Passive Grammar: We've Got It, Let's Use It!

Michaela Borova and Bryan Murphy bm_fld [at] uacg.acad.bg University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Sofia, Bulgaria Bryan Murphy became aware of passive grammar while working in Sofia and attempting to learn "survival Bulgarian". In one of his rare successes as a learner of Bulgarian, he sat down with his Bulgarian for foreigners textbook and discovered that a whole load of the language that had been opaque before was suddenly starting to make some kind of sense. This was true not only of words but also of grammar, and indeed of socio-linguistic features. While the concept of active and passive vocabulary is well-established, the parallel concept of passive grammar is less often considered. We believe that it is valid and has significant implications. What precisely is passive grammar? It is grammatical awareness that the learner has but cannot yet - put into productive use correctly and consistently. It does not necessarily matter whether this awareness is conscious or unconscious. Conscious awareness may take the form of explicit, learned information, for instance that Bulgarian has three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. Unconscious awareness may take the form of unformulated expectations about the language you're learning, such as that it will distinguish between present and past. As your contact with the language increases, these expectations grow and develop, becoming more complex and more refined. We are well used to "protecting" our students against negative transfer from their mother tongue in the form of "false friends", etc. We are less accustomed to exploiting the vast potential for positive transfer in a conscious and systematic manner. Why does this matter? Well, if we've got passive grammar, let's use it. In fact, as teachers, we already do so, though usually implicitly. Any spiral syllabus recognises it. The Total Physical Response turns it into a method. All multiple choice questions designed as grammar tests rely on it entirely. Attempts to develop reading and listening as skills draw up on it. Michaela has developed a type of exercise for use at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia which makes use of it. She explains the role of auxiliary verbs in question formation, then asks her students to form questions using tenses they have not been presented with. She finds that, working in groups, they are usually able to form questions in the simple past from a knowledge of the simple present, to form questions using "would" from a knowledge of how to form questions using "can", etc. She finds that this kind of pre-communicative exercise ties in well with the learning styles prevalent among engineering students. In other words, they enjoy discovering that there is some logic in the mechanics of English. Moreover, it boosts their confidence in their capacity to handle the greater complexities that are to come. If we make the concept of passive grammar explicit, we can follow up some of its interesting implications. It is possible that grammar may have to be passive before it becomes active, in which case it makes good sense to build up the foundations of passive grammar. But, and this is a big but, there is no guarantee that passive grammar will ever become active. Bulgarians, for instance, have an enormous reservoir of passive Russian grammar, due to the similarities between their two languages, but not that many of them have had occasion to acquire

communicative competence in Russian. Passive grammar, then, may be a necessary step toward active use, but it by no means a sufficient one. We are talking about a potential tool, not a magic wand. If you are still sceptical about the existence of passive grammar, let us see if we can tap into and develop your passive grammar of Bulgarian with the following exercises:
Underline the verb in the following sentences: Az iskam podarak. Te iskaha kolata. Nie iskahme tova. Toi iskashe vsichko. Vie iskahte mnogo. Vie vzehte kolata. Te nyamaha vreme. Iskaha li te kolata? 2) Which one word in each of the following utterances make them questions? A/ Te otvoriha li vratata? B/ Toi mozhe li da popravi pechkata? C/ Imame li vreme? 3) Re-write those questions as statements. Answers: 1) a. iskam; b. iskaha; c. iskahme; d. iskashe; e. iskahte; f. vzehte; g. nyamaha; h. iskaha? 2) li A/ Te otvoriha vratata. B/ Toi mozhe da popravi pechkata. C/ Imame vreme.

