Ma. De Lourdes Moctezuma Aguilar José de Escandón La Salle Ciudad Victoria, Tamps.

Let’s rethink grammar explanations: Other alternatives Teacher Training Workshop by Rocio Heredia and M. Martha Lengeling

Presenters in this workshop proposed that teaching grammar could have different perspectives, and explaining the rule is not always the way to knowledge. We as teachers can rethink the use of grammar explanations and use The Deductive Approach to Grammar

As teachers, we might think that teaching grammar is an integral part of the learning process. Even though this can be true, we should also consider providing our students with opportunities to use language in different contexts. Grammar explanation might not always be necessary to get knowledge.

 DEDUCTIVE – Explicit rules are given by the teacher, rule driven  “When a deductive approach is used, an example of a structure and the grammatical rule is given first and then the language is practiced” (Gower, Phillips & Walters, 1995, p.135)  INDUCTIVE– the student induces (discovers) the rule from exposure to language, rule discovery  “When an inductive approach is used, a context is stablished first from which the target structure is drawn” (Gower, Phillips & Walters, 1995, p.135

Deductive : General to specific Explicit Rules first Rule driven learning Cognitive Conscious Application of rules Teacher center, dependent of teacher Passive reception Inductive: Particular to general Implicit Exposure to the language first Rule discovery learning Associative Subconscious Problem Solving Learner-Center Autonomous Active perception

 Teacher goes straight to the point  Time saving  Respect for the intelligence and maturity of many  Confirms many students’ expectations about classroom learning

 Students may not have sufficient met language.  Teacher-fronted, transmission-style classroom.  Explanations are seldom memorable

 More cognitive depth which, again ensures memorability  Students more actively involved  Conductive to learning autonomy

 Time and energy consuming  Student may hypothesize the wrong rule  It places heavy demand on the teacher in planning  It may frustrate student

 Let’s suppose that we are teaching PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE.  Would you start the class like this? “Prepositions of place can be used to show where something is located. Some of the prepositions of place are in, on, at. If the object is located on a surface, you should use the preposition “on”, if…”  Or would you make up a funny story with the following images?

I think the students might be more engaged with the funny story than with a whole explanation of the rule!

I would say that the inductive approach can make students feel more relaxed, and if we lower the students’ anxiety, we can involve them more actively in the class.

In a modified inductive approach by Saumell, V. Follow these steps: EExposure to language through examples or illustrations OObservation and analysis of the language through guided questions SStatement of the rule AApplication of the rule in practice tasks graded by difficulty or complexity According to Scrivener (2011), “the key is to ask good questions, ones that encourage learners to notice language and think about it” (p.166) These questions deal with meaning, context, forms, errors, rules, to name a few aspects.

 Both approaches can offer advantages, but the difference is the role of the teacher. In a deductive approach, the teacher conducts lessons by introducing and explaining the grammar and asking students to complete activities to practice the concepts; this approach is very teacher- centered. On the other hand, the inductive approach is more student-centered and strategies for learning are more context based.

LLet’s think about our students, their learning styles, and mainly their needs to decide which approach to use in each of our lessons