This document outlines the syllabus for a Pedagogical Grammar course in the Teaching Development Certificate program. The course covers an introduction to grammar concepts for English language learners, basic English grammar terminology and usage, common grammar errors made by ELLs, and approaches to teaching grammar. The syllabus includes exams, quizzes, written work, and participation for grading. It also provides an overview of the course structure and topics to be covered in the Moodle online component.
2. Getting to Know More about Each Other
1. Other towns lived in
2. Married: yes/no
3. Present job
4. School/College/University
5. Interests/Hobbies
6. Reason for learning English
7. Other foreign languages spoken
8. Favorite food
9. Pet that you hate
10. Last foreign country visited – reason
11. (My) good points
12. (My) bad points
13. Main ambition
14. TDC – Why?
PETER WATCYN-JONES, Grammar: Games and Activities for Teachers. Penguin Books. Middlesex. 1995.
3. Course Structure
TDC1 - Pedagogical Grammar (1 semester)
TDC2 - Writing (2 months)
and Phonetics and Phonology (2 months)
TDC3 - Principles of Language Learning and Teaching
(1 semester)
TDC4 - English Teaching Methodology (3 months)
and Educational Technology (1 month)
TDC5 - Special Topics in TEFL (2 months)
and Supervised Teaching Practice (STP) (2 months)
4. TDC 1 – Pedagogical Grammar
• Syllabus
- An Introduction to Grammar for ELLs
- Basic English Grammar: Usage and Terminology
- 15 Keys to ELL Grammar
- Grammar Questions from ELLs
• Grading Policy
- Exams
- Quizzes
- Written Work
- Participation
7. Discussion Topics
1. The word grammar has two different
meanings. What are they?
2. English is also studied by native
speakers at school. How does it differ
from those who studied it as their
second or foreign language?
3. What do you know about the history
of the English language?
9. Grammar
• ... the way we organize the
sounds and signs of a language
into something meaningful.
• ... the study and description of
what is at work when we use
language in an organized way.
10. Discussion Topics
2. English is also studied by native
speakers at school. How does it differ
from those who studied it as their
second or foreign language?
11. Native Speakers X ELLs
Native Speakers ELLs
Structure Communication +
Structure
Focus on Saying Things Focus on Words / Idioms
Better and Avoiding
.
and Putting this new
Common Native Errors Vocabulary Together
No Need for the Reasons Why Something is
Why Something is (In)Correct
.
.
(In)Correct
13. History of the English Language
• The History of English in Tem Minutes
14. Approaches to Teaching ELL Grammar
What do you think the difference between a
direct approach and an indirect approach to
teaching grammar is?
Book Page 16
Take a look at these two different lesson plans.
Which one follows a direct approach and
which one follows an indirect approach?
15. Approaches to Teaching ELL Grammar
Aim: Improving Telephoning Skills
Activity: Role playing using office telephone lines
Level: Intermediate to advanced
Outline: Indirect Approach
• Review phrases used in telephoning.
• Ask each student to write out notes for a telephone conversation that they
would typically have with a native speaker.
• Ask students to choose another student who should respond to the call for
which he/she has written notes.
• Stress the fact that students need to understand and take note of everything
crucial. If they do not understand they need to ask you to repeat, tell you to
speak more slowly - anything that is needed to understand.
• Ask your students to go to a different office, make sure to get the extension for
the office. Ask students to take notes on the call.
• Now, take the various notes, call the other extension and ask for the person
suggested by the student who wrote the notes.
• Once you have repeated this exercise, get students to call each other in their
own offices to repeat the exercise. Remember it is crucial to actually use the
phone, as the difficulty lies in understanding English over the phone.
16. Approaches to Teaching ELL Grammar
Aim: Improve recognition of the first and second conditional forms used in
conditional statements, while inductively reviewing the structures.
Activity: Reading a text with first and second conditional forms, developing
questions using the first and second conditionals, replying to questions
Level: Intermediate
Outline:
Direct Approach
• Ask students to imagine this situation: You’ve arrived home late at night and you
find that the door is open to your apartment. What would you do?
• Refresh students awareness of the conditionals.
• Have students read prepared extract using conditionals.
• Ask students to underline all conditional structures.
• In groups, students complete fill-in activity based on previous reading.
• Go over corrections as a class.
• In groups, have students prepare two “What if…” situations on a separate piece
of paper. Ask students to employ first and second conditionals.
• Ask students to exchange their prepared situations with another group.
• Students in each group discuss the "what if..." situations.
• Move around the class and help students to correctly produce the first and
second conditional forms.
19. Descriptive or Prescriptive?
Grammar Topic ?
Prescriptive ?
Descriptive
who / whom Always use 1. We always use who as a
who as a subject.
subject and 2. In everyday language,
whom as an people also use who as
object. an object. In very formal
language, we always use
whom in the object
position.
3. When directly preceded
by a preposition, people
usually use whom.
20. Descriptive or Prescriptive?
Grammar Topic ?
Descriptive ?
Prescriptive
splitting an People often split 1. Never split an
infinitive infinitives with infinitive.
adverbs of manner (to
quickly arrest) or
adverbs of degree (to
almost double)
21. Descriptive or Prescriptive?
Grammar Topic ?
Prescriptive ?
Descriptive
possessive Indefinite People often use their to
adjective pronouns such refer to indefinite
agreement as everyone and pronouns. When trying
with somebody are to sound more correct –
everyone always singular. especially in formal
When referring writing, people often
to indefinite use the phrase his or
pronouns, use her, even though its
his. repetitiveness can
sound awkward.
24. Deductive X Inductive Teaching
DEDUCTIVE INDUCTIVE
• More traditional form of • Constructivist model of
teaching teaching; based on guided
• The teacher typically discovery learning
provides information, philosophy
shares specific examples of • The teacher provides
the concept or skill being examples, the students
taught, allows the students analyze and figure out the
to practice. rules themselves.
• More teacher-centered • More student-centered
model of teaching / Rule model of teaching /
driven Experimental
25. Homework
Book:
- Pages 10 – 13 (Self-study)
“Can you explain ELL Grammar Errors?”
“On the Hot Seat: Answering ELL Questions”
Workbook:
- Pages 1 – 5 (Self-study)
“Distinguishing Traditional Grammar and ELL
Grammar”
“Answering / Researching ELL Grammar Questions”
“Identifying ELL Errors in Authentic Material”
26. Moodle Week
1) The Role of • Observing the Growth of ELLs’
Language
Students, Setting, and
• Answering ELLs’ Questions
Course • An Inquisitive Teacher
• Learners’ Objectives • An ELL Teacher
• Course Logistics
• Course Location
2) Teaching Settings 3) Common Grammar
• An ELL Grammar Teacher Errors Made by Native
• The Composition Teacher Speakers
• Judging the Readability of Texts
• Why Grammar Matters
• Teaching a K-12 and Other Non-ELL
• Pre-Test
Content Classes