CHAPTER II: DEVELOPING LANGUAGE SYSTEMS

CHAPTER II
DEVELOPING LANGUAGE
SYSTEMS

1
 UNIT 4. THE TEACHING PROCESS – THE SHAPE OF
A LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT LESSON

Objectives
By the end of the lesson, you will be able:
• to identify the stages of a language development lesson.
• to time your class lesson.
• to do the correction.

The process of teaching a foreign language is a complex one. It has necessarily to

be broken down into components for purposes of study. During your TESOL course
you will become more familiar with an established methodology for teaching
English as a foreign language known as 3Ps or PPP – presentation, practice,
production. The PPP method could be characterized as a common-sense approach to
teaching as it consists of thee stages that most people who have learnt how to do
anything will be familiar with.

The first stage is the presentation of an aspect of language in a context that students
are familiar with, much the same way that a swimming instructor would demonstrate a
stroke outside the pool to beginners.

The second stage is practice, where students will be given an activity that gives
them plenty of opportunities to practice the new aspect of language and become
familiar with it whilst receiving limited and appropriate assistance from the teacher.
To continue with the analogy, the swimming instructor allowing the children to
rehearse the stroke in the pool whilst being close enough to give any support
required and plenty of encouragement.

The final stage is production where the students will use the language in context,
in an activity set up by the teacher who will be giving minimal assistance, like the
swimming instructor allowing his young charges to take their first few tentative strokes
on their own.
 1. The Parts of a Productive Lesson
A productive lesson is divided into three parts: Presentation, practice
and production or PPP for short.

PRESENTATION is where the teacher presents the new language. “New

language” can be new vocabulary, new grammar, a reading text, a listening task, a
writing activity. One common example of presentation is the teacher extracts some
model sentences from a dialogue and explains grammar. In the PRESENTATION
stage, the teacher does the work.

PRACTICE is where the students are made to practice the new language with the
teacher. The teacher uses different sorts of exercises to make the students practice: drills
followed by pair work are the most common way of organizing practice. At this stage
practice is controlled and the teacher emphasizes ACCURACY. In PRACTICE stage,
the teacher and the students work.

PRODUCTION is where the teacher makes the students produce the new
language they have on their own (without the teacher). This is usually done with a
speaking activity (for example a game, a discussion, a role-play). In this activity the
students must add the new grammar or vocabulary they have just learnt to the
English they already know. At this stage practice is called FREE PRACTICE stage.
The students learn to
speak by themselves to get FREQUENCY. In PRODUCTION stage, the STUDENTS
do the work.

2. Starting and Finishing

At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher can use a warm-up activity to start.
A warm-up is a 5-minute activity which wakes up students and puts them in a
mood for learning English. Usually it is a fun activity like a game where the students
have to stand up or move around.
At the end of the lesson, the teacher gives homework which can either be an
extension of the Practice stage or an extension of the Production stage. If the homework
is a written exercise or to memorize the new words, it is an extension of the Practice
stage because it is for accuracy. If the homework is free writing (a story or a dialogue), it
is an extension of the Production stage because it is for fluency.

3. Correction
During the Presentation stage, the teacher does not need to correct the students
because it is the teacher who is taking and giving the correct model. During the
Practice stage, the teacher needs to spend a lot of time on correction (during the
drills and the pair work) because it is important that the students are accurate.

During the Production stage, it is important for the teacher not to correct the students
directly because this will stop them from becoming fluent. If the students are trying
to speak and the teacher continually interrupts them saying. “That’s wrong” or “Say
it again”, the students become shy and unwilling to speak at length because they are
afraid of making mistakes. Therefore, it is important at this stage for the teacher to
use INDIRECT CORRECTION techniques. For example, instead of interrupting the
students, the teacher makes notes of their errors and tells them later – either at the end
of the lesson or in the next lesson.

4. Timing
A lot of teachers spend too much time on the Presentation Stage and do not give
their students enough time on practice. But the teacher already knows how to speak
English and should allow more time for the students to speak English in class. Very
often, teachers believe that their job is to make students UNDERSTAND English but
this is only part of their job – after understanding (the presentation stage) students
need to be able to PRODUCE English (The practice and production stages).
 In a 45-minute lesson, PRESENTATION should be clear, simple and quick. It
should NOT BE MORE THAN 10 minutes.
PRACTICE should include ALL students and the teacher should spend the most
time on this stage. It should take about 20 minutes.
PRODUCTION is sometimes difficult to get going – the students need about 10
minutes just to understand what they are supposed to be doing and to start speaking, so
allow at least 15 minutes.

