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Teach English in Liangyong Zhen - Bazhong Shi

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The teaching of grammar is one of the most frustrating aspects of being a novice English as a second language teacher (Allahyar, 2012). However, education in a foreign language has historically placed an emphasis on grammar in the instruction of a second language (Wang, 2010). This is because it has been found to play an important role in the teaching of speaking, listening, reading skills of the ESL student. The teaching of grammar to English as a second language students is very important in the development of English speaking skills. This is because grammar is significant in teaching students how to express ideas clearly. Zhang explains in his article, What you see and how it came to be that way are two quite different things. It would be naïve to suppose that the fluid production of a sentence like If I’d known you were coming, I would have baked a cake results from the cumulative sticking together of individual words or even of individual grammatical structures. The same goes for the way we learn languages. Inferring the process of language acquisition from its product (grammar) is like inferring the process of “omeletting” from the omelette. Or, for that matter, inferring the chicken from the egg (Zhang, 2009, P. 185) For example, if a student is learning how to ask a question in the future tense this can be very confusing when compared to asking the same question in the present progressive. However, by learning the grammar associated with this, the student will be able to understand the difference better and thus, have a better grasp of how to use questions in the future tense (Wang, 2010). While the teaching of grammar is important to the development of speaking skills it also plays a significant role in the development of listening skills for the ESL student. This is because it is important in developing a student's ability to understand some of the more subtle aspects of a foreign language. For example, Zhang in his article tells of an experiment done by Richard Schmidt in which he kept a diary of his experiences of learning Portuguese in Brazil. Initially, he had taken grammar orientated classes in Portuguese but later he left to explore the country of Brazil. He discovered, through his diary, that certain aspects of the language that he felt he never would have been aware of, were noticed by him. He concluded that this was because of the grammar training that he had undergone, which he theorized was a result of the grammar acting as meta organizers for his learning of Portuguese (Zhang, 2009, P. 186). For example, when a student is learning about collective nouns. The teaching of the grammar and situations in which their use is appropriate can help the student to better understand their use in the English language, than if a student is just left to their own devices to notice the difference between collective and singular nouns (Zhang, 2009). While grammar is influential in student's communication and listening skills, it also is very important to students reading skills. This is because grammar provides a structure for us to talk about the way we use words. This helps us, as readers to understand the way authors use words in their writing (Wang, 2010). Hess explains in her article “ When we read, understand, and interpret a poem we learn language through the expansion of our experience with a larger human reality. Reading poetry gives us a concentrated version of a parallel life. A poem can be used as a vehicle for thought, and as an instrument for shaping language” (Hess, 19, 2006). Hess in her article describes how through the poem Richard Corey a teacher can teach about verbs, adjectives, and other parts of speech (Hess, 2006). Besides speaking, listening, and reading skills grammar also plays an important role in the development of writing skills. Grammar can help students to become better writers by making them better editors of their writing. Subasini and Koklivani in their article explain that teaching grammar concepts during editing can help students to better identify grammatical errors and to learn to correct them. This ends up making them better writers and better communicators (B.Kokilavani, 2013). One can see the effects of this through the teaching of subject-verb agreement because by learning the grammar associated with this concept students are more likely to go back and attempt to revise sentences they have written to ensure their subjects agree with the verbs they are using (B.Kokilavani, 2013). In conclusion, grammar is a very important part of the teaching of the English Language to students. It plays an important role in the teaching of oral communication skills by assisting students to more clearly express their ideas. It plays an important role in the development of listening skills by helping students to develop a clearer understanding of the understated aspects of the English language. It also plays an important role in the teaching of reading skills by showing the interplay of words and sentences to create meaning in a document. Finally, grammar is important to developing writing skills by encouraging students to become better at editing their writing. Thus, while it can be frustrating to teach, grammar plays a significant role in the teaching of the English language. Bibliography Allahyar, A. N. (2012). Grammar Teaching Revisited: EFL Teachers between abstinence and formal grammar teaching. Australian Journal of Teacher Education , 37 (2), 72-87. B.Kokilavani, M. a. (2013). Significance of grammar in technical english. International Journal of English Literature and Culture , 1 (3), 56-58. Hess, N. (2006, January 2003). Real language through poetry: a formula for meaning making. ELT Journal , 57 (1), pp. 19-25. Wang, S. (2010). The Significance of English Grammar to Middle School Students in China. Journal of Language Teaching and Research , 1 (3), 313-319. Zhang, J. (2009). Necessity of Grammar Teaching. International Education Studies , 2 (2), 184-187.


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