguistically sophisticated descriptions of the foreign
language and its grammar.
New
material is presented in dialog form.
There
is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases and
overlearning.
Structures
are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught one at a
time.
Structural
patterns are taught using repetitive drills.
There
is a little or no grammatical explanation: grammar is taught by
inductive analogy rather than deductive explanation.
Vocabulary
is strictly limited and learned in context.
There
is much use of tapes, language labs, and visual aids.
Great
importance is attached to pronunciation.
very
little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted.
Successful
responses are immediately reinforced.
There
is a great effort to get students to produce error-free utterances.
There
is a tendency to manipulate language and disregard content.
Grammar is taught essentially as follows: Some basic
sentences are memorized by imitation. Their meaning is given in
normal expressions in the native language, and the students are not
expected to translate word for word. When the basic sentences have
been overlearned (completely memorized so that the student can rattle
them off without effort), the student reads fairly extensive
descriptive grammar statements in his native language, with examples
in the target language and native language equivalents. He then
listens to further conversational sentences for practice in listening
. Finally, practices the dialogues using the basic sentences and
combinations of their parts. When he can, he varies the dialogues
within the material hr has already learned. The characteristics of
ALM may be summed up in the following list:
Grammar
explanations as used in the major methods.
We shall briefly review the treatment of
grammatical explanations by some of the major methods. This is not
meant to be an exhaustive study of all available methods; rather it
is an attempt to show the variety of ways in which different methods
deal with grammar explanations and may help teachers in evaluating
available materials.
Grammar translation is associated with
formal rule statement. Learning proceeds, deductively, and the rule
is generally stated by the teacher, in a textbook, or both.
Traditional abstract grammatical terminology is used. Drills include
translation into native language.
The direct method is characterized by
meaningful practice and exclusion of the mother tongue. This method
has had many interpretations, some of which include an analysis of
structure, but generally without the use of abstract grammatical
terminology.
T
Table
he audio-lingual method stresses an inductive
presentation with extensive pattern practice. Writing is discouraged
in the early stages of learning a structure. Here again, there has
bee considerable variation in the realization of this approach. In
some cases, no grammatical explanation of any kind is offered. In
other, the teacher might focus on a particular structure by
isolating an example on the board, or through contrast. When
grammatical explanation is offered it is usually done at the end of
the lesson as a summary of behavior (Politzer, 1965), or in later
versions of this method the rule might be stated in the middle of
the lesson and followed by additional drills.
Conscious | Isolation of (rule of | Deductive | The | Language | Oral or | |
| Grammar-translation | Yes | Yes | Deductive | Book and/or teacher | Abstract | Written |
| Direct method | Yes or no | Yes | Inductive (if at all) | Teacher (when done) | Non-abstract | Oral-written |
| Audio-lingual | Yes or no | Yes | Inductive | Teacher | Example or non-abstract | Oral-written |
Each method is realized in techniques. By a
technique we mean an individual way in doing something, in gaining a
certain goal in teaching learning process. The method and techniques
the teacher should use in teaching children of the primary school is
the direct method, and various techniques which can develop pupils`
listening comprehension and speaking. Pupils are given various
exercises, connected with the situational use of words and sentence
patterns.
Teaching
grammar patterns.
We’ll
examine "Teaching Grammatical Patterns" by Robert Lado
(Chapter 10 "From Sentences to Patterns")
Robert
Lado thinks that even children who have never studied the rules
grammar make use of the grammar of the language. This is seen in the
mistakes they make. When a child says, He
goed,
he is forming a "regular" preterite on the pattern: showed,
weighed, served: "goed."
His error reveals the fact that he has been applying the pattern even
though he is not able to describe it.
Patterns
and Sentences
A
grammatical
pattern is an arrangement of parts having linguistic significance
beyond the sum of its parts. The parts of a pattern are expressed by
words or classes of words so that different sentences often express
the same pattern. All the sentences of a language arc cast in its
patterns.
John
telephoned, The boy studied.
We
understood are different sentences expressing the same statement
pattern in English.
A
pattern is not a sentence, however. Sentences express patterns. Each
sentence illustrates a pattern. To memorize a sentence does not imply
that a pattern has been memorized. There can be countless sentences,
each unique, yet all constructed on the same pattern.
Patterns
and Grammar
Children
learn the grammatical patterns of their language before they study
grammar in school. When a child says goed
instead of went
or knowed
instead of knew,
he is applying the regular preterite pattern on the analogy,
open:
opened = go: goed
Patterns
arc learned in childhood. Adults no longer have to learn new
patterns; they learn new words that are used in old patterns. That
the old patterns are alive is shown by putting unknown words and
phrases into them.
And
what is the role of the native language in learning the patterns of a
foreign language?
Native
Language Factor
The most important factor determining ease and
difficulty in learning the patterns of a foreign language is their
similarity to or difference from the patterns of the native language.
When the pattern in the target language is parallel to one in the
native language, the student merely learns new words which he puts
into what amounts to an extended use of his native pattern. Since his
word learning capacity is not lost, he makes rapid progress. When,
however, the native language pattern does not parallel that of the
target language, the student tends to revert to his native language
patterns through habit.
Grading
the Patterns
There
is no single grading scale for teaching the patterns of a foreign
language. Any systematic cumulative progression, taking into account
the structures that are difficult, would be satisfactory from a
linguistic point of view.
Pattern-practice
Approach
The mimicry-memorization exercise tends to give the same amounts of
practice to easy as well as difficult problems. It also concentrates
unduly on the memorization of specific sentences, and not enough on
the manipulation of the patterns of sentences in a variety of content
situations. For those patterns that arc functionally parallel to the
native language, very little work needs to be done, and very little
or no explanation is necessary. On the other hand, for those patterns
that are not parallel in the two languages, more specific
understanding of the grammatical structure points at issue is needed
while
the
sentences are learned and not before or after. And more practice with
the pattern is necessary before it is learned, that is, used without
attention
to its structure.
Basic
sentences
The memorization of sample sentences
that contain the grammatical problems to he mastered is common
to both pattern practice and mimicry-memorization. For this practice
there is ample justification in linguistics and in psychology. The
utterances have to become readily available if the student is to use
them in the rapid sequence of conversation.
Teaching
the patterns
A
sentence can be learned as a single unstructured unit like a word,
but this is only the beginning. The student must acquire the
habit of constructing sentences in the patterns of the target
language. For this he must be able to put words almost automatically
into a pattern without changing it, or to change it by making the
necessary adjustments.
Teaching
a. problem pattern begins with teaching the specific structure
points where a formal change in the pattern is crucial and where the
student is not able to manipulate the required changes. The steps in
teaching problem patterns are (1) attention
pointer,
usually a single sentence calling the students' attention to the
point at issue; (2) examples,
usually minimally contrastive examples showing a pair of sentences
that differ only on the point or points being made; (3) repetition
by
the class and presentation of additional
examples of
the same contrast;
(4)
comments
or generalization
elicited inductively from the students and confirmed by the teacher;
(5) practice,
with attention on the problem being taught.
These
steps an intended to clarify the crucial point of contrast at the
time when sentences are being learned. They should take only a small
portion of the class time—no more than 15 per cent.
