Teach English in Guocun Zhen - Changzhi Shi

Title: Teaching Grammar 'Definition' Oxford Dictionaries define grammar in English as the whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics. Grammar is one of the most important element in the English language. It is also often said that grammar is the tree trunk and branch while vocabulary and functions are leaves. For many students grammar is complicated, difficult to learn and understand and can be rather boring. However, it must be recognized that grammar is vital in learning English, especially as a second language, because grammar can help the students to learn the language more quickly and more effectively and systemtically. A good command of the English grammar also allows one to express clearly and fine-tune what you mean to say in the language. 'Theories, methods, and techniques' There are many theories, methods and techniques around on the teaching of English grammar. However, ITTT adopted the effective ESA Methodology (ESA represents the three elements Engage, Study, Activate) put forward by Jeremy Harmer for which this TEFL course is based around. The ESA Methodology approach satisfies the students’ needs for which the classical methods seek to achieve:  1. motivation,  2. low level of anxiety and stress in learning the language,  3. good exposure to the language,  4. the need for certain amount of input from the teacher,  5. opportunity to use the language, 'The Syllabus of Grammar' The scope of grammar for the EFL course covers the following:  a. parts of speech: (nouns, adjectives, articles, verbs, adverbs, gerunds, pronouns, prepositions & conjunctions),  b. tenses ( 12 for this TEFL course) : 1. present simple 2. present continuous 3. present perfect 4. present perfect continuous 5. past simple 6. past continuous 7. past perfect 8. past perfect continuous 9. future simple 10. future continuous 11. future perfect 12. future perfect continuous 13. ‘going to’ future used with future meaning 14. present simple used with future meaning, 15. present continuous with future meaning 16. the 4 different language skills ( reading , listening, speaking and writing)  phonology  c. conditionals and reported speech  d. modals, passive voice, relative clauses and phrasal verbs 'General Expectations' Which language structures that will be introduced to a class are largely determined by the level of class and the course syllabus we are using. However, in all classes, the students will need to know what the language means (the meaning), how it is used (the usage), what the grammatical form is (the form and pattern of the language), how it is said and written (the spoken and written form, for example: in written form ‘I am going to …..’, and in spoken form becomes ‘ I’m gonna….. ‘ ). Generally, the teacher’s explanations and/or instructions of the relevant rules and the points of the language should always be simple and clear, visible and audible to the whole class; exercises that are selected for controlled practice, and activities employed by the teacher shall be suitable and appropriate for the level of the class to check their understanding of the language points learned. Following up to that, the students should be encouraged to use the language freely in activities such as role-play, debate and discussion in the open-ended way to improve fluency. The ultimate aim is to enable the students to carry over the language learned to meet the needs and wants in their daily life or other purposes as per the individual's motivation in taking up the EFL course. 'The ESA Methodology' The ESA methodology which comprises the 3 elements of Engage(E), Study(S) and Activate(A), will enable the teacher to teach the English grammar effectively. There are three patterns of ESA lessons: Straight arrow pattern (in E, S, A sequence), Boomerang pattern (in E, A1, S, A2 sequence) and the Patchwork pattern (in E………..A sequence, e.g. EASAEASA, EASEASA…., the rule is it must start with E and ended in A while there can be multiple E, S and A as needed in between for a successful lesson within the allowable time period for the lesson.) The common approach is to use the Straight Arrow ESA lesson to teach grammar, but this is not the rule. The effective teacher can adopt other ESA structure as he/she deems appropriate and to the language level of the class. 'Preparation work' Before the grammar lesson the teacher has to make sure the relevant materials for the lesson are prepared such as: 1. ESA Lesson plan 2. Wipe board 3. Visual aids (realia, pictures, photos, models) 4. Teaching equipment ( AV facilities, photocopier, computer etc) 5. Worksheets 6. Dictionaries 7. Course books 8. Resource books 9. Etc. 'ESA Lesson Planning' It cannot be denied that a lesson well planned will result in a successful lesson. The teacher can use the lesson plan to effectively control the timing of the lesson in the 3 different phases of Engage, Study, and Activate within the lesson period in order to get the students engaged and motivated to learn, to realize the learner objectives (new grammar points) of the lesson under controlled study comfortably and accurately by getting the students to study in pair work, group work or the whole class as the effective teach may employ, and enabling the students to use the language freely in such activities such as discussion, debate, role-play , communication games, etc. 'Focus of the different phases of an ESA lesson' Each of the three Phases of an ESA lesson has different and distinct objectives: In the 'Engage phase', the teacher shall engage the students fully. The focus here is on building teacher-student (T-S) and student – student (S-S) 'rapport' in the class, to discuss with the students and keep them thinking and talking in English, building scenario, using Q/A and some visual aids to prompt discussion to arouse their interest and curiosity so that they are motivated to study the relevant grammar points that are planned for the lesson. It is not intended to teach anything in this phase and therefore the teacher should not do any correction for errors/mistakes which he/she may detect in the discussion. If there are any errors/mistakes that may arise, the teacher should do the corrections in the Study phase or in the Activate phase. In the 'Study phase', the focus is on the 'accuracy' of the grammar points. Throughout the lesson the teacher’s explanation shall be simple, clear, visible and audible to the whole class. The teacher should make sure that students know the meaning, forms & patterns, usage, spoken and written forms of the language. Controlled practice is the key word here. Teacher shall require the students to perform choral and individual repetition (drilling) to make sure that the students learn more effectively and memorize them. To check the student understanding and comprehension of the language learned, relevant grammar worksheets (such as gap-fill), and activities such as information gap, unscramble jumbled sentence, sentences building, etc. are useful tools to encourage learning while having lots of fun in the process. The effective teacher may decide to split the class in pairs, groups or the whole class for the work tasks. The teacher should walk around to monitor the class well during the work task period to check the progress of the work and provide assistance/information to enable the students to proceed with their works. Feedback is important to check the level of understanding of the grammar points. Correction of errors and mistakes are crucial to make sure that the students have achieved the accuracy of the language learned. In the 'Activate phase', the focus is on the fluency in using the language. It give the students the opportunity to use the language freely in activities such as role-play, discussion, debate. Teacher talk time (TSS) should be minimum in the activate phase. The students’ should not be too conscious over the potential grammatical mistakes made in their talking practice and rather should feel the joy of self- expression. In this way, the students will find the benefit and fun of learning grammar and enormous reward or satisfaction of having the ability to express themselves clearly with confidence and fine–tune what they mean to say at ease. To boost student motivation, the teacher shall be generous throughout the entire course to extend encouragement and praises for their efforts and achievements in their performance.