Using a Story-Based Approach to Teach Grammar CHAPTER 7 Using a Story-Based Approach to Teach Grammar Grammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason. Richard Chenevix Trench

Cyclical Approach of Whole Language Teacher foreshadows grammatical explanation through integrated discourse; focus is on meaning. Teacher recycles story line via TPR (Total Physical Response), role playing, etc.; focus is on meaning. Teacher turns learners’ attention to form. Students do extension activities requiring their use of the grammatical structure.

Model for Integrating Form in a Story-Based Language Approach: PACE The PACE model provides students with exposure to meaningful language in an authentic context. It is based on the cyclical approach of Whole Language. One of the model’s goals is to allow for collaboration between teachers and students in the discovery of grammatical principles. It serves as an interactive way to teach grammar.

The Four Elements (Stages) of PACE Presentation Attention Co-Construction Extension Activities

Presentation Stage Presentation must accurately represent the structure to be taught within thematic, contextualized language. The structure is presented in an embedded way. Structure should repeat enough times in a natural way. Presentation should be interactive. Participation should be scaffolded into the activity. It should also provide opportunities for students and teachers to negotiate meaning together.

Presentation Present a story, lesson, video, song, document, demonstration, dialogue, etc. in which there is a specific grammatical point you will be presenting. The following activities can be used to introduce the structure: Story – children’s literature is great! A TPR (Total Physical Response) lesson An authentic audio or video clip A demonstration of an authentic, real-life task A song

Presentation The challenge: The challenge to the presentation part the PACE model is finding a text or other medium that works. It can be difficult to find stories or texts that work without modification. It takes practice to identify what will work and what won’t. Keep in mind that a text could be a presentation in which you narrate how to do something, a story you tell to accompany pictures, or an enactment of an event from which a text could be created. Try Googling “children’s literature with grammatical structures,” “songs highlighting grammatical structures,” etc.

Helpful Resources Using Multicultural Children’s Literature in Adult ESL Classes: http://www.cal.org/caela/printer.php?printRefURL=http%3A//www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/childlit.html Teaching Grammar with Picture Books: http://ohiorc.org/adlit/inperspective/issue/2007-05/Article/vignette2.aspx Teaching Grammar with Songs: http://www.azargrammar.com/materials/beg/BEG_SongLessons.html

Attention Stage This step focuses the learner’s attention on some regularity of the language used during the Presentation activity. The teacher uses this step to highlight grammatical patterns, lexical items, or specific phrases that he/she wants students to study and eventually internalize.

Attention Stage Teacher can ask questions about patterns found in the text. Teacher can ask questions about words or phrases repeated in the story. Slides of sample sentences from the story used in the Presentation Stage can have important words or phrases highlighted in some way. The teacher should try to focus on semantic clues in drawing students’ attention to the structure that will eventually be taught.

Co-Construct an Explanation In this step, students make guesses about the patterns the teacher has highlighted and organized for them in the previous steps. Students are encouraged to hypothesize, guess, make predictions about the target form. The teacher can organize the information in columns or lists in order to make the grammatical point visibly obvious.

Co-Construct an Explanation Teachers use their questioning skills to guide the students along the way. Teachers encourage the students to compare the structure with what they know about their own language. Teachers ask questions such as the following: Why do you think this form of the word is used? What do you notice about the order of these words? Why do you think the endings of these words changed from this sentence to the other sentence?

Questioning Techniques Use questioning techniques to help students build upon guesses and observations until they have successfully constructed an explanation for the grammar point being taught. One of the trickiest aspects of the PACE model is the discussion you have with the students as you co-create the explanation of the grammar point. First make sure that the story has enough examples to make your point clear as well as examples of other important things to point out. Ask questions like “What is different about this group and that group?” “What do you notice about those words?”

Extension Following the “discovery” of the rule, students are given the opportunity to use the structure in creative and interesting ways while simultaneously integrating it into existing knowledge. Extension activities should allow for creative self-expression. Extension activities should allow students to use the rule in natural, real-life scenarios.

Extension Activity Extension activities are NOT worksheets that use the target language to fill in the blanks, etc. Extension activities can be role-play situations, dramatizations, games, paired interviews, out-of-class projects, simulations, etc. Suggested Extension Activities are: Real-life, hands-on activities in which the grammatical structure would be naturally used.

Review of PACE Learning needs to be integrated, contextualized, and meaning-centered. A communicatively-based unit is thus contextualized and integrated, enabling the instructional events to flow naturally. Integrated and meaning-centered activities facilitate learner comprehension and retention. Developing integrated and meaning-centered activities tend to be one of the most difficult aspects of PACE because most textbooks still consist of fragmented content.

Review of PACE Learners are active participants in the learning process. Learners are actively discovering and hypothesizing about L2. All of the PACE activities encourage functional and interactional use of language by giving learners opportunities to share information, ask questions, and solve problems collaboratively.