5. Pacing
Sometimes it is not possible to fit all three stages into one lesson. Very often teachers
will only have time for presentation and practice in 45 minutes. Then they revise the
lesson the next day with more practice followed by the production stage. So PPP takes 2
lessons: Lesson 1: Presentation and Practice; Lesson 2: Practice and Production.

On the other hand, PPP can be used on a very small scale too. Every time you
teach a new word you can use PPP- although it only takes a few minutes. The
teacher presents the new word (eliciting the meaning, saying it clearly, writing it on
the board or giving a translation). Then the teacher gives the students to practice the
new word (repetition, pronunciation). Then the teacher asks the students to produce
the new word in a sentence of their own. Therefore, PPP can be series of lessons or a
whole lesson (on a macro level) or part of a lesson (on a micro level).

6. TTT
TTT means Teacher Taking Time. Many teachers spend far too much time talking
because it is easier for them to talk than for them to get their students to talk. Teachers
like the sound of their own voices too much. Also, when a teacher has not prepared the
lesson, s/he has to talk a lot to fill up the time.
In the presentation stage, because the teacher is doing most of the work, TTT is
about 80% of the time.
In the practice stage, TTT is about 40%. The teacher directs the students and
Student Taking time (STT) is controlled by the teacher.
In the Production stage, TTT is minimal – The teacher only needs to give
instructions and after that it’s students who do all the work, so TTT is about 5%.

7. Variations
Not every lesson has to follow the PPP pattern although it is a good method to copy
when you first start teaching. A variation of the PPP method is when the teacher starts
the lesson with the production stage to find out how much students already know, then
does the presentation stage to give students more language, followed by practice and
perhaps a second production stage. This method is called DEEP END. Hence, instead of
PPP being a linear progression, it becomes a circle:

Production
(communication activity or game)

Teacher decides if
students need to do more Teacher diagnoses what
fluency students need to learn
practice

Practice: Drill and pair work

Presentation (Teacher gives new language)

Another popular model is the TEST-TEACH-TEST lesson which is similar to

Deep End. The teacher sets up an activity that tests students’ ability with a certain
piece of new language. The teacher then supplies any practice activities necessary.
Finally, the teacher sets up another activity which tests how much the students have
learnt. This is an on-going process: The results of the last lesson forming the basis of
the next lesson. The teacher has to be experienced to deal with the unpredictable
situations that are a result of this approach.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What are the stages of a PPP lesson?
2. For you, which stage is the most important? Why?
3. What are the roles of the teacher in the Presentation Stage?
4. Do you agree that the teacher should use direct correction at all stages of
 the lesson?
5. Make a poster to summarize the shape of a PPP lesson.
 THE SHAPE OF A PPP LESSON
Warm-up homework PRESENTATION
accuracy controlled PRACTICE
20 minutes Teacher TTT 40%
Free 10 minutes e.g. model sentences
Fluency TTT 80% e.g. drill and pair
work
no correction necessary student-student Teacher – Students
a lot of correction 15 minutes TTT 5%
PRODUCTION e.g. game, discussion or role play
indirect correction onlyor FREE PRACTICE

THE SHAPE OF A PPP LESSON

PRESENTATION
% of TTT: 5% % of STT: 95%
Amount of teacher CONTROL:
Amount of CORRECTION by teacher:
ACCURACY or FLUENCY:
Time: 20

Teacher does: indirect correction only Students do: free practice

PRACTICE
% of TTT: % of STT:
Amount of teacher CONTROL:
Amount of CORRECTION by teacher:
ACCURACY or FLUENCY:
Time:
Teacher does: Students do:
PRODUCTION
% of TTT: 5% % of STT: 95%
Amount of teacher CONTROL: 15
Amount of CORRECTION by teacher: no correction necessary
ACCURACY or FLUENCY: FLUENCY
Time: 15 minutes

Teacher does: indirect correction only (makes Students do: game, discussion or role play or
notes of students’ errors and tells them later) Free practice

Suggestions for Further Reading

1. Thornbury, S. (2005) Uncovering Grammar. Macmillan
2. Thornbury, S. (1999) How to Teach Grammar. Longman
3. www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar: A Guide to English Grammar.
 UNIT 5.
TEACHING PRONUNCIATION

Objectives
By the end of the lesson, you will be able:
• to describe and evaluate a range of techniques for teaching pronunciation.
• to outline the main components of English phonology.
• to define stress and intonation.
• to identify and evaluate a range of techniques for teaching stress, rhythm and
intonation.

