Teaching grammar

Crammarteaching sometimes happens as a result of otherworkthe students are doing -

for example, when they study language in a text they have been reading or listening to, or
when a grammar problem presents itself unexpectedly in the middle of a lesson and we feel
we have to deal with it on the spot (see 1 2.1 ). Crammar teaching may grow directly from
the tasks the students are performing or have just performed as part of a focus-on-form
approach (see 3.'1.2).
At other times, however, we may rely on the coursebooks we are using to help us teach
grammar, or we plan in advance what grammar we wish our students to be studying. Most
teachers have their own favourite grammar presentation and practice activities and will often
use these when they want their students to study a particular piece of grammar.
Crammar can be introduced in a number of ways, or we can show our students grammar
'evidence' and ask them to work out for themselves how the language is constructed
(see 1 3.4). We will also want to provide opportunities for our students to practise different
grammar points, and we may want to use games to make such practice more engaging.
ln 13.1.2, we discussed the need for activities to be both efficient and appropriate. The
range of activities which we will look at in this chapter all satisfy these two requirements in
different ways. We will also discuss grammar books and their uses.
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The following activities represent a range of possibilities (some simple, some more elaborate)
for introducing new grammar.

Example 1

What does she do?

Aim: the students will be able to make statements about people's routine
actions and states
Activity: guessing jobs: making statements about routine (an 'explain and practise'sequence)
Language: present simple
Age: any
ml
Level: beginner/elementary [CEFR nt ] strdcsr 22-29
ln this grammar presentation (which follows a PPP or 'straight arrows' sequence - see 4.7),
the students learn howto make sentences about daily routines, using the present simple
in the third person singular. They have already learnt how to say affirmative and negative
sentences in the first and second person (e.g.l like coffee;you don't like bananas).

L-
 lLuYlS--.**
" Hold up a number of flashcards (see Figure 1) - or indicate different.pictures,proiected
an lwB, for example. Elicit the words dogs, get up, doorbell, car,
uniform, a lot of ns¡
The students say them chorally and individually (see 13.2'2) before doing a quick cue-',i.ii
response drill using the different pictures as prompts' .l

Ëic¡ure 1 Sarah's pictures

' Show the students the picture of Sarah (Figure 2)' Ask them
what they think Sarah's job is, but do not confirm or deny
their suggestions.
" Explain that they are going to find out what Sarah does every
day. Say the following sentences; the students have to choose
which flashcard or picture is being talked about:

She doesn't like dogs.

She gets up earlY.
She doesn't drive a car.
She rings doorbells.
She doesn't earn a lot of moneY.
She wears a uniform.
I-iclrrre 2 Sarah

a postwoman'
' When the students have guessed (confirmed their guesses)that Sarah is
Model the
hold up the cards individually and try to elicit the sentences about each one'
repetitìon before moving on to
sentences and, if appropriate, get choral and individual
reproduction stage (see 13'2.2). Conduct a cue-response drill by holding
the accurate
Up,say,cardCsothatthestudentshavetosaySheringsdoorbells'
. Once the students are reasonably confident with these sentences' they
can think of a
job' them to come up with three
real person (or invent their own) with a different Ask

affirmatìve and three negative sentences about what that person does or doesn't do
every day. While they ,rÀ doing this, go round monitoring their work
(offering help or
correcting where necessarY).
The students now read out their sentences and the rest of the class have to guess what
'
job is being described.

!:¡11240
 Teaching grammar

äxi*mpl* 2
Cet involved now
the students will be able to give their opinion about social issues
Activity: reading, analysing and practising passive statements
Language: the passive with modals
Age: teenagers ._ry

Level: intermediate ICEFR 1] B så cs¡ 45

An effective way of explaining grammar is to let the students see the grammar being used in
context. When they see language in reading texts, for example, students get a good idea of
how it functions in connected discourse.
ln the following sequence, the students interact with the reading text before studying the
grammar in it and using the new structures in their own sentences.
, ln order to get the students warmed up, ask them what they would change if they were
made world leader for a year.
" Tellthe students to read the'website' in Figure 3 and match the statements in the quiz
with the folìowing topics: a) the environment, b) fair wages, c) education, d) the media,
I e) scientific research, f) the internet.