Robert
Lado accents that many teachers make the mistake of trying to explain
everything at length while the class listens passively. Long
explanations without active practice arc a waste of time, and even
with practice they are inefficient. Most of the class should be
devoted to practice. The following are brief descriptions of some of
the more effective types of exercises.
The
more effective types of exercises according to R.Lado:
Listening
It is understood that the student does
not invent the target language. He must listen to good models.
Random listening helps, but selective listening following
instructions is more effective. Listening is assumed to he most
effective when it is in preparation for speaking.
Listening
can be combined with other activities.
Oral
repetition
In this practice the student repeats the pattern sentences provided
orally by the model. This is the most basic and important of all
exercises. It begins with the presentation of the very first
sentence of the pattern, the basic sentence, and continues through
all other examples of the pattern taught for speaking.
Oral
substitution
Once the student can speak the basic sentence by repetition, oral
substitution becomes the most useful and powerful drill available to
practice the pattern. It is fast, flexible, and versatile, and it
approximates conversational use of the language. Several variations
are described for the reader: simple substitution, substitution in
variable position, substitution that forces a change, substitution
requiring a change, and multiple substitution.
Transformation
Speech
practice and etc.
T
1.
Lado R. and Fries C.C. “English pattern practice. Establishing
the patterns as habits.”, 1970. pXV
he idea of learning the pattern rather than just sentences is
clearly stated by C.C.Fries. Carles Fries and Robert Lado wrote what
“We offer them [patterns] with confidence in their
extraordinary effectiveness. They represent a new theory of language
learning,the idea that to learn a new language one must established
orally the patterns of the language as subconscious habits.”*1
C.C.Fries
thinks that one must practice the patterns of the language until he
can use them little or no effort.
The
Psychological characteristics of grammar skills.
To develop one’s speech means to acquire
essential patterns of speech, and grammar patterns in particular.
Children must use these items automatically during speech-practice.
The automatic use of grammar items in our speech (oral and written)
supposes mastering some particular skills – the skills of using
grammar items to express one’s own thoughts,in other words to
make up your sentences.
We must get so-called reproductive or active
grammar skills.
A skill is treated as an automatic part of
awareness. Automatization of the action is the main feature of a
skill.
The nature of automatization is characterized by
that psychological structure of the action which adopts to the
conditions of performing the action owing frequent experience. The
action becomes more frequent, correct and accurate and the number of
the operations is shortened while forming the skill the character of
awareness of the action is changing, i.e. fullness of understanding
is paid to the conditions and quality of performing to the control
over it and regulation.
To form some skills is necessary to know that
the process of the forming skills has some steps:
Only some definite elements of the action are
automatic.
The automatization occurs under more
difficult conditions, when the child can’t concentrate his
attention on one element of the action.
The whole structure of the action is improved
and the automatization of its separate components is completed.
What features do the productive grammar skills
have?
During our speech the reproductive grammar
skills are formed together with lexics and intonation, they must
express the speakers intentions.
The actions in the structural setting of the
lexics must be learnt.
The characteristic feature of the reproductive
grammar skills is their flexibility. It doesn`t depend on the level
of automatization, i.e. on perfection of skill here mean the original
action: both the structure of sentence, and forms of the words are
reproduced by the speaker using different lexical material. If the
child reproduces sentences and different words, which have been
learnt by him as “a ready-made thing” he can say that
there is no grammar skill. Learning the ready-made forms, word
combinations and sentences occurs in the same way as learning lexics.
The grammar skill is based on the general
conclusion. The grammar action can and must occur only in the
definite lexical limits, on the definite lexical material. If the
pupil can make up his sentence frequently, accurately and correctly
from the grammatical point of view, he has got the grammar skill.
Teaching grammar at school using the
theoretical knowledge brought some critical and led to confusion. All
the grammatical rules were considered to be evil and there were some
steps to avoid using them at school.
But when we learn grammatical items in models
we use substitution and such a type of training gets rid of grammar
or “neutralize” it. By he way, teaching the skills to
make up sentences by analogy is a step on the way of forming grammar
skills. It isn’t the lexical approach to grammar and it isn’t
neutralization of grammar, but using basic sentences in order to use
exercises by analogy and to reduce number of grammar rules when
forming the reproductive grammar skills.
To form the reproductive grammar skills we must
follow such steps:
Selection the model of sentence.
Selection the form of the word and
образование
словоформ.
Selection the auxiliary words-preposition,
articles, and etc. and their combination with principle words.
The main difficulty of the reproductive
(active) grammar skills is to correspond the purposes of the
statement, communicative approach (a questionan
answer and so on), words, meanings, expressed by the grammatical
patterns. In that case we use basic sentences, in order to answer the
definite situation.
The main factor of the forming of the
reproductive grammar skill is that pupils need to learn the lexic of
the language. They need to learn the meanings of the words and how
they are used. We must be sure that our pupils are aware of the
vocabulary they need at their level and they can use the words in
order to form their own sentence. Each sentence contains a grammar
structure. The mastering the grammar skill lets pupils save time and
strength, energy, which can give opportunity to create. Learning a
number of sentences containing the same grammatical structure and a
lot of words containing the same grammatical form isn’t
rational.
But the generalization of the grammar item can
relieve the work of the mental activity and let the teacher speed up
the work and the children realize creative activities.
The process of creation is connected with the
mastering of some speech stereotypes the grammatical substrat is
hidden in basic sentences. Grammar is presented as itself. Such a
presentation of grammar has its advantage: the grammar patterns of
the basic sentences are connected with each other. But this approach
gives pupils the opportunity to realize the grammar item better. The
teaching must be based on grammar explanations and grammar rules.
Grammar rules are to be understood as a special way of expressing
communicative activity. The reproductive grammar skills suppose to
master the grammar actions which are necessary for expressing
thoughts in oral and written forms.
The automatic perception of the text supposes
the reader to identify the grammar form according to the formal
features 9 words, word combinations, sentences) which must be
combined with the definite meaning. One must learn the rules in order
to identify different grammatical forms. Pupils should get to know
their features, the ways of expressing them in the language. We teach
children to read and aud by means of grammar. It reveals the relation
between words in the sentence. Grammar is of great important when one
teaches reading and auding.
The forming of the perceptive grammar and
reproductive skills is quite different. The steps of the work is
mastering the reproductive skills differ from the steps in mastering
the perceptive skills. To master the reproductive grammar skills one
should study the basic sentences or models. To master the perceptive
grammar skills one should identify and analyze the grammar item.
Though training is of great importance to
realize the grammar item.
Introducing
new language structure.
We will consider ways in which children can be
introduced to new language structure.
importance of language awareness
When
we present grammar through structural patterns we tend to give
students tidy pieces of language to work with We introduce grammar,
which can easily be explained and presented. There are many different
ways of doing this, which do not (only) involve the transmission of
grammar rules.
It
is certainly possible to teach aspects of grammar - indeed that is
what language teachers have been doing for centuries - but language
is a difficult business and it is often used very inventively by its
speakers, In other words real language use is often very untidy and
cannot be automatically reduced to simple grammar patterns. Students
need to be aware of this, just as
they need to be aware of all language possibilities. Such awareness
does not mean that they have to be taught each variation and
linguistic twist, however. It just means that they have to be aware
of language and how it is used. That is why reading and listening are
so important, and that is why discovery activities are so valuable
since by asking students to discover ways in which language is used
we help to raise their awareness about the creative use of grammar -
amongst other things.
