Blejdea Cristina Oana Scoala Gimnaziala Ilie Martin Brabova

The role of grammar in language teaching

ccording to authors such as !ees de Bot" #ander $o%ie and Marjolijn &ers'oor" grammar is believed to be the bac(bone of a language and %ithout it an) single thing ma) be flu*" in a sort of jell) %ithout much consistenc)+ In a nutshell" grammar 'rovides the structure that is needed in order to organize and 'ut messages and ideas across+ It is the rail%a) through %hich the messages %ill be trans'orted+ #ithout it" in the same %a) as a train cannot move %ithout rail%a)s" ideas %on,t be able to be conve)ed to their full e*tension %ithout a good command of the underl)ing grammar 'atterns and structures of the language+ -o%ever" %hen teaching a foreign language" the first thing that the teacher should ta(e loo( for%ard to is (no%ing his. her classroom" as it is ver) im'ortant to discover" from the ver) beginning" ho% students feel about learning /nglish+ /ach member of a class is uni0ue in his. her o%n %a)" therefore it is understandable that motivation varies from one 'erson to another" motivation is a mi*ture of different factors+ 12erem) -armer3 4556789+ long the histor) of second language teaching" the role of grammar has raised man) controversies+ s Thornburr) has noticed no other issue has 'reoccu'ied theorists and 'ractiotioners in such a manner" as the grammar debate+ This debate has brought about an e*treme s'lit of attitudes" namel) those %ho hold that grammar should receive a central attention in language teaching" and" on the other hand" those %ho believe that grammar should not be thought at all+ The former is reflected in Grammar Translation Method" %hereas the latter is a''lied

in the strong version of Communicative $anguage Teaching+ :et" in recent )ears grammar teaching has began to regain its rightful 'osition %hen it comes to language teaching+ Graduall)" 'eo'le have realized that the im'ortance of ac0uiring grammar com'etences %as not debatable" but rather %hat method should teachers ado't in order to teach grammar+ One of the reasons for %hich grammar is that the language re'resents the element that ma(es it 'ossible for us to tal( about language+ Grammar is %hat defines the t)'es of %ords and %ord grou's that ma(e u' sentences not onl) in /nglish but in an) language+ s human beings" %e can 'ut sentences together even as children" %e can all do grammar+ But in order to be able to tal( about ho% sentences are built" about the t)'es of %ords and %ord grou's that ma(e u' sentences" that is (no%ing about grammar+ nd (no%ing about grammar offers a %indo% into the human mind and into our amazingl) com'le* mental ca'acit)+ ;evertheless" 'eo'le associate grammar %ith errors and correctness+ But (no%ing about grammar also hel's us understand %hat ma(es sentences and 'aragra'hs clear and interesting and 'recise+ Grammar can be 'art of literature discussions" %hen both teachers and students closel) read the sentences in 'oetr) and stories+ nd (no%ing about grammar means finding out that all languages and all dialects follo% grammatical 'atterns+ Moreover according to 2erem) -armer" author of The <ractice of /nglish $anguage Teaching" after gaining the necessar) information %ith res'ect to the grou' of students" it is essential for students to understand the difference bet%een %hat a language means and the %a) it is used in real life+ =or instance" at first" it ma) seem rather hard" for >omanian natives" to distinguish bet%een the situations in %hich the <resent Indefinite is used and those that re0uest the usage of the <resent <rogressive+ lthough the latter is used to e*'ress actions that generall) re0uire some time to be com'leted" native /nglish s'ea(ers onl) use it %hen there is a certain 'ur'ose in describing 'eo'le,s

actions" in other %ords along %ith the e*am'les the teacher should also 'rovide a conte*t e+g+ #e do not normall) s'end our time commenting on %hat other 'eo'le are doing7 $oo(? Mar) is tal(ing at the 'hone+3 %ithout having a s'ecific intention" so %e can sa) ;o %onder the 'hone is bus)? Mar) is using it+
Furthermore, judging on the frequency with which a certain verbal tense is used, the teacher should dedicate it more or less time in class+ On this

account" it is far more im'ortant for learners to understand the various uses of the 'resent continuous rather than" tenses such as the 'ast 'erfect" %hich is usuall) less used b) native s'ea(ers+ @suall)" beginner students tend to follo% the grammatical 'attern of the native tongue %hen creating sentences" thus the teacher should ac(no%ledge and 'resent the main differences bet%een the native and the foreign language+ In other %ords" in the >omanian language it is grammaticall) correct to omit the subject" as the form of the verb indicates the 'erson" %hereas in /nglish this omission %ould be either ambiguous or incorrect" e+g+ #e can sa)7 Merg la 'iaAB+ C and the s'ea(er clearl) understands that I am the one %ho is 'erforming the action" )et if %e translate it7 Go to the mar(et+ C this is no longer a statement made b) the s'ea(er" but a command+ Moreover" %hen teaching /nglish grammar" it is advisable to begin %ith an easier structure and then" graduall) advance to more com'le* structures" 'rovided that the students understand the basic form+ =or e*am'le" %hen teaching a certain tense" it %ould be recommended to start %ith the affirmative form and after that move for%ard to the construction of the negative and interrogativeD negative forms+ s a second argument in favor of teaching grammar" %e can state that because %riting is a com'le* and challenging activit) for man) students" teachers

should focus on grammatical conce'ts" as the) are essential for the clear communication of meaning+ If %e consider our o%n native language" assuming the fact that %e are to name all the tenses that the language has %ith their corres'onding uses and structures" e*ce't the case of a teacher" a translator or someone %ho needs to have a ver) good gras' of this metaDlanguage" it is more li(el) for a 'erson to feel at a loss %hen it comes to ans%ering that 0uestion+ This fact does not im'l) in an) sense that the s'ea(er is not a terrific user of that language+ fter all" %e are able to understand and e*'ress %hatever %e %ant %ith ease" ho%ever" b) being able to do so" the individual sho%s an im'ressive command of the internal grammar of the language+ If one (ne% no grammar 'atterns he.she %ould not be able to ma(e a single sentence+ This means that although individuals ma) lac( the conscious abilit) to describe ho% )our language %or(s 1i+e+ its grammar9 the) can still use it 'erfectl)+ #hen )ou are a native user of the language" )ou have the abilit) to ma(e a 'erfect use of the grammar of )our native language intuitivel) or unconsciousl)+ Grammar re'resents the science of letters" of %ords and of the %a) in %hich the) combine in order to create sentences+ It is the main com'onent of an) language+ s" once )ou are able to master the grammatical rules of a language" )ou are able to s'ea( correctl)" to form sentences %hich ma(e sense+

>eferences7 Thornbur)" S+" and @nderhill" Teaching3 -armer" 2erem)" 4556+ The <ractice of /nglish $anguage Teaching" $ongman3 -armer" 2erem)" 455G+ How to teach English, $ongman3 htt'7..%%%+onesto'english+com.su''ort.methodolog).methodolog)D articles.'dfDcontent.uncoveringDgrammar.46HGE6+article Ie Bot" !ees3 #ander" $o%ie and &ers'oor" Marjolijn" EFF6" Second Language Acquisition: An Advanced resource oo!, $ondon7 >outledge3 htt'7..ava*home+%s.eboo(s.culturesJlanguages.SecondHK+html htt'7..grammar+about+com.od.grammarfa0.f.grammarvalue+htm + EFF4 Uncovering Grammar. The Teacher Development+ O*ford7 Macmillan -einemann /nglish $anguage