Of all the four skills in a language, which helps an individual the most to express his or her ideas and feelings to others? The two most important skills are speaking and writing. Speaking and writing are the Transmission Skills. In order for one to transmit one's ideas and feelings to others effectively, a good command in the said language is essential. Of course, listening and reading play an important part in language too. They are the Reception Skills. But speaking and writing help one to accomplish one's purpose. Clarity in speaking and writing is achieved by dint of effort in language learning. It rewards handsomely if the language is learned in a methodical and logical manner. And it applies even more to a language like English which is the indisputable world language at present. One may possess all the knowledge pertaining to one's vocation but if one lacks the powers of expression, one is very much handicapped to compete locally and globally. Thus, the powers of expression in the transmission skills in a language are very much enhanced when one has learned a language logically.

1. IMPORTANCE OF
STRUCTURE IN
LEARNING ENGLISH

2. WHAT IS THE
STRUCTURAL
APPROACH?
The Structural
Approach is
organised along
grammatical lines
giving primacy to
language form.

3. WHAT IS THE
STRUCTURAL
APPROACH?
It specifies structural
patterns as the basic
units of learning. Its
backbone is grammar
study which leads to
sentence-building.

4. WHAT IS THE
STRUCTURAL
APPROACH?
In the Structural
Approach, three
principles form the
bones of the English
Language.

5. WHAT IS THE
STRUCTURAL
APPROACH?
These three principles
are :
Word Order
Structural Words
Inflexion

6. WHAT IS THE
STRUCTURAL
APPROACH?
The study of these
three principles
becomes much easier
when one has a good
understanding of
English Grammar.

7. WHAT IS THE
STRUCTURAL
APPROACH?
A proper
understanding and use
concerning these
three principles
enable one to proceed
to higher English work.

8. WHAT IS THE
STRUCTURAL
APPROACH?
These principles,
which are noticeably
absent in other
approaches/methods
in learning English,
form the gist of English
learning in the
Structural Approach.

9. THE FIRST PRINCIPLE – WORD ORDER
SUBJECT – VERB – OBJECT (S-V-O)
• Tom hit Jack.
• Jack hit Tom.
• Although the two sentences above have the same word order (S-V-O), they convey
different meanings. The two words, Tom and Jack, that fill the Subject and Object
columns are Nouns.
• He beat me.
• I beat him.
• Again the two sentences above convey different meanings despite having the same
word order (S-V-O). The words he and I that fill the Subject columns as well as the
words me and him that fill the Object columns are Pronouns.

10. THE SECOND PRINCIPLE – STRUCTURAL WORDS
• PRONOUNS – I, me, you, he, him, we, us, etc.
• PREPOSITIONS – in, at, under, down, from, etc.
• AUXILIARY VERBS – be, have, do, shall, will, may, etc.
• ADJECTIVES – this, that, a, an, the, all, each, etc.
• ADVERBS – again, also, even, ever, ago, etc.
• These structural words are the frequently used words in the English language.
• They are very important.

11. THE THIRD PRINCIPLE – INFLEXION
• Inflexion refers to words undergoing changes of form by which the meaning of the words is
modified.
• The first inflexion to be taught in English is the inflexion for NUMBER (Singular & Plural) in
the study of nouns. Plural nouns can be formed in several ways.
• 1. boy, boys // pen, pens.
2. dress, dresses // match, matches // box, boxes.
3. hero, heroes // piano, pianos.
4. lady, ladies // story, stories.
5. key, keys // journey, journeys.
6. knife, knives // loaf, loaves // thief, thieves.
7. roof, roofs.
8. man, men // woman, women.
9. tooth, teeth // mouse, mice.
10. child, children.
11. sheep, sheep // deer, deer.

12. THE THIRD PRINCIPLE – INFLEXION
The second inflexion is the inflexion for VERBS. The verbs in the 3rd Person
Singular (for the Present Tense only) end in –s, -es and –ies.
•
I walk We walk
You walk You walk
He walks They walk
She walks
It walks

13. THE THIRD PRINCIPLE – INFLEXION
I try We try
You try You try
He tries They try
She tries
It tries

14. THE THIRD PRINCIPLE – INFLEXION.
I wash We wash
You wash You wash
He washes They wash
She washes
It washes

15. THE THIRD PRINCIPLE – INFLEXION
The third inflexion is the inflexion for ADJECTIVES.
POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
long longer longest
quick quicker quickest
beautiful more beautiful most beautiful

16. THE THIRD PRINCIPLE – INFLEXION
Also, the third inflexion is the inflexion for ADVERBS.
POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
easily more easily most easily
well better best
early earlier earliest

17. Speaking and
writing are the
transmission skills.

18. The speaker is
face-to-face with
his audience but
the writer is not.

19. It becomes doubly
harder for writers to
convey their thoughts
and feelings to the
intended audience.

20. The intended audience
can be the readers who
read their prose or the
clients who read their
e-mails, formal letters,
reports and
memorandums.

21. Thus, a good
command of
written English is
vital.

22. One doesn’t write
English as one
speaks English.

23. One should follow
the rules concerning
written English.

24. These rules are
acquired in the
learning of English
grammar.

25. In the Structural
Approach, grammar is
given prominence as it
empowers a learner in
the transmission skills –
speaking and writing.

26. The powers of
expression are
enhanced.

27. Writing English well
determines one’s
success in the working
world and this is a fact
lacking sorely in staff
employed in the
corporate world.

28. Organisations place
a premium on staff
who can express
themselves in
written English well.

29. A person’s level of
education in the English
language is very much
judged by his or her
knowledge in grammar.
This shows glaringly in
the written form.

30. Inability to write English
well renders a person
incapable of taking on
higher tasks at the
workplace.

31. Practically, everyone
can get away with the
spoken form BUT not
the written form.

32. Written English has
grammar as its
foundation.

33. Without this solid
foundation of
grammar study, the
written work will lack
“punch”.

34. In other words, a TRUE
PROFESSIONAL is
one who expresses
oneself in written
English clearly and
confidently.

35. Grammar in its
entirety is just a
mechanical exercise.

36. Grammar should be
an aid to composition.

37. The whole purpose of
learning English is defeated if
it doesn’t teach one to write
clear and correct English
sentences through
grammar study. Without
the three principles, English
proficiency would be
impossible.

38. REGISTER FOR THE ONLINE
PROGRAMME
•
Learning English Grammar using the
Structural Approach is now available
on WizIQ.
• To enrol for this 10-hour programme,
click on the following link:-
http://www.wiziq.com/course/63581-
learning-english-grammar-using-the-
structural-approach