As teachers we
should be prepared to use a variety of techniques to help our
students learn and acquire grammar. Sometimes this involves teaching
grammar rules; sometimes it means allowing students to discover the
rules for themselves.
What
do we introduce?
Our
job at this stage of the lesson is to present the pupils with clear
information about the language they are learning. We must also
show them what the language means and how it is used; we must also
show them what the grammatical form of the new language is, and how
it is said and/or written.
What
we are suggesting here is that students need to get an idea of how he
new language is used by native speakers and the best way of doing
this s to present language in context.
The
context for introducing new language should have a number of
characteristics It should show what the new language means and how it
is used, for example. That is why many useful contexts have the new
language being
used in a written text or dialogue.
A
good context should be interesting for the children. This doesn't
mean that all the subject matter we use for presentation should be
wildly funny or inventive all of the time. But the pupils should at
least want to see
or hear the information.
Lastly,
a good context will provide the background for a lot of language use
so that students can use the information not only for the repetition
of model sentences but also for making their own sentences.
Often
the textbook will have all the characteristics mentioned here and the
teacher can confidently rely on the material for the presentation.
But the textbook is not always so appropriate: for a number of
reasons the information in the book may not be right for our students
in such cases we will want to create our own contexts for language
use.
Types of context
Context
means the situation or body of information, which causes language to
be used. There are a number of different context types, but for our
purposes we will concentrate on three, the
students' world, the outside world and
formulated
information.
The
students' world can be a major source of contexts for language
presentation. There are two kinds of students' world. Clearly we can
use the physical
surroundings
that the students are in - the classroom, school or institution. But
classrooms and their physical properties (tables, chairs, windows,
etc.) are limited. The students'
lives
are not constrained in the same way, however, and we can use facts
about them, their families, friends and experiences.
The
outside world provides us with rich contexts for presentation For
example, there is an almost infinite number of stories
we can use to present different lenses. We can also create situations
where people speak because they are in those situations, or where the
writer describes some special information. This is especially useful
for the practice of functional language, for example.
We
can ask students to look at examples
of language
which show the new language in operation, though this last category
can sometimes have no context. These three sub-categories, story,
situation or language, can be simulated
or real.
Most teachers are familiar with 'made-up' stones which arc often
useful for classwork: real stories work well too, of course. In the
same way we can create the simulation of an invitation dialogue, for
example. But here again we could also show students a real invitation
dialogue. In general we can say that real contexts are better simply
because they are real, but they may have complexities of language and
comprehensibility which can be avoided by simulated contexts -
life-like but clearly mode-up to some extent.
Formulated
information
refers to all that information which is presented in the form of
timetables, notes, charts etc. Once again we can use real charts and
timetables, growth statistics, etc. or we can design our own which
will be just right for our students.
There
are variations on these different kinds of context, of course, but we
can broadly summarize what we have said so far in the following way:
Context
The
outside world
The
student’s world
Formulated
information
Physical
surroundings
Student’s
lives
Stories
Situations
Language
examples
R
S
R
R
R
S
S
S
Figure 1
Contexts
for introducing new language
The
presentation of structural form.
One
of the teacher's jobs is to show how the new language is formed - how
the grammar works and how it is put together.
One way
of doing this is to explain the grammar in detail, using grammatical
terminology and giving a mini-lecture on the subject. This seems
problematical, though, for two reasons; firstly many pupils may find
grammatical concepts difficult, secondly- such explanations for
beginners will be almost impossible.
A
more effective - and less frightening - way of presenting form is to
let the students see and/or h
attention in a number of different ways to the grammatical elements
of which it is made. For whilst advanced students may profit from
grammatical explanations to a certain extent, at
lower levels we must usually find simpler and more transparent ways
of giving students grammatical information.
A
general model for introducing new language.
The
model has five components: lead-in,
elicitation, explanation,
accurate
reproduction,
and immediate
creativity.
During
the
lead-in
the context is introduced and the meaning or use of the new language
is demonstrated. This is the stage at which students may hear or see
some language (including the new language) and during which students
may become aware of certain key
concepts.
The key concepts are those pieces of information about the context
that are vital if students are to understand the context and thus the
meaning and use of the new language.
During the lead-in stage, then, we introduce
our context (making sure that key concepts are understood) and show
the new language in use.
During
the elicitation
stage the teacher tries to see if the students can produce the new
language. If they can it would clearly be wasteful and de-motivating
for them if a lot of time was spent practising the language that they
already know. At the elicitation stage - depending on how well (and
if) the students can produce the new language - the teacher can
decide which of the stages to go to next. If the students can't
produce the new language at all, for example, we will move to the
explanation stage. If they can, hut with minor mistakes, we may move
to the accurate reproduction stage to clear up those problems. If
they know the new language but need a bit more controlled practice in
producing it we may move directly to the immediate creativity stage
Elicitation is vitally important for it gives the teacher information
upon which to act: it is also motivating for the students and
actively involves their learning abilities.
During
the explanation
stage the teacher shows how the new language is formed. It is here
that we may give a listening drill or explain something in the
students' own language; we may demonstrate grammatical form on the
blackboard. In other words, this is where the students learn how the
new language is constructed.
During
the accurate
reproduction
stage students are asked to repeat and practise a certain number of
models. The emphasis here will be on the accuracy of what the
students say rather than meaning or use. Here the teacher makes sure
that the students can form the new language correctly, getting the
grammar right and perfecting their pronunciation as far as is
necessary.
Correction.
During
the accurate reproduction phase there are two basic correction
stages: showing incorrectness (indicating to the student that
something is wrong) and using correction techniques.
(a)
Showing incorrectness
This
means that we will indicate to the student that a mistake has been
made. If the student understands this feedback he or she will be
able to correct the mistake and this self-correction will be helpful
to him or her as part of the learning process.
There
are a number of techniques for showing incorrectness:
1
Repeating:
Here we simply ask the student to repeat what he or she has just
said by using the word 'again'. This, said with a questioning
intonation, will usually indicate that the response was
unsatisfactory (although it could be misunderstood as only
indicating that the teacher has not heard the student's response).
2
Echoing:
We will be even clearer if we repeat what the student has just said,
using a questioning intonation since this will clearly indicate that
we are doubting the accuracy or content of what is being said.
Sometimes we can echo the complete
student response, probably stressing the pan of the utterance that
was incorrect, for example:
She go
to school?
Another possibility is to echo
the student's response, but only up to the point where the mistake
was made,ftor example:
She go
…?
Echoing, in its various forms, is
probably the most efficient way of showing incorrectness.
3
Denial:
We can simply tell the student that the response was unsatisfactory
and ask for it to be repeated. This seems somewhat drier than the
techniques so far discussed; it may be a bit more discouraging.
4
Questioning:
We can say 'Is that correct?' asking any student in the class to
answer our question. This
has the advantage of focusing everybody's mind on the problem,
though it may make the student who made the mistake seem somewhat
exposed.
5
Expression:
Many teachers indicate that a response was incorrect by their
expression or by some gesture. This is very economical (and can be
quite funny) but can be dangerous if the student thinks that the
expression or gesture is a form of mockery.
In
general, showing incorrectness should be handled with tact and
consideration. The process of student self-correction, which it
provokes, is an important and useful part of the learning process.
Showing incorrectness should be seen as a positive act, in other
words, not as a reprimand.
Frequently,
however, we find that showing incorrectness is not enough for the
correction of a mistake or an error and the teacher may therefore
have to use some correction techniques.
(b)
Using correction techniques
If
students are unable to correct themselves we can resort to one of
the following techniques.
1
Student
corrects student:
we can ask if anyone else can give the correct response. We can ask
if anyone can 'help' the student who has made the mistake. If
another student can supply the correct information it will be good
for that student's self-esteem. However, the student who originally
made the mistake may feel humiliated if this
technique
is used insensitively.
2
Teacher
corrects student(s):
Sometimes we may feel that we should take charge of correction
because the students are extremely mixed-up about what the correct
response should be. In that case we can re-explain the item of
language, which is causing the trouble. This will be especially
appropriate when we see that a majority of the class are having the
same problem. After the re-explanation we can move to choral and
individual repetition (if necessary) before moving on.
The object of using
correction techniques, of course, is to give the student(s) a chance
to (know how to) get the new language right. It is important,
therefore, that when we have used one of the techniques suggested
above, we ask the student who originally made the mistake to give us
a correct response.
When
the
children and teacher are confident that the children can form the
new language correctly they will move to immediate
creativity.
Here
they try to use what they have just learned to make sentences of
their
own,
rather
than sentences which the teacher or book has introduced as models.
It
is at this stage that both teacher and student can see if the
students have really understood the meaning, use and form of the new
language. If they are able to produce their own sentences they can
feel confident that the presentation was success.
We
can represent the model for introducing new language in diagram
form:
Students perform well
Lead-in
Elicitation
Explanation
Accurate
reproduction
Immediate
creativity
Students
perform badly
A general model for introducing new language
Notice
again that if the students perform well during elicitation the
teacher can move straight to immediate creativity. If at that stage
they perform badly the teacher may find it necessary either to
return to a short accurate reproduction stage or. in extreme cases,
to re-explain the new language.
The
Content of Teaching Grammar.
Before speaking about the selection of grammar
material it is necessary to consider the concept “grammar”,
i.e., what it meant by “grammar”.
By grammar one can mean adequate comprehension
and correct usage of words in the act of communication, that is,
intuitive knowledge of the grammar of the language. It is a set of
reflexes enabling a person to communicate with his associates. Such
knowledge is acquired by a child in the mother tongue before he goes
to schools.
This “grammar” functions without
the individual’s awareness of technical nomenclature, in other
words, he has no idea of the system of the language, and to use all
the word-endings for singular and plural, for tense, and all the
other grammar rules without special grammar lessons only due to the
abundance of auding and speaking. His young mind grasps the facts
and “makes simple grammar rules” for arranging the words
to express carious thoughts and feelings. This is true because
sometimes little children make mistakes by using a common rule for
words to which that rule cannot be applied. For example, a little
English child might be heard to say Two mans
comed instead of Two men come,
because the child is using the plural s
rule for man to which the rule does not
apply, and the past tense ed rule for
come which does not obey the ordinary
rule for the past tense formation. A little Russian child can say
ножов
instead of ножей
using the case-ending ов
for ножи
to which it does not apply. Such mistakes are corrected as the child
grows older and learns more of his language.
By “grammar” we also mean the
system of the language, the discovery and description of the nature
of language itself. It is not a natural grammar, but a constructed
one. There are several constructed grammars: traditional,
structural, and transformational grammars. Traditional grammar
studies the forms of words (morphology) and how they are put
together in sentences (syntax); structural grammar studies
structures of various levels of the language (morpheme level) and
syntactic level; transformational grammar studies basic structures
and transformation rules.
What we need is simplest and shortest grammar
that meets the requirements of the school syllabus in foreign
languages. This grammar must be simple enough to be grasped and held
by any pupil. We cannot say that this problem has been solved.
Since graduates are expected to acquire
language proficiency in aural comprehension, speaking and reading
grammar material should be selected for the purpose. There exist
principles of selecting grammar material both for teaching speaking
knowledge (active minimum) and for teaching reading knowledge
(passive minimum), the main one is the principle of frequency, i.e.,
how frequently this or that grammar item occurs. For example, the
Present Simple (Indefinite) is frequently used both in conversation
and in various texts. Therefore it should be included in the grammar
minimum.
For selecting grammar material for reading the
principle of polysemia, for instance, is of great importance.*1
Pupils should be taught to distinguish such
grammar items which serve to express different meanings.
For example,
[
]
Present
progressive
Verbal
noun
Gerund
Participle
I
-ing
[
]
Participle
II
-ed
Past Simple (Indefinite)
Plurals
of nouns
The
3d person singurar of Present Simple (Indefinite)
-s (es)
The selection of grammar material involves
choosing the appropriate king of linguistic description, i.e., the
grammar which constitutes the best base for developing speech
habits. Thus the school syllabus reflect a traditional approach to
determining grammar material for foreign language teaching, pupils
are given sentences patterns or structures, and through these
structures they assimilate the English language, acquire grammar
mechanisms of speech.
*1
See:
Общая методика
обучения
иностранным
языкам., М. 1967, гл.VII,
с.332-346
The content of grammar teaching is disputable among teachers and
methodologists, and there are various approaches to the problem,
pupils should, whatever the content of the course, assimilate the
ways of fitting words together to form sentences and be able to
easily recognize grammar forms and structures while hearing and
reading, to reproduce phrases and sentences stored up in their
memory and say or write sentences of their own, using grammar items
appropriate to the situation.
The
Most Common Difficulties Pupils Howe in
Assimilating
English Grammar.
The chief difficulty in learning a new
language is that of changing from the grammatical mechanism of the
native language to that of the new language. Indeed, every language
has its own way of fitting words together to form sentences. In
English, word order is more important than in Russian. The word
order in Tom gave Helen a rose
indicates what was given (a rose), to whom (Helen), and by whom
(Tom). If we change the word order and say Helen
gave tom a rose, we shall change the meaning of the sentence.
In Russian, due to inflexions, which are very important in this
language, we can say Том
дал
Лене
розу
or Лене
дал
Том
розу
without changing the meaning of the sentence, as the inflexion “e”
in the word Лене
indicates the object of the action.
The inversion of subject and finite verb in
Are you… indicates the question
form. In speaking English, Russian pupils often violate the word
order which results in bad mistakes in expressing their thoughts.
The English tense system also presents a lot
of trouble to Russian-speaking pupils because of the difference
which exists in these languages with regard to time and tense
relations. For example, the pupil cannot at first understand why we
must say I have
seen him today and I saw him yesterday.
For him the action is completed in both sentences, and he does not
associate it in any way with today or
yesterday.
The sequence of tenses is another difficult
point of English grammar for Russian speaking pupils because there
is no such phenomenon in their mother tongue. Why should we say She
said she was busy when she is
busy?
The use of modal verbs in various types of
sentences is very difficult for the learner. For example, he should
differentiate the use of can and may
while in Russian the verb may covers
them both. Then he should remember which verb must be used in
answers to the questions with modal verbs. For instance, May
I go home? No, you mustn’t. May I take your pen? Yes, you may.
Must I do it? No, you needn’t.
