Week Week66

INTRODUCTION For a good grammar teaching, teachers have to make the lesson meaningful and interesting in which pupils need to be surrounded by and participate in meaningful discourse in their ESL classroom. Teachers should take the language learning forwards and bring in grammatical features of stories, dialogues, songs, etc. to the attention of their pupils in order to attract the pupils attention.

On the other hand, the teacher s lack of ability to apply the appropriate techni ues and plan suitable activities for the pupils can often destroy the pupils motivation in learning grammar. Thus, according to !hitravelu "#$$%&, there are several features that a teacher has to consider when planning suitable techni ues in his'her grammar classes. a& (e meaningful ) relate to students own needs, interests, likes and dislikes. b& (e purposeful ) provide challenge, get them involve and utili*e the new language. c& +ave a social function ) provide opportunities for interaction. d& ,rovide plenty of practice ) using similar language in different ways. e& -se a multimedia approach ) use of all the five senses f& ,rovide variety ) practise new structures using all four skills g& Encourage active participation

TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR .n this section, we move to practicalities and consider si/ techni ues how teachers may actually go about helping pupils develop their grammatical knowledge. i) "a& SONGS AND CHANTS Songs Songs is a very good tool to motivate the pupils0 learning process, it works also as a break for the routine. Songs could be an essential part of English teaching. .t makes the pupils more sensitive to the sounds and the classes becomes more interesting and powerful. (e careful with your students level. 1ou should choose a song according to their level and try to see if the song is suitable for them. There are lots of songs which are unsuitable for the language teaching, these songs have a bad pronounced wrongly. There are many reasons to use songs in the classroom ) Songs are authentic te/ts Songs can be linked to societal issues which might be interesting to students Songs provide good conte/t for grammar. Songs can trigger emotional and affective connections to the target language and culture. Learning through songs involve different skills. Songs are a good way to teach in an 2Edutainment2 way because they incorporate all the language skills) "3& Listening "to the song& 4 Following the song to determine words. "#& 5eading "following the lyrics to determine the words& "6& 7riting "filling in the blanks& "8& Speaking "singing the song& pronunciation or better the words are

Kind of songs: 4 Special songs 4 !hildren0s songs 4 9ction songs 4 Teaching structure songs 4 Telling stories songs 4 ,op Songs Ho !o "se songs#

$i) C%&ssi' g&()fi%%) ,upils listen to a song and as they listen they have the lyrics with gaps in for them to fill in as they listen. This activity is not as simple as it sounds and before making one yourself think about why you are taking out certain words. .t may be better to take out all the words in one group, such as prepositions or verbs, and tell the pupils what they should be listening out for. 9nother option is to take out rhyming words. :on t be tempted to take out too many words, eight or ten is normally enough. To make the task easier you could provide the missing words in a bo/ at the side for the pupils to select, or you could number the gaps and provide clues for each number. $ii) S(o! !*e +is!&kes: !hange some of the words in the lyrics and as pupils listen, they have to spot and correct the mistakes. 9s with the gap4fill limit the mistakes to a ma/imum of eight or ten and if possible choose a word set. 9nother e/ample of this for higher levels is to show the students the real lyrics and you correct the English and make it proper; E.g. gonna change to going to we was change to we were etc. This is a good way to focus on song language.

$iii) Co+i' s!,i(: Songs that tell stories are great for pupils to make comic strips out of. 1ou have to choose your song carefully and spend time looking at the lyrics with the pupils and making sure they have understood the main ideas. Lower levels may need guidance as to how to divide up the song into suitable chucks that can be represented pictorially. $i-) O,de, !*e -e,ses: 7ith low levels this is a very simple activity. !hop up the lyrics of the song by verse and give a small group of pupils the <umbled verses. 9s they listen they put them in order. $-) Dis'"ssion: !ertain songs lend themselves to discussions and you can use the song as a nice lead in to the topic and a way to pre4teach some of the vocabulary. For e/ample) Where is the love= by the (lack Eyed ,eas to lead in to a discussion about war. $-i) T,&ns%&!ion: 9lthough some teachers oppose all use of the mother tongue in the language classroom, some pupils really en<oy translating lyrics into their own language. .f you do ask your pupils to do this ensure the lyrics are worth translating;

C*&n!s >rammar chants can be a lot of fun to use in classes. They are especially effective when used to help pupils learn problematic forms. >rammar chants use repetition to engage the right side of the brain0s 0musical0 intelligence. The use of multiple intelligences can go a long way to helping pupils speak English 0automatically0. -sing a chant is pretty straight4forward. The teacher "or leader& stands up in front of the class and 0chants0 the lines. .t0s important to be as rhythmical as possible because these rhythms help the brain during its learning process. 5emember that through the use of repetition and having fun together "be as cra*y as you like& pupils will improve their 0automatic0 use of the language. E/ample of a chant on prepositions. Let s practice.