Have yma'a gfit wäìffit !t tmk*s *CI eå.aæragm the wmn$d? ffiæ mr¿s'q{r¡ä fi$i{$ fåffid ÐLåt"
ChooseA,B,C0rDforeachqueslion. =lstronglyagree. =lagree. l¡ii=ldisagree. ¡.::l =ldon'tknow.

@ 1 Teenagers shouldn't be asked to do so 4 S¡xteen-year-olds should be paid the same as

w .Þ
2
many exams. lt's too stressful.
i:::,: !i:t:i 1iU ::i-l

Using animals in exper¡ments oughi to 5

everyone else if they d0 the same job.
,:,i'i ia],| iiii i.ì¡
Magazines show t00 many images of youth and
ffi$\ be stopped. lt's cruel and unnecessary. tJeauty. They destroy people's confidence.
:i\ :È!I lilì!
;:.{ jìì i,:iìl Lti

w 3 Something must be done to help

v¡ct¡ms of online-bullying.
r:l!l lll 1i.]-.{ :d
*{Þ-
% 4p
s Most 0f the th¡ngs you throw arvay can be recycled,
Don'twaitto be told,iust recvcle!
:.ìr,..:l ¡.1¡ T.¡'r i-t',.:l

ì{ËY tl..:i
=3
points, lli.i - z points, ßli¡ = t point and L,:.i 0 p,ii¡¡ts¡. ,';:::lr:l:
= ':i:r.l.,i
(F6 points: Changing the world is not your prior¡ty. :.. :.¡:: ::..ì,.
7-1 2 points: You have some strong views. ., ,i,
.t...:,:..
.1,,1:l: ,'
13-18 poinls: You really want to change the world. .. ....:r,:.,'.,:r,,: , r,:,:: ::¡tl:

Figure 3 From upBeat by I Freebairn, J Bygrave and J Copage (Pearson Education)

i:ì'.r

:
 , The students do the quiz on their own and then compare their answers in pa¡rs.
" Ask the students to look at the verb phrases in bold. Elicit what the subject and obje$
of each phrase is. Explain that we use the passive with modals to talk about oblìgation,iì
ability, permission, etc. when we don't want to mention the subject (or agent) of ths
sentence - or when, perhaps, we don't know.
" Cive the students the following exercise, which they can do individually or in pairs:

@ Gomplete the statements with the prompts.

1 Teachers must be paid a fair wage. (musVpay)
2 More parks in our cities. (should/create)
3 Refugees to-our country. (ought to/welcome)
-
4 The rainforest just to make furniture.
(shouldn'Vcut down) -
5 Seventeen-year-olds the vote. (should/give)
6 Animals to make -
fur coats. (mustn'Vkill)
- industry by illegal downloading.
7 The music
(can/damage) -
8 Teenagers children. (hate/call)
9 Cyclists - by drivers! (don't like/shout at)
-
" Ask the students which of the statements from the website they agree or disagree with::
and why. They can discuss this in pairs. i

, ln pairs or groups, the students can now think back to what they said about the things.,
they would do if they were world leaders. They should rephrase their ideas in sentences
using the passive with modals.
As a follow-up task, we could get the students to identify things in and around their
community which they would like to have changed. They can design their own real or
imaginary website to talk about this'

Ëxarnple 3
Disappointment
Aim: the students will be able to tell others about present and past conversations
Activity: reporting phone conversations (an 'explain and practise'sequence)
Language: reported sPeech
Age: teenage and above *ffi
Level: intermediate [CEFR B I 1 $ff cse 43-50

This sequence teaches students the differences between reporting speech as it happens and
reporting things that were said in the past.
, Show the students a picture of two young men walking down the street. One of them
a mobile phone clamped to his ear. He looks really happy. The other is Iistening to him
with a look of resignation on his face, lf you can't get hold of a picture, draw two faces
the board (see Figure 4) and mime what follows'

.,::
42
 Teachìng grammar

Cet the students to give the young man on

the phone a name (for example, Jack). Ask
them who Jack is on the phone to and elicit,
perhaps, that he's talking to a girl he met in
the school canteen. That's why he's looking
so happy. Ask the students what the girl is
f:içlure 4 Board drawing 1 for'Disap
saying to Jack and elicit sentences like
You're really nice, t'll see you this evening, I like your iacket, Your friend gave me your
number, t've got two tickets to a concert, you can come with me.
Now ask the students what Jack is telling his friend as the conversation goes on (poìnt to
the picture which shows him covering the mouthpiece of the phone), and elicit and
model sentences like She says I'm really
nice, She says she'll see me this evening,
She says she likes my jacket, etc. Make sure
that the students understand that Jack uses
the present (says) because he's reporting
the conversation as it happens. Make sure
they also understand how you changes to /.
Cet some students to suggest more
of the girl's sentences and have their
classmates pretend to be Jack and report
Figr,rre 5 Board drawing 2 for'Disappointment'
the conversation,
Tellthe students that it is a few hours later. Jack is back at his house looking really glum
(see Figure 5). Explain that he went to the concert to meet the girl, but she never turned
up. His mother asks him What did she say again? Elicit and model sentences such as She
said twas really nice, She said she would see methis evening, She said she liked my
jacket, etc. Ask the students why the verb
say is in the past (because Jack is talking is +wðs youël
about a past conversation) and what effect
that has (is becomes was, will becomes will-+would \Jour 4 rn\J

would, /ike becomes liked, etc.). Write this

up on the board to help the students
Ficlure 6 Board explanation for 'Disappointment'
(see Figure 6).
As a follow-up, get the students to pretend to be having conversations with other people
and to report what they say in the present, in the same way. Later, they can report the
conversation in the past.

Ëxample 4
Lost in space
Aim: the students will be able to comment on people's past actions and mistakes
Activity: making statements about what people should and shouldn't have done ('explain/
discover and practise' sequence)
Language: should have done/shouldn't have done
Age: early teenage and above *s
Level: intermediate/upper-intermediate[CEFRB2] l#csr Sg-gg

24
 :IürL1L"-*
in a narrative text to prompt the students to
This sequence uses the situation described
statements using the target structure'
(making sure that they understand
" Ask the students if they ever read science fiction
|]::itl"l * -\
into a quick
genre of fiction you ar; talking about)' This might develop
point to get them engaged and interested rn
if'ey r"aO and why. The is
iTl^lt-ÎIit.,
, put the students in groups. Tellthem that they have to agree about the frve lsmall)thing
in a small space:::'l::]"t a year'
they would take into space if they were going to be
groupr' decisions and discuss their choices with the whole
tl:ï:
" t'rìårl" in. itl,i:

" AskthestudentstoreadthetextinFigure7.whiletheydothis,theymustfindout ',t.].l

space station at the beginning
the
certain information, such as how many people are in ,

and how long they've been there;

and end of the text, whether they are men or women, i

Lost in sPace
They had been uP hene for five
yeans. Five Years for five PeoPle,
órt ott fnom Eanth since World Wan
lV. Tr"ue, the Moonshuttle came
every six months with a suPPlY of
food, but it was Pilotless. And on
top of that, theY had not been able
to make contact with Moonbase fot'
two yeans. CathY said it was weind'
'You saY that three times a daY,'
Fosie answened,
,Wellit,stnue.lt'Sweindandldon'tthinklcanstanditmuchlongen.'
.oh,forthesakeofthegalaxy,shutupIGoandplayairguitanonwhateverelseyou
fãncy and leave me alone. You dnive me cnazyl'
,Thanksalot|,Cathysaidquietly,.lcanseel'mnotwanted.'Sheleftthecabin'The
doon hissed behind hen. ,J
When she sot to the exit chamben, she didn't look
at the record
suir Do nor use'.
!"^"[Ji:iÎJ:*i1*!
she got inro suir numben nine and.¡i$
##H'ü;*."nlåiir""rion on nine.
shè sailed out into space' But,
pnessed the exit key. The outside door hissed open and station
,

she hadn,t told the others whene she was going - sense of fneedom'
a contnavention,of-space
-rule
,

345l2lzg, Being out in deep space gave her a good

above th:.u1i!-"-ollli]:
Back in the station, Fosie saw a ned wanning light l'l The ...ì
with the *i.iñg necently, Nothing senious'
ãñ" igno."¿ it, They'd had rrouble and called Tim' the '
captain saw it, though. she activated hen comm"unication-implant
I