Full marks? If so, we are not that surprised. We need to add another rider here: you cannot build a course out of this stuff. It would be far too boring. These exercises are a bit like warm-ups for the brain, most effective if used sparingly. The implications we wish now to highlight concern non-native teachers, the nature of exercises, mistakes in exercises and slow learners. This concept upgrades the value of non-native teachers at a stroke. If grammar explanations have a role to play, which they do in building up passive grammar, then for beginners and elementary learners they are best given in those learners' own language Whilst we do not deny the benefits of "negotiating meaning" in a foreign language, anyone who has done any real life negotiating will be aware that failed negotiations often generate more frustration than benefits. Regarding the information about a language that needs to be conveyed, we need to take seriously the questions What? When? How much? and How? Teaching about

language can again have a place in language teaching, but it is a tool, not an end in itself. Nevertheless, it probably deserves closer examination, as a tool, than it has had in recent times. The concept of passive grammar suggests that it is not always necessary for grammar that is being presented to be immediately used actively for learning to take place. Yet most textbook exercises require this. Here is another exercise which, like the examples given above, does not. a. Underline the words in the text below that refer to the past. Yesterday, I crashed my car. Two days ago, someone killed my cat. Last Sunday, my spouse asked for a divorce. Never mind. A week ago, my lover and I robbed a bank. Tomorrow, we're leaving, and soon we'll be starting a new life in Australia. Underline the past tense verbs in the text above. Underline the irregular past tense verbs in the following text: A man walked into a pub. He went up to the bar and asked the barman for a glass of water. The barman took out a gun and pointed it at him. "Thank you," said the man. In terms of the basic psychology of memory, the above exercises require recognition not recall as a first step in the memory process. In standard TEFL terms, they require reception not production as a first step in the language learning process. The next exercise demonstrates more clearly that passive grammar also operates at the level of text grammar. It is a short, standard "jigsaw reading" exercise at intermediate or upper intermediate level. Put the sentences into the right order:

The New Jersey teen became a vegetarian 15 months ago. Undeterred, Jacklyn ate buns filled with pickled slices instead. Don't make the mistake of offering Jacklyn Stewart, 15, a pork chop. At first her dad treated it like simple rebelliousness. Or, for that matter, a hamburger. He gave a barbecue and made a point of having only ground round for the grill - not a soy patty in sight.

(from Newsweek) Answer: c, e, a, d, f, b. It follows from the ideas of passive grammar, recognition and reception that the "meaning" of learners making mistakes might not be transparent. We are talking specifically about mistakes in exercises. It is clearly no bad thing if a learner gets a production exercise right. But this does not mean that the learner has mastered the grammar point. They may have guessed the answer, they may have worked it out without understanding the grammar point, or, having solved the problem, they may immediately forget the problem-solving mechanism. Conversely, getting an

exercise wrong does not mean that nothing has been learnt: it is possible that passive grammar has been imbibed, and, what's more, passive grammar going beyond the overt teaching point. Learning and teaching, indeed, are by no means symmetrical, and this is what enables people to learn languages, for linguists have not yet provided a full and accurate grammar of any single language, so that learners necessarily learn more than teachers can systematically teach. Which brings us back to Bryan, shuffling his teach-yourself-Bulgarian books: miffed at finding himself, despite all his experience of language learning and language teaching, a decidedly slow language learner this time around, but nevertheless aware, or at least confident, that with input, encouragement, motivation and, above all, time, he'd get there. Passive grammar means, above all, that we as teachers and learners can relax a bit about learning process: there's more going on than might appear on the surface. And if we can learn to exploit passive grammar effectively, we might be able to speed up that learning process.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. III, No. 8, August 1997 http://iteslj.org/ http://iteslj.org/Articles/Borova-PassiveGrammar.html

Passive Grammar: Kita Telah Memilikinya, Mari Gunakan!

Michaela Borova dan Bryan Murphy bm_fld [at] uacg.acad.bg Universitas Arsitektur, Teknik Sipil dan Geodesi, Sofia, Bulgaria

Apa yang dimaksud dengan Passive Grammar? Passive Grammar adalah kemampuan tata bahasa yang sebenarnya telah dimiliki para siswa namun belum dapat dimanfaatkan dengan benar dan konsisten. Tidak penting apakah kemampuan ini disadari atau tidak. Kemampuan yang disadaridapat berupa informasi pembelajaran yang eksplisit, misalnya orang Bulgaria terdiri dari tiga jenis kelamin: maskulin (laki-laki), feminine (perempuan), dan netral. Sedangkan kemampuan yang tidak disadari dapat berupa harapan-harapan siswa yang belum terformulasi terhadap bahasa yang sedang mereka pelajari, seperti cara dll. Dia menemukan bahwa jenis prahubungan komunikatif latihan dengan baik dengan gaya belajar umum di kalangan mahasiswa teknik. Dengan kata lain, mereka menikmati menemukan bahwa ada beberapa logika dalam mekanisme bahasa Inggris. Selain itu, meningkatkan kepercayaan diri mereka dalam kapasitas mereka untuk menangani kompleksitas yang lebih besar yang akan datang. Jika kita membuat konsep tata bahasa pasif eksplisit, kita dapat mengikuti beberapa implikasi yang menarik nya. Ada kemungkinan bahwa tata bahasa mungkin harus pasif sebelum menjadi aktif, dalam hal ini masuk akal baik untuk membangun dasar-dasar tata bahasa pasif. Tapi, dan ini adalah besar tetapi, tidak ada jaminan bahwa tata bahasa pasif akan pernah menjadi aktif.

Bulgaria, misalnya, memiliki reservoir besar tata bahasa Rusia pasif, karena kesamaan antara kedua bahasa, tapi tidak banyak dari mereka telah memiliki kesempatan untuk memperoleh kompetensi komunikatif dalam bahasa Rusia. Tata bahasa pasif, maka, mungkin menjadi langkah penting menuju penggunaan aktif, tetapi tidak berarti satu cukup. Kita berbicara tentang sebuah alat potensial, bukan tongkat sihir. Jika Anda masih skeptis tentang adanya tata bahasa pasif, mari kita lihat jika kita dapat memanfaatkan dan mengembangkan tata bahasa pasif Anda dari Bulgaria dengan latihan berikut: Underline kata kerja dalam kalimat berikut: Az iskam podarak. Te iskaha kolata. Nie iskahme Tova. Toi iskashe vsichko. Vie iskahte mnogo. Vie vzehte kolata. Te nyamaha vreme. Iskaha li te kolata? 2) Yang satu kata dalam setiap ucapan-ucapan berikut ini membuat mereka pertanyaan? A / Te otvoriha li vratata? B / Toi da li mozhe popravi pechkata? C / li Imame vreme? 3) Re-menulis pertanyaan-pertanyaan sebagai pernyataan. Jawaban: 1) a. iskam b. iskaha; c. iskahme; d. iskashe; e. iskahte; f. vzehte; g. nyamaha; h. iskaha? 2) li A / Te otvoriha vratata. B / Toi da mozhe popravi pechkata. C / Imame vreme. Nilai penuh? Jika demikian, kita tidak terkejut. Kita perlu menambahkan pengendara lain di sini: Anda tidak bisa membangun saja keluar dari hal ini. Ini akan terlalu membosankan. Latihan-latihan ini sedikit seperti pemanasan bagi otak, yang paling efektif jika digunakan secukupnya. Implikasi sekarang kita ingin menyoroti keprihatinan guru non-asli, sifat latihan, kesalahan dalam latihan dan pelajar lambat.