Te&'*e,./e&de,: 9t, on C%&ss.G,o"(: 9t, on Te&'*e,./e&de,: at 4 with time C%&ss.G,o"(: at 4 with time Te&'*e,./e&de,: on 4 with days C%&ss.G,o"(: on 4 with days Te&'*e,./e&de,: 7e eat at eight. C%&ss.G,o"(: 7e eat at eight. Te&'*e,./e&de,: 7e meet on ?ondays. C%&ss.G,o"(: 7e meet on ?ondays. Te&'*e,./e&de,: She leaves at five. C%&ss.G,o"(: She leaves at five. Te&'*e,./e&de,: They play on Saturdays. C%&ss.G,o"(: They play on Saturdays. Te&'*e,./e&de,: 9t, on C%&ss.G,o"(: 9t, on Te&'*e,./e&de,: at 4 with time C%&ss.G,o"(: at 4 with time Te&'*e,./e&de,: on 4 with days C%&ss.G,o"(: on 4 with days

(Source: www.chants.net.com )

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STORIES

-sing ESL stories for teaching English is a very good way of helping students learn language more deeply and naturally. @ust as salespeople and politicians attract people to their products and ideas using stories 4 if they are wise 4 so too, can English teachers attract students, particularly young learners, by using stories. Stories are motivating and funA they create a deep interest and a desire to continue learning. Listening to stories is a shared social e/perienceA it provokes a shared response of laughter, sadness, e/citement and anticipation. Stories e/ercise the imaginationA children can become personally involved in a story as they identify with the characters and try to interpret the narrative and illustrations. 9ccording to !hitravelu "#$$%&, stories are e/cellent resources for grammar teaching for several reasons) 3. !hildren, adolescent and adults all love stories B this generate positive attitude #. to the lesson for which the story acts as a framework. #. Stories provide a conte/t for several grammatical structures. 6. 9 story can provide conte/ts for real use of English "variety of emotions and issues&. (elow are some activities and approaches to using ESL stories in the classroom . "Source) http)''www.tesol*one.com'esl4stories.html& $i) Ci,'%e S!o,0 9 very simple techni ue which focuses on accuracy of language. The class create stories word by word. 1ou can begin by saying) 2One ?onday morning . was2 or whatever beginning you like. Then go round the class in a circle Cnot randomlyD. The first

pupil must repeat 2One ?onday morning . was2 and then add a single word that makes sense and fits in grammatically. The second pupil repeats all the first pupil has said, adding one more word. The third pupil repeats all and adds a word, and so on, until a story develops around the class. This techni ue can be fun, re uires no preparation and focuses on the accurate use of language. .t can make a good warmer. 7ith a small class it0s possible to go round the class twice. The teacher can choose whether the story is to be told in present tense Cif they are beginnersD or used to practice the simple past tense, or with no restrictions on the language used.

$ii) Q"es!ion S!o,0 7rite 8 or % uestions on the board. For a very low level class these might be) 27hat0s his'her name=2 27here is he'she=2 27hat0s he'she doing=2 27hat does he'she say=2 5un through a few possible answers orally with the class. Then give a piece of paper to every pupil. Tell them you want them to write an answer to the first uestion only. Encourage them to be creative. They then fold back their paper, so the answer they have written is folded away from the page and not visible when the paper is flat on the desk. 9ll pupils then pass their paper to the pupil on the left. They all then write the answer to the second uestion, fold the paper again, then pass to the ne/t pupil on the left, and so on, until all the uestions have been answered. The pupils can then unfold the papers, correct where possible, and then read aloud the slightly cra*y stories to the class. $iii) Re!e%%ing S!o,ies &) 9nother way of using stories which re uires minimal preparation, yet is a very powerful learning tool, is to have the pupils retell stories. The best stories to begin with are interesting anecdotes from your life, or interesting or unusual news stories. Once this activity is familiar, the pupils can then contribute with their own stories. This activity works well as a warmer and as practice or review of the simple past tense.

1) !hoose a short story that can be told in several sentences. 7rite a title on the board as an introduction. Then write the appropriate verb "in the present tense& for each sentence of the story. :o not write out the story. 9dding pictures helps, as long as the pictures can be drawn in a few seconds. Then tell the story, sentence by sentence, pointing to the verbs and eliciting the correct past tense from the students. The pupils then retell the story. This can be done by asking individual pupils to retell separate parts. The pupils can also retell the story to each other in pairs. 7hen the pupils are familiar with this method of using stories, have some of them prepare a short story for homework. They can retell it to the other pupils the following class.

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NURSER2 RH2MES AND 3OEMS Eursery 5hymes and poems like songs, conte/tuali*e a grammar lesson

effectively. Since poetry is often spoken, repeated, dealt with, and considered, it acts as an effective tool for practicing a specific grammatical structure. Through repeating and considering the poem, the grammatical structures become more deeply internali*ed. Thus, poetry not only provides a rewarding resource for structured practice of grammar, but also a proper basis for review. .n the selection of a poem, the teacher should first consider the grammatical structure to be presented, practiced, or reviewed, then the level and the age of the students, ne/t the theme and the length of the poem and its appropriateness to the classroom ob<ectives. ,oems, which reflect cultural themes, universal features, humanistic values, or emotional aspects, will be more relevant to the foreign language learners. Finally, through taking the classroom ob<ectives into consideration, a teacher should effectively benefit from poems as teaching aids. .f a poem that e/emplifies a particular structure is also a good poem, it engages the eye, the ear and the tongue simultaneously while also stimulating and moving usA this polymorphic effect makes poetry easier to memori*e than other things for many students. Some of its potential is illustrated as the followings) Example 1) To practice ad<ectives

The following poem is about hippos. Use the structure of this poem an write a poem of !our own about an!thing" e.g. people" trees" shoes. Hi((os +ippos swim. +ippos snort. +ippo legs are rather short. +ippos ears are pink and tiny. +ippo hide is very shiny. +ippo tails are stout and stubby. +ippo hips are kind of chubby. +ippos stay rather uiet. +ippos never like to diet. (Source: http:##www.charlesghigna.com#poems.html)

Example $) To teach the imperative C*i--0 >rown4ups say things like) Speak up :on0t talk with your mouth full :on0t stare :on0t point :on0t pick your nose Sit up Say please Less noise Shut the door behind you :on0t drag your feet +aven0t you got a hankie= Take your hands out of your pockets ,ull your socks up Stand up straight Say thank you :on0t interrupt Eo one thinks you0re funny Take your elbows off the table !an0t you make up your own mind about anything= %! &ichael 'osen

Example () To practice verbs

Take a grape and eat it slowly. Then read this poem. Then eat a mango and write a poem like this about it. Ho !o e&! & g,&(e

s uash, s uish crunch chew, chew trickle twang, bang spit swallow choose s uash, s uish crunch chew, chew trickle twang, bang spit swallow choke cough, cough )non!mous

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GAMES Teaching >rammar through games is another way to help pupils not only gain knowledge but be able to apply and use that learning in an interesting way. 9ccording to 9rif Saricoban and Esen ?etin, authors of 2Songs, Ferse and >ames for Teaching >rammar2 , they say that 3. >ames and problem4solving activities...have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, and are e/amples of the most preferable communicative activities. #. >rammar games help children not only gain knowledge but be able to apply and use that learning. 6. >ames allow the students to 2practice and internali*e vocabulary, grammar and structures e/tensively.2 +ow= i& They can do this through repeated e/posure to the target grammar and because students are often more motivated to play games than they are to do deskwork. ii& ,lus, during the game, the students are focused on the activity and end up absorbing the grammar subconsciously.

Similarly, 9ydan Erso*, author of 2Si/ >ames for the ESL'EFL !lassroom2 also e/plained more reasons why games do work for teaching grammar. Learning a language re uires constant effort and that can be tiring, but Erso* outlines two good reasons why games should be included in the classroom) 4 4 >ames that are amusing and challenging are highly motivating. >ames allow meaningful use of the language in conte/t.

