I.2. Grammatical structures

A specific instance of grammar is usually called a structure. Examples of structures would be the past tense, noun plurals, the comparison of adjectives, and so on. Not all languages have the same structures: the English verb has aspects (such as the progressive: she is going) which other languages do not; German ascribes masculine, feminine or neuter gender to its nouns, which English does not. It is largely such discrepancies which cause problems to the foreign language learners; though quite how difficult these problems will be it is often hard to predict, even if the teacher is familiar with the learner’s mother tongue. Occasionally foreign structures that look strange may be surprisingly easy to master, and vice versa. [2]

I.3. Grammatical meaning

Grammar does not only affect how units of language are combined in order to look right; it also affects their meaning. The teaching of grammatical meaning tends to be neglected in many textbooks in favour of an emphasis on accuracy of form; but it is no good knowing how to perceive or construct a new tense of a verb if language user does not know exactly what difference it makes to meaning when it is used. It is often the meanings of structures which create the difficulties for foreign learners. [2]

The meaning of a grammatical structure may be quite difficult to teach. It is fairly simple to explain that the addition of a plural -s to the noun in English and French indicates that you are talking about more than one item. And there are parallels in other languages. But it is very difficult to explain to the foreigner (especially Ukraine learners) when to use the present perfect I have gone, for example in English, and when the past simple I went. As for a grammarian or an experienced English language teacher, they may have the answer at their fingertips; but most English speakers who have not previously studied this question will have to stop and think, and may find it difficult to answer.

I.4. The place of grammar teaching

The place of grammar in the teaching of foreign language is controversial. Most people agree that knowledge of a language means, among other things, knowing its grammar; but this knowledge may be intuitive (as it is in native language), and it is not necessarily true that grammatical structures need to be taught but as for foreign language, the formal rules are need to be learned.

In teaching English grammar there are many theoretical approaches that have been developed to promote the students' success in learning new information. In Teaching English to Students of Other Languages program, there are two main theoretical approaches for the presentation of new English grammar structures or functions to students: inductive approach and deductive approach. The more traditional of the two theories, is the deductive approach, while the emerging and more modern theory, is the inductive approach. [5]

I.5. Approaches

The deductive approach represents a more traditional style of teaching in that the grammatical structures or rules are dictated to the students first. Thus, the students learn the rule and apply it only after they have been introduced to the rule. For example, if the structure to be presented is present perfect, the teacher would begin the lesson by saying, Today we are going to learn how to use the present perfect structure. Then, the rules of the present perfect structure would be outlined and the students would complete exercises, in a number of ways, to practice using the structure. In this approach, the teacher is the center of the class and is responsible for all of the presentation and explanation of the new material.

The inductive approach represents a more modern style of teaching where the new grammatical structures or rules are presented to the students in a real language context. The students learn the use of the structure through practice of the language in context, and later realize the rules from the practical examples. For example, if the structure to be presented is the comparative form, the teacher would begin the lesson by drawing a figure on the board and saying, This is Jim. He is tall. Then, the teacher would draw another taller figure next to the first saying, This is Bill. He is taller than Jim. The teacher would then provide many examples using students and items from the classroom, famous people, or anything within the normal daily life of the students, to create an understanding of the use of the structure. The students repeat after the teacher, after each of the different examples, and eventually practice the structures meaningfully in groups or pairs. With this approach, the teacher's role is to provide meaningful contexts to encourage demonstration of the rule, while the students evolve the rules from the examples of its use and continued practice. [6]

In both approaches, the students practice and apply the use of the grammatical structure, yet, there are advantages and disadvantages to each in the classroom. The deductive approach can be effective with students of a higher level, who already know the basic structures of the language, or with students who are accustomed to a very traditional style of learning and expect grammatical presentations. The deductive approach however, is less suitable for lower level language students, for presenting grammatical structures that are complex in both form and meaning, and for classrooms that contain younger learners. The advantages of the inductive approach are that students can focus on the use of the language without being held back by grammatical terminology and rules that can inhibit fluency. The inductive approach also promotes increased student participation and practice of the target language in the classroom, in meaningful contexts. The use of the inductive approach has been noted for its success in classrooms world-wide, but its disadvantage is that it is sometimes difficult for students who expect a more traditional style of teaching to induce the language rules from context. Understanding the disadvantages and advantages of both approaches, may help the teacher to vary and organize the foreign language lesson, in order to keep classes interesting and motivating for the students. [6]