1. Week 4
Presenting
Grammar
Dr. Russell Rodrigo

2. Learning
Objectives
Identify important elements in
teaching grammar
Identify ways in organizing and
managing the classroom

3. Warm up
Imagine you are trying to learn a new computer program. Do
you prefer:
• To be told how to do it?
• to be shown how to do it?
• to read how to do it in the manual?
• to try using it and find out for yourself?
• a combination of these?
Would you learn the grammar of another language following the
same principles? Why or why not?

4. Key questions concerning teaching
grammar:
1. What is grammar?
2. How do people learn grammar?
3. How can I analyze form, meaning, and use for teaching purposes?
4. What are the possible component parts of a grammar lesson?
5. How can I provide relevant input for learners?
6. How can I help learners notice, understand and memorize language?
7. How can I help learners practice using language?

6. What were the stages of the sample
grammar lesson? Describe each stage.
Present
Practice
Produce

7. What were the stages of the sample
grammar lesson? Describe each stage.
Present : Convey the meaning and form
Practice: Controlled Practice
Produce: Freer/ production

8. Look at these two
pictures. What
grammar structure
could you present,
using one or both of
them?

9. Work in groups.
Complete the
table by
suggesting at
least one way
you could convey
the meaning of
each 4 of the
following
grammar items.
Give details.
(Going to has
been done for
you, with three
suggestions.)

10. Highlighting the form of a new grammar
item
Learners need to know both the form and meaning of new language items.
1. Read this transcript of a grammar presentation. Identify the points in the transcript
where the teacher:
• conveys the meaning
• highlights the spoken form
• highlights the written form

12. Work in
pairs.
Discuss
these
questions.
Why do you think the teacher
asks Do we know for sure?
Why does the teacher highlight
the spoken form before the
written form?
What is the teacher's purpose
in asking Tell me about the
grammar of 'left'. What is this?

13. Teaching Grammar
To learn a language item, learners need to: It follows that, in class, you probably need to:
Be exposed to a lot of language while reading/listening Include lots of reading and listening activities. These hsould
include realistic texts a little above the apparent current
language level of learners so that learners are exposed to a
lot of comprehensible new language.
Notice specific items when theya re being used, in texts (e.g.
in stories, in conversations)
Provide texts, execises and techniques that help learners
notice specific items. Texts specifically written for learners
(e.g. contatining multiple examples of target item) may be
particularly useful.
Understand the form, meaning and use of an item.
Form refers to how the pieces fit together, the endings, etc.
Use refers to the typical situations, conversations, contexts
in which it might be used.
Be informed about the form, meaning and use of language.
Focus on learners’ attention on meaning and use by means
of excercises, explanations, drills, games, questions, etc.

14. Teaching Grammar con’t.
To learn a language item, learners need to: It follows that, in class, you probably need to:
Try things out in a safe environment with limited other
linguistic demands.
Have opportunities to practice new language, to ‘get their
mouths’ around new items.
Give many opportunities to practice, speak and write, with
encouragement and feedback.
Use the new language when speaking and writing to
communicate in different contexts
Offer speaking and writing tasks that allow learners to make
use of all the anguae they know.
Remember items. Pay attention to how learners record items.
Return to items again and again with revision tasks.

16. Clarification
Teacher explanation: Teacher
tells the leaner
Guided discovery: Teacher
helps the learner to tell himself.
Self-directed discovery: The
learner tells himself.

17. Guided
Discovery
Teachers can:
Ask questions that focus on meaning (concept questions)
Ask questions that focus on context (context questions)
Ask questions that focus on form.
Offer appropriate examples for analysis and discussion
Ask learners to analyze sentence from texts
Ask learners to reflect on language they have used
Ask learners to analyse errors
Ask learners to hypothesize rules
Set problems and puzzles concerning the language item
Offer tools to help clarify meaning, e.g timelines, tables, etc.
Help them to stay focused if they get sidetracked.
Raise their awareness as to what they have learned.

18. Timelines
• Timelines are simple diagrams that can help some learners to see relationships
between verb forms and their time reference. This diagram illustrates the sentence
'I'm reading a book at the moment’.
• Notice that the line starts 'before now' and continues 'beyond now'. Here, the wavy
line is usedto indicate the temporariness implied in the sentence.

20. Reflection
• Look back at what you have done in this unit. Look
at the following statements and complete the table.
When you are ready, compare your answers with a
partner. Can you add other statements to the table?
• Involve learners in the process as much as possible.
• Check that learners have understood the meaning.
• Give a lecture about grammar.
• Always use the same presentation technique.
• Highlight the form.
• Remember that different learners may have different
preferences for how new language items are presented.
Do’s Don’ts

21. Classroom Teaching Practice
• Prepare a Presentation stage of any of the following topics. Ensure to elicit the
meaning, spoken, and written forms.

22. Week 2 Session 2
Teaching Grammar
Demonstration
Dr. Russell Rodrigo

23. Reflection & Evaluation
1. What worked well in your micro teaching demonstration?
2. What didn’t work? Why?
3. How would you have done it differently?
4. Would it have a different outcome had it been demonstrated to real
ESL learners? Explain.