Teaching Grammar in Technical Institutions

Teaching Grammar in Technical Institutions

A. Haritha,

III rd year ECE,

K. Ramakrishnan College of Technology,

Samayapuram.

Abstract: The aim of grammar instruction is to enable students to enhance their communication purposes. This goal has three implications:

Students need clear instruction that connects grammar points with larger communication contexts.

Students do not need to master every aspect of each grammar point, only those that are relevant to the day-to-day communication task.

Error correction is not always the instructor's first responsibility.

1. INTRODUCTION

English grammar is notoriously difficult to learn for both native and second-language speakers. There are so many intricacies, obscure rules, and exceptions that it comes as no surprise that different generations of teachers have used various approaches to teaching grammar to train literate English writers. In the past, memorization-based techniques that relied on repetition slowly gave way to more creative methods. Today, we live in a society that prizes literacy and is willing to adapt to more effective methods to achieve the best results in teaching grammar.

1. CLEAR INSTRUCTION

   One of the older forms of teaching grammar, diagramming sentences, first appeared in the 19th century. This method involves visually mapping the structures of and relationships between different aspects of a sentence. Especially helpful for visual learners, this method disappeared from modern teaching at least 30 years ago. Different forms of diagramming are used to visualize sentences, from the Reed-Kellogg System to dependency grammar, but all organize the functions of a sentence in a way

   that illustrates the grammatical relationships between words. More recently, diagramming sentences has had small pop-culture resurgence in prints of famous opening sentences and websites that allow you to diagram to your hearts content

2. SIMPLE TECHNIQUES

   Songs

   Repetition is key to mastering grammar as it helps the brain remembering patterns. Using songs is therefore a wonderful tool to practice grammar. Music conveys feelings, emotions and by singing the lyrics students learn a lot without even noticing it. You need to choose your song carefully according to what you want to teach. you want to work on the daily routine and the present tense for ESL students. Have a worksheet ready to give to your students. Depending on the level of your class you may have a filling gap activity, a matching up or lyrics to reorder. Wait before you hand out the worksheet; get your students to listen to the beat, to sing if they know the song. Only then do you give them the worksheet. After that you can quiz them on the tense used in the song. You could even try to change the tense and to have your students to sing! Songs are usually great fun and a wonderful way to practice grammar while avoiding boredom.

   Games

   Games have a strong motivational impact on learning and if you can instill some competition that is even better to stimulate your students minds. Not only will games stimulate your students it will also create and reinforce a feeling of community.

   Using games will allow your students to use grammar in a real communicative context and by practicing they will internalize the grammatical rules.

   Story telling

   Story telling is an efficient technique to bring grammar to our students in an authentic way. We may use pictures as stimuli to have them imagine the background of the story or predict what is going to happen, jokes they will share among each others, stories cut down in puzzles to reorder or even videos.

3. TYPES Traditional: grammar for grammar's sake

   Teach the regular -ED form with its two pronunciation variants

   Teach the doubling rule for verbs that end in

   D (for example, WED-WEDDED)

   Hand out a list of irregular verbs that students must memorize

   Do pattern practice drills for -ED

   Do substitution drills for irregular verbs

   Communicative competence: grammar for communication's sake

   Distribute two short narratives about recent experiences or events, each one to half of the class

   Teach the regular -ED form, using verbs that occur in the texts as examples. Teach the pronunciation and doubling rules if those forms occur in the texts.

   Teach the irregular verbs that occur in the texts. Students read the narratives, ask questions about points they don't understand.

   Students work in pairs in which one member has read Story A and the other Story B. Students interview one another; using the information from the interview, they then write up or orally repeat the story they have not read.

4. TRADITIONAL SYSTEM

   Inductive Teaching

   This method of teaching grammar involves presenting several examples that illustrate a specific concept and expecting students to notice how the concept works from these examples. No explanation of the concept is given beforehand, and the expectation is that students learn to recognize the rules of grammar in a more natural way during their own reading and writing. Discovering grammar and visualizing how these rules work in a sentence allows for easier retention of the concept that the students were given an explanation that was disconnected from examples of the concept. The main goal of the inductive teaching method is the retention of grammar concepts, with teachers using techniques that are known to work cognitively and make an impression on students contextual memory.

5. MODERN SYSTEM

   Deductive Teaching

   The deductive method of teaching grammar is an approach that focuses on instruction before practice. A teacher gives students an in-depth explanation of a grammatical concept before they encounter the same grammatical concept in their own writing. After the lesson, students are expected to practice what they have just been shown in a mechanical way, through worksheets and exercises. This type of teaching, though common, has many peopleincluding teachersrethinking such methods, as more post- secondary level students are revealing sub-par literacy skills in adulthood. Deductive teaching methods drive many students away from writing because of the tediousness of rote learning and teacher-centered approaches.

   Interactive Teaching

   Another method of teaching grammar is to incorporate interactivity into lessons. Using games to teach grammar not only engages students but also helps them to remember what theyve learned. This method allows teachers to tailor their lessons to the different learning styles of students.

   For instance, each student can be given a large flashcard with a word on it, and the students must physically arrange themselves into a proper sentence. Other games can include word puzzles or fun online quizzes.

6. CONCLUSION

Over the years, many methods have been developed for teaching grammar and have been built upon, abandoned, or combined, all with the same goal in mindteaching students how to communicate effectively and understand how to use the English language. Because of the grammatical complexity of English, each method has its pros and cons. Some lessons are less likely to be remembered, while others may require more in-depth explanation and practice. Regardless of how grammar is taught, a well-rounded understanding of English grammar is the most important factor in improving the literacy of students.