The most difficult point of English grammar is
the article because it is completely strange to Russian-speaking
pupils. The use of the articles and other determiners comes first in
the list of the most frequent errors. Pupils are careless in the use
of “ these tiny words” and consider them unimportant for
expressing their thoughts when speaking English.
English grammar must begin, therefore, with
pupils’ learning the meaning of these structural words, and
with practice in their correct use. For example: This
is a pen. The pen is red. This is my pen and that is his pen.
Correct selection of grammar teaching material
is the first step towards the elimination of mistakes.
Some
General Principles of Grammar Teaching
and
How to Use Them.
Teaching grammar should be based upon the
following principles:
Conscious approach to the teaching of
grammar.
This means that in sentence patterns teaching
points are determined so that pupils can concentrate their attention
on some elements of the pattern to be able to use them as orienting
points when speaking or writing the target language. For example, I
can see a book. I can see many books.
The teacher draws
pupils’ attention to the new element in the form of a rule, a
very short one. It is usually done in the
mother tongue. For
example:
Помни, что во
множественном
числе к существительному
прибавляется
окончание –s
[s,z]
или –es
[IZ].
Or: Помни,
что
в
отрицательных
предложениях
ставится
вспомогательный
глагол
“do not” (“does not”) The rule helps
the learner to understand and to assimilate the structural meaning
of the elements. It ensures a conscious approach to learning. This
approach provides favourable conditions for the speedy development
of correct and more flexible language use. However it does not mean
that the teacher should ask pupils to say this or that rule, Rules
do not ensure the mastery of the language. They only help to attain
the practical goal. If a pupil can recognize and employ correctly
the forms that are appropriate, that is sufficient. When the learner
can give ample proof of these abilities we may say that he has
fulfilled the syllabus requirements.
Conscious learning is also ensured when a
grammar item is contrasted with another grammar item which is
usually confused. The contrast is brought out through oppositions.
For example:
The
Present Simple is contrasted with the Present Progressive.
I
get up at 7 o’clock.
It’s
7 o’clock. I am getting up.
The
Present Perfect is contrasted with the Past Simple.
He
has come.
He
came an hour ago.
G
The
indefinite article is contrasted with the definite article.
ive me a book (to read into the train).
Give
me the book (you have promised),
I
The
zero article is contrasted with the definite article.
like soup (more than any other food).
I
like the soup ( you have cooked).
Rule for the
teacher:
The teacher should
realize difficulties the sentence pattern presents for his pupils.
Comparative analysis of the grammar item in English and in Russian
or within the English language may be helpful. He should think of
the shortest and simplest way for presentation of the new grammar
item. The teacher should remember the more he speaks about the
language the less time is left to practice. The more the teacher
explains the less his pupils understand what he is trying to
explain, this leads to the teacher giving more information than is
necessary, which does not help the pupils in the usage of this
particular grammar item, only hinders them.
Practical approach to the
assimilation of grammar.
It means that pupils
learn those grammar items which they need for immediate use either
in oral or written language. For example, from the first steps of
language learning pupils need the Possessive Case for objects which
belong to different people, namely, Mike’s
textbook, Ann’s mother, the girl’s doll, the boys’
room, etc. The teacher masters grammar through performing
various exercises in using a given grammar item.
Rule for the
teacher:
The teacher should
teach pupils correct grammar usage and not grammar knowledge.
Structural approach to the teaching
grammar, i.e. grammar items are introduced and drilled in
structures or sentence patterns.
It has been proved and accepted by the
majority of teachers and methodologists that whenever the aim to
teach pupils the command of the language, and speaking in
particular, the structural approach meets the requirements.
Pupils are taught to understand English when
spoken to and to speak it from the very beginning. This is possible
provided they have learned sentence patterns and words as a pattern
and they know how to adjust them to them to the situations they are
given.*1
*1
See:
Вятютнев М.Н.
Модели обучения
ин.языкам в
работах Г.Пальмера,
Ф.Френча, А.Хорнби,
Г.Менона, Ч.Фриза
и Р.Ладо; Бессмертный
А.З. Усвоение
речевых моделей
с помощью наглядных
пособий.-«Иностранные
языки в школе»,
1963, №3
In our country the structural approach to the teaching of grammar
attracted the attention of many teachers. As a result structural
approach to grammar teaching has been adopted by our schools since
it allows the pupil to make up sentences by analogy , to use the
same pattern for various situations. Pupils learn sentence patterns
and how to use them in oral and written language.
Rule for the teacher:
The teacher should furnish pupils with words
to change the lexical (semantic) meaning of the sentence pattern so
that pupils will be able to use it in different situations. He
should assimilate the grammar mechanism involved in sentence pattern
and not the sentence itself.
Situational approach to the teaching
of grammar.
Pupils learn a grammar item used in situations.
For example, the Possessive Case may be effectively introduced in
classroom situations. The teacher takes or simply touches various
things and says This is Nina’s pen;
That is Sasha’s exercise-book,
and so on.
Rule for the teacher:
The teacher should select the situations for
the particular grammar item he is going to present. He should look
through the textbook and other teaching materials and find those
situations which can ensure comprehension and the usage of the item.
5. Different approach to the teaching
active grammar (grammar for conversation) and passive grammar
(grammar for reading).
Grammar items pupils need for conversation are
taught by the oral approach, i.e., pupils aud 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 the Present
Progressive is used. Grammar items necessary for reading are taught
through reading.
Rule for the teachers:
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.
Types
of Exercises for the Assimilation of Grammar.
The following types of exercises may be
suggested.
Recognition exercises
which are the easiest type of
exercises for pupils
to perform. They observe the grammar item in structures (sentence
patterns) when hearing or reading. Since pupils only observe the new
grammar item the situations should be natural and communicative. For
example:
Listen to the sentences and raise your hands
whenever you hear the verbs in the Past Simple.
Mike
lives in Pushkin street. I lived there last year. Ann gets up at 7
o’clock in the morning. She got up at half past seven
yesterday., etc.
It is desirable that sentences formed should
concern real situations and facts.
Pupils listen to the teacher and raise their
hands when they hear a verb in the Past Simple. The teacher can see
whether each of his pupils has grasped the sentence.
Read the sentences and choose the correct
form of the verb. The following sentences may be suggested:
I (go, went) to
school yesterday.
Tom (takes, took)
a bus when he goes to school.
She (got, gets, gets)
up at 7 o’ clock every day.
Pupils should read the sentences and find the
signals for the correct choice of the form. Since the necessary form
is suggested in each sentence they should only recognize the one
they need for a given context.
Recognition exercises are indispensable as
pupils retain the grammar material through auditory and visual
perception. Auditory and visual memory is at work.
Drill exercises
are more completed as they require reproduction on the part of the
pupils. In learning a foreign language drill exercises are
indispensable. The learners cannot assimilate the material if they
only hear and see it. They must reproduce it both in outer and
inner speech. The more often they say it the better they assimilate
the material. Though drill exercises are those in which pupils have
only one difficulty to overcome, they should also be graded:
(a) Repetitive drill. Pupils pronounce the
sentence pattern after the teacher, in imitation of the teacher,
both individually and in unison. For example:
Teacher: They are
dancing in the park.
Class: They are
dancing in the park.
Individuals: They
are dancing in the park.
