English grammar

English grammar is very important to teach the pupils who has English as a second language. Many thinks of grammar as boring and unnecessary, and I must admit that I too when I was little didn`t think very highly of grammar. Every time I heard words like “Nouns”, “verbs”, “Adjectives” and so on I just zoomed out. It`s important to know grammar because we use the English language so much, the world has become multicultural. English is a lingua franca (a world language) which means that wherever you travel there will be people who you can communicate with( if you know English).  LK06 requires that the students from year 7-10 works toward a goal that says: “use central patterns for orthography, word inflection, sentence and text construction to produce texts” (Udir.no LK06 upper secondary class). To understand how to construct a sentence and a text you need grammar.

When is it important to know proper English grammar?

-        -   When you are studying abroad

-          - When you apply for a job abroad

-          - When you write letters to people who speak English

-          - Maybe when you have a blog where all entries is in English

-          - When you are chatting with people across the world

I I don`t have any experience in teaching grammar, nor have I observed grammar teaching in my practiceperiod, but this is one exercise I would like to try out.

One exercise you can do to make grammar more fun, and make the pupils forget what they think of grammar is to make a competition. We have a game in Norway we call “by og land”, City and country in English. You divide the class into groups of four or five, and give each a blank sheet and a pen. Each group has to write on the top of the sheet “Nouns, Verbs, adjectives and adverbs”, the teacher gives the groups a letter they have to find a noun, a verb, an adjective and an adverb, the first group to finish has to yell out. Two points for each right answer, one point if someone else has the same as you. You should do this for about five letters. I think this kind of task is suitable for 6-7^th graders, there is a prerequisite that the pupils has gone through the different word classes. I would start the class with a little reminder, and maybe an example on how to solve the task.   

-Karita Hansen 

Whether grammar is important or not

By Karoline Lilleberg 

Whether grammar is important or not depends on the situation. For pupils in school it is very important, because they’re being evaluated in it, both written and oral. A student will not be able to achieve full score without good grammar. In our case, it’s more important than others to know our grammar, because we’re going to be the ones who is teaching grammar at some point. When you’re learning a foreign language there will be a certain insecurity, and in this case the teacher has a very important role. I think that in many cases the pupils are going to copy your language and grammar from you as a teacher. From my own experiences, I’ve seen that pupils copy your pronunciation, so I would not be surprised if they copy your grammar as well, both in writing and speaking. The teacher also has to show that learning a new language is fun rather than scare with grammar. Because when you’re learning grammar it’s much of fail-and-learn, and there is no harm in it. And study do show that this is a good way of learning.

On the other hand, for some the grammar is not that important. In several situations, it’s all about making yourself understood. I hope everyone will accomplish that when learning both a second or a foreign language.

I believe that learning grammar is something that takes time. You may learn it and know it well one week, but the next it’s a bit faded. To really learn it you have to practice it often, it’s like riding a bicycle. I remember when I first learned to ride one by myself, but after the winter, I could not remember how to do it anymore. Then I had to do some practice again to succeed. I feel like it’s the same principle when learning grammar. Maybe pupils doesn’t have enough of the subject of English in school to learn it fully. I’ve also experienced that the ones who’s got their grammar correct and their language, is the ones who also has relevant hobbies. For example, reading English, playing video games or watching movies. To learn grammar you have to do more than just practise the rules that follow and where to use which article and such.

One activity to practise grammar is to give each of the pupils their own book to read in, and on beforehand make them aware of what they/we are practising. Maybe they can choose a book of their own, it kind of makes it more special and they will also read something they find interesting. This might make it easier to work with later on, both for the pupil and the teacher. For every English lesson each of the pupils can present something that has to do with grammar, for example make them pick out a sentence they liked from what they’ve read and work with that somehow. Like we’ve done in class with Minjeong. 

Killing the boogeyman of English learners with adaptive methods

“How important do you think “grammar” is in learning English as a second language?” 

I believe grammar lessons influenced my comprehension of English more than I like to think. We had the traditional, repetitive, boring stuff but for my part it was not all that bad. Because I got dragged into the virtual world online as it developed, I felt true joy when I were able to speak with people from far away through chats in games and chatting systems in general. Therefore I were often paying attention and trying to keep my interest at top. My improvement in grammar could have been significantly faster and better in general with more activity balance and positivity around the subject. Attitudes are created in seconds and lost over years and I think the general opinion of grammar was an attributing factor to a rather slow paced progress. The things I learned from grammar lessons were very useful later. I wish teachers didn’t think of grammar as something pupils have to endure when it could be enjoyed. The influential factor of media exposure can be truly beneficial and grammar can easily be dismissed as an unnecessary practice. Reaching an adaptive way of writing with the potential to choose the right style according to context comes from a complete understanding of a language, which cannot be achieved without the “backbone” that is grammatical knowledge.

“Describe an activity for teaching any grammatical points you have  used or observed during your practice period and reflect on your experience with teaching grammar”

I did not teach any grammar myself during my first practice period, neither did I observe grammar lessons being taught. However I remember how we approached poetry and new vocabulary. The methods we applied were based on an active classroom both orally and physically. One of the activities revolved around moving around in an open space and keeping conversation going based on pre-written sentences including new words. It was easy to tell that the pupils loved the activity, everyone participated and smiled as they walked around. Even though it was not specifically grammar, it is important to approach grammar teaching with the same attitude as any other subject.
As mentioned I have not taught grammar myself, however I imagine how I would approach the fifth grade class. If the class is learning about poetry it’s a great opportunity to apply the “grammar-to-go” method by Hæge Hestnes. When learning about poems, the teacher can purposely pick a poem suitable for both grammatical and poetical learning.  This method is based on the idea that grammar should not be treated as the boogeyman of English language learning and I totally agree. For fifth graders I would pick a poem containing simple sentences and familiar words. The goal of such a lesson could be to learn the difference between nouns, adjectives, verbs and their contextual interaction.

Sigve Guttormsen

Class Activity to learn new words.

By Tim-André Eriksen

I think “grammar” is an important thing to learn. Every day we are exposed to the English speaking world, be it by media, internet or books. Being able to understand and to communicate grammatically correct so that you are understood is very important. In the Knowledge Promotion it is specified that the students should be introduced to authentic material; so having a decent grasp on the building blocks of English language is crucial. For some learning English grammar can be a daunting task, so to make it easier for the students it is important to introduce it in a way that it is not hard or boring. So the work lies within the teacher to make English grammar seem fun as well as exciting.

One exercise that I heard of in my practice period was focused on learning new words and spelling them. It starts with having one word written on a piece of paper which is then given to a pupil. The pupil must then read it and try to write it as it is written while they sit on the piece of paper. If they become unsure or have difficulty writing it they can look at the paper again, but have to sit on it to be able to write. This is not only good for spelling, but also for training memory. This could be a competition in which the students that manage to write and spell most words win. In this particular exercise the focus will hopefully stay clear from the mundane in addition to boring way of acquiring vocabulary; to have more emphasis on the competition in addition to the fun that it might bring.

I would use an activity like that in class to introduce nouns, adjectives and even verbs. The first “match” could for example start with nouns so that the students are aware of what word class they are writing first. An activity like this I would use in primary school, at a fifth grade. I think that learning grammar can be made fun by activities like this alongside with giving lectures; as long as it is varied so that it is not too much of the one or the other. 

Song lyric in class!

By Marikken Riis

Firstly, I believe that the most important thing one must know and understand when learning a new language is single words. At this level, the purpose is to be able to comprehend the content in communication situation, and maybe to be able to answer for oneself. After the “glossary” part and one know enough words, I think the next step would be to learn to use the language correctly, and here enters the grammatical part of the language.

I would dare to say that the grammar is vital to know and understand: for using the language more correctly and to become more understood. The English grammar shows and enlightens how the language works. Therefore, I think the grammar is very important by teaching the pupils how to use the language correctly and by showing them the construction of the language. With a piece of knowledge in the English grammar, one can see a coherence in the language. 

The closest I’ve been to teaching grammar was in my previous practice period, where I was deployed, along with two fellow students, in a 7th grade. In the practice period, we were commissioned to lead an English class with a focus on nouns. We decided to start with a recap of what a noun is in plenary and wrote some notes on the blackboard. As teachers, we wanted to teach in a way we found interesting, and hopefully, give them motivation and a great time with us. We came up with the idea of use song lyrics in class, which we found both fun, creative and interesting to conduct. The pupils had to underline the nouns in the song text, as an exercise to find English nouns in a new text.

The pupils were happy and motivated for the task, as they never had done it before. Some of the pupils had heard the song before, which seemed motivating. The song we used was “A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay, and we played the song out loud while the pupils were underlining the nouns in the text. There where some pupils who found it hard to find the nouns and others found it very easy. This enlightened the pupil’s different levels in English. After underlining the nouns, we gave them a second task: to make sentences with the nouns they had found in the song lyric.

My experience of teaching grammar in this way was fascinating and educational! I saw the big overspend the class had in the English subject, and how different pupils works with tasks alone. It was fun to see how the students received our tasks, and how exciting they were. It was truly motivating to try out something new and creative!

Hunger games, using the movie or the novel in the classroom

By Markus Skårnes

What is the difference between using the movie and the book in the classroom?

The biggest advantage of using the book is the magnitude of reading practice. The more reading a student does, the better and faster they can read. The book also contains a deeper version of the story, where there is more focus on the inner workings and struggles of the characters. A possible downside of the book is the time it takes a pupil to read it.

The movie, on the other hand, has more visual action. The pupils are able to see what is happening, possibly making it more understandable. When watching the movie, the listening skill is being developed, as well as reading to some degree from the subtitles. The movie only lasts a little over 2 hours, so the pupils will have more time working with the themes and story in other ways, rather than spending all the time just reading the story.

(Image: http://www.rantchic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/The-Hunger-Games.jpg)

As for using them didactically, one might want to focus on different aspects of the Hunger Games, depending on which medium is being used.

The book might give a better ground for character analysis, given their ability to look into the mind of the main character as well as the more detailed background story.

Meanwhile, the movie may give more opportunity and motivation to discuss themes. It is one thing to be told about the poverty and violence in the story through words, but to see them in images is perhaps an even more powerful experience.

As for specific didactic uses, we might consider having a class discussion on some real life examples of themes found in the book before reading the novel or watching the movie. This way, the pupils can immediately relate what they experience through the story to real life.

If the books is used, the pupils can use the time reading to not only focus on the story, but also on learning and practicing reading strategies, such as using the context to understand meaning.

Alternatively, if the movie is used, the pupils can focus on listening strategies, such as looking at body language and also here using context to understand the meaning of words they might not have heard before.

In both cases it might be a good idea to inform the pupils of what they're going to focus on in the post-reading activities, so that they may start to note important points and reflect over these already when they're reading or watching.

For post-reading activities after reading the novel, they could for example write themselves into a scene instead of the main character.

After watching the movie, they could work with a theme such as the vast difference between rich and poor. This could be done by for example making two drawings to represent both the rich and poor lifestyle found in the movie.  

Poetry in the classroom

By Helene Lundberg

For someone poems can be boring and many wonder why we have to work so much with poems in the classroom, especially when you find the poems difficult to understand. However, the reasons why we are learning poems are many. The Norwegian competence aims from LK06 says that “read and understand different types of texts of varying length from different sources” (Udir, 2006), this include poetry as well. Poetry is, and has always been, a huge part of literature tradition in Britain and English speaking countries, and pupils in school are supposed to learn about these countries. Poetry is also a genre we often come across in our daily life, and poems are often short texts and that appeal to many students. Poems are also a great platform for learning to read between the lines.

When students have reach 5^th and 6^th grade, they will have a greater vocabulary and we can introduce them to some more poetry terms. Rhyme schemes are something they probably are getting used to, and this might be one of the easiest things to discover in a poem. Other devices used in a poem could be alliteration, when a line or verse in a poem contains several words that begins on the letter. Assonance are when lines or verses contains words with repeating vowels or sounds. Here is one example:

  

http://powerupseo.com/free-assonance-examples.html 

Poetry can also be a good way for Norwegian students to learn new words and pronunciations. Reading a poem with several rhymes aloud English learners to figure out how words are pronounced, especially if they know one of the rhyme words pronunciations, they could figure out how the other rhyme word should sound based on the flow of them poem.  For anyone to learn new words, you have to be exposed for new words. Some vocabulary learning strategies a teacher could use in a poetry lesson are making the students identify similarities between English and Norwegian, visualize words that students have a tough time understanding, and picking out chunks or lines to see if there are some words that often occur together.

As we can see, poetry is an important part of the English subject in Norwegian schools. By reading poetry you do not only learn about different cultures, you also become more familiar with the genre and poetry terms, and it is a great way for a class to learn new words and understand the language.

Sources: 

Birketveit and Williams (2013) Literature for the English classroom. Fagbokforlaget Vigmostad & Bjørke AS

Munden (2014) Engelsk på mellomtrinnet. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS
LK06 http://www.udir.no/kl06/eng1-03/Hele/Kompetansemaal/kompetansemal-etter-7.-arstrinn/?lplang=eng 25.11.15

Photo: http://powerupseo.com/free-assonance-examples.html  25.11.15