A GOOD GRAMMAR PRESENTATION For Teachers Of English As A Foreign Language_SKKN Tiếng Anh

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A GOOD GRAMMAR PRESENTATION
For Teachers Of English As A Foreign Language
1. Is a surprise
As strange as it might seem, a disbelieving look, a "No, really??" or most
of the class getting what you are trying to elicit wrong are all good signs
in a grammar explanation- signs that you have really got their attention,
that you are teaching them something they don't know yet, and that it is
something they are likely to be something they are still thinking about
when they leave class and so remember for a longer time than usual.
Ways to achieve this sense of surprise include contradicting their
previous teacher or lower level textbook, contrasting with L1, contrasting
spoken and written English grammar, and contrasting prescriptive
grammar and how the language is really used nowadays. Something
turning out to be much easier than they originally thought is also a nice
surprise!
2. Is interactive
Ways of getting students involved in the grammar explanation stage
include: getting them to give you example sentences from their
imaginations, previous conversations or the textbook; eliciting the names
of grammatical forms; getting them to match grammatical names,
example sentences and meanings; getting students to prepare grammar
presentations for the class for homework; using guided discovery tasks
they work through in pairs; and deliberately making mistakes they can
correct you on.
3. Is copied down
After a student has understood your grammar explanation, the next
stage should be copying it down. You can ensure that everyone has a
chance to copy it down accurately by having the pause for copying
written into your lesson plan, making sure nobody copies before you want
them to so that they join in the eliciting and don't make others feel guilty

for copying down later, and putting your OHP sheets etc somewhere
students can see them after class to compare their own versions to.
4. Is easy to copy down
You can make this easier by putting all the text on the board into a table
(e.g. 3 columns for tense, example sentence and meaning, and three
rows for the three past tenses), using very simple time lines and
sketches, limiting the amount of text, and giving them a gapped version
of the grammar presentation to copy the important things off the board
into.
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5. Can be easily referred to
As well as something that