reflection
Teachers vs
Grammar
in
our schools?
Teachers who tackle the functional aspect are in a hurry to reach the grammatical point of the lesson
Is grammar important?
Inthecaseofgrammarteachingthereare
two main approaches.
approaches
These are deductive approach and
inductive approach.
How to teach
Grammar?
Deductiveandinductiveapproacheshave
the common goal of teaching grammar
they separate from each other in terms
teaching
of way of teaching.
1. A Deductive Approach
Deductiveteachingisatraditional approachinwhichinformationabout
approach
target language and rules aredrivenatthebeginningoftheclassandcontinued
withexamples.
Theprinciplesofthisapproacharegenerallyusedintheclasseswherethemain
target is to teach grammar structures.
structures For instance, these principles are
convenient for the classes that grammar translation method is
applied(Nunan,1991).
AccordingtoThornburysthree bacic principles a deductive lesson starts
with:
1.
presentationoftherulesbytheteacher.
2.
3.
Then students make practise with the rules and produce their own
examplesattheendofthelesson(Thornbury,1999).
2.
An Inductive Approach
Nunan(1999)identifiesinductiveapproachasaprocesswhere
learnersdiscoverthegrammarrulesthemselvesbyexaminingthe
examples.
Inainductiveapproachitisalsopossibletouse a context for
grammar rules. Thatistosay,learners explore the grammar
rules in a text or an audio rather than isolated sentences.
sentences
Thornbury(1999)notesthatinaninductiveapproachlearnersare
providedwithsampleswhichincludethetarget grammar thatthey
willlearn.Thenlearners work on the examples and try to discover
the rules themselves.Whenstudentsobtainthegrammarrulesand
theypracticethelanguagebycreatingtheirownexamples.
In contrast
An inductive teaching is based on:
1-The bottom-up theory whichacceptstheviewthatlanguagelearners
tendtofocus on parts rather than the whole.Forthisreasonteaching
whole
processbeginswithatext,audioorvisualinacontext(PPUorPDP
frameworks)
2-Secondlylearnersworkonthematerialto find the rules themselves ,
Pros
and
Cons
of
Inductive grammar
PROS
OF INDUCTIVE GRAMMAR
PROS
PROS AND
CONS
OF INDUCTIVE TEACHING
PROS AND
CONS
OF INDUCTIVE TEACHING
What is the
role of the
learner in
approach.
both
Moreprofoundknowledgeoflanguageaslearnersstudycognitively
methods?
inordertodiscovertherules.
Ithasbeenpointedoutthatwhenlearnerstakeplaceinthelearning
process actively so as to discover the rules they develop their
autonomy which makes them good language learner (Hinkel and
Fatos,2002).
Inaninductiveteachingteacherbehavesas:
a guide
guide and helper while students study the
grammarrulesthemselves.
and
traditional,
approach is student-centered.
inductive
Teacheristheorganizerandcontrolleroftheclassroom.
Applyingdeductive or inductive
approachwhileteachinggrammar
depends on student variety in the
classroom
COMBINATION OF
DEDUCTIVE AND
INDUCTIVE APPROACHES
Todayoneanotherissuediscussedbyteachers
istheapplicabilityofcombinationof
deductiveandinductiveapproachesinone
grammarsession
Furthermore,
It has been stated that it is highly probable to teach
grammar by combination of deductive and inductive
teaching.
Itismoreintensifierforaspupilsattentionisboth
directedtogrammar rules and meaning at the same time
(MacWhinney,1997citedinLarsen-Freeman,2003).
Eachmethodisbasedondifferentteachingapproaches,
Forexample,while grammar translation method is based upon
deductive teaching
Direct method relies on inductive teaching.
teaching
AccordingtoAndrews(2007), the audio- lingual method could
becondiseredasamethodwherethegrammaristaughtboth
deductively and inductively.
inductively
Toillustratethis,in the audio- lingual method drillsareusedthe
basisoflearningprocess.Pupils are engaged with drills until
they learn by heart them.Duringthisprocesstheyare not
provided anyinformationaboutgrammar structures.
However,themain objective ofthismethodisto be able to
speak accurately intargetlanguage.Thus,inspiteofthefactthat
drillsaretaughtinductively,learnersneed to memorize grammar
items in order to speak accurately
After Performing
a
PPU or PDP Lesson
&
Once the learners have acquired the new
functional
Language learning they need to see the
Structural One ( grammar)
Learners need to see the Language Form
supported in the Functional language learning
P=
Presentation
Aim: To get the learner see the structure- its form and meaning-in
contest.
I =Isolation
A= Analysis
S = Stating rule
P= Practice
Work=
P= Guided practice
U= Use < free practice or feed back using the new grammar
item in a communicative way>
P= Practice
<Written Work>
the correct forms involves meaning as well and cannot be done without
So :
what strategIes were used to teach the grammar item can- ?
-Which one is inductive and which one is deductive?
2.If you didnt learn grammar at school, how do you feel about that fact now? How do you think
it influences your teaching of English grammar?
3.Learning grammar tends to be associated with students developing their accuracy in the
target language. Can you see any relationship between teaching explicit grammar and
developing communicative fluency?
4.Individuals have managed to learn languages well for hundreds of years, regardless of the
grammar teaching methods of the time. So whats all the fuss about? Discuss this assertion
with your colleagues.
5.It is often said that regardless of your preferred way of dealing with grammar in your English
course, it is essential that the English teacher has an excellent knowledge of English grammart
hemselves. Do you agree with this assertion, or do you think it is possible to be an
excellentEnglish teacher with little or no explicit grammar knowledge
REFERENCE
Pedagogy. EnglewoodCliffs:PrenticeHallRegents
Classrooms. NewJersey:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Inc
Shaffer,C.(1989)AComparisonofInductiveandDeductiveApproachestoTeaching
Thank you
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