MODULE

Overall View of Teaching and Assessment of the Grammar

Chapter 1

Welcome to the New Normal Learning!

In this module, you student continue your study of classroom level assessment by
focusing on grammar, or form-focused assessment. To begin this discussion, this module will
focus on the specific methods of assessment used in grammar. It will also help you to design
classroom level assessments targeted to measure grammar. The topics of the previous units the
structure of English, including learner perception and identity, assessment and instruction,
principles of assessment will be used in the hands-on activities. This module will also discuss how
this form-focused assessment is embedded in assessments of the grammar. Happy Learning!

Lesso Grammar Definition and Assessment

n1 Time Frame: Week 1-Week 2

Task 1

Let us check your prior knowledge with the following grammar activities.

A. Choose and underline the appropriate noun that will give the meaning indicated
in the sentence.
1. Dr. Santiago reads the morning (paper,papers).
2. Sourness is (property, a property) of vinegar.
3. The (sands, sand) in Boracay are white.
4. Monsoon (rain, rains) affect Metro Manila.
5. Janet is expecting (company, a company) today.
B. Create sentences from given words. Use any tense.
Example : want and go
I want to go (to Manila next week).
1. Plan and go
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. Consider and go
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. Decide and get
_______________________________________________________________________________
4. Like and visit
_______________________________________________________________________________
5. Forget and go
______________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 1 : Grammar Definition & Assessment

1
Task 2 : CHECKPOINT

A.
1. In your own words, define grammar? (5pts.)

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________.

2. Why study grammar? (5pts.)

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________.
3. What do you consider as your major grammar problems? (5pts.)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
4. Why should we assess grammar? (5pts.)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
B. Technical Writing (KWL Chart)

K L
W
What do I already know What did I learn about
What do I want to learn
about this lesson this lesson
about this lesson

Lesson 1 : Grammar Definition & Assessment

2
Abstraction

What is Grammar?

The word “Grammar” means different things to different people.

 Crystal (1995) says it is "... that branch of the description of language which accounts for the
way in which words combine to form sentences.”
 “English grammar is chiefly a system of syntax, that decides the order and patterns in which
words are arranged into sentences.” (Close, 1982)

For now, we will define grammar as a set of rules for syntax that allows language users to
communicate.
The Important of Grammar
Why assessing grammar?
1. Linguistics or communicative competence
2. Structures or functions
3. Usage or use
4. Prescriptive or descriptive

Assessing Grammar
1. Assessment is another fundamental aspect of teaching.
2. Assessment can help you determine a student's proficiency in a language.
3. Using assessment can help to identify the strengths and weaknesses a learner has.
4. Teachers also need to use constant assessment to determine how well students are
comprehending the material that has been covered or how much information they picked up
from a specific course.
5. Assessment and evaluation are not the same yet they are closely related.
6. Assessment relates to individual student learning. It is the act of collecting information and
making judgments on a language learner’s knowledge of language and ability to use it.
7. Evaluation refers to a broader term concerning a collection and interpretation of information
relating to the value of an entire course or program for the reach of specific functions or
goals.

Reasons to Assess
A. Diagnosing student’s strengths and weaknesses.
B. Deciding what to and what not to teach next.
C. Giving student’s feedback.
D. Seeing students’ progress.
E. Handing students a final grade.

Types of Assessment
Formative assessment & Summative assessment

Formative on going process

Summative the end of learning

Lesson 1 : Grammar Definition & Assessment

3
Authentic Assessment
Authentic assessment is another way to check for students' understanding of grammatical rules.
For example, they might be asked to take a newspaper article and make corrections or
improvements.
TEST FORMATS
Recognition Production
For students to identify errors in a given For students to show communicative
context. skills.
o Multiple choice items o Completion items
o Error-recognition o Paraphrase
o Items True/False o Editing
o Pairing and matching items o Sentence transformation

Note:
The use of grammatical terms should preferably be avoided in the instructions.

Grammaring

“Grammaring” is the term used by Diane Larson-Freeman to describe the grammar-related skills
that English language learners need to develop.

According to Diane Larson-Freeman, knowledge of grammar consists of three parts: knowledge

of form, knowledge of meaning, and knowledge of use.

Let’s look at an example. Consider the morpheme ‘s that is added after nouns, as in My sister’s
car is white.

Form: ‘s
Meaning: possession
Use: ‘s versus the car of my sister (less common in English)
According to Diane Larson-Freeman, it is not enough to know the form and meaning of a
grammatical structure. We also need to know when and why to use it.
Grammatical Ability

Grammatical ability is the result of a combination of knowledge of grammar and strategic

competence.

