Grammar & Communication

in the FL Classroom

Maria Sheila Zamar

UH-Manoa, SEASSI
COTSEAL Conference 2008
I. Goals:

1. Discuss the role of grammar teaching

in FL classrooms (HL and non-HL)
2. Review some of the most influential
ideas in foreign language teaching
3. Describe some examples of
communicative activities for teaching
specific grammar points
II. What do we teach in the FL
classroom?

-language
-communication skills
-socio-cultural functions
-target culture
Which variety do we teach?

-standard
-conversational/colloquial
-academic
-literary
III. Heritage v. Non-heritage
classrooms
Some differences
background
resources
environment
motivation
(varying) proficiency
knowledge of the target culture
Heritage v. Non-heritage L2
classrooms

Some similarities
need for production practice
need to focus on literacy
need for accuracy
 VI. Settings for language learning
Natural acquisition
contexts
- The learner is exposed
to the TL at work or in
social interaction.
- If the learner is a child,
s/he is in a school
situation where most of
the other children are
native speakers of the TL
and the instruction is
directed toward native
speakers.
Traditional instructional
settings
(grammar-translation or
audiolingual)
- The language is being
taught to a group of L2 or
FL learners.
- The focus is on the
language itself, rather than
on the use of the TL for
communicative interaction.
- The instructional goal is
for students to learn the
vocabulary and grammar
of the TL.
Communicative
instructional settings
(content-based or
task-based)
- The language is being
taught to a group of L2 or
FL learners.
- The focus is on leading
learners to use the TL in a
variety of contexts, rather
than on teaching specific
features of TL.
- The goal is for students to
develop their ability to get
things done in the TL.
 Settings for language learning
Characteristics Natural Traditional Communicative
acquisition instruction instruction
Error correction - ++ -/+

Learning one thing at a - ++ +

time
Ample time available for ++ - -
learning
High ratio of native ++ - -
speakers to learners
Variety of language and ++ - +
discourse types
Pressure to use the TL -/+ ++ -
correctly
Access to modified -/+ + +
input (often in L1) (often in TL)
VII. 5 influential ideas in L2 teaching
1.Getting it right from the beginning
Grammar-translation & audiolingual methods
2.Negotiating meaning
Communicative language teaching
3.Input processing
Comprehension-based programs
4.Teaching what is teachable
Setting realistic expectations
5.Getting it right in the end
Finding the balance between meaning-based and form-based
instruction
Five influential ideas in L2 teaching

1. Getting it right from the beginning

Exclusively grammar-based approaches do not guarantee
high levels of accuracy
Overemphasis on accuracy usually results in learners who
are inhibited and some unable to communicate

2. Negotiating meaning
Learners produce more quantity and greater variety of
speech and language function in learner centered activities
Modified interaction leads to higher levels of comprehension
than modified input
Five influential ideas in L2 teaching

3. Input processing
TPR gives learners a good start
Comprehensible input is effective in learners’ development of
comprehension skills, fluency and confidence in the TL but not
enough to bring them to high levels of accuracy
Input flood help learners add something new to their interlanguage
Enhanced input makes little difference
Learners who received comprehension-based processing instruction
achieved higher levels of performance on both comprehension and
production tasks than learners who did production exercises to
practice the form. ***
Input processing (explicit focus on form within input-based instruction)
shows better comprehension practice over production practice
Five influential ideas in L2 teaching

4. Teaching what is teachable

Little/no data on developmental and variational language
features

5. Getting it right in the end

Form-focused instruction and corrective feedback provided
within the communicative contexts are more effective in
promoting L2 learning
Explicit, guided form-focused instruction is needed when
features in the TL differ from the L1 in subtle ways
IV. Grammar-based v. Content-based/
Task-based approaches

Focus on the language (accuracy)

grammar translation and audiolingual
methods
ordering of skills (receptive-productive)
deductive learning
error prevention is emphasized
Grammar-based v. Content-based/
Task-based approaches

Focus on communication (fluency)

communicative language teaching (CLT)
comprehensible input
inductive learning
error is viewed as natural part of
interlanguage development
V. Key issues

-Do I have a grammar-based, task-based,

function-based/content-based curriculum?
-How much time do I devote to teaching
grammar explicitly?
-How much metalanguage do I expect my
students to handle?
Key issues

-How much time do I devote to

communicative activities with focus on form?
What activities do I have my students
participate in?
-How much time do I devote solely to
communicative activities without grammar
instruction? What type(s) of activities do I
have my students engage in?
-What comprises the bulk of my teaching
materials?
-How do I handle errors?
VIII. Things to consider in teaching
grammar
-Providing communicative contexts
-Addressing the four skills
-Varying activities
-Using (semi-) authentic materials
Contextualizing error correction
IX. Some grammar-based
communicative activities
Information gap
Interviews and reports
Guided speaking: responding to specific questions
and listening activities
Structure focused reading: questions focused on
eliciting specific structures
Guided/Controlled writing: story with prompts
Structure focused listening: questions focused on
eliciting specific structures
Tapos na. Salamat po!