Rules in Teaching Grammar

Republic of the Philippines
Cebu Normal University
Medellin Campus
Telephone No.: (+63 32) 436 2029
Email: medellincampus@cnu.edu.ph | Website: www.cnu.edu.ph
Rules of Teaching Grammar

Learning Outcomes:
a. Explain the different rules of teaching grammar
b. Construct narratives that present the different rules in teaching grammar; and
c. Write sample lesson guide applying the different rules
Deepen!
“A Language is acquired through practice; it is merely perfected through grammar.” -Leibniz
INTRODUCTION
In spite of the arguments among researchers and educators about whether or not to teach grammar,
the fact remains that one cannot use language without grammar. Perhaps the long-standing problem
is not grammar itself, but how it is taught.
This chapter explores various consideration in teaching grammar. It introduces you to the rules, not
of grammar, but of teaching grammar. Traditionally, teaching grammar highlights only structure and
form, and seldom on meaning and use. This lesson highlights that meaning-making is an important
aspect of learning the grammar of a language. It further explains why language instruction should
not only focus on the sentence-level grammar, but also on the meaningful use of the language.
For future English teachers, it is not enough that you have memorized the rules of “correct usage”
or “good style”. The challenge now is how do you translate these technicalities into chewable
chunks.
• How will you make the complexity of learning English language simple and comprehensible
for your students?
• How do you create a learning environment where students learn grammar without burnout?
• How can you make it more relevant and meaningful for them?
An internationally recognized linguist and teacher trainer in the area of English Language Teaching,
Scott Thornbury, has proposed six (6) Rules of Teaching Grammar (context, use, economy,
relevance, nurture, appropriacy). Thornbury highlighted that if language teaching is grammar
teaching (as what schools emphasized), then “teacher training is training teachers to teach
grammar”. As Rutherford (1987) in Thornbury, (1996) observed; Theories of grammar are not
theories of language acquisition.” This may mean that teachers should not make memorizing rules
of grammar the only content of their instruction. Thornbury (1996, 2004) added that “the nature of
our knowledge of language and of language-learning process is such that notions of optimally
accurate and/or effective rules are neither realistic nor desirable in a learning/teaching situation. It
is much more relevant to the learner’s needs that a teacher can provide typical language data and
monitor learner production effectively (whether for accuracy or for fluency) than the most watertight,
static formulations of language data be aimed at.”
Medellin Campus
Telephone No.: (+63 32) 436 2029
1. Rule of Context
Teaching grammar “in context” means that grammar content/lesson are not taught as stand-alone
concepts but are embedded and/or integrated into varied context, situation, or any field of study.
Teachers not just ask students to focus on rules and diagramming but guide them in understanding
how grammar works in real communicative situations. Students should be taught how to use the
form and not just memorize conjugations that may not be relevant and applicable across contexts.
WHY? • Language knowledge does not necessarily guarantee language skills.

• Context provides avenue not just to learn grammar rules but for meaning
making.
• Every individual is creative and has rich experiences, thus should be given
opportunity to utilize these through real-world type situations in which context
is a major consideration.
• “Thinking grammar in terms of concept, that is, what is the purpose of using
specific form, what is the meaning expressed through that form, will broaden
learner’s understanding and use of the target language.” –ACTFL Language
Connects
WHAT? • Grammar teaching should consider all three: form, meaning, use.
• Grammar instruction should integrate aspects of both language and
literature—and not as distinct “field” of English.
• “Teaching grammar in contexts involves making connections between
grammatical patterns and the meaning of texts; wider contextual aspects such
as genre, audience, subject and purpose; a reader’s feelingsand responses to
a text; potential authorial motivations for making decisions about language
choices.”—(Aarts, et. al.,2018)
• “Tech grammar in contexts. If you must take an item out of context to focus on
it, recontextualize it as soon as possible. Always associate grammar form with
the meaning of the speaker or author. -
-(Thornbury, 2004)
HOW? • Give real world scenarios and examples where grammar is used.
• Encourage interaction rather than spending more time answering written
exercises and worksheets.
• Alda, et. Al (2020) purported the use of authentic materials in providing for
concrete samples of language use in the community. These materials are
accessible within the community like audio and video materials (song, films,
radio and TV broadcasts, news reports documentaries, etc.); visual and printed
materials (signages, infographic, photographs, restaurant menus, product
labels, calendars, etc.); digital materials (blogs and vlogs, video from TED talk,
podcasts, etc.)
• Use scaffolding strategies like tapping into students’ prior experiences, use of
graphic organizers, charts and other scaffolding tools, think aloud, providing
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Telephone No.: (+63 32) 436 2029
discussion prompts, reinforcing contextual definitions, allowing students to

