“Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.” Adapted by Sh. Mohammad aka Shaddy

How often do you go jogging? What happens to your body when jogging? What the average heart rate when jogging? Why do I ask you these questions? How are they related to our topic? Wasting your time. !!!!!!

A- The needs by English “TEACHERS” for grammatical and structural Knowledge of the language. 1- The differences between DOING it and TEACHING it. People can run four or five miles climb a mountain without understanding how their bodies work, but DOCTORS need to learn all about the body, and much more, to serve their patients professionally and correctly. People who know about medicine but not professional should be admired but NOT consulted when we are sick, shouldn’t they?

2- As English teachers, We have much duty to learn the basics of how the language works. Chinese students, as well as many others, require more grammatical assistance than do some other learners. Furthermore, the teachers need to work long and hard to acquire the grammatical fluency needed to help the students learn rapidly. This is because only few good grammar textbooks have been developed so far to meet THEIR needs.

Prescriptive : refers to the structure of the language as it SHOULD BE. Descriptive : refers to the structure of the language as it is used by people. The two different kinds of grammar.

Grammar Teaching Strategies. Teaching grammar is an important part of language teaching. There are different ways of approaching it - but which ways do you find most effective for you and your students?

A Deductive Approach It is also called (Discovery Teaching). It is based on the claim that knowledge is built from the learners’ experience, i.e., We learn because we experience. Using this methodology, a teacher will start with the examples. Then learners will be encouraged to observe the structure and ask questions. Finally they would come up with a Generalization, i.e., A RULE The teachers’ role is to create the opportunity for the students to make correct Generalizations.

An Inductive Approach It is also called (Direct Instruction). It is based on the claim that a highly constructed material can achieve the desired learning for the students, i.e., We experience because we learn. Using this methodology, a teacher will start with the RULE. Then providing the examples and explanation that clarify the idea. Then practice with the teacher’s guidance and FB. Then applying and finding examples of the RULE. Then more practice and testing.

Which is Perfect for my Students? Neither of these approaches is perfect for ALL students ALL of the time. For example, “ The Inductive approach” can make for a “messier” class. Students may understand something that is not intended by the teacher. It can longer time and be “less efficient”.

Most of the demonstration and textbooks are Deductive in nature. In other words, they introduce the concept first then the demonstration. However, the students know the outcome of the procedure before it is completed, i.e., it gets boring, for high level students, even before it starts. These pros and cons should not steer you away from using “One of These” methodologies or a “Mix of Them”.

Still Talking theoretically? !! Let’s get into classrooms. Grammar Teaching Materials Multimedia Worksheets Flashcards Board Games Songs

According to MY experience, I wouldn’t tell my students what the class is about. Everybody hates to be taught. I know you want to get practical; let’s try to use our minimum resources to see how we can manage that. One of the lessons I used to teach was 1- “Subjective Pronouns and Action Verbs.” Let’s share experience and see if we can come to a better version.

Materials and Equipment: Two boxes of flashcards, Three different colors, Chalkboard, Chalk, Tape, Some pictures, and Chairs. Objectives: Reviewing the Pronouns and teaching “new Action Words” Background: The Ss should know about pronouns. Procedures/Activities: 1- Give all the subjective pronouns a red color, action words a blue color, and any other noun a green color. 2- Write a sentence with an action verb on the board using the same above mentioned colors. 3- Ask a group of five students to come in front of the class play “Guess Who” “Pronouns game.

4- Now start reading your sentence out loud pointing out the “action word”. 5- Start teaching your action words. 6-Try different “action words” till you feel the students master the structure SVO. 7- With the three boxes of the flash cards you can play as various games as your time allows. - Write sentences on the board leaving out the action verb. = Ask the S to pick out one pronoun and a noun. Then ask him to get the action word that completes the Sentence. 8-Start adding the words Pronouns, verbs, nouns. 9- Understanding Testing.

2- “Present Continuous Tense” Materials and Equipment: Chalkboard, Chalk, Tape, Some pictures, Chairs. Objectives: Reviewing sentence structure, teaching “Present Continuous Tense”, and teaching house vocabulary like kitchen, bedroom, basement….ect. Background: The Ss are supposed to have the “Basic Sentence Structure”.

Procedures/Activities: 1- Start reviewing some action words like doing the dishes, washing my dog, cooking my dinner, i.e., things we do at home. 2- Write a sentence on the board showing present continuous using some of the pictures you have. He is sleeping. Start asking the question about the next picture. What is he doing? You can play a game if time permits. “Divide the class into two groups, choose one S from every group to stand in front of his group facing them, show him/her a picture with a verb, ask him/her to act it out and let the Ss in the group guess in complete sentences( You are cooking).3/2/1/0

4- Try different verbs till you feel the students master the structure SV(ing)O. 5-It’s your chance to lay out the RULE. 6- Use the worksheets if any is available to Test the Ss Understanding. You can play “Three Straight Counters”.

3- “Prepositions” My parents are at home. He is in the box.

4- Comparatives The turtle is slower that the rabbit. Scary movies are more interesting than romance movies.

5- Some vs. a/an Come one, come all. Would you like a hamburger/ some water? Yes, please. / No, thanks.