Grammar: Putting it all together now!

'Grammar’ is a word that often instills fear in students from grade school to university, but it’s something we use every day.  Some of us are better than others at it, and we often don’t even think about it, until we have to get graded on it.

I was somewhat apprehensive about this grammar course, especially after speaking with a friend who had taken an in-person course several years ago. She described having to re-learn grammar. Actually, what she meant was having to relearn the terminology for grammar.  I have taken a good stab at learning some of the grammar terminology again, although I know I will need to brush up on it when teaching specific grammar points, in specific lessons.  So, after all of that, how do we put it all together for effective lesson planning.

This week we have reviewed three types of lesson plans. The first, PPP, meaning Present,  Practice and Produce, is a more traditional method of teaching which does more or less exactly as the name suggests: we present the material to be learned, we have the students practice the grammar, and then ask them to produce similar material.  The lessons are focused on accurately reproducing what is taught and is teacher-centered. There is not much focus on fluency.  Technically, all types of lessons really use this somewhat as a basis.  However, task-based lessons and skill based lessons have major differences from PPP.

Task-based lessons are really learner-centered and focus on the needs of the learners.  What do they need to learn to do for the real world?  Communicative language approaches are used and fluency in the task is the key focus. Elements of grammar are incorporated into the lesson.

Skills-based lessons focus on teaching a specific skill, such as reading or listening. For example, writing a paragraph about what you did on the weekend.  Grammar is also part of the lesson plan, and the teacher focuses on a key grammar point as part of the lesson. Students then reproduce that form. The focus, like PPP is more on accuracy than fluency.

Within each lesson there are many factors and variables that we must consider. What aspects of grammar will be part of the lesson, what activities do we want to include, the context of the class, what skill or task is being targeted (Harmer 2001, pp. 308-320).  We must also consider the allotted time, the objective of the lesson, how the lesson fits into our planning, problems that might be encountered, assessment, and our own evaluation of the lesson.  This seems like a huge long list of what needs to go into our lesson planning.  It may seem daunting.

I must admit that when I began this program, I felt a bit overwhelmed in the introductory course.  All these things that we must learn and remember.  However, as with our students, repetition does work!  While working on the lesson plan assignment for this course, my final course prior to the practicum, I can say that I feel much more comfortable with lesson planning and putting all the important bits together.  Now, if I could just remember all that grammar terminology!

Reference:
Harmer, J. (2004). The practice of English language teaching. Essex, UK: Pearson Education Limited.