1. Teaching English Phonology

Phonology refers to the sound of English. It is made of pronunciation, stress
and intonation. Students need to use words correctly by using the correct sounds
(pronunciation), the correct stress (emphasis) and the correct intonation (variation in
pitch) to be fully understood. This takes a lot of practice. Students may find
pronunciation, stress and intonation in English particularly difficult if the sounds used
and patterns of the language differ greatly from their own language.

Often students have to learn to make sounds that do not exist in their own language.
It is thought that Adult learners struggle with correct pronunciation more than children.
A possible reason for this is that they are already fixed in their understanding and feel
not as flexible to learn. Many languages have different patterns of stress and intonation
to English and it can be very hard to adapt to the new patterns and rules of English
phonology.

1.1 Rap/hip/hop/grammar Chants

These are excellent tools for getting students to practice the pronunciation and
rhythm of English. They are called chants because the teacher or leader says a
phrase for the students to either repeat or reply to. Students with a strong musical
intelligence and audiotory learning style will enjoy practicing these chants.
 Beginner students
Example 1: (Teacher and students say all
together) 1-2 I like you.
1-2 I like you.
1-2-3 you like me, and I like you.
Example 2: (Teacher and students have different lines)
Teacher: What do wear on your head?
Students: A hat
Teacher: What do you wear on your
hands? Students: Gloves
Teacher: What do you wear on your feet?
Students: Socks – shoes and socks – shoes and socks
Intermediate level (Students repeat each line after the
teacher) Teacher: Yesterday (Students repeat)
Teacher: Yesterday was such a bad day. (Students
repeat) Teacher: I got in trouble. (Students repeat)
Teacher: because I laughed in class. (Students
repeat) Teacher: I wish I hadn’t laughed. (Students
repeat)
Teacher: if I hadn’t laughed, I would have got an A on my test. (Students
repeat)

1.2 Teaching Sounds with Rhymes, Stress and Intonation

English speech rhythm is characterized by tone-units: a word or groups of words
which carries one central stressed syllable. For example, the sentence “Peter, come here,
please.” Would be divided into two tone-units: “Peter” and “come here, please” with
two main stresses on the first syllable for “Peter” and “here”. Stress can be indicated
in writing: Probably the simplest way to do so is to write the stressed syllable in capital
letters: for example “PEter, come HERE, please.”
Intonation, the rises and falls that make the “true” of an utterance, is an important
aspect of the pronunciation of English, often making a difference to meaning or
implication. Stress, for example, is most commonly indicated not by increased volume
but by a slight rise in intonation. The different kinds of intonation are most simply
shown by the symbols “\ / “over the relevant syllable or word in order to show falling or
rising intonations; and the symbols “ v ^”

To show fall-rise and rise-fall. An appropriate stress and intonation

representation for a rather bossy expression of our previous sentence.
 The rhythm of English is, then, mainly a function of its stress patterns; these may
also affect such aspects as speed of delivery, volume and the use of pause.

Beginner students will first learn the sounds of the alphabet. They then need to learn
the different vowel sounds and letter blends as shown above.
Short vowel sounds
The cat is on the mat. My pet is at the vet. The top of the pot is
hot. Pick up the sticks! Run in the sun – It’s fun!
Long vowel sounds
Make a cake on a plate. See the sleep leap.
Fly the kite high. Row the boat slow. Sing the tune in June.