Or pupils listen to the dialogue and say it
after the speaker.
-Is Ann dancing now?
-No, she isn’t.
-What is she doing?
-She is watching
television.
Attention is
drawn to the correct pronunciation of the sentence pattern as a
sense unit, as a statement ( sounds,stress, and melody).
(b) Substitution. Pupils substitute the words or
phrases in a sentence pattern. For example:
The children are dancing in
the park.
The children are dancing in
the garden.
The children are dancing in
the street.
The children
are dancing in the yard.
The children
are dancing in the hall.
The children
are dancing after classes.
The children
are dancing at the party.
A
pupil substitutes a phrase, the rest may say it in unison. Then they
are invited to replace the word dancing
with other words.
They
are singing in the park.
They
are working in the park.
They
are walking in the park.
They
are playing in the park.
They
are running in the park.
They
are talking in the park.
They
are watering flowers in the park.
They
are planting trees in the park.
They
are helping the workers in the park.
The
use of a particular verb is stimulated with pictures (or a Russian
word). Quick revision is achieved with a small expenditure of
effort. In this way they review many words and phrases. As pupils
have only one difficulty to overcome the work does not take much
time. Or pupils are invited to replace the words in the dialogue
with those given in columns
(see
the dialogue above).
helping
her mother
doing
her homework working on the farm reading a book
listening
to the radio washing windows
Kate
Your
sister
This girl
They
work in pairs.
There
is one more advantage in performing this type of exercises—pupils
consolidate the grammar item without thinking about it. They think
of the words, phrases, but not of the form itself, therefore,
involuntary memory is at work.
(c)
Completion.
Pupils complete the sentences the teacher utters looking at the
pictures he shows. For example:
Teacher:
Look at the picture.
Mike is
... ... .
Pupil:
Mike is getting up.
Class:
Mike is getting up.
Teacher:
Mike is ... ... .
Pupil:
Mike is dressing.
Class:
Mike is dressing.
Attention
should be given to the use of is
in this exercise. The teacher should pronounce Mike
is ...
to prevent the typical mistake of the pupils (Mike
dressing).
This is essential structural element of the tense form of the
Present Continuous; Russian-speaking pupils, however, do not feel
any necessity to use it.
(d)
Answering
the teacher's questions.
For
example:
Teacher:
Is Mike getting up?
Pupil:
Yes, he is.
Teacher:
Who is getting up?
Pupil:
Mike is.
Teacher:
What is Mike doing?
Pupil:
He is getting up.
Drill
exercises may be done both orally and in written form. Pupils
perform oral exercises during the lesson and written ones at home.
For example, they ate told to write five or seven sentences on the
model given.
During the next lesson the work done at home
is checked orally. In this way pupils have practice in pronunciation
while reading their own examples, and in auding while listening
to their classmates.
Creative
exercises
(speech exercises). This is the most difficult type of exercises as
it requires creative work on the part of the learners. These may be:
(a)
Making statements either on the picture the teacher shows, or on
objects. For example, the teacher hangs up a picture and asks
his pupils to say or write three or five statements in the Present
Continuous.
(b)
Asking questions with a given grammar item. For example, pupils are
invited to ask and answer questions in the Past Indefinite.
(c)
Speaking about the situation offered by the teacher. For example,
one pupil gives commands to perform this or that action, the other
comments on the action (actions) his classmate performs.
Pupil
1: Go to the door, Sasha.
Pupil
2: Sasha is going to the door.
Pupil
3: Open the door.
Pupil
4: Sasha is opening the door.
(d)
Speaking on a suggested topic. For example, a pupil tells the class
what he did yesterday.
(e) Making dialogues using the
grammar item covered.
(f)
Telling the story (read, heard).
(g)
Translating into English.
(h)
Participating in free conversation in which pupils are to use the
grammar item they have learned. E. g., pupils have learned sentence
patterns with the impersonal it.
(It's
cold. It's late. It's winter).
Teacher: What's
the weather like, children? Is it cold today? Do you like it when
it's cold?
Through
these questions pupils are stimulated to speak about the weather and
use the grammar item they have learnt.
All
the exercises of the creative type are designed for consolidating
grammar material pupils need for hearing and speaking.
All the exercises mentioned
above are designed:
(1) to develop pupils' skills in
recognizing grammar forms while auding and reading English texts;
(2) to accumulate correct
sentence patterns in the pupils' memory which they can reproduce
whenever they need these patterns for speaking or writing;
(3) to help the pupils to
produce sentences of their own using grammar items necessary for
speaking about a situation or a topic offered, or writing an essay
on the text heard or an annotation on the text read.
Grammar
tests. A check on the assimilation of grammar material is
carried out through:
(1) auding (if a pupil
understands what he auds, he knows grammar);
(2) speaking (if a pupil uses
the grammar item correctly, he has assimilated it);
(3) reading (if a learner
understands what he reads, he knows grammar);
(4) tests.
Tests
allow the teacher to evaluate pupils' achievement in grammar, that
is, how each of them has mastered forms, meaning, and usage. Tests
in grammar may involve: filling in the blanks; opening the brackets;
transformation (e. g., make it negative, change into plural, etc.);
extension
(e. g., / like
to read books — I like to raid English bocks in our library);
completion (e. g., When
I came home ...);
making statements on the pictures given; translation.
43
Introduction.
Language is the chief means by which the human
personality expresses itself and fulfills its basic need for social
interaction with other persons.
The aim of the foreign language is primary
schools is to develop pupils` skills and understanding English speech
and participating in conversation based on the topics covered.
Robert Lado wrote that language functions owing
to the language skills. A person who knows a language perfectly uses
a thousand and one grammar lexical, phonetic rules when he is
speaking. Language skills help us to choose different words and
models in our speech.
In my diploma paper I examine the forming of
grammar skills. Grammar is known to be an important component of the
language as a system. Communicative skills without regular using
grammar are limited.
It is clear that the term “grammar”
has meant various things at various times and sometimes several
things at one time. This plurality of meaning is characteristic of
the present time and is the source of confusions in the discussion of
grammar as part of the education of children. There have been taking
place violent disputes on the subject of teaching grammar at school.
The ability to talk about the grammar of a
language, to recite its rules, is also very different from ability to
speak and understand a language or to read and write it. Those who
can use a language are often unable to recite its rules, and those
who can recite its rules can be unable to use it. Nowadays we can
hear the following opinions among teachers of foreign language: One
teacher says, “ I do not favor teaching any grammar before
the fifth grade, and not much then,” another is likely to
reply, “But if you do not, how will your students learn to
capitalize correctly, to punctuate sentences, or to spell
accurately?” Another teacher remarks,
“If you teach no grammar, how can you expect
to have correct usage in speech and writing?”
In the elementary grades the major emphasis
will be upon the actual use, rather than upon knowledge of the
language itself and attention to restrictive rules. Grammar of the
analytical and structural sort will have little place or no place in
the elementary grades, but the oral and written conventions of
English, those which function in actual speaking and writing, will be
of chief concern.
Grammar organizes the vocabulary and as a
result we have sense units. There is a system of stereotypes, which
organizes words into sentences. But what skill does grammar develop?
First of all it gives the ability to make up
sentences correctly, to reproduce the text adequately.
(the development of practical skills and habits)
The knowledge of the specific grammar
structure helps pupils point out the differences between the mother
tongue and the target language.