collaborate and discuss with peers, use of dialogues etc.
• Use literary pieces such as short stories, poems, songs, and the like as a
springboard in teaching grammatical concepts.
• A contextualized grammar teaching may start with the development of ideas
and concepts, rather than the grammar itself. Inductive method of teaching
grammar may be used in this case.
2. Rule of Use
The rule of use in teaching grammar reminds language teachers to teach grammar for
communication’s sake. Memorizing the rules does not guarantee language production. If the goal of
your language class is for students to be able to use the target language meaningfully, then, you
have to provide opportunities for language practice.
WHY? • The primary goal of teaching English is to help Filipino students acquire the
necessary skills for listening, speaking, reading, and writing which enable them
to use the language for effective communication.
• Language knowledge is not equal to language production.
• Students are able to appreciate what they are learning if they see how language
works and is used in real context.
• Students should be able to see the relationship of grammar points to how the
target language is actually used.
WHAT? • “Teach grammar in order to facilitate the learner’s comprehension and
production of real language, rather than as an end in itself. Always provide
opportunities for learners to put the grammar to some communicative use.”—
Thornbury (2004)
• Students understand the concept (grammar rules) better if they are able to use
and apply it in real communicative tasks.
• Learning English is more than just learning vocabulary and grammar rules,
students need to actually use the language and listen to how others use it as
well.
• Grammar teaching should incorporate spoken interactions or communicative
production tasks.
• A key component of grammar teaching is the integration of communicative
work.
• To teach grammar effectively, teacher should enable students to control
grammar to express increasingly complex ideas
HOW? • Provide for authentic samples of language use anchoring on students’ context.
• Encourage students to identify usage pattern on how the target language is
actually used.
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Telephone No.: (+63 32) 436 2029
• Use varied activities like letting students listen to audio samples of native and
non-native speakers of the language.
• Provide opportunities for students to share insights and ideas in class and give
helpful feedback to improve language use.
• Instead of using grammar-based approaches, this rule encourages teachers to
employ communicative approaches, that is, language is best learned through
interaction.
• Example of an activity using communicative approach is prompt-based activity.
Like the famous game -Guess Who? you can contextualize this board game
according to your objective. You may also use different characters like national
heroes, politicians, famous poets etc. the artists used here are top artists that
gain popularity among teens. These are from famous Korean drama, Philippine
movies and international shows
3. Rule of Economy
The rule of economy explains that to provide time for language use, teachers should be economical.
By economical, it means that teachers provide manageable and comprehensible input and allocate
enough time for language use and practice.
WHY? • Language is primarily a skill, thus, should be practiced and used.

• Just studying grammar will not in itself enable you use it. Students’ language
success may be limited if what they have learned will merely stay as rules to
understand.
• Providing for more and more input may still not be sufficient, for input should
be ‘comprehensible”. Thus, a content-jampacked syllabus do not necessarily
guarantee language acquisition.
• Students who are intermediate level and beyond may need more opportunities
for practice rather than presentation of rules.
WHAT? • “Economize on presentation time in order to provide maximum practice time.
With grammar, a little can go a long way.”—Thornbury (2004)
• The English curriculum should be congested, focusing on relevant grammar
concepts.
• “Comprehensible input is language input that can be understood by listeners
despite them not understanding all the words and structures in it. It is described
as one level above that of the learners if it can only just be understood.”—
Krashen (2003)
• Providing comprehensible input and more time for language practice help
students acquire language naturally, rather than learn it consciously.
• As language learners’ usage of target language increases, so does their level
of comprehension.
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Telephone No.: (+63 32) 436 2029
• Teachers should be able strategize how to present grammar rules efficiently

