I think
that grammar is a very important part in learning English as a second language.
Grammar is the basic pieces of the language, and in order to make yourself
understood in the correct way it is important to have basic knowledge about the
English grammar. When I was in primary school, I thought grammar was boring,
but I am quite sure that learning grammar in school has helped me out a lot more
than I am aware of. The great thing about grammar is that when you “master” it,
it makes everything a lot easier. It is easier to write an article in English
when you have the grammar under control, because you can pay more attention to
the content of the text, rather than how to build the sentences. It is of
course possible to make yourself understood without having too much knowledge
about grammar, but it will be a lot harder and take more time. Grammar makes
everything easier!
I have not
experienced that much in my practice period when it comes to grammar, but I
have observed the lack of knowledge around terms such as “nouns”, “adjectives”,
“verbs” and so on. In order to get more control on these terms, I have a
suggestion for an exercise to do in class. Chose a song, poem or short text
that suits the pupils’ age. The pupils will then underline for instance the
nouns and verbs in the text. This will make the pupils more aware of the words
in the text and what effect they have in the text. The pupils can then use the
underlined verbs to write their own poem or text. This is a creative task for
the pupils, where they will practice both writing skills and their grammar
skills. You could also let the pupils use a text of their own choice. In that
way, the pupils might be more motivated and they can recreate a text they
already know by using the nouns and verbs from the text.
Written by Martine Olsborg
I think it is a good idea to motivate the pupils through creative tasks. -Håvard
ReplyDeleteI concur!
ReplyDeleteYour reflections on the grammar terms are interesting. The task you have chosen also fits quite well :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post which is to the point! :) Yes, one can certainly communicate without knowing too much about grammatical rules, but having good grammatical skills makes things much easier (to communicate more efficiently and accurately). Very nice point about having pupils more aware of how words are used in a text and what effect they would have within the context. That´s the whole point about teaching grammar in a meaningful context. Learners need to see the purpose of knowing different parts of speech and how this knowledge will benefit them for understanding the meaning of the text.
ReplyDelete