Konsep ini upgrade nilai non-pribumi guru di stroke. Jika penjelasan tata bahasa memiliki peran untuk bermain, yang mereka lakukan dalam membangun tata bahasa pasif, maka untuk pemula dan pelajar SD mereka sebaiknya diberikan dalam bahasa mereka pelajar ' Sementara kita tidak menyangkal manfaat "berarti negosiasi" dalam bahasa asing, siapa saja yang telah melakukan negosiasi apapun kehidupan nyata akan menyadari bahwa negosiasi gagal sering menimbulkan frustrasi lebih dari manfaat. Mengenai informasi tentang bahasa yang harus disampaikan, kita perlu menganggap serius pertanyaan-pertanyaan Apa? Kapan? Berapa banyak? dan Bagaimana? Pengajaran tentang bahasa dapat kembali memiliki tempat dalam pengajaran bahasa, tetapi adalah alat, bukan tujuan itu sendiri. Namun demikian, mungkin layak pemeriksaan lebih dekat, sebagai alat, dari yang telah dimiliki dalam beberapa kali. Konsep tata bahasa pasif menunjukkan bahwa tidak selalu diperlukan untuk tata bahasa yang sedang disajikan untuk segera digunakan secara aktif untuk belajar untuk mengambil tempat. Namun yang paling membutuhkan latihan buku ini. Berikut ini adalah latihan yang, seperti contoh yang diberikan di atas, tidak. a. Garis bawahi kata-kata dalam teks di bawah ini yang mengacu ke masa lalu. Kemarin, aku jatuh mobil saya. Dua hari lalu, seseorang membunuh kucing saya. Minggu lalu, pasangan saya minta cerai. Jangan pikiran. Seminggu lalu, kekasih saya dan saya merampok bank. Besok, kita akan pergi, dan segera kami akan memulai hidup baru di Australia. Underline kata kerja past tense dalam teks di atas. Menggarisbawahi kata kerja tak beraturan lampau dalam teks berikut: Seorang pria masuk ke sebuah pub. Dia pergi ke bar dan meminta bartender untuk segelas air. Si bartender mengeluarkan pistol dan mengarahkannya padanya. "Terima kasih," kata pria itu. Dalam hal psikologi dasar memori, latihan di atas mengharuskan pengakuan tidak ingat sebagai langkah pertama dalam proses memori. Dalam hal TEFL standar, mereka membutuhkan penerimaan tidak produksi sebagai langkah pertama dalam proses pembelajaran bahasa. Latihan berikut menunjukkan lebih jelas bahwa tata bahasa pasif juga beroperasi pada tingkat tata bahasa teks. Ini adalah, singkat standar "jigsaw membaca" latihan di tingkat menengah menengah atau atas. Masukkan kalimat ke dalam urutan yang benar: New Jersey remaja menjadi vegetarian 15 bulan yang lalu. Tidak terpengaruh, Jacklyn makan roti diisi dengan irisan acar sebagai gantinya. Jangan membuat kesalahan dengan menawarkan Jacklyn Stewart, 15, sebuah daging babi. Pada awalnya ayahnya diperlakukan seperti pembangkangan sederhana. Atau, dalam hal ini, hamburger. Dia memberi barbekyu dan membuat titik memiliki putaran tanah hanya untuk panggangan bukan patty kedelai terlihat. (Dari Newsweek) Jawaban: c, e, a, d, f, b. Ini mengikuti dari ide-ide tata bahasa pasif, pengakuan dan penerimaan bahwa "makna" peserta didik membuat kesalahan mungkin tidak transparan. Kita berbicara secara khusus tentang

kesalahan dalam latihan. Hal ini jelas bukan hal yang buruk jika pelajar mendapat latihan produksi yang tepat. Tapi ini tidak berarti bahwa peserta didik telah menguasai titik tata bahasa. Mereka mungkin sudah bisa menebak jawabannya, mereka mungkin telah bekerja keluar tanpa memahami titik tata bahasa, atau, setelah memecahkan masalah, mereka dapat segera melupakan mekanisme pemecahan masalah. Sebaliknya, mendapatkan latihan yang salah tidak berarti apaapa yang telah dipelajari: adalah mungkin bahwa tata bahasa pasif telah menyerap, dan, apa lagi, tata bahasa pasif melampaui titik pengajaran terbuka. Belajar dan mengajar, memang, sama sekali tidak simetris, dan ini adalah apa yang memungkinkan orang untuk belajar bahasa, ahli bahasa belum memberikan tata bahasa lengkap dan akurat dari setiap bahasa tunggal, sehingga peserta didik harus belajar lebih banyak daripada guru sistematis bisa mengajar. Yang membawa kita kembali ke Bryan, menyeret mengajar-sendiri-Bulgaria buku: jengkel menemukan dirinya, meskipun semua pengalaman pembelajaran bahasa dan pengajaran bahasa, pembelajar bahasa jelas lambat kali ini, tapi bagaimanapun sadar, atau setidaknya percaya diri, bahwa dengan masukan, motivasi dorongan, dan, di atas semua, waktu, ia sampai di sana. Tata bahasa pasif berarti, di atas semua, bahwa kita sebagai guru dan peserta didik dapat bersantai sedikit tentang proses belajar: ada lebih banyak terjadi daripada yang muncul di permukaan. Dan jika kita bisa belajar untuk mengeksploitasi tata bahasa pasif efektif, kita mungkin bisa mempercepat proses belajar. ________________________________________ Internet TESL Journal, Vol. III, No 8, Agustus 1997 http://iteslj.org/