1.3 Tongue Twisters

A phrase or sentence is hard to speak fast usually because of alliteration or a
sequence of nearly similar sounds. Tongue twisters help to develop speech skills and
speech therapy. To get the full effect of a tongue twister, try to repeat it several times, as
quickly as possible, without stumbling or mispronouncing.
A box of mixed biscuits five frantic frogs fried from fifty fierce
fish Any sea anemone is an enemy of mine freshy-fried fat flying fish
Blue glue gun, green glue gun green glass globes glow greenly
Three free throws red leather, yellow leather

2. The Phonetic Alphabet

2.1 The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
IPA is a system used to transcribe words phonetically, or by how they sound.
This is done by utilizing universal symbols to represent the spoken sounds in
language. Because pronunciation varies from region to region, the IPA provides a
systematic and uniform way to perform these transcriptions.

Most English dictionaries use the IPA as a standardized system to show

pronunciation for all words. By using universal symbols to do so, it takes the guesswork
out of the often complicated and conflicting spellings of English words.

For improving pronunciation, it is essential for the students who wish to sound
more authentically English to become aware of these characteristics and to try to
modify their own voice quality.
 2.2 The Pronunciation Structures of the Mouth
The larynx used predominantly with low energy and low tension, therefore,
English sounds rather relaxed and breathy. The supralaryngeal tract is also quite
neutral and relaxed with the exception of the tongue tip which tends to be very
active frequently moving towards the alveolar ridge. The throat muscles are kept
quite loose and relaxed as compared to Japanese pronunciation.

It can be achieved through a number of exercises involving the observation and

imitation of articulatory movements employed in speaking English.
 2.3 Drama Voice Techniques
Relaxation and posture: These exercises are designed to release tension as stiff
bodies impair our breathing and consequently decreasing voice control. They include
assuming a correct posture, basic stretching exercises and relaxation of face muscles.
The following techniques may be useful to develop some general features of the English
voice.
• Speaking with a light object placed between the lips (e.g a pen-cap) which
indicates a small degree of opening in English.
• Using a “yawning” voice when counting in English to lower the position of
the larynx, applying breathing exercises to achieve an almost total laxity of
the English voice.
• Exaggerating the length of long open vowels and diphthongs produced in context.
E.g. I’ll see to the tea, how now, brown cow, as long vowels in English are
closely connected with muscular laxity.
• Practising rhythmic sentence with frequent /t, d, n/ sounds to activate the tip of
the tongue to make contact with the alveolar ridge, e.g. Tip this tin into the bin.

3. Telling the Learners What to Do

An ideal receptive learning state occurs when a person is physically relaxed,
emotionally calm and mentally alert. Research from such people are Prof. Lozanov
and his demonstrations of Suggestology using Baroque music to include ALPHA
state indicate that a relaxed frame of mind and a degree of confidence facilitate an
accurate production of L2 sounds. Consequently, creating a non-threatening student-
friendly environment is amongst prime concerns of modern pronunciation
instruction.

To improve pronunciation, learners should:

• Imitate teacher or recorded model of sounds, words and sentences.
• Recording of learner speech, contrasted with native model.
• Systematic explanation and instruction (including details of the structure and
movement of parts of the mouth)
• Imitation drills: repetition of sounds, words and sentences
• Choral repetition of drills
• Varied repetition of drills (varied speed, volume, mood)
• Learning and performing dialogues (as with drills, using choral work and
varies
speed, volume, mood)
• Learning by heart of sentences, rhymes, jingles
• Jazz chants
 • Tongue twisters
• Self-correction through listening to recordings of own speech

Finally, when we are satisfied that the pronunciation point has been satisfactory
perceived and learners can, if they take care, produce an acceptable version – we come
on to the stage of practice: consolidating and establishing the habits of acceptable
pronunciation through exercises that provide repetition and reinforcement.

4. Planning and Using Activities

The following are some teaching techniques to raise awareness or practice
pronunciation-spelling correspondence in the target language.
• Dictation: Of random lists of words that have similar spelling problems, of
complete sentences, of half-sentences to be completed.
• Reading aloud: of syllables, words, phrases, sentences.
• Discrimination (1): Prepare a set of “minimal pairs” – pairs of words which differ
from each other in one sound-letter combination (such as dip-deep in English).
Either ask learners to read them aloud, taking care to discriminate or read them
aloud yourself, and ask students to write them down.
• Discrimination (2): provide a list of words that are spelt the same in the learners’
mother tongue and in the target language: read aloud or ask learners to read and
discuss the differences in pronunciation.
• Prediction (1): provide a set of letter combinations, which are parts of words
the learners know. How would the learners expect them to be pronounced?
Then reveal the full word.
• Prediction (2): dictate a set of words in the target language which learners do
not know yet, but whose spelling accords with rules. Can they spell them?
(Then reveal meanings).

