Category: grammar

The Grammar-Listening Connection

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Stacy HagenStacy Hagen

The Grammar-Listening Connection

Listening proficiency is essential for second language success, but in the classroom, it has taken a back seat to the teaching of reading, writing, and grammar.

Stacy Hagen, co-author of the Azar-Hagen grammar series, discusses why
listening and grammar are a natural fit, why listening instruction needs to focus more on helping students decode speech, and how by doing this in the grammar classroom, we can provide a much richer linguistic environment for our students. Continue reading →

4 Tips for Improving Grammar Learning

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4 Tips for Improving Grammar Learning: What the research says

 

In a recent Journal of Neuroscience article, scientists tested people’s ability to learn and to notice differences in a stream of input (much like learning to distinguish Past Simple and Present Perfect). Some participants practiced extensively and improved. Others alternated shorter practice sessions with receptive tasks and improved just as much.

The conclusion?
Repeated practice is effective, but it can be tedious and is difficult to maintain over a period of years. It is better to mix up productive and receptive practice as much as possible. …

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You want fluency with that?

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Most teachers spend a lot of time working on learners’ grammatical accuracy. To make sure your students improve their fluency too, be sure not to skip this important step. What step?

What’s wrong with this picture?
You start your lesson with an article that contextualizes the lesson’s grammar. After eliciting its meaning, you illustrate usage, and use a chart to show form. You give your students some controlled exercises and end the lesson with an extended communicative task. Why do so many students trip over the target grammar? Did they not get enough focused exercises?

Don’t skip less-controlled practice
The problem is jumping straight from controlled practice to free practice with nothing in between. …

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