Teach
Grammar or Communicative Skills? Why Not Do Both?
Many teachers ask
whether they should spend more time developing students’
knowledge of grammar or their communicative abilities. I tend to
respond as Betty Azar (2007) — do both. …
Keeping
Grammar Current
The grammar teaching community never stops moving forward. Writers of grammar materials need to stay plugged in to the community in order to maintain high standards. …
Two
Things You Aren’t Spending Enough Time On in Grammar Class
We all want
students to understand and use grammar accurately and fluently. The
major challenge is often getting the right mix of instruction and
practice—and the right balance of controlled and free practice. …
From
the Trenches: What Grammar Teachers Are Talking About
Conversations about grammar and grammar
teaching never seem to go away. How much grammatical information do
students need? Should grammar even be taught at all? This article
summarizes discussions on ESL email lists and conversations
we’ve had with teachers over the course of the fall of
2008 about the line between talking about grammar and using
it.
Teaching
Grammar
Periodically, on the
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Recent
Research in Teaching Grammar
How important is grammatical knowledge? How
can we balance grammatical accuracy with communicative fluency? Can
grammar even be taught? These questions have been debated for as long
as language has been taught. Two recent articles provide new insight on
the role of grammar in language classrooms.
Grammar
Can Be Taught (Without Hurting Fluency)Â
Research conducted by Mochizuki and Ortega
(2008) revealed that teaching grammar to students results in more
accurate speaking in communicative tasks. Furthermore, the students who
studied grammar performed as well as the control group in measures of
fluency. This groundbreaking study offers hard evidence that studying
grammar will help students improve their English
significantly. …