The knowledge of grammar develops abilities
to abstract systematize plural facts.
Examining the problem of grammar skills we must
acquire how they are defined in literature. We must differentiate
their kinds, features, and the conditions under which they are
formed, the steps of forming grammar skills, and the grammar minimum
for the primary school.
Learning grammar and forming grammar skills are
important tasks of the subject “Foreign language” at the
primary school. It is necessary for children not to make grammar
mistakes. Roberto Lado wrote that a mistake is the wrong skill the
aim of my diploma paper is to prevent children from making grammar
mistakes, i.e. to form grammar skills. I think that the best way to
form grammar skills is to use a lot of training exercises and
individual approach in teaching grammar.
T
Theoretical part
he
Importance of Grammar in Learning a Foreign
Language.
To judge by the way some people speak, there is no
place for grammar in the language course nowadays; yet it is, in
reality, as important as it ever was exercise of correct grammar, if
he is to attain any skill of effective use of the language, but he
need not know consciously formulated rules to account to him for that
he does unconsciously correctly.
In order to understand a language and to
express oneself correctly one must assimilate the grammar mechanism
of the language studied. Indeed, one may know all the words in a
sentence and yet fail to understand it, if one does not see the
relation between the words in the given sentence. And vice versa, a
sentence may contain one, two, and more in known words but if one has
a good knowledge of the structure of the language one can easily
guess the meaning of these words or at least find them in a
dictionary.
No speaking is possible without the knowledge
of grammar, without the forming of a grammar mechanism.
If learner has acquired such a mechanism, he can
produce correct sentences in a foreign language. Paul Roberts writes:
“ Grammar is something that produces the sentences of a
language. By something we mean a speaker of English. If you speak
English natively, you have built into you rules of English grammar.
In a sense, you are an English grammar. You possess, as an essential
part of your being, a very complicated apparatus which enables you to
produce infinitely many sentences, all English ones, including many
that you have never specifically learned. Furthermore by applying you
rule you can easily tell whether a sentence that you hear a
grammatical English sentence or not.” *1
A command of English as is envisaged by the
school syllabus cannot be ensured without the study of grammar .
Pupils need grammar to be able to aud, speak, read, and write in the
target language.
*1
Roberts P. English Sentences. New York, 1962, p.1
A
Brief Review Of The Major Methods
Of
Foreign Language Teaching.
The grammatical systems of Russian and English are
fundamentally different. English is an analytical language, in which
grammatical meaning in largely expressed through the use of
additional words and by changes in word order. Russian is a synthetic
language, in which the majority of grammatical forms are created
through changes in the structure of words, by means of a developed
system of prefixes, suffixes and ending. ( p. 121,
Brown C. and Jule “Teaching the spoken
language”, Cambridge, 1983)
No one knows exactly how people learn languages
although a great deal of research has been done into the subject.
Many methods have been proposed for the
teaching of foreign language. And they have met with varying degrees
of success and failure.
We should know that the method by which
children are taught must have some effect on their motivation. If
they find it deadly boring they will probably become de-motivated,
whereas if they have confidence in the method they will find it
motivating. Child learners differ from adult learners in many ways.
Children are curious, their attention is of a shorter duration, they
are quite differently motivated in, their interests are less
specialized. They need frequent of activity; they need activities
which are exciting and stimulating their curiosity; they need to be
involved in something active.
We shall examine such methods as “The
Grammar – Translation Method”, ”The Direct Method”,
“The Audio-lingual Method”. And we pay attention to the
teaching grammar of the foreign language. We shall comment those
methods, which have had a long history.
The
Grammar Translation method will be discussed.
This method was widely used in teaching the
classics, namely Latin, and it was transferred to the teaching of
modern languages when they were introduced into schools
In
the grammar-translation mode, the books begin with definitions of
the parts of speech, declensions, conjugations, rules to be
memorized, examples illustrating the rules, and exceptions. Often
each unit has a paragraph to be translated into the target language
and one to be translated into native one. These paragraphs
illustrate the grammar rules studied in the unit. The student is
expected to apply the rules on his own. This involves a complicated
mental manipulation of the conjugations and declensions in the order
memorized, down to the form that might fit the translation. As a
result, students are unable to use the language, and they sometimes
develop an inferiority complex about languages in general.
Exceptionally bright and diligent students do learn languages by
this method, or in spite of it, but they would learn with any
method.
(R.Lado)
W
Classes
are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the
target language.
Much
vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.
Long
elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given.
Grammar
provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction
often focuses on the form and inflection of word.
Reading
of difficult classical texts is begun early.
Little
attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as
exercises in grammatical analysis.
Often
the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences
from the target language into the mother tongue.
Little
or no attention is given to pronunciation.
Brown H.,
Douglas ‘Principles of language teaching’, N.Y., 1987
e list the major characteristics of Grammar Translation.
The grammar-translation method is largely
discredited today. With greater interest in modern languages for
communication the inadequacy of grammar-translation methods became
evident.
The
Direct Method.
The Direct Method appeared as a reaction
against the grammar-translation method.
There was a movement in Europe that emphasized
language learning by direct contact with the foreign language in
meaningful situations. This movement resulted in various individual
methods with various names, such as new method, natural method, and
even oral method, but they can all be referred to as direct methods
or the direct method. In addition to emphasizing direct contact with
the foreign language, the direct method usually deemphasized or
eliminated translation and the memorization of conjugations,
declensions, and rules, and in some cases it introduced phonetics and
phonetic transcription.
The direct method assumed that learning a
foreign language is the same as learning the mother tongue, that is,
that exposing the student directly to the foreign language impresses
it perfectly upon his mind. This is true only up to a point, since
the psychology of learning a second language differs from that of
learning the first. The child is forced to learn the first language
because he has no other effective way to express his wants. In
learning a second language this compulsion is largely missing, since
the student knows that he can communicate through his native language
when necessary.
Classroom
instruction was conducted exclusively in the target language.
Only
everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught.
Oral
communication skills were built up in a carefully graded
progression organized around question-and-answer exchanges between
teachers and student in small, intensive classes.
Grammar
was taught inductively, i.e. the learner may discover the rules of
grammar for himself after he has become acquainted with many
examples.
New
teaching points were introduced orally.
Concrete
vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures;
abstract vocabulary was taught by association of ideas.
Both
speech and listening comprehension were taught.
Correct
pronunciation and grammar were emphasized.
The basic premise of Direct Method was that second language
learning should be more like first language learning: lots of active
oral interaction, spontaneous use of the language, no translation
between first and second languages, and little or no analysis of
grammatical rules. We can summarize the principles of the Direct
Method:
The Direct Method enjoyed considerable
popularity through the end of nineteenth century and well into this
one.
Now we shall discuss “The
Audiolingual Method”.
The Audiolingual Method (It is also called
Mimicry-memorization method) was the method developed in the
Intensive Language Program. It was successful because of high
motivation, intensive practice, small classes, and good models, in
addition to linguistically sophisticated descriptions of the foreign
language and its grammar.
New
material is presented in dialog form.
There
is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases and
overlearning.
Structures
are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught one at a
time.
Structural
patterns are taught using repetitive drills.
There
is a little or no grammatical explanation: grammar is taught by
inductive analogy rather than deductive explanation.