5. Follow-up Task
Design some activities of your own in your target language that you feel might
give useful practice. Then pool ideas with colleagues; together you should be able to
amass a useful “battery” of activities. Then try them out with students.

In conclusion, effective pronunciation teaching is measured by what the learners are

able to achieve: the ability to understand and to be understood in the communicative
situations they face, the confidence to enter these communicative situations with ease,
and the ability to monitor their speech to make adjustments and improvements based
on input from the environment. Effective pronunciation teaching involves a systematic
progression of tasks that include a focus on form, targeted feedback, lots of contexts and
the use of techniques of teaching pronunciation.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Does pronunciation need to be deliberately taught? Won’t it just be “picked up”?
If it does need to be deliberately taught, then should this be the shape of specific
pronunciation exercises, or casually, in the course of other activities?
2. How important is it to teach intonation, rhythm and stress?
3. Can/should the non-native teacher serve as a model for target language?
4. Choose an error that seems to you particularly widespread and persistent. How
might you test learners to find out if they really perceive the difference between
their version and the correct one?

Suggestions for Further Reading

1. Celce-Murica, M., Brinton, D. & Goodwin, J. (1996) Teaching
Pronunciation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2. Gillbert, J. (2005) Pronunciation: Why Should We Be Teaching?
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
3. Davis, P. and Rinvolucri, M. (2002) Dictation: New Methods, New
Possibilities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
 UNIT 6:
TEACHING GRAMMAR

Objectives
By the end of the lesson, you will be able to:
• Identify and understand inductive and deductive approaches to
presenting grammar.
• Summarize and evaluate a range of techniques for introducing grammar.
• Plan the presentation stages of a grammar lesson using an inductive approach.

1. What is grammar?
Grammar is sometimes defined as “the words are put together to make correct
sentences”. This is, as we shall see presently but is a good starting point. We can apply
the term “grammatical” to units smaller than sentences. For example, which one is
acceptable: a woman tall or a tall woman; or went or goed?

Grammar does not only affect how units of language are combined in order to “look
right”; it also affects their meaning. The teaching of grammatical meaning tends to be
neglected in many textbooks in favor of an emphasis on accuracy of form, but it is no
good knowing how to perceive or construct a new tense of a verb if you do not know
exactly what difference it makes to to meaning when it is used. It is very often the
meanings of the structures which create the difficulties for foreign learners mentioned
above.

2. Grammatical Terms
If you decide to do any formal, consciuos teaching of grammar, it is useful to have at
your fingertips the various common terms that are used in explanations of grammatical
structures. If you are not familiar with them already, you may find the following
definitions useful.

Linguists usually define the largest unit of language as “discourse” or a “text”, but
for most practical teaching purposes, the sentence is probably the most convenient
“base” unit. Smaller units are the clause, the phrase, the word, the morpheme.
• The sentence is a set of words standing on their own as a sense unit, its
conclusion
marked by a full stop or equivalent (question mark, exclamation mark). In
many
 languages, sentences begin with a capital latter and include a verb.
• The clause is a kind of mini-sentence: a set of words as a sense unit, but may
not be concluded by a full stop. A sentence may have two or more clauses.
• The phrase is a shorter unit within a clause, of one or more words, but fulfilling
the same sort of function as a single word. A verb phrase, for example, functions
the same way as a single-word verb, a noun phrase like a one-word noun or
pronoun.
• The word is a minimum normally separable form: in writing, it appears as a
stretch of letters with a space either side.
• The morpheme is a bit of word which can be perceived as a district component.
• Different parts of the sentence may be realized by various kinds of words (or
phrases): these are called parts of speech.
• Nouns are traditionally characterized a naming a “person, place or thing”, but
in fact they may refer to activities or events, abstracts and various other kinds
of things. They usually function as pronouns, subjects, objects or
complements.
• Verbs are often called words of doing, but they may also indicate a state of
“being, feeling, being in relationship to”. Verbs can be used in different tenses,
and in active or passive voices.
• Adjectives normally decribe the things referred to by nouns or pronouns; they
may function as complements or be attached to a noun.
• Adverbs describe the concepts defined by verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
• Pronouns usually function as substitutes for nouns or noun phrases, and they
may function as subject, object, complement or follow a preposition.
• Auxialary veerbs may be attached to main verbs in a verb phrase.
• Modal verbs express ideas such as possibility, ability, compulsion, probability,
willingness.
• Determiners are items that introduce a noun or a noun phrase.
• Propositions define time, space anf more abstract relationships and precede nouns
or pronouns.

