Учебное пособие: The English grammar

Student-based research

Here the students are encouraged to do their own research into language areas using grammar reference books; they then report back to the class. The research can be done in or out of class time, individually or in groups. The report can take a number of forms: an oral presentation, a written report, a poster, etc. The students may also teach the structure to their fellow students and/or provide practice activities; in other words, the students ‘present’ the language. This approach puts much more of the responsibility for their own learning on the shoulders of the students.

When is student-based research useful?

This approach is particularly useful:

o if the students are at a high level where few, if any, structures are new;

o if they have been encouraged to be independent learners – capable of using reference books for their own research (see Chapter 5 Section 6: Learner development and study skills );

o if individual students have difficulty with particular structures. In this way the teacher need on focus in class on language most of the students in the class have on trouble with.

What are the disadvantages?

o This approach depends on having students of a high enough level, with good reference skills and a strong motivation and interest.

o The students have to have access to reference materials.

o You also need to have the class over a period of time.

For these reasons this approach is not always practicable in the TP situation.

‘Inductive’ and ‘deductive’ approaches

Two of the basic approaches to the presentation of language items are sometimes referred to as inductive and deductive .

When an inductive approach is used, a context is established first from which the target structure is drawn. So, the approaches described under Visual/oral contexts (p. 129), Texts (p. 130) and Short dialogues (p. 131) could be called inductive. When a deductive approach is used an example of a structure and the grammatical rule is given first and then the language is practised, as described under Giving or working out the ‘rule’ on p. 133.

What are the possible stages in a lesson using the inductive approach?

As noted above there are a number of variations on a theme, but this is an example of one way to proceed:

1 Create the context – with a text which has already been used for skills practice, with a dialogue, or with a short visual/oral context.

Example

This is an extract from a lesson introducing comparative adjectives via a visual context (pictures or drawings) to a class of low-level students:

The teacher shows a picture of a tall, thin man labelled Sam , and indicates by hand gesture that Sam is tall and elicits Sam’s tall . The teacher shows a second picture of an even taller, even thinner man labeled Tom and elicits Tom’s tall . The teacher then puts the two pictures side by side and says Sam’s tall and Tom’s tall, but Tom’s taller than Sam . The teacher can do the same for thin and introduce more pictures and adjectives – fat, short , etc.

If you set up the context through a picture or short dialogue, rather than using a text, you may want to ask some simple questions to make sure than the students have a general understanding of the context. In the example dialogue given on p. 132, for example, the teacher would need to check that the students understand that the people are at an airport, that one is the Customs Officer and the other is a traveler.

2 The situation should lead naturally to a sentence using the language to be taught – the model or target sentence.

Example

In the lesson presenting comparative adjectives above, the target sentence is Tom’s taller than Sam and other sentences can be generated using the pattern X’s …er than Y . You can then say the target language and/or write it on the board.

3 Check that the students have grasped the meaning of the structure. (See How can you check students have understood what is being presented? on p. 138.)

4 Practice saying the target language. Concentrate on the pronunciation. (See Section 3: Pronunciation .) Let the students repeat after you or from a model provided on cassette. They can do this together and then individually. (If the structure is one that is usually written but not spoken, this stage can be omitted.)

5 Give further practice. This is usually less controlled than the repetition practice and can involve pair work or group work.

6 Then write up* the language structure. At this stage a clear record of what has gone on before is given. Try to make the record the students copy from the board as memorable and integrated as possible (not just a list of unrelated sentences). Whenever possible elicit from the students the language you write on the board. This serves as a further check that they understand and remember what you have presented. Name the structure/function using clear headings, and give information about the form and/or use where appropriate.