Grammar in Teaching a Second Language

By Eskil Løkke

            In the noble endeavor of learning English, there are of course many different “topics” one must go over to have full understanding of it. Among them is grammar. In learning English as a second language, there is a small controversy on the importance of grammar. Many believe that grammar does not need to be studied specifically, since most people understand the basic patterns of the language and can make themselves understood without extra grammar training. However, many other believe that teaching grammar would help the learners to be more specific in their word-choice, and that it would make them more efficient in the use of the second language. I tilt more heavily over to group number two, as I believe that efficiency and accuracy in language is very important in making oneself understood. I believe that ultimately that is the goal of learning a new language, to be able to express thoughts and ideas effectively to a wider audience.

In this part, I will explain how I would go about teaching 5th graders phrases, clauses and sentences. I would start the lecture out with the “traditional” way of learning, I would write the words (sentence, phrase and clause + variations) on the board along with definitions and examples. I start with this so that if all else fails, they’ll have the essentials they need to get the gist of what these points are. The next part, however will be a bit different. Since the students are aware of the variations, I will have them write poems, but each line has to be a specific type of clause. I will create various templates that the students will have to go through to finish this part of the subject.

Example:

a subordinate clause,
an independent clause:

An infinitive phrase and a prepositional phrase,
An infinitive phrase and a prepositional phrase,
An infinitive phrase and a prepositional phrase,
An infinitive phrase and a prepositional phrase,

A final independent clause.

Model:

Because humans are good,
they know these things are good:

To sleep past noon on Saturdays,
To help friends with problems,
To read books in front of the fireplace,
To gaze up toward the stars,

These are good ways of the human.

This is one example of the exercises I would give the students. It helps the students quickly identify the different phrases/clauses and they would be able to see which is which very quickly. Also, I feel like it’s more memorable to write poems using specific clauses/phrases, instead of doing standard work-sheets that go in circulation from year to year.

The importance of grammar

By Helene Lundberg

When you learn a new language, I think it is essential to learn grammar for that language. I think grammar is a very important part of learning a 2^nd language, in my opinion it is crucial to understand how to use the language you are trying to learn. English is a language with many rules for grammar, at the same time it has exceptions to these rules. To be able to communicate and make yourself understood, you should understand how to use the English grammar. With several exceptions to the rules, it can be easy for people who are not very familiar with the grammar to conjugate or mix words so that the meaning of what you are trying to express change. You can of course make yourself understood without knowing grammar, but it is easier to be misunderstood. If you use correct grammar, you will sound more professional and make a good impression, especially if you are trying to apply for something abroad. Therefore, in conclusion, I think grammar is a very important part of understanding English and to make yourself understood.

I have not taught or observed a grammar lesson, but I find grammar exciting, and I hope I can share some enthusiasm with future pupils. I always enjoyed when the class got to participate in something called “Adjective-story”. The teacher writes down a story and leave out blank spots where the adjectives are supposed to be, the teacher ask each pupil for an adjective, without the pupils knowing the context. After the class has learned what adjectives are and how to conjugate them, this story can be a fun way to finish the class. The teacher could for example write a story about three horses, and when getting an adjective, the teacher could ask the class to conjugate it. For example, “The first horse was happy, the second was happier and the third was happiest.” or “The first horse was green, the second was more green and the third was most green.” The story continues, and it becomes funnier as the adjectives makes no sense to the context. The pupils will learn and hopefully remember what adjectives are. 

How important is grammar really?

By: Markus Skårnes

Grammar is a very important part of learning a language in my opinion. In some cases, lack of grammatical knowledge will hinder the ability to communicate what one really means. Grammar provides structure and rules to the words we use to communicate. Without this structure, the language would be quite weakened. However, due to its often difficult nature, grammar can sometimes demotivate language learners from learning a new language. This is why it is important to teach grammar in a way that can be motivating, engaging and hopefully even fun.

In my practice group we used song lyrics as part of an activity to practice nouns. Firstly, we introduced or revised the concept of nouns to make sure everybody understood. Secondly, we handed out sheets with song lyrics on them. While the pupils were listening to the song, they had the task of underlining the nouns in the lyric.

Lastly we had them tell us what nouns they found and then the plural form of those nouns if they were singular and the singular form if they were plural.

This way of teaching seemed quite motivating for the pupils. Anything where you can include something pupils like into grammar learning works well to make them actually pay attention.

When teaching grammar I sometimes found that I didn't feel too secure in my knowledge of it. This in spite of feeling like I have a good grasp of the English language overall. There was especially one case in which I wondered about the proper plural form of person. I did manage to explain it after a bit of research, but it is interesting to me that I was not able to come up with a proper explanation despite feeling like I was able to use the words correctly myself.

