Personally, I feel that spoken grammar is very important. Not only for basic communication, but more importantly individuals who speak proper English feel more confident in their ability to communicate and inevitably their confidence will radiate outward. Also, if one speaks grammatically correct they give the impression of intelligence (whether they are or not :).
ESL as well as non-ESL students benefit immensely from the inductive approach. All students understand information at a deeper level if they are able to draw their own conclusions and answers.
When teaching grammar, I generally start with an exercise that introduces the new grammar concept. Next, I ask questions about the concept, this enables the students to make their own connections. As the lesson progresses I continue to facilitate the students while they are doing their own learning. Grammar can be very tricky for ESL students because many may not understand grammar 'jargon'. For this reason is is so important to help them see the answers without verbally telling them the answers.
www.a4esl.org is a great resource for ESL exercises. Another invaluable resource is www.rong-chang.com . Both resources have very useful links for teachers and students.
~Melissa
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You did provide some discussion as to why/how you teach grammar which was one part of the blog #2 criteria. You also had a set of articles though to compare/contrast in the entry: see below for blog specifics:
ReplyDeleteView the links titled:
What is Standard English?
What is Grammar? Descriptive? Prescriptive?
What is the Value of Studying Grammar?
Which English is Best?
Teaching Grammar in an ESL Classroom
Principled Eclecticism
Reflect on the information presented in the above sources.
Compare and contrast the views presented.