Introduction

to Grammar

Meanings and definition of

grammar
Fluency versus accuracy
Grammar for young learners
The place of grammar in the
primary ESL classroom

What is
Grammar?

Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to

express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it

works, the more we can monitor the meaning and
effectiveness of the way we and others use
language. It can help foster precision, detect
ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression
available in English. And it can help everyone--not
only teachers of English, but teachers of anything,
for all teaching is ultimately a matter of getting to
grips with meaning.
(David Crystal, "In Word and Deed," TES Teacher,
April 30, 2004)

Definition of GRAMMAR
The study of how words and their component parts

combine to form sentences.

The system of rules implicit in a language, viewed as a
mechanism for generating all sentences possible in that
language.
The study of the classes of words, their inflections, and
their functions and relations in the sentence
A system of rules that defines the grammatical structure
of a language
The study of how words and their component parts
combine to form sentences.
A set of rules and examples dealing with
the syntax and word structures (morphology) of a
language. Adjective: grammatical.

What is grammar?
The grammar of a language is
concerned with the forms of words
and how they are arranged to
enable its users to express
meaning.

Grammar is
the conventional way in which the

users of the language arrange their words.

Without grammar, the message may be
misunderstood.
necessary, not for its own sake; but for
talking about the language, e.g. to explain
an error, or to describe a certain style.

Grammar is not
defined by mere knowledge of

grammar rules
all there is to learning a language.

In truth, grammar rules are only

aids to learning, not the object
of learning.

Rules, like maps, are useful for

negotiating the terrain; they
should not be mistaken for the
terrain itself. And they are only
helpful in so far as they do help us
negotiate the terrain.
(Alan Maley)

Types of Grammar
Linguists are quick to remind us that there
are different varieties of grammar--that is,
different ways of describing and analyzing
the structures and functions of language.

Descriptive Grammar
and
Prescriptive Grammar

Descriptive Grammar
(definition #1) refers to the structure of a

language as it is actually used by speakers and

writers.
Descriptive grammarians generally advise us not

to be overly concerned with matters of

correctness: language, they say, isn't good or
bad; it simply is.
For instance, a discussion of the Basic Parts of

Speech is primarily descriptive,

Prescriptive Grammar
(definition

#2) refers to the structure of a

language as certain people think it should be
used.

Prescriptive grammarians prefer giving practical

advice about using language: straightforward

rules to help us avoid making errors. The rules
may be over-simplified at times, but they are
meant to keep us out of trouble--the kind of
trouble that may distract or even confuse our
readers.
A lesson on Correcting Errors in Subject-Verb
Agreement is obviously prescriptive.

Basic distinction between descriptive

grammar and prescriptive grammar
Both kinds of grammar are concerned with

rules--but in different ways.

Specialists in descriptive grammar
(called linguists) study the rules or patterns that
underlie our use of words, phrases, clauses, and
sentences.
On the other hand, prescriptive grammarians
(such as most editors and teachers) lay out rules
about what they believe to be the correct or
incorrect use of language.

Varieties of Grammar
Comparative Grammar
Generative Grammar
Mental Grammar
Pedagogical Grammar
Performance Grammar
Reference Grammar
Theoretical Grammar
Traditional Grammar
Transformational Grammar
Universal Grammar

Varieties of Grammar
New grammars are emerging all the time.
There's word grammar, for instance.
And relational grammar.
And that brings to mind arc pair grammar.
Not to mention cognitive grammar, lexical functional

grammar, head-driven phrase structure grammar . . .

and many more.

Grammatical Meaning
Meaning that is conveyed by word order and

other grammatical signals.

Linguists distinguish grammatical meaning

from lexical meaning (or denotation) - the

dictionary meaning of an individual word.

Words grouped together randomly have little

meaning on their own, unless it occurs

accidentally.
For example, each of the following words has
lexical meaning at the word level, as is shown in
a dictionary, but they convey no grammatical
meaning as a group:
[without grammatical meaning]
Lights the leap him before the down hill
purple.

However when a special order is given to these

words, grammatical meaning is created

because of the relationships they have to one
another.
[with grammatical meaning]
The purple lights leap down the hill before him.
(Bernard O'Dwyer, Modern English Structures: Form, Function and
Position. Broadview Press, 2006)

Different forms of the same lexeme will generally

(though not necessarily) differ in meaning

They will share the same lexical meaning (or
meanings) but differ in respect of their grammatical
meaning
E.g. the difference between singular and plural
forms of a noun of a particular subclass
or, the difference between the past, present and
future forms of verbs, is semantically relevant: it
affects sentence-meaning.
The meaning of a sentence . . . is determined partly
by the meaning of the words (i.e., lexemes) of which
it is composed and partly by its grammatical
meaning.

(John Lyons, Linguistic Semantics: An Introduction.

Cambridge University Press, 1996)

Fluency vs Accuracy

There are two types of language learner:

The first type gets really worried about making errors or
mistakes.
They think about everything that they say carefully.
Sometimes, if they start to say something, and then
realize they have made a mistake, they will stop and
correct that mistake, maybe returning to the beginning
of the sentence.
They might pause between each word, contemplating
what the right word or phrase is before they say it.
For these learners, generally, their accuracy is high, but
their fluency is low.

The second type of language learner doesnt really care

about making mistakes or errors.

They have an idea in their head of what they want to
communicate, and they say it with whatever words and
language feel the most natural.
They make frequent mistakes, sometimes in every
sentence!
Their grammar can be a mixture of English and their
native language.
They either dont know or dont care if they are making
errors or mistakes.
These learners have high fluency, but low accuracy.

Accuracy
Accuracy is the ability to produce correct

sentences using correct grammar and

vocabulary.
Accuracy is relative. A child in early primary isn't
capable of the same level of accuracy as an
adult.
Teachers who concentrate on accuracy help
their students to produce grammatically correct
written and spoken English.
Typical accuracy activities are:
grammar presentations, gap-fill exercises, frame
dialogues.

Fluency
Fluency is the ability to read, speak, or write easily,

smoothly, and expressively. In other words, the

speaker can read, understand and respond in a
language clearly and concisely while relating
meaning and context.
Fluency generally increases as learners progress
from beginning to advanced readers and writers.
Language teachers who concentrate on fluency help
their students to express themselves in fluent
English. They pay more attention to meaning and
context and are less concerned with grammatical
errors.
Typical fluency activities are: role plays, speeches,
communicative activities, games.

Which one is more

important for you as
a language learner
fluency or accuracy?

The answer depends on what kind of learner you

are.
If you focus too much on accuracy, and therefore
speak very slowly, you need to improve your fluency.
Speaking too slowly is bad for maintaining a
conversation.
After a few seconds of silence, the person you are
talking to starts thinking about something else.
Communication is failing, you need to speak faster.
Dont worry about making errors or mistakes most
are not serious, and dont affect communication.

But if you focus too much on fluency, you need to

ask yourself if you are achieving your goals in

communication.
Are your mistakes and errors causing problems for
the people who listen to you?
If the answer is yes, you need to slow down and pay
more attention to what you say.
Speaking really fast, with lots of errors, is very
problematic for the people who are listening to you.

And if you are somewhere in the middle?

Now you have to take a balanced approach.
When you are in the safe environment of a

classroom, with the support of teachers and fellowlearners, you should focus on accuracy, because
these people can help correct your mistakes and
errors.
But when you are outside the classroom when you
are at work, or socializing with friends concentrate
on communicating as fluently as possible.

Accuracy and Fluency are two factors which can

determine the success of English language students

in the future.
Both fluency and accuracy are equally important.
At the end of the day, it depends on what your goal
is for learning English.

Taken as a given that students' needs should always

dictate what you teach them, the question of whether

it is more important to work on accuracy or fluency in
the language classroom remains.
Many teachers believe that fluency is a goal worth
striving towards only with students who are at a fairly
advanced level.
Other teachers, strong in the belief that the learning
of a language is about communication, feel that
fluency should be the main goal in their teaching and
that it should be practiced right from the start.

More traditional teachers give accuracy paramount

importance and test their students for accuracy and

accuracy only!
Often a rigid educational system where tests and
exams are the focus, will have students (and their
traditional teachers) believe that language accuracy
is what matters most, and giving the "correct"
answers often becomes an obsession.
Students who have been taught this way can
complete any grammar gap-fill you care to give
them, but will struggle to order a coffee in a real
English speaking situation.

Students learning accuracy without fluency, and

vice versa, is one of the biggest threats to

successful learning and balancing accuracy and
fluency should be the aim of any English
language teacher.

So, as a teacher, what should you

focus on with the learners?

The role of grammar in ELT

The value of grammar in foreign language

teaching has been a focus of debate for

decades, and no conclusion is in sight.
The answer to whether grammar should be
taught and to what extent grammar should be
taught depends on some variables in the
language teaching/learning context, such as
learner variables and instructional
variables.

The very mention of grammar creates a huge mental

block in the mind of a student.

Grammar can be taught first via listening and

speaking and then reading and writing. But it need

not be boring, dry, technical, and fundamentally
useless.
Maybe the way grammar is taught should change.

Should we be teaching English

grammar in the primary school?
It is generally believed that :
Grammar teaching is less important for children
than for adults;
Grammar teaching is less important in listening

and reading than in writing.

Grammar for Young Learners

Teaching grammar to young Learners is different to
teaching grammar to teenagers and adults.
What are the main differences?
Clear and easy to understand
Motivating and interesting
Keep vocabulary simple
Review and revise

Some suggestions about teaching grammar

1. Teach only those rules that are simple and
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.

typical.
Teach useful and important grammar points.
Teach grammar in context.
Use visible instruments such as charts,
tables, diagrams, maps, drawings, and
realia to aid understanding;
Avoid difficult grammatical terminologies as
much as possible.
Allow enough opportunities for practice.
Live with the students mistakes and errors.

The Value of Studying Grammar

Studying grammar may help learners become a

more effective writer.

The study of grammar all by itself will not necessarily
make learners a better writer.
But by gaining a clearer understanding of how
language works, learners should also gain greater
control over the way they shape words into
sentences and sentences into paragraphs.

Metaphor on Grammar
Grammar is like the icing on the cake.
The cake is the basic foundation of
language which includes all the skills
(listening, speaking, reading and writing)
plus vocabulary.
One can have a big and tall cake but if the
icing is done untidily, it won't look good.
The icing gives the cake its real value.
It makes the cake look delicious, even the
tiniest cupcake.

Metaphor on Grammar
Teacher is the chef who can teach her students how to

make a good icing - the colours they can choose and

introduce them to other toppings (cherry, candies, sugar
etc.)

However, it's the students responsibilities to decorate

their own cake - whether they can be a good writer or

speaker.

They can always ask for the teachers advice and she'll

correct them on their techniques.

We have the same goal: to be able to create a

masterpiece one day.

What's the place of grammar in

language teaching?
As teachers, we should endeavor to learn about

how English works, and that includes how

English grammar works, in order to be able to
explain stuff to our students.
That might mean undertaking formal
professional development, or just doing some
personal study (eg. reading a book such as
'Rediscover Grammar' by David Crystal).