Teaching grammar

By: Maja Berntsen

A lot of students cringe when the word ”grammar” is mentioned in class because they know what is coming. Endless rules for when to use ”is” and ”are”, lists of glossaries that needs to be read at least a thousand times before they stick to the brain and not to forget the huge bible of grammar, how do you even find a single word in the beast that is also known as Oxford dictionary?

Yes, grammar can be super boring and seem meaningless at times, but without it it is impossible to become fluent in English both on paper and when communicating face to face. Grammar is the backbone for learning English and yes, we need to learn it to a certain extent. I do think that the pupils understand the importance of grammar, but they find it hard and complicated.

Grammar does not have to be super hard and complicated. The reason why pupils often find it that way might be because their teachers have made it hard and complicated. It is the teachers job to make it less boring and change the pupils’ attitudes towards grammar. You could probably walk in to any 7^th grade on a Wednesday and find the same type of grammar tasks being used. When the teachers are making grammar hard for the students, they will not understand it which makes the pupils think it is boring. It is boring because the teachers make it too hard.

Therefore, there should be more focus on how teachers can make grammar fun and how to get the pupils to see the importance of it. Drop the old traditional ways of teaching it, try new ways and most importantly, keep it positive! The pupils will find grammar boring and hard if you as a teacher give the impression that grammar is boring and hard.

I always hated grammar in primary school because I could not get my head around it. After I started watching series and reading books in English, I suddenly mastered grammar which was a huge step for me, because suddenly English was fun and it soon became my favourite subject.

Because of this personal experience, I think that there is a lot of pupils who will benefit from learning grammar unconsciously in addition to learning it the traditional way. Obviously, it is impossible to find a way that works for everyone, but having more than one way to teach grammar will always reach out to more pupils.

Importance of grammar

When it comes to how important grammar is in learning English as a second/foreign language, I will say it is important. In my opinion, it has become even more important in recent years. This is because of how society has developed and become more “international”. For the pupils and their age group that are introduced to online gaming and the internet, where they meet other people from all around the world. When it comes to “grown-ups”, the rapid globalization makes it important to know the language that is used the most when communicating with people from foreign countries in our part of the world, namely English. For both youth and adults it is now important to know how to communicate in English, and be able to use correct language. Both in written and oral communication.

I believe it is easy for pupils to dislike grammar, because of method in which teacher usually teach it. If I, as a teacher, can find a “fun” way to do it, maybe the pupils will start to get a more positive mindset when it comes to that part of the English subject. Of course, it will be difficult to avoid using the traditional methods, but try to mix it up from time to time. Use books, films and try to find activities that can help the learning process, but still implement them with the correct theoretical knowledge.

I have not had much experience with how grammar is taught other than my own when I was a pupil. That was mostly, as I remember it, the traditional “boring” way. Trying not to only use that method of teaching, I have tried to come up with an exercise that could be different.

This exercise is all about teaching the pupils the difference between a subject, direct object and indirect object in a sentence. This will take place after an introduction of subject, direct object and indirect object from the teacher where it is shown in an analyzed sentence what the difference is.

1        

       1.Split the class in pairs

2          2. Give them an object they can pass to each other

3         3. Tell them to figure out, in what situation they are the subject, and in what they are the indirect object.

In taking a more practical approach, I believe the pupils will better remember the difference between subject, direct object and indirect object.

Håvard Sæbø

Practicing English grammar in school

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

Using short texts to improve grammar.

      Using correct grammar is important for understanding the English language and the English subject better. Being able to use correct grammar is also important if you are going to use written communication, as we often do. Social media is being used more frequently, and being able to write correct grammar is perhaps more important now than before.


Therefore it is important for teachers to learn grammar to pupils. However, I think the choice of method is something to be discussed. Most pupils will arguably “hate” learning grammar, because many pupils will find it to be hard and frustrating to understand and master. It is essential for teachers to keep the pupils motivated when teaching grammar, as it can be difficult/boring for pupils. If the pupils are motivated and encouraged when working with grammar, it will most likely go much easier. Exactly how to motivate pupils can of course be discussed further.




There are several exercises we can use when we are teaching grammar. I have observed few grammar exercises myself, but I got ideas from Introducing English Grammar (p. 132). 

The exercise is explained below, followed but how I would use them in a teaching situation. 

Exercise example: 


A)        Underline all the verbs and nouns you can find in this text. 


B)        This text is written in present tense, try to re-write the text in past tense.


Task A is quite straightforward. However, as the teacher you should find a text that is manageable, but not to easy, depending on what age group you are teaching. If the text chosen is a good fit for the task, the students will get a lot of practice distinguishing the verbs and the nouns. Another idea is to pair up the students, and see if they have different answers. How to choose what word class to focus on depends on what kind of text is chosen. 


Task B is another example of how a text can be used for students to practice grammar. As long as the text chosen is written in present tense, the plot of the text is not as important. The reason I would chose to do this task after task A is because most of the present tense verbs they find in task A will most likely be different when written in past tense. 

Kristian Granås.