and effectively, then provide more time for students to apply these rules in
communicative tasks.
HOW? • Plan your grammar lessons well. Sometimes the one stipulated in the
curriculum may be too much or too little depending on students’ level. Start
where your students are.
• Be clear with your goal. What is your goal in teaching a certain grammar point?
For students to gain a deeper understanding of the concept? For students to
use these grammar points to complete a task? To accomplish both?
• A lesson guide/plan is helpful when creating relevant activities for the topic that
are “enough” for your class time.
• Provide instructional scaffolding to enhance learning and aid in the mastery of
tasks.
• Use teaching scaffolds like the use of visual aids; example is graphic organizer.
• Graphic organizers like charts, concept maps, mind maps infographics and so
on, help create visual images of how concepts are related and provide for an
effective way of organizing information. These materials help “student convert
and compress a lot of seemingly disjointed information into a structured,
simple-to-read, graphic display. The resulting visual display conveys complex
information in a simle-to-understand manner.”
4. Rule of Relevance
In this context, we define relevance as the “learning experience that are either directly applicable to
the personal aspirations, interests, or cultural experiences of students (personal relevance) or that
are connected in some way to real-world issues, problems and contexts (life relevance)”.
(The Glossary of Education Reform, 2013).
WHY? • “Relevant, meaningful activities that both engage students emotionally and
connect with what they already know are what help build neutral connections
and long-term memory storage.”—Briggs (2014)
• Students may disregard important concepts if they do not find relevance to
them.
• Students become more interested to learn if they see the importance and
connection of the concepts taught in the classroom to their real-life encounters.
• Students may become disinterested in the things they already know; thus,
teachers should start where they are.
• If students acknowledge that the concept are worth knowing, it will hold their
attention and engage them.
WHAT? • The rule of relevance prompts the language teachers to make learning become
more personal to the students.
• “Teach only the grammar that students have problems with. This means, start
off by finding out what they already know. And don’t assume that the grammar
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Telephone No.: (+63 32) 436 2029
of English is a wholly different system from the learner’s mother tongue. Exploit
the common ground.”—Thornbury (2004)
• The Glossary of Education Reform (2013) points out two kinds of relevance—
personal relevance and life relevance. “Personal relevance occurs when
learning is connected to an individual student’s interests, aspiration and life
experiences. Meanwhile, life relevance occurs when learning is connected in
some way to real-world issues, problems and contexts outside of school.”
• This rule puts students at the center of English language teaching and learning.
• Depending on the target language, teachers should teach grammar concepts
in relation to the student’s mother tongue.
• Communicative tasks should cater to cultural differences. Teachers should
make sure that examples are accurate and appropriate for certain groups
HOW? • Provide examples that are grounded on how concepts learned are used in the
real world.
• Let students experience authentic use of the language. Let them accomplish
tasks using target language. You may also invite native speakers of the target
language, or non-native speakers having good command of the target
language.
• Provide opportunities for multi-layered projects like those that involve research,
community involvement, language immersion.
• Create activities to showcase students’ communicative abilities like oration,
declamation, broadcasting, mock job interview, debate, extemporaneous
speaking, poem reading, spoken word poetry.
• Let students watch movies where the target language is spoken by native and
non-native speakers.
• Anchor your lessons on real world problems where students are able to see
the importance of learning the target language—the dander of
miscommunication, why headline writing is important, etc.
• Let students publish their poems, stories, narratives etc. Displaying or
publishing student work is a great way to get them involve and motivated.
• Encourage students to build and create connections to what has been taught
and to what is happening in the real world.
• For example, if you’re teaching students Headline Writing, particularly
choosing headline verbs, you may start your discussion by showing them
misleading headlines and ask them how poorly constructed headlines affect
the integrity of the news. You can also start your discussion on the current
situation in the Philippines regarding the fast spread of fake news.
Medellin Campus
Telephone No.: (+63 32) 436 2029
5. Rule of Nurture
As cliché as it may sound, teachers create significant impact on students’ lives. When students are
asked to describe their favorite teacher, most of them would say, he/she is caring, a good listener,
supportive has good sense of humor, etc. If you will be the teacher, how do you want your students
to describe you? More than being a knowledge dispenser, the teacher also plays the role of a mentor,
a friend, a parent, a counselor and so on. Sometimes, these things that make people feel more
“human” matter the most. The things teachers say and do in the classroom may positively or
negatively affect student’s competence and confidence. Further, the affective components of
learning are very important for students to be able to make measurable gains in acquiring and
manipulating knowledge. Teachers need to be strategic in cultivating positive and healthy learning
environment for the students.
WHY? • A nurturing environment is a learning-rich environment.

