Document Text Contents
Page 1
“Teaching Grammar to Young Learners”
An Internship Report
Submitted to the Department of English and Humanities
Of BRAC University
Submitted by
Mehbuba Jahan Surovee
ID: 10103004
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
Of
Bachelor of Arts in English
April 2014
BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Page 2
“Teaching Grammar to Young Learners”
Mehbuba Jahan Surovee
ID: 10103004
Department of English and Humanities
April 2014
BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Page 9
rather than output processing for production and requires the use of ‘interpretation tasks’. (p. 88)
Brown (1972) suggested that language learning should be meaningful from the beginning stages.
He also suggested, “The distinctive items of a lesson must be related to existing cognitive
structure, "subsumed" into an organized whole, or else they will be very easily forgotten.”
(Brown, 1972, p. 268)
Use of Realia:
Schneider (2005) suggested that bringing community issues into the classroom can be effectively
used to teach grammar. He claimed, “It offers a way to give local culture and local concerns a
prominent place in the English language classroom” and “provides an opportunity to make
learning more engaging and relevant, because students have the opportunity to understand new
material in terms of their own lives and realities.” (Schneider, 2005, p. 298)
Total Physical Response:
Scrivener (1994) claimed, “TPR, in fact, a whole methodology and has proved to be very
successful, especially at low levels. Initially learners are given restricted exposure to a large
number of instructions. Gestures and demonstration quickly help learners to understand the
meaning.” (p. 182)
Use of Literature:
Kalivoda (1990) suggested that the teacher should consider the level of students carefully before
using literature for grammar teaching. He claimed, “Much of the literature assumes an audience
of learners presumed proficient in communication.” (Kalivoda, 1990, p. 267)
Page 10
Use of Mathematics:
Williams (2006) proposed the use of mathematics to teach grammar. He claimed that English
structures often behave in ways parallel to numbers. From his teaching experience he concluded
that for a majority of the international and immigrant students in advanced writing classes, such
mathematical concepts are already crystal-clear and have long been part of students’ academic
lives. (Williams, 2006, p. 23)
Theories into practice:
I have worked as an intern for three months at an English medium school. During my internship I
have observed several English language classes of class I. The students of this level hardly have
any knowledge of grammar, so the basic things such as nouns, verbs, adjectives and articles are
taught in the class. Since it was an English medium school, the teacher always used English to
communicate with the students. Though the students had Bangla L1 background and they were
very young, the teacher could communicate in English effectively to teach grammar.
Inductive Approach:
I have observed that the language teacher usually uses inductive method for teaching. At first she
provides some examples to the students. For instance, in one class she pointed at a student and
asked them, “What is her name?” They replied “Archita.” Then she pointed at other students and
asked their names. After that she started pointing at different things such as chairs, tables, and
schoolbags and asked them what those things were. The students answered her questions. After
listening to their reply she told them that everything has a name. These naming words are called
noun.
Page 17
Conclusion:
From my observation and teaching experiences I have concluded that teaching children is
absolutely different from teaching adult learners. Children are hardly interested in grammar.
Moreover they are unable to stay focused for long time. Therefore, teaching them grammar is
really difficult.
However teaching grammar at this level is very important since it can help them to improve both
their productive and receptive skills, so the teacher should try to make the class interesting by
using colourful pictures and materials. Trying to make the lesson meaningful is also important.
The teacher can use interpretation tasks to make the lesson meaningful. Contextualization is
another effective way to help young learners to understand the lessons better.
On the contrary, decontextualization can make the class lessons difficult for the learners. Use of
literature to teach beginners can also make the grammar item appear more complex to the
children. Using implicit grammar instructions can be very useful in some situations. However the
teacher should try to avoid it when possible. Both prescriptive and descriptive approach can be
useful to a certain extend. In brief the teacher should use a number of appropriate teaching
techniques to teach different grammar elements.
Page 18
Works Cited:
Borg, S. (1999), Teachers' theories in grammar teaching, ELT Journal, 53(3), 157-167
Brown, H. D. (1972), The Psychological Reality of ‘Grammar’ in the ESL Classroom, TESOL
Quarterly, 6(3), 263-269
Close, R.A. (1982). English as a foreign language. London: George Allen and Unwin.
Dickins, P. M. & Woods, E. G. (1988), Some Criteria for the Development of Communicative
Grammar Tasks, TESOL Quarterly, 22(4), 623-646
Ellis, R. (1995). Interpretation Tasks for Grammar Teaching, TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 87-105
Kalivoda, T. B. (1990). Teaching Grammar in the Target Language, Hispania, 73(1), 267-269
Nunan, D. (1998), Teaching grammar in context, ELT Journal, 52(2), 101-109
Petrovitz, W. (1997), The role of context in the presentation of grammar, ELT Journal, 51(3),
201-207
Scheffler, P. & Cinciała, M. (2011), Explicit grammar rules and L2 acquisition, ELT Journal,
65(1), 13-23
Schneider, J. (2005), Teaching grammar through community issues, ELT Journal, 59(4), 298-
305
Scrivener, J. (1994), Learning Teaching: The Essential Guide to English Language Teaching (3rd
ed.). Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited.
Williams, H. (2006), Maths in the grammar classroom, ELT Journal, 60(1), 23-33
“Teaching Grammar to Young Learners”
An Internship Report
Submitted to the Department of English and Humanities
Of BRAC University
Submitted by
Mehbuba Jahan Surovee
ID: 10103004
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
Of
Bachelor of Arts in English
April 2014
BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Page 2
“Teaching Grammar to Young Learners”
Mehbuba Jahan Surovee
ID: 10103004
Department of English and Humanities
April 2014
BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Page 9
rather than output processing for production and requires the use of ‘interpretation tasks’. (p. 88)
Brown (1972) suggested that language learning should be meaningful from the beginning stages.
He also suggested, “The distinctive items of a lesson must be related to existing cognitive
structure, "subsumed" into an organized whole, or else they will be very easily forgotten.”
(Brown, 1972, p. 268)
Use of Realia:
Schneider (2005) suggested that bringing community issues into the classroom can be effectively
used to teach grammar. He claimed, “It offers a way to give local culture and local concerns a
prominent place in the English language classroom” and “provides an opportunity to make
learning more engaging and relevant, because students have the opportunity to understand new
material in terms of their own lives and realities.” (Schneider, 2005, p. 298)
Total Physical Response:
Scrivener (1994) claimed, “TPR, in fact, a whole methodology and has proved to be very
successful, especially at low levels. Initially learners are given restricted exposure to a large
number of instructions. Gestures and demonstration quickly help learners to understand the
meaning.” (p. 182)
Use of Literature:
Kalivoda (1990) suggested that the teacher should consider the level of students carefully before
using literature for grammar teaching. He claimed, “Much of the literature assumes an audience
of learners presumed proficient in communication.” (Kalivoda, 1990, p. 267)
Page 10
Use of Mathematics:
Williams (2006) proposed the use of mathematics to teach grammar. He claimed that English
structures often behave in ways parallel to numbers. From his teaching experience he concluded
that for a majority of the international and immigrant students in advanced writing classes, such
mathematical concepts are already crystal-clear and have long been part of students’ academic
lives. (Williams, 2006, p. 23)
Theories into practice:
I have worked as an intern for three months at an English medium school. During my internship I
have observed several English language classes of class I. The students of this level hardly have
any knowledge of grammar, so the basic things such as nouns, verbs, adjectives and articles are
taught in the class. Since it was an English medium school, the teacher always used English to
communicate with the students. Though the students had Bangla L1 background and they were
very young, the teacher could communicate in English effectively to teach grammar.
Inductive Approach:
I have observed that the language teacher usually uses inductive method for teaching. At first she
provides some examples to the students. For instance, in one class she pointed at a student and
asked them, “What is her name?” They replied “Archita.” Then she pointed at other students and
asked their names. After that she started pointing at different things such as chairs, tables, and
schoolbags and asked them what those things were. The students answered her questions. After
listening to their reply she told them that everything has a name. These naming words are called
noun.
Page 17
Conclusion:
From my observation and teaching experiences I have concluded that teaching children is
absolutely different from teaching adult learners. Children are hardly interested in grammar.
Moreover they are unable to stay focused for long time. Therefore, teaching them grammar is
really difficult.
However teaching grammar at this level is very important since it can help them to improve both
their productive and receptive skills, so the teacher should try to make the class interesting by
using colourful pictures and materials. Trying to make the lesson meaningful is also important.
The teacher can use interpretation tasks to make the lesson meaningful. Contextualization is
another effective way to help young learners to understand the lessons better.
On the contrary, decontextualization can make the class lessons difficult for the learners. Use of
literature to teach beginners can also make the grammar item appear more complex to the
children. Using implicit grammar instructions can be very useful in some situations. However the
teacher should try to avoid it when possible. Both prescriptive and descriptive approach can be
useful to a certain extend. In brief the teacher should use a number of appropriate teaching
techniques to teach different grammar elements.
Page 18
Works Cited:
Borg, S. (1999), Teachers' theories in grammar teaching, ELT Journal, 53(3), 157-167
Brown, H. D. (1972), The Psychological Reality of ‘Grammar’ in the ESL Classroom, TESOL
Quarterly, 6(3), 263-269
Close, R.A. (1982). English as a foreign language. London: George Allen and Unwin.
Dickins, P. M. & Woods, E. G. (1988), Some Criteria for the Development of Communicative
Grammar Tasks, TESOL Quarterly, 22(4), 623-646
Ellis, R. (1995). Interpretation Tasks for Grammar Teaching, TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 87-105
Kalivoda, T. B. (1990). Teaching Grammar in the Target Language, Hispania, 73(1), 267-269
Nunan, D. (1998), Teaching grammar in context, ELT Journal, 52(2), 101-109
Petrovitz, W. (1997), The role of context in the presentation of grammar, ELT Journal, 51(3),
201-207
Scheffler, P. & Cinciała, M. (2011), Explicit grammar rules and L2 acquisition, ELT Journal,
65(1), 13-23
Schneider, J. (2005), Teaching grammar through community issues, ELT Journal, 59(4), 298-
305
Scrivener, J. (1994), Learning Teaching: The Essential Guide to English Language Teaching (3rd
ed.). Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited.
Williams, H. (2006), Maths in the grammar classroom, ELT Journal, 60(1), 23-33