,t:i
station engineer.
'lthinkwe'vegotaproblem'You'dbettencomeupquick''ButTimwasdeepinhunny.
r'il be up', he didn't
conversation with Leirã, so even though he said'sure.
the audio-alanm went off
Mitch was in the repain shop next to the exit chamben when
But he had his headphones on so he didn't hean it'
r"ealised that she had fongotten
2OO metnes away fnom the station, cathy suddenly
tosecunetheexitdoor'ShemUstgoback.Shepnessedthemotol^controlonher
again. Nothing, At that moment'
left wnist. Thene was no nesponse.-sh" p.""s"d itjusi
looking back, she saw the =pu"" station she had left noll over, and she thought
widened in fean. And then
she heand a cry ecrroing lrt into the dankness. Her eyes
she saw the light.

Figure 7 Lost in sPace

'¡&[+
 Teaching grammar

" When the students have read the text, checkthatthey have r-lnderstood it by askìng
comprehension questions. Then ask them to say what they think happens next. What ìs
the Iight? What has happened to the space station and why? The object is to getthem to
be creative with language and with their response to the text.
, Now ask the students to list the mistakes and instances of unwise behaviour displayed by
the people on the space station and write them on the board (see Figure B).

,) Rotie wat ruàe lo Cathy.

b) Cafhy àiàn'l look al fhe recorÀ 6ook.
Cafhy àiàn'f fell fhe olherç where she wds going-
")
¿) Rosie ignoreÅ the reà warning lìgh'r.
.) -fim kept o n lalking lo Leila.
f) fim àiàn't ào anything aboufthe eapfain's call.
q) Mifch haà his heaàphones o¡.
L\ Calhy àiàn'f elose lhe exif àoor.

f.iqurE¡ B Space sentences

" Askthe students if they can make a sentence about event a) using should not,to elicitthe
sentence Rosie shouldn't have been rude to Cathy.lf appropriate, write should (not) have
DONE on the board. Encourage the students to make sentences about the other unwise
actions, using the same construction. You can get them to come up to the board and
write the sentences so that the board ends up looking like Figure 9.

o) Rotìe wat ruàe lo Cafhy. she showLdw't have beew rvtde to cath¿

b) Cafhy à'tàn'llook af the recorà6ook' She shoqd h+ue /oose/ q+ ¿he reeor/ boo?'

.) Cathy àiàn'f tell the ofhers where she was going.Shø should have told the othørs whøre shs was goitlq,
¿) Rosie ignoreà lhe reà warning lighf. She shouldn'+ have ignored the warning light.

Tim kepf on falking fo Leila. He shoulàn'f have kepl on lalking fo Leila.

")
f) 'lim ¿i¿^'+ ¿o anything aboullhe caTfain's call. He should hove done something obout it.

g) t\ifchhi| heaàphones on.

haÀ H. rlro¡lJn't havrhaà lrir fi.nJphon.r on.
h\ Calhy àiàn'f close lhe exif àoor. She should have closed lhe exit door

[iç1r-ire 9 Students' responses

" lf the students are having trouble pronouncing any of the parts of the sentences, model
those parts and possibly have the students repeat them, either chorally or individually. For
example, you can focus on /'Iudav/ and /'Iadntev/, showing how the phrases ale stressed
and contracted.
, Encourage the students to tell stories of things in the past which they should/shouldn't
have done (l shoutd have done my homework on timef I shouldn't have left the car
untocked), perhaps after you have told your own personal stories to demonstrate
what is expected.

24Ê
 :mlI9'*-11--"".-

å4.tr {-l içe*vm re r: g gra ffii {"nffi r

ln the following examples, the students are encouraged to work out for themselves hoW ,l
using the .r{
language forms are constructed and used. They then go on to do exercises
language they have uncovered. lt is highly possible that they have seen
the language
of course, but this may be the first time they have studied it properly.

