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Teaching grammar better! Hugh Dellar The University of Westminster Heinle Cengage
The tyranny of PPP -  Present, Practise, Produce -  grammar teaching! I’ve broken my leg!
 
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
And yet - it doesn’t work. At least not as well as we’d like it to! Why? 1. Students learn to talk  about  English - not talk  in  English!
[object Object],[object Object]
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Keep it real! What John lost was the keys! Teach grammar in real-world situations. Don’t over-stretch structures lexically. Keep things true to what you say and hear.
Conversations - and the way they develop - have to start being given priority over the study of structures in isolation. What’re you doing tonight? Why did you decide to do that, then? Have you been to see a doctor about it?
What’re you studying? I’m going out with a couple of friends tonight. Crime is getting worse and worse at the moment. I’m doing an extra shift at work tonight to cover for someone. My boss is breathing down my neck about it. They’re denying him access to a lawyer. They certainly are stepping up their campaign. She’s not pulling her weight.
Form I am  You are He / She / It is + -ing We are They are
[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]
Students need repeated exposure  to the most common grammatical  patterns Students need to do different things  on different days to the same  structures.
Starting from thinking about  how conversations work ensures  repeated exposure to grammar. More conversations in class  means more recycling and  encourages more noticing.
Don’t teach single words -  teach words with the grammar they typically go with. Think about the examples you write up on  the board.
He  started out  as an office boy and then slowly worked his ……… up. Now he’s the managing director! I  started out  working in private language schools, and got my lucky b…… about ten years ago when I moved to the university.
My parents are really  strict . They never let me . . .  And they always make me . . .
Students need to know different things  about different grammar at different  levels.   Low levels need plenty of grammar-as-lexis. Higher levels need to practise  grammaticalising - and to briefly explore  more obscure grammar in clear contexts.
There’s more to life than tenses! Just because  I’m single  it doesn’t  mean  I’m desperately lonely!   Do you fancy  go ing  out somewhere tonight? In all probability,  I ’ll  be there sometime around 9. It was so  hot I could hardly breathe!
Follow us on  facebook Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkley

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Teaching Grammar Better

  • 1. Teaching grammar better! Hugh Dellar The University of Westminster Heinle Cengage
  • 2. The tyranny of PPP - Present, Practise, Produce - grammar teaching! I’ve broken my leg!
  • 3.  
  • 4.
  • 5. And yet - it doesn’t work. At least not as well as we’d like it to! Why? 1. Students learn to talk about English - not talk in English!
  • 6.
  • 7.
  • 8. Keep it real! What John lost was the keys! Teach grammar in real-world situations. Don’t over-stretch structures lexically. Keep things true to what you say and hear.
  • 9. Conversations - and the way they develop - have to start being given priority over the study of structures in isolation. What’re you doing tonight? Why did you decide to do that, then? Have you been to see a doctor about it?
  • 10. What’re you studying? I’m going out with a couple of friends tonight. Crime is getting worse and worse at the moment. I’m doing an extra shift at work tonight to cover for someone. My boss is breathing down my neck about it. They’re denying him access to a lawyer. They certainly are stepping up their campaign. She’s not pulling her weight.
  • 11. Form I am You are He / She / It is + -ing We are They are
  • 12.
  • 13. Students need repeated exposure to the most common grammatical patterns Students need to do different things on different days to the same structures.
  • 14. Starting from thinking about how conversations work ensures repeated exposure to grammar. More conversations in class means more recycling and encourages more noticing.
  • 15. Don’t teach single words - teach words with the grammar they typically go with. Think about the examples you write up on the board.
  • 16. He started out as an office boy and then slowly worked his ……… up. Now he’s the managing director! I started out working in private language schools, and got my lucky b…… about ten years ago when I moved to the university.
  • 17. My parents are really strict . They never let me . . . And they always make me . . .
  • 18. Students need to know different things about different grammar at different levels. Low levels need plenty of grammar-as-lexis. Higher levels need to practise grammaticalising - and to briefly explore more obscure grammar in clear contexts.
  • 19. There’s more to life than tenses! Just because I’m single it doesn’t mean I’m desperately lonely! Do you fancy go ing out somewhere tonight? In all probability, I ’ll be there sometime around 9. It was so hot I could hardly breathe!
  • 20. Follow us on facebook Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkley