This document discusses different aspects of teaching specific parts of language, including grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. For teaching grammar, it emphasizes connecting grammar points to communication contexts and focusing instruction on forms that are relevant to students' communication tasks. For teaching pronunciation, it recommends prioritizing problems that hinder communication and providing both perception and production practice. For teaching vocabulary, it suggests strategies like pre-teaching words, focusing on cognates, scaffolding, using technology, modeling usage, and encouraging oral language use.
1. TEACHING SPECIFIC ASPECT OF
LANGUAGE
Teaching Grammar, Teaching Pronunciation and Teaching Vocabulary
2. Teaching Grammar
Grammar is the set of rules that explain how words are used in a
language and as a central to the teaching and learning of
language. It is also one of the more difficult aspects of language to
teach well. Language teachers focus on grammar as a set of forms
and rules. They teach grammar by explaining the forms and rules
and then drilling students on them.
3. Goals and Techniques for Teaching Grammar
The goal of grammar instruction is to enable students to carry out their
communication purposes. This goal has three implications:
•Students need overt instruction that connects grammar points with larger
communication contexts.
•Students do not need to master every aspect of each grammar point, only
those that are relevant to the immediate communication task.
•Error correction is not always the instructor's first responsibility.
4. Overt Grammar Instruction
Instructors can take advantage of this by providing explanations that give
students a descriptive understanding (declarative knowledge) of each point of
grammar:
•Teach the grammar point in the target language or the students' first
language or both. The goal is to facilitate understanding.
•Limit the time you devote to grammar explanations to 10 minutes, especially
for lower level students whose ability to sustain attention can be limited.
•Present grammar points in written and oral ways to address the needs of
students with different learning styles.
5. Relevance of Grammar Instruction
In the communicative competence model, the purpose of learning grammar is to learn
the language of which the grammar is a part. Therefore, instructor teach grammar
forms and structures in relation to meaning and use for the specific communication
tasks that students need to complete.
Compare the traditional model and the communicative competence model for teaching
the English past tense :
Traditional: grammar for grammar's sake
• Teach the regular -ed form with its two pronunciation variants
• Teach the doubling rule for verbs that end in d (for example, wed-wedded)
• Hand out a list of irregular verbs that students must memorize
• Do pattern practice drills for -ed
• Do substitution drills for irregular verbs
6. Communicative competence: grammar for communication's sake
• Distribute two short narratives about recent experiences or events, each one to half of
the class
• Teach the regular -ed form, using verbs that occur in the texts as examples.
• Teach the pronunciation and doubling rules if those forms occur in the texts.
• Teach the irregular verbs that occur in the texts.
• Students read the narratives, ask questions about points they don't understand.
7. Error Correction
Teachers need to let students know when they are making errors so that they can work on
improving. Teachers also need to build students' confidence in their ability to use the
language by focusing on the content of their communication rather than the grammatical
form. Teachers can use error correction to support language acquisition, and avoid using it
in ways that undermine students' desire to communicate in the language, by taking cues
from context.
• When students are doing structured output activities that focus on development of new
language skills, use error correction to guide them.
Example:
Student (in class): I buy a new car yesterday.
Teacher : You bought a new car yesterday. Remember, the past tense of buy
is bought.
• When students are engaged in communicative activities, correct errors with respond using
correct forms, but without stressing them.
Example:
Student (greeting teacher) : I buy a new car yesterday!
Teacher : You bought a new car? That's exciting! What kind?
8. Teaching Pronunciation
Pronunciation involves far more than individual sounds. Word stress, sentence
stress, intonation, and word linking all influence the sound of spoken English,
not to mention the way we often slur words and phrases together in casual
speech. Effective communication is of greatest importance, so choose first to
work on problems that significantly hinder communication and let the rest go.
Remember that your students also need to learn strategies for dealing with
misunderstandings, since native pronunciation is for most an unrealistic goal.
9. Some ideas for focusing on specific pronunciation features:
• Voicing
• Aspiration
• Mouth Posisition
• Intonation
• Vowel Length
• Syllables
• Spesific Sounds
10. Strategies for Improving Pronunciation
Good pronunciation comes from a lot of technical knowledge on
the part of the teacher about placement of the mouth,
pronunciation becomes more and more important. Language
learning needs a lot of practice and both mechanical and
meaningful practice lead to improved pronunciation. Only
through practice will a skill become automatic and drill-like
activities are not always considered interesting. Nevertheless
perception practice is a good way to help learners distinguish
between certain sounds.
11. SOUNDS
Minimal Pairs
Students look at two words and circle the one they hear :
• will well
• till tell
• fill fell
• ship sheep
• lid led
12. • Which order
Students see three words and write the order in which they are said.
pit pet bet fill fall fell
1 3 2 2 1 3
• Same or different
Students listen to two words and write “S” if they are the same and “D” if they are different
will well met meet well well
• Odd one out
The teacher reads a group of words and students must identify which one is different.
bit bit bit pit ( is different)
• Completion
The teacher reads a series of words and students must write the missing letter of each word: (gate,
late, mate, fate, date, rate and Kate)
13. Tongue twisters
e.g.
• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers;
• A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked;
• If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
• Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
14. STRESS
Give one sentence to students and ask them to change the stress and explain the meaning.
He is here?
HE is here.
He IS here.
I want two tickets to Toronto.
I want TWO tickets to Toronto.
I WANT two tickets to Toronto.
Practice stress by changing the stress on each word and notice how gestures and voice add to
meaning.
15. INTONATION
Here are some drill routines to help students hear different sounds.
A. word lists, minimal word pairs
Students listen to three words. Two of the words are the same. They must identify which word is different.
e. g. mouse, mouse, house
king, kick, kick
please, lease, please
B. target phrases
Students listen to three sentences or phrases (from the dialogue, a poem, song, or an echo acting). Two of
them are the same. They must identify which one is different.
e. g. caught a frog
caught a frog
bought a frog
16. C. sentence manipulation exercises
e.g. The man ate his dinner.
student repeats: The man ate his dinner.
“lunch”
The student makes appropriate changes: The man ate his lunch.
“boy”
The student makes appropriate changes: The boy ate his lunch.
“girl”
The student makes appropriate changes: The girl ate her lunch.
D. listen for stress, accent
e.g. Which one is correct?
Read one sentence two times and alter the accent on one of them.
E. pronunciation
e.g. work on sounds that are different between English and the target language. th, r/l,
F. real speed
e.g. Tape/video record a newscast in L2 to listen to the speed used by native speakers.
17. TEACHING VOCABULARY
Vocabulary is the first and foremost important step in language acquisition. In a
classroom where students are not finding themselves comfortable with L2,
language learning can be made interactive and interesting with the introduction
of appropriate vocabulary exercises.
18. Classroom Strategies
A. Pre-teach vocabulary
B. Focus on cognates
C. Scaffold
D. Use computers and television
E. Use audio books
F. Use a word wizard box
G. Encourage oral language use
H. Model correct usage