Ëxampie 5
Tough calls
Aim: the students will work out how hypothetical conditionals are made so that they cà'ii

use them to comment on a story

Activity: saying what you would have done ('discover and practise' sequence)
Language: conditionals
Age: Young adult and adult *ffi
"$åcsr
Level: upper-intermediate ICEFR 82] s9-66

The following teaching sequence is from Speakout upper tntermedíate

by Frances Eales a

Steve Oakes (Pearson Education). . ' ,

" The students first read three texts about people who had to make difficult
decisions ('toughlì
calls'). ln one case, a climber had to decide whether to go to the rescue of some
other r':ll
climbers. ln another, a mother had to decide whether to inform the police about her son's',.

crime. ln the third, a couple had to decide whether to cash in a winning lottery ticket that..:
the
they found. They have to match headlines to the stories, match statements with
storieSi:

and discuss who had the most difficult decision to make'

Ask the students to look at the following sentences (from the texts) and
underline all the

'l lf I were in the same situation, I'd find it difficult to turn my son
2 lf she hadn't saved the receipt, we might never have recovered her money.
3 lf I'd been paying attention, I wouldn't have dropped the ticket.
4 lf he had left them there, they wouldn't be alive now'

Ask the students to decide 1) whether the sentences refer to real or imaginary
situations, I

and 2) if they refer to the past, the present, the future or both'
The students (perhaps in pairs) then do the following activity:

G Complete the rules with the words in the box'

modal (woutd, might) (x2) past presenl have infinitive
past simple past participle past perJect continuous

Rules
1 ln the lf clause:
. use the -- to talk about the present or future'
. use the or the --- to talk about the past.
2 ln the main clause:
. use + ----to talk about the present or future'
. use + + to talk about the Past.
:::rl,¡rì¡
tw -
 I:l.t[Le-gllTml

The students now complete an email with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

4ffikffiFK>
Dear Shaun
I haven't heard from you since I lost my job. I've tried to phone you but you don't
answer and my emails keep getting returned. Everybody believes I was the one
stealing laptops. Now I think I made a big mistake.
lfl1-(notwork)latethatevening,l2-(notsee)youstealing
the laptops. I 3- (might speak) to you first if the boss a- (not
ask) me about it early the next morning. I
5- (tell) him it was you if you
6- (not be) such a close friend. Unforlunately, the boss knew I was hiding
somethingandsackedme.lfl7-(be)abetterliarl8-(might
not lose) my job. I have one question for you: lf you
e- (know) that I was
going to get fired, 10- (you tell) the truth - that you were the thief?

Nick

" The students work in pairs and compare their answers.

.Working in groups, the students decide what they would have done in Nick's situation.
We can ask the students to work out rules for all sorts of grammar patterns: we can show
them comparative adjectives and adverbs and ask them to work out how they are formed.
We can show them a number of sentences where there are several adjectives before a noun.
Can they work out how we generally order adjectives when they come before a noun?

f:xample 6
Bored and boring
Aim: the students will discover the difference in meaning and use between -ed and
-rng adjectives

Activity: form-and-meaning comparison puzzle ('discover and practise' sequence)

Language: -ed and -rng adjectives
Age: any
Level: elementary ICEFR A2+] u.Æor, ,u-o 2

ln the following sequence (based on an idea by Carol tethaby), the students solve a meaning-
based puzzle. As they do so, they are forced to pay conscious atiention to a grammar feature.
By the time they have finished the activity, they will have discovered a grammar rule.
" Tellthe students to read sentences 1-6 and match them with the six pictures A-F. They
can work individually or in pairs to do this.
, Check that the students have matched the sentences and pictures correctly.

t4í
 clri,rptcr 14

1 He was bored, so he left the cinema,

2 He was so bored that he fell asleep.
3 He was so boilng that she fell asleep.
4 The flIm was boring, so he fell asleep.
5 The students weren't interestÍng so the teacher was bored
6 The teacher was boring so the students weren't interested

" Ask the students when we use adjectives with -ed (to describe how people/animals, etc;,
feel) and when we use adjectives with -ing (to describe the characteristics of the person,
animal or thing).
' Cet the students to make sentences about when they were bored, interested,
excited, etc. and when they experienced someone or something that was boring,
i nte resti n g, exciti ng, etc.

å4,.S $sr,aetising gü'ffirnmær

flxample I ì
:ì
Where am l?
Aim: the students will be able to talk about what is going on around them j
Activity: creative sentence-making .1

Language: present continuous (past simple and past continuous) a

Age: young learners -** :

Level: elementary ICEFR A1] 'å8c* 2Z-29 i
This activity is designedto getthe students making sentences using the present continuous'
It has a slight game element because the other students have to guess what the speaker is
talking about. lt gains power because it relies on the students'imagination for its success.

?48