• Students need to feel that the classroom is a place for trial and error and
learning from mistakes. They need to feel safe, supported, cared for in
your classroom.
• Teachers should be able to provide a conducive learning environment
free from fear and humiliation.
• Students tend to withdraw and lose interest in learning if the classroom
does not reinforce self-esteem. Reinforcing self-esteem in the
classroom is associated with increased motivation and learning.
WHAT? • “Teaching does not necessarily cause learning-not in any direct way.
Instead of teaching grammar, therefore try to provide the right conditions
for grammar teaching.—Thornbury (2004)
• “A teacher who builds positive relationship with students decreases the
affective filter, or level of discomfort in the classroom and students
perform better. Teacher who make connections between old and new
knowledge and tie both into the real world also have students who
perform better,”—Adamd(2015)
• “One obstacle that manifest itself during language acquisition is the
affective filter; that is a “screen” that is influenced by emotional variables
that can prevent learning. The hypothetical filter does not impact
acquisition directly but rather prevents input from reaching the language
acquisition part of the brain.”—Krashen (2004)
• Teachers need to lower or decrease the “filter” or the barriers (anxiety,
self-confidence, motivation, and stress) as these may affect students’
overall language experience.
• Teachers need to see to it that grammar concepts and the way they are
taught will motivate students to internalize the input, produce optimal
output and take into account feedback.
Medellin Campus
Telephone No.: (+63 32) 436 2029
HOW? • Get to know your students and allow them to know as well.
• Create a sense of order through clear behavioral and academic
expectations.
• Utilize communal games and activities, relevant instructional materials,
and engaging classroom discussions.
• Provide constructive feedback and allow students to learn from their
mistakes.
• Don’t judge.
• Celebrate success and class achievements.
• Choose appropriate teaching methods to cultivate students’ motivation
and creativity.
• Teachers may use the teaching method named Suggestopedia/
elements like music, drama, and art in creating a more comfortable
learning environment. This is also supported by Krashen’s Affective
Filter in eliminating the “filters” or :barriers” that may hinder language
learning.
6. Rule of Appropriacy
It is a given fact that no two students are alike. Even if you are teaching in the same grade level,
your students will always vary in age, proficiency level, learning needs, interest, expectations, skills,
learning styles, belief, attitudes, and values. This rule, according to Thornbury, suggests that
teachers should be able to apple these rules of teaching grammar according to the aforementioned
differences. Whether you put premium tp a grammar-driven classroom or may not teach grammar
at all, it is your responsibility to identify what is best for your students.
WHY? • People are more different than they are alike. Teachers have to respond
to the diversity of learners.
• These individual differences in a language classroom can make for
success or failure in attaining the goal of acquiring the target language.
• Regardless of how diverse the classroom is, student should be give
equal opportunity to learn and achieve their goals.
• Teachers need to evaluate what students really need and design
classroom activities suited to their needs.
• The teaching-learning process should be students centered
WHAT? • Teachers should design classroom activities not just according to
efficiency, but also appropriacy.
• Grammar practice and communicative tasks should suit to the “context”
of each learner.
• This rule prompts teachers to consider their students inthe context of
being language learners—What do they already know? What do they
need to know immediately? What do they need to know in the future?
Medellin Campus
Telephone No.: (+63 32) 436 2029
These questions can help teachers to evaluate if what they are doing in
the classroom is somehow appropriate to their students.
• Teachers should consider the individual differences of students and use
this plan an effective and productive teaching-learning process
HOW? • Teachers may conduct needs assessment analysis or diagnostic tests
to gain necessary data on student’s proficiency level and needs.
• Talk to your students and let them share their language learning
challenges and how they want to be supported.
• Determine your students’ learning style, previous learning experiences
and present expectations.
• Take into consideration all other rules of teaching grammar.
• Start where your students are.

Rules in Teaching Grammar

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Rules in Teaching Grammar

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Republic of the Philippines

Cebu Normal University

Rules of Teaching Grammar

WHY? • Language knowledge does not necessarily guarantee language skills.

discussion prompts, reinforcing contextual definitions, allowing students to

WHY? • Language is primarily a skill, thus, should be practiced and used.

• Teachers should be able strategize how to present grammar rules efficiently

WHY? • A nurturing environment is a learning-rich environment.

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