(Source:http:##www.teachingenglishgames.com#)rticles#Teaching*+rammar*with*+am es*in*the*ES,*-lassroom.htm) .n short, we can conclude that there are many advantages of using games in the classroom "Lee, 3GG%&) 3. >ames are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class. #. They are motivating and challenging. 6. Learning a language re uires a great deal of effort. >ames help students to

make and sustain the effort of learning. 8. >ames provide language practice in the various skills4 speaking, writing, listening and reading. %. They encourage students to interact and communicate. H. They create a meaningful conte/t for language use.0

W*&! kinds of g&+es

o,k 1es!#

7hen you are looking for games to use in your classroom, don0t <ust pick something to be a 2time filler2 that does not have any linguistic purpose. Lin +ong, author of 2-sing >ames in Teaching English to 1oung Learners2, e/plains that not all games are going to work to teach the students language skills.

1ou should consider these uestions posed by +ong) 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 7hich skills do the games practice= 7hat type of game is it and what is its purpose= :oes the difficulty level of the game match with the students0 ability level= :oes the game re uire ma/imum involvement by the students= :o the students like it= :o you like it= 7hat specific vocabulary or grammar are you introducing or practising with this game= !an you keep control of your class and play this game= 7hat materials do you need for the game and can you obtain these easily= 7hat controls, if any are needed, will you have in place to ensure the children are on track=

W*en !o Use G&+es# 0>ames are often used as short warm4up activities or when there is some time left at the end of a lesson. +owever, a game 2should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do2 Lee "3GIG)6&.

 >ames ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages. 5i/on suggests that games be used at all stages of the lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen. 0>ames also lend themselves well to revision e/ercises helping learners recall material in a pleasant, entertaining way. Therefore, it is agreed that even if games resulted only in noise and entertained students, they are still worth paying attention to and implementing in the classroom since they motivate learners, promote communicative competence, and generate fluency.0 Ti(s fo, Using G,&++&, G&+es in C%&ss S"''essf"%%0
() apte from http:##www.english.grammar.revolution.com#grammar.games.html)

45 ORGANI6ATION Figure out how to organi*e your class i.e. the time spent. For the younger students you0ll want to change your activities every five to ten minutes because they have shorter attention spans. .f you don0t change your activities, they0ll soon start losing interest. 9s you get towards the higher elementary grades, you can e/pand the time you spend per activity. 9dditionally, try to have everything ready to go before the students enter the classroom. That way you can go from activity to activity with minimal downtime. This is essential as you can lose control of the class if you do not keep them occupied. 75 E83ECTATIONS .f you notice that your class is getting noisy or rambunctious, it0s time to change activities. ,upils of this age like to be activeA in order to balance out the energy levels in the classroom, alternate between active activities and uiet activities. 95 :ARIATION

1ou want to make sure your activities appeal to all sorts learning styles, so even when you are using games to teach grammar you0ll want to vary the types of things you e/pect your students to do.

For Level One pupils, stick to games that use talking, listening, looking and moving. For Level Two pupils, you can continue to use games that use talking, listening, looking and moving and add in some games that use writing and reading.

;5 RES3ECT To make games work for you and your class, be sure to operate your class with the utmost respect 4 both to and from students. This includes teaching your students from the very start that you e/pect respect at all times. This includes giving encouragement and following the rules. <5 ROUTINE Establishing a routine will help the class go smoothly. .f pupils know what to e/pect ne/t, they will be more able to participate in what0s going on now. Set up a schedule for the type of activities you0ll be doing at any given time throughout the class whether it is a game, story or song or whatever you want to do. Then, when you are planning your class, plug in the appropriate activities to each section of time. 1ou should also leave a little time at the end of the class period to allow the pupils to clean up and gather their things as well as time for you to recap the class, praise the pupils and tell them good4bye. E8AM3/ES OF GAMES (y incorporating games into your lesson plan, your students will not only stop dreading grammar lessons, but theyll actually look forward to them.

 =o&,d g&+es, such as +o to /ress0 ) +rammar +ame, are sure to be a big hit with young students, and will have them giggling too. .n this uni ue game, pupils try to create a complete newspaper by moving from department to department "such as entertainment, sports, weather, etc.& finding and correcting errors in the headlines. The goal is to be the first player to return to the boss s office and say, >o to press; .f you dont have access to board games, there are still a number of activities you can have pupils participate in. !reate a ',oss o,d (">>%e and use the clues to get pupils to practice critical thinking skills about the grammar lesson of your choice. Or, try playing & g&+e of *&ng+&n to get pupils focused on ad<ectives. CONC/USION -sing games to teach grammar can be both fun and rewarding for you and your pupils. @ust remember to keep them engaged and make sure that your games are truly teaching the skill at hand and you0ll soon have a class full of pupils who get e/cited about learning grammar;

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3U33ETS

7hat is a puppet= 4 9 puppet is an inanimate figure moved by a puppeteer to convey emotion, character and story. Some e/amples of puppets) 3. shadow puppets #. hand puppets 6. marionette puppets 8. water puppets %. finger puppets H. stick puppets I. robotic puppets M&in !0(es of 3"((e!s Hand or glove puppet: these are puppets controlled by one hand which occupies the interior of the puppet. Sock puppet: they are particularly simple type of hand puppet made from a sock and they operated by inserting ones hand inside the sock. One then moves his hand up and down to give the impersonation of speaking. Rod puppet) it is constructed around a central rod secured to the head. 9 large glove covers the rod and is attached to the neck of the puppet. 9 rod puppet is controlled by the puppeteer moving the metal rods attached to the hands of the puppet and by turning the central rod secured to the head. Human-arm puppet) it is also called a two4man puppet or a Live4hand puppetA it is similar to a hand puppet but is larger and re uires two puppeteers.

One puppeteer places a hand inside the puppet s head and operates its head and mouth, while the other puppeteer wears gloves and special sleeves attached to the puppet in order to become the puppet s arms, so that the puppet can perform arbitrary hand gestures. This is a form of glove or hand puppetry and rod puppetry. T*e marionette is a particular type of puppet. .t is suspended and controlled by a number of strings, plus sometimes a central rod attached to a control bar held from above by the puppeteer. The control bar can be either a hori*ontal or vertical one. This form of puppetry is comple/ and sophisticated to operate, re uiring greater manipulative control than a finger, glove or rod puppet. The most famous marionette is ,inocchio, invented by !arlo !ollodi. s*o"%d !e&'*e,s "se ("((e!s in !*ei, '%&ss#

W*0 &nd *o

Teachers use puppets for the same reason a fisherman puts bait on his hookA to catch the attention of children. !hildren love puppets. ,uppets are much more than a cute toy. ,uppets are powerful communication tools. ,uppets are tools you should add to your tool bo/ along with the paper and pencils. use a puppet "or a set of puppets& to act out various grammar concepts. This can be especially useful for learning verb tenses and prepositions for instance.

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DIA/OGUES AND 3/A2S :ialogues are popular activities in ESL te/tbooks for a number of linguistic as well as cultural reasons. 9ccording to 5ivers "3GJ3&, there are two broad categories of dialogues) 3. !onversation4facilitation 4 ,rovide students with useful phrases with which they can begin to communicate. These dialogues are often short and therefore students are encouraged to memori*e them. #. >rammar4demonstration dialogues. 4 The dialogues are longer and contain certain grammatical structures that are to be studied. They provide conte/tuali*ed e/amples from which students will structure. deduce generali*ations about a particular grammatical

Teachers can use or adapt dialogues to) demonstrate grammar in conte/t facilitate conversationThis may parallel grammar instruction, but also gives specific language practice provide recreation such as a skitThese dialogues are bridging activities that provide spontaneous use of learner knowledge. "b& 3%&0s 9part from memori*ation, widely used in the audio4lingual era, dialogues can be e/ploited for plays through which students can practice language more freely. Larsen4Freeman "#$$$& has pointed out, plays give pupils the chance of interacting and practicing communication acts in different conte/ts and because of this, they are of primary importance in language teaching. The play scripts encourage students to read aloud, swap roles, repeat and understand grammar in conte/t, and make the sentences come alive.

 ,upils in pairs or small groups can also be given the task of writing a play script. 9fter they have learned rules and done some practice, they can undertake the work of creating a play using the newly learned structure. So+e (oin!s !o kee( in +ind (,&'!i'e -se natural language as much as possible "include e/clamations and e/pressions se uence&. Keep the dialogue short enough so that students can easily remember it. 9pply current sociolinguistic norms. For e/ample, an informal introduction is 1i" nice to meet !ou" rather than 1ow o !ou o2 :epict situations in the dialogue that are relevant and useful to the learner. 5etain truth value in the dialogue. !reate characters who are realistic in that they have some personality and relate to the learners e/perience in some way. (base on Slager 1345 cite in 6maggio 1378 an +raham 133$). where appropriateA avoid a strict uestion4answer4 uestion *en ,i!ing o, &d&(!ing di&%og"es fo, ("(i%s !o