3. Presenting and Practising Grammar

3.1 Deductive and Inductive Approaches
A deductive approach to teaching language starts by giving learners rules,
examples, then practice. It is a teacher-centered approach to presenting new content. For
example, the form and use of the third conditional is explained to learners, then they
have a gap- fill exercise to complete, then they prepare their own examples.
 An inductive approach to teaching language starts with examples and asks
learners
to find rules and is more learner-centered.

3.2 Opinions of Grammar Teaching

Work in groups. Read the text below to highlight the main idea(s) and list them
in the table. Is the approach inductive or deductive? What are your opinions?

You don’t really need to grammar explicitly,

saying things like: “This is the past perfect and you
form it like this.” That’s necessary. Learners will
pick it up for themselves. If they want grammar,
A the teacher can give them exercises to do outside
class, but don’t waste precious class time teaching
it. I think it’s better to teach learners to
communicate, to practice as much as posible in
class with real language. Grammar will look after
itself.
I always look aver a new unit in a book and then
teach my learners the grammar rule before we even
begin the unit; I explain the rules that are going to
B come up and then do some exercises with the class.
That really helps them to be clear about what the
unit is about and they can do the activities in the
unit better. I think they learn better that way.
Whatever you teach, you have to include fun in it.
Even if it is grammar, I believe teachers should
somehow link it with real-life situations.
C Expearencing is the best way of learning, so it
must be something visual and aural. The more
concrete it is, the better the result would be. The
thing is, the learner should link the language with a
real experience.
 I think grammar should always be practised in
context using tasks that develop the four skills.
Learners should be working with meaning so that
they produce the structure freely before passing to
D
the nest grammar structure. After the task-based
activities, you can follow on with an analysis of
the structure used and try to elicit the form and use
from the learners.
 Main ideas Inductive/Deductive My opinions

3.3 Experience of Introducing Grammar

3.3.1 Work in Groups
Brainstorm the main uses of the present perfect and past simple. Discuss how you
have introduced the present perfect or past simple to your learners.

Notes:
 3.3.2 Present Your Group’s Ideas
3.3.3 Listen to the Other Groups and Note any Good Ideas

NOTES

4. Inductive and Deductive Grammar Teaching and Learning

4.1 Techniques for Introducing Grammar
Work in pairs. Match the headings in the box below to the techniques for
introducing grammar.

HEADINGS
comparing own language
using visuals using realia
and English
personalising using a timeline using a song

using a chart explaining directly dictogloss

guided discovery using a reading or listening practising and then

presenting

1.
The teacher finds a song, which has examples of the target language. They do a lead-
in and play the song once for gist. They then do a second listening with a task that
focuses on the target language, e.g. a gap-fill. After feeding back on the gap-fill, the
teacher then focusses on the gap-fill, the teacher then focuses learners on the form and
use through guided discovery, elicitation techniques or by explaining.

2.
The teacher uses this to show how a tense is related to time, e.g. for the present
simple tense:
 PAST NOW FUTURE
Sun Mon ue Wed Thu Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu

3.
The teacher uses a picture(s) to set the context and elicits the target language.

4.
The teacher uses things already in the classroom or brings in things that can be
used to draw out the target language. For example, the teacher puts a range of things
under a towel, e.g. keys, a pencil, pens. They tell the learners they are going to lift
the towel for a few seconds and that learners should remember everything they can.
In teams, they brainstorm a list. The teacher elicits “pencil” but models and drills
“There is a pencil” and then “then does the same for “There are some keys”. Teams
then take turns to add to the list of things until everything has been recalled but the
teacher only accepts correct sentences with “There is ” or “There are .”

5.
The teacher provides some model sentences related to themselves or their
friends/ falimy. For example, in one lesson everyone brings in a photo of themselves
and their family. The teacher begins by showing their photo and describes who is the
oldest, the youngest, the most intelligent, the funniest ... They then re-elicit the
sentences onto the board, elicit and highlight the grammar. Learners then use their
own photos to prepare sentences and then tell each other about their families.

6.
The teacher describe the form of the grammar point onto the board and explains to
the class its use. They add some examples to illustrate the grammar.

7.
The teacher gives a very structured exercise such as a substitution table and the
learners work together to produce sentences/questions and answers. The learners are
familiar with the vocabulary but not with the like + noun/gerund structure. They do
some open class examples before the learners start.
 ... swimming?
... playing tennis?
Do you ... like ... cooking? Yes, I do
... pop music? No, I don’t.
enjoy ... reading magazines?
... taking photos?
... playing computer games?

8.
The teacher uses a text to highlight the target language. For example, the text
includes examples of the grammar point in context, and the teacherwrites true or
false questions using the grammar and the learners write short answers. The teacher
then elicits the language from the learners and checks the from the learners and
checks the form and meaning before moving on to a practice activity.

9.
The teacher draws the following on the board.

Person/call/ Television Sport/

Name Book/read Film/see
mobile program/watched played

Ahmed basketball
Maria
Jose brother
Isobel

They ask learners questions with the form “what/who was the last ?” and
write short answers in boxes. Once they have asked about five learners, they ask the
class what question they they were asking. They elicit it onto the whiteboard and then
focus on the form and use. Theu rub off the answers; learners copy the empty table and
then ask each other questions. After this activity, learners write five sentences in their
notebooks.
 10
A bilingual teacher introduces the grammar point, pointing out the differences
between the use and the form of the structure in English and in their own language.

11.
The learners are asked to look at some examples of the target language in
context, such as in a reading text. The learners answer questions that guide them to
discovering the form and/or use of the target language for themselves.
The following example was designed to introduce “was” and “were” to a group
of learners:
“He was born in Hai Phong in 1918. He went to military university and then became
an officer in the army. In 1940s, he was also a businessman ans a journalist. He was one
of the Free Officers too. He became President in 1971. He was very successful in the
1973, and he became a well-known businessman. He was dead in 1090.”
Questions:
a. Read the passage and underline all the examples of the verb “to be” (was/were).
b. Do “wsa/were” describe the present time or past time?
c. For which subject do we use “was” or “were”?

12.
This is a classroom dictation activity where learners are required to
reconstruct a short text by listening and noting down key words, which are then used
as a base for reconstruction.
In the classroom, dictogloss is often regarded as multiple skills and systems
activity. Learners practice listening, writing and speaking (by working in groups)
and use vocabulary, grammar and discourse in order to complete the task.

4.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Technique

Work in groups. Complete the table with the advantages and disadvantages of
each technique. Discuss which grammar and contexts they may be appropriate for.

Techniques Advantages Disadvantages

Contain real language, easy to Not all students can receive which
1 Using a song obtain, grammar and cultural will be delivered by their
aspects can be introduced, wide teacher, poor vocabulary
range of accent
Suitable to teach grammar, No context provided concept of
2 Using a timeline helps students apply the tense a time line is culturally
structure easily dependent
 Help visual learner to remember might be hard for some ss to make
3 Using visuals Students involved in eliciting sentences
process visuals do not necessarily give a
Students can use the tense easily clear context

4 Using realia

5 Personalising

6 Explaining directly

Practising and then

7 presenting

Using a reading or
8
listening

9 Using a chart

Comparing
10 ownlanguage and
English

11 Guided discovery

12 Dictogloss

Work in new group and share your information. Add new information to the table.

5. Planning a Grammar Lesson

5.1 Reflecting on Techniques
Think again about the difficulties your learners have with English grammar. Choose
one technique from Activity 4.1 you would like to try. Which area of grammar would
you choose to present and practice?
Technique:
Grammar:

Work in pairs. Compare and discuss your choices.

5.2 Planning to Present Grammar

Discuss your ideas and complete the lesson plan template.

5.2.1 Lesson plan template

✴ Aim of lesson

✴ Grammar focus

✴ Anticipated difficulties

5.2.2. Presentation
5.2.2.1 Warm up
✓ Greeting
✓ Checking attendance
✓ Asking the date

5.2.2.2 New lesson

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE
I. Aim of lesson:

II. Objectives:

III. Materials:

IV. Anticipated difficulties: