How To Effectively Teach Grammar

Grammar is the backbone of any language. Most students find it very difficult and something they need to concentrate on most of the time. They are sure that they will be able to speak only if they know grammar.

Teachers and tutors, on the other hand, try to concentrate a lot on explaining rules. Making students do countless grammar exercises and transforming grammar lessons into monotonous drills.

What if I tell you, you can teach a language without grammar? Don’t believe me? OK, what about your mother tongue? A big chance is you were quite fluent in your mother tongue before you went to school and started learning grammar.

All, right, I am not suggesting you omit teaching your students grammar. I propose to discover effective strategies for doing it.

Importance of Grammar

Grammar provides the rules that govern a language. Without a solid understanding of it, students may struggle to express themselves clearly.

Hence, it may lead to misunderstandings and communication breakdowns. However, I have noticed that once I start explaining the rules, the fluency of my students gets lost. Why?

It happens because students start thinking about whether the sentences they say are according to a grammar rule. Even if beforehand they would say it without much thinking and say it right.

Therefore, long ago I realized that teaching grammar is not about memorizing rules. It’s about helping students understand how these rules apply to their language use.

Also, how they can manipulate them to express different ideas. And how grammar fits into communication.

Grammar is a tool, and we must teach them how to use it.

Teaching Grammar Through Context

One of the most effective strategies for teaching grammar is contextualization. Rather than teaching grammar as isolated rules, it’s far more beneficial to teach grammar in context.

This means you can integrate grammar instruction into broader lessons. It may be a dialog, a story, or an article. The most important is not to teach grammar in isolation.

When you present grammar in context, it makes the rules more memorable and give more meaning.

Grammar in reading and writing

Let’s imagine I am explaining passive voice in the English language. While reading this example, think about the main mistake I make here as a tutor.

The passive voice is constructed by inverting the typical subject-verb-object syntactic order. The object of an active sentence becomes the grammatical subject of the passive sentence. The verb phrase is then formed by combining the appropriate tense of the auxiliary verb "to be" with the past participle of the main verb. The original subject, if mentioned, is placed in a prepositional phrase introduced by "by." The passive voice is often employed to foreground the action or the recipient of the action, rather than the agent performing it, which is sometimes omitted altogether.

Have you found it? Yes, it is very difficult to understand me. I use a lot of metalanguage.

Though I explained it in passive voice, so I showed how it is constructed. Did my students understand me? Probably no. They have never learned passive voice before and other than a cognitive overload, they didn’t get anything more.

However, if I provide a context within let’s say an article so they see how it functions in real language use. I have a bigger chance that instead of overloading their heads, I will show them when, why, and how to use it.

We can then analyze this piece of writing, and highlight the use of passive voice.

I will involve my students in the exploration of it by asking them questions. Compare passive voice to active voice, discuss why the author chose a particular structure, and how it affects the meaning of the text.

The grammar lesson starts feeling different from a pure teacher-centered approach, aren't they? Since, I involve my students in exploration and active learning, rather than making them passive receivers.

Also, I don’t want to explain all possible usage, cases, and tenses in passive voice. I want to keep it simple and give information piece by piece.

Grammar in speaking and listening

Speaking and listening activities provide a dynamic way to teach grammar. You can provide examples of grammar by showing some videos. Or include some audio or podcast where it is used and then discuss it with your students.

For example, if the lesson is on conditionals, you may even set up a debate where your students must argue using conditional sentences.

Authentic texts and real-life contexts

Opinions differ when it comes to the usage of authentic materials. However, I am a proponent of it.

Usually, authentic materials are messy, use different kinds of grammar and vocabulary, and are not structured. They also lack clear pronunciation and have natural hesitations.

However, it helps students see the relevance of grammar in everyday life.

Also, I like to personalize the context and make it fun. Allow students to create examples that fit their lives. It not only makes the lessons more engaging but also helps them understand the practical application of grammar rules.

Teaching Grammar Through Speaking

One of the most popular teaching grammar methods through speaking is oral drills. Remember, in the beginning, I told you that, as a child, you learned your native language without any grammar?

So, this comes from this idea. We were listening to people around us and repeating what they said. In this way, we memorize and polish our knowledge.

Speaking drills are good to practice with your students for a short time. Usually, I do not go beyond 15 minutes per lesson and focus on a specific grammar point.

For example, you introduce the target point, let’s say past tense verbs. Give clear examples in sentences, and demonstrate how they are used in context.

Then you can make your students repeat sentences after you, focusing on grammar, pronunciation, and intonation. This helps them internalize the structure.

Afterward, let your students replace a word or phrase in the model sentence with different options. So they practice the grammatical structure with varied vocabulary. For example, "She walked to school" can become "He walked to work".

Additionally, include the practice of converting sentences from one form to another. For example, affirmative sentences to negative, or present to past tense, to reinforce understanding of the grammar.

Also, you can include Q&A drills to promote spontaneous use of grammar in speaking. There are two ways to do it.

One way is to ask questions using the target structure and let students respond using the correct grammatical form. The other way is to say a sentence in the correct grammar and ask them to ask a question.

Finally, your students can use the structure in more open-ended speaking activities. For example, include role-plays or conversations. In this way, you can make sure they can apply the grammar in real-life communication.

Flipped Classroom Model

Another very effective way to teach grammar is through the flipped classroom model. This model is a standard teaching model but flipped.

So, instead of explaining grammar during the lesson, you ask your students to study rules at home. And the time during the lesson, you will devote to practice and active production.

The real usefulness of it lies in the familiarization with the material through videos or online resources beforehand. So your students study the rule, and deep dive to understand it. It allows them to learn at their own pace.

During the lesson, they already come with some extent of understanding, a set of questions, and confidence. Hence you have plenty of time to address their questions and apply what they have learned in the class.

Implement discussions, exercises, and interactive activities, speaking drills, and do not forget to provide personalized feedback.

Teaching grammar effectively is a combination of well-thought-out strategies. They should address both the mechanics of language and its communicative purpose.

Through contextualization, speaking drills and flipped classroom you can make your grammar lessons more engaging and effective.

Ultimately, the goal is to help your students to learn grammar and to use it confidently in communication. With these strategies in hand, grammar instruction can become a dynamic and rewarding part of the language learning journey.