That is, grammatical ability comes from knowing grammar, knowing how to use grammar, and
knowing when to use grammar.

This is similar to Diane Larson-Freeman’s “grammaring,” which involves form, meaning, and use.

Lesson 1 : Grammar Definition & Assessment

4
Knowledge of Grammar

Grammar knowledge consists of several components, including:

 Phonological form (e.g., segmental forms, minimal pairs)
o Knowledge of phonological form allows language users to understand and
produce features of the writing system.
 Lexical form (e.g., spelling, word formation)
o Knowledge of lexical form allows language users to understand and produce
features of words.
 Morphosyntactic form (e.g., affixes and suffixes, word order)
o Knowledge of morphosyntax allows language users to understand and produce
the morphological and the syntactic forms of the language.

Developing a test of grammar: First steps

Practice: Feedback

The first steps of developing a new assessment are to think about the test purpose, target
language use, and the construct we wish to measure.

Developing a Grammar Test

Here’s an example:

Imagine that our students are studying English for academic purposes.

Our purpose for testing is to measure students’ ability to use when/if constructions.

Ex. When it rains, I go to sleep; if it rains, I bring an umbrella to work with me .

Our construct includes form, meaning, and use.

So, we want to develop a test that measures students’ ability to use the correct form (when +
independent clause, independent clause), meaning (which happens first?), and use (do we use
this construction to talk about real events or hypothetical events?)

Ex. When I study for my test, I earn an excellent grade.

We have our test purpose and our construct. Now, we need to select grammar test tasks that will
allow us to measure our construct and meet our purpose for testing.

Ex. When I study for my test, I earn an excellent grade.

Some item formats or test tasks that you might use to measure grammar ability. Some of these
are very familiar now. Let’s talk about some new item formats:

FORMATS OR TEST TASKS

Multiple choice
Multiple choice error identification
NEW Discrimination task
Noticing task
Fill-in-the-blank
Short answer
Role play tasks

Lesson 1 : Grammar Definition & Assessment

5
 Multiple Choice Error Identification

Multiple choice error identification tasks can be used to assess knowledge of grammatical form,
meaning, and use. In this task, test-takers circle the letter corresponding to an error.

Example A.

This is not my book; I think that it is Marys’ book.

a b c d

 Discrimination Task

Discrimination tasks ask test-takers to choose based upon opposites.

Example B.

Do these two sentences mean the same thing or different things?

It is the cat’s house.
It is the house of the cat.
Circle one: SAME DIFFERENT

Example C.

Or, Is the sentence commonly used in speech?

It is the cat’s house.
Circle one: COMMON UNCOMMON
It is the house of the cat.
Circle one:
COMMON UNCOMMON
 Noticing Task

In this task, test-takers are asked to circle or underline a specific feature.

Example D.

Directions: Circle “would” when it is about the past. Underline “would” when it is about the
present or future.

When I was young, I would eat candy every day. Now, I would love to be able to eat candy all the
time!

Lesson 1 : Grammar Definition & Assessment

6
Task 3 :

A.
1. Now, go back and look at the example A,B,C,D.
Do example items test knowledge of form, meaning, or use?

______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________.

2. Enumerate some item test task or test formats.

1._______________________________
2. _______________________________
3. _______________________________
4. _______________________________
5. _______________________________
6. _______________________________
7. _______________________________

B. Fill in the blank.

______________________________ 1. a set of rules for syntax that allows language users to

communicate.
______________________________ 2. is another fundamental aspect of teaching.
_________________________________ 3. is the result of a combination of knowledge of grammar and
strategic competence.
_________________________________ 4. is the term used by Diane Larson-Freeman to describe the
grammar-related skills that English language learners need to
develop.
_________________________________ 5. is the act of collecting information and making judgments on a
language learner’s knowledge of language and ability to use it.

C. Venn Diagram : Compare and contrast

Assessment Evaluation
Contrast

Lesson 1 : Grammar Definition & Assessment

7
Closure

Congratulation! You have already unlock the Lesson 1 of this Module. Job well
done.

“Learning is never done without errors and defeat.”

– Vladimir Lenin

REFERENCES
Larson-Freeman, D. (2003). Teaching language: From grammar to grammaring.
Boston: Heinle, ELT.

Purpura, J. E. (2004). Assessing grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Crystal, David. 1995. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of The English Language.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2.

Lesson 1 : Grammar Definition & Assessment

8
Lesson 1 : Grammar Definition & Assessment
9