Principles of teaching English grammar

Approaches	Brief description
Conscious approach	- Short and simple presentation of a grammar item with its contrast in L1 and L2 or within L2 only: He has come. He came an hour ago. Он пришел. Он пришел час назад. Give me a book. Give me the book. - Rules are learnt not for grammar knowledge but for grammar usage.
Practical approach	- Learning grammar items necessary for immediate use in oral or written language. - Performing various exercises with a grammar item.
Structural approach	- Grammar items are introduced and drilled in structures or sentence patterns. Learners learn sentence patterns and how to use them in oral and written language.
Situational approach	- Learning a grammar item in different situations Possessive case in the classroom – this is Anna’s bag. that is Peter’s pen, etc.
Different approach	- Teaching of active grammar minimum (for speaking) and passive grammar minimum (for reading and writing). Selection of grammar material should be based also on the principle of frequency (the Present Simple (Indefinite) is frequently used both in conversation and in various texts. Therefore it should be included in the grammar minimum.

Types of exercise for learning English grammar

1. Recognition exercises: they help learners to recognize grammar items in structures (sentence patterns) while listening and reading:

- Listen to the sentences and raise hands when you hear the verbs in the Past Simple.

Mike lives in Pushkin Street.

I lived there last year. Ann gets up at 7 o'clock in the morning.

She got up at half past seven yesterday.

- Read the sentences and choose the correct form of the verb:

I (go, went) to school yesterday.

Tom (takes, took) a bus when he goes to school.

She (got, gets, gets) up at 7 o' clock every day.

2. Drill exercises: they help learners to reproduce grammar items while speaking and writing.

Repetitive drill ( Teacher: They are dancing in the park. Class: They are dancing in the park. Individuals: They are dancing in the park).

Substitution (The children are dancing (playing, singing, etc.) in the park (street, garden, hall, etc.)

Completion (Teacher: Look at the picture. Mike is ... ... . Learner: Mike is getting up. Class: Mike is getting up. Teacher: Mike is ... ... .Learner: Mike is dressing. Class: Mike is dressing).

Answering the questions (Teacher: Is Mike getting up? Learner: Yes, he is. Teacher: Who is getting up? Learner: Mike is. Teacher: What is Mike doing? Learner: He is getting up).

3. Creative exercises (speech exercises): they help learners to produce sentences with grammar items for speaking or writing.

Making statements on the picture the teacher shows, or on objects (Teacher hangs up a picture and asks learners to say or write three or five statements in the Present Continuous).

Asking questions with a grammar item (Learners ask and answer questions in the Past Indefinite)

Speaking about the situation offered by the teacher (Some learners give commands to each other to perform actions, the other learners comment on the action (actions) their classmates perform. Learner 1: Go to the door, Sasha. Learner 2: Sasha is going to the door. Learner 3: Open the door. Learner 4: Sasha is opening the door).

Speaking on a topic (Learners tell what they did yesterday).

Making dialogues with a grammar item (Learners make dialogues about their daily routines with Present Simple).

Telling the story (read, heard) (Learners tell the story they read in Past Simple).

Translating into English (Learners translate the text and underline all verbs in Past Continuous).

4. Grammar tests: they help teacher and learners to see and evaluate progress in grammar (Learners fill in the blanks, open the brackets, do transformations: make sentences negative, change into plural, making statements on the picture…).