Vocabulary
is strictly limited and learned in context.
There
is much use of tapes, language labs, and visual aids.
Great
importance is attached to pronunciation.
very
little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted.
Successful
responses are immediately reinforced.
There
is a great effort to get students to produce error-free utterances.
There
is a tendency to manipulate language and disregard content.
Grammar is taught essentially as follows: Some basic
sentences are memorized by imitation. Their meaning is given in
normal expressions in the native language, and the students are not
expected to translate word for word. When the basic sentences have
been overlearned (completely memorized so that the student can rattle
them off without effort), the student reads fairly extensive
descriptive grammar statements in his native language, with examples
in the target language and native language equivalents. He then
listens to further conversational sentences for practice in listening
. Finally, practices the dialogues using the basic sentences and
combinations of their parts. When he can, he varies the dialogues
within the material hr has already learned. The characteristics of
ALM may be summed up in the following list:
Grammar
explanations as used in the major methods.
We shall briefly review the treatment of
grammatical explanations by some of the major methods. This is not
meant to be an exhaustive study of all available methods; rather it
is an attempt to show the variety of ways in which different methods
deal with grammar explanations and may help teachers in evaluating
available materials.
Grammar translation is associated with
formal rule statement. Learning proceeds, deductively, and the rule
is generally stated by the teacher, in a textbook, or both.
Traditional abstract grammatical terminology is used. Drills include
translation into native language.
The direct method is characterized by
meaningful practice and exclusion of the mother tongue. This method
has had many interpretations, some of which include an analysis of
structure, but generally without the use of abstract grammatical
terminology.
T
Table
he audio-lingual method stresses an inductive
presentation with extensive pattern practice. Writing is discouraged
in the early stages of learning a structure. Here again, there has
bee considerable variation in the realization of this approach. In
some cases, no grammatical explanation of any kind is offered. In
other, the teacher might focus on a particular structure by
isolating an example on the board, or through contrast. When
grammatical explanation is offered it is usually done at the end of
the lesson as a summary of behavior (Politzer, 1965), or in later
versions of this method the rule might be stated in the middle of
the lesson and followed by additional drills.
Conscious | Isolation of (rule of | Deductive | The | Language | Oral or | |
| Grammar-translation | Yes | Yes | Deductive | Book and/or teacher | Abstract | Written |
| Direct method | Yes or no | Yes | Inductive (if at all) | Teacher (when done) | Non-abstract | Oral-written |
| Audio-lingual | Yes or no | Yes | Inductive | Teacher | Example or non-abstract | Oral-written |
Each method is realized in techniques. By a
technique we mean an individual way in doing something, in gaining a
certain goal in teaching learning process. The method and techniques
the teacher should use in teaching children of the primary school is
the direct method, and various techniques which can develop pupils`
listening comprehension and speaking. Pupils are given various
exercises, connected with the situational use of words and sentence
patterns.
Literature.
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G.V., “Methods of teaching English”; М.,1970
Harmer,
Jeremy, “the practice English language teaching”;
London-New York; Longman,1991
Синявская,
Е.В. и др., «Вопросы
методики обучения
иностранным
языком за рубежом.»
/сост.: Е.В.Синявская,
М.М. Васильева,
С.В.Калинина/;
М., Просвещение,1978
Handschin,
Charles H., “Methods of teaching modern languages.”;
N.Y.,World Book Co.,1926
Bennett,
William Arthur., ”Aspects of Language and language teaching.”;
London-New York., Cambridge univ. press, 1968
Lado
Robert and Fries Charles C., “English pattern practices.
Establishing the patterns as habits.”; The univ. of Michigan
press, 1970
F.L
Billows., “The Techniques of Language Teaching.”;
Longman, 1962
Fries,
Charles Carpenter., “Teaching and Learning English as a
foreign language.”; The univ. of Michigan press, 1964
Jack
C. Richards and Theodore S. Rogers., “ Approaches and Methods
in Language Teaching.”; Cambridge univ. press, 1986
Elaine
Tarone and George Yule., “Focus on Language Learner.”;
Oxford univ., 1991
Michael
H. Long, Jack C. Richards., “Methology in Tesol: A book of
Readings.”; USA., 1987
Pooley,
Robert., “teaching English grammar.”; N.Y., Appleton –
Century – Crofts, 1957
F.Genesee.,
“Educating second language children: the whole child, the
whole curriculum, the whole community.” Cambridge, 1994
Griffith,S.
“Teaching English Abroad”; Oxford,1991
Rivers,
Wilga M., “Speaking in many tongues: Essays in
foreign-language teaching.”; 3rd ed., Cambridge, 1983
Rixon,
Shelagh., “How to use games in language teaching.”;
London, The Macmillan press,1981
Applegate,
Maurel., “Easy in English. An imaginative approach to the
teaching of language arts.”; N.Y.,1960
Geoffrey
Broughton, Christopher Brumfit, Roger Flavel, “Teaching
English as a foreign language.”; London, 1981
Swan
M., Smith B., “Learner English. A teacher’s guide to
interference and other problems.”; Cambridge, 1987
Brown
C. And Jule., “Teaching the spoken language.”;
Cambridge, 1983
During my practice I examined the group of
children of 9-10 year old. The children have been studying English
for two years (the 3d form).
I used the test to receive some results and to
point out the level of the forming of grammar skills on theme “the
degrees of comparison of adjectives”. The test consisted of 5
tasks.
Task 1
The aim: to control the listening
comprehension.
Listen.
Agree or disagree.
The elephant is the biggest animal.
the biggest cat is the tiger.
The monkey’s tail is longer than the
cat’s.
Dogs are clever than cats.
Cats are funnies than monkeys.
Yes, it is.
Yes, it is.
Yes, it is.
Yes, it is.
No, it isn’t.
Task 2
The
aim: to control the reading skill and the level.
The
passage from “Why Rabbits have Got Short tails” (p.211
“English I” I.N.Vereschagina, T.A.Pritykina, Москва;
Просвещение,
1994)
Read
and translate
Once
there lived a Rabbit, His name was Bunny. He was grey and big, bigger
than his brother Bonny. But he had no tail. And he wanted to have a
long tail, longer than that of Mrs. Fox.
One
day Bunny went for a walk. He saw Mrs. Fox.
“Hello,
Mrs. Fox”, he said, “Where are going?”
“I’m
going shopping.’
“What
are you going to buy?”
“I’m
going to buy a tail.”
“But
you’ve got a tail! I think it’s the longest and the most
beautiful tail!”
“Well,
but I want a new one, alonger and more beautiful one than my old
tail.”
Task 3
Complete
the table.
Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| … | … | The |
| … | Slower | … |
Big | … | … |
Popular | … | … |
| … | Better | … |
Dry | … | … |
Beautiful | … | … |
Task
4
Compare these funny fellows (picture 1)
Nick
and Rick make statements on the given picture:
Weak,
strong; thin, fat; short, tall; young, old; good, bad.
Choose
the correct word and copy the sentences.
Lions
are (clever, cleverer, the cleverest) than tigers.
The
(big, bigger, biggest) animal is the elephant.
The
giraffe’s neck is (long, longer, the longest) than the
tiger’s.
The
(clever, cleverer, cleverest) wild animals are monkeys.