Input reading 3
Warming-up discussion
Produce a list of your favorite and most successful techniques of teaching grammar
Types of grammar activities
Grammar activities can be of the following types:
language analysis for induction of (using examples to generate a rule) and deduction from the rules (giving examples based on a rule),
formal drill such as substitution, completion and transformation,
functional drill such as receiving training in expressing a certain grammar meaning (e.g. futurity, priority of actions, types of modality etc)
meaningful drill such using grammar in a broader situational context (writing a story or acting out a role-play with a grammar focus in mind)
Grammar drill
Grammar drill is a teaching/learning activity, which emphasizes rote learning, memorization and automation of language. Grammar drill does not necessarily have to be a meaningless mechanical task. An effective alternative is the "meaningful drill", in which the learners repeatedly use identical language in order to develop the necessary skill, but every time they use the structure, they convey a certain communicative message.
E.g. the teaching task can be to organize a contrastive drilling activity of the structures "used to do something" and "are used to doing something". For this purpose the learners are given the pictures of the kitchen equipment in the eighteenth century and of the twentieth century. They produce phrases like "People used to grind meat in the meat grinders. Now people are used to buying minced meat at the supermarket" etc. The learners can elicit from the pictures about 10-12 identical phrases necessary to reinforce the required grammar skill.
Exploratory task 3.1
Grammar drills can take a format of a "pen-and-paper" exercise. Pen-and-paper exercise can take the form of "writing from notes". You are facing a busy day, which is full of commitments. Write a brief summary of your obligations, choices and alternatives for the day looking at your notes (notes have been done for you). Grammar target - modal verbs "must", "have to", "can", "should", "ought to", "need", "be to". Reflect on the activity after you have done it with the peers.
Phone Richard. Very important. Lunch with the Browns. Boring
as usual. Buy a rail ticket. A day off tomorrow. Take Charlotte to
the airport. Courtesy gesture. Have dinner with my uncle. Did not
make it last time. Return home by six. Expect a telephone call.
Exploratory task 3.2
A drill can take the form of a cued activity, in which a teacher gives the learners a cue in order to elicit the necessary language. A cue can be just a word prompting the expected utterance. E.g. the purpose of teaching is to reinforce the Past Simple of the verbs. The teacher asks the learners to think of what caused the death of the dinosaurs. The teacher gives the cues and the learners make up phrases. Complete the list of words and do the activity with the peers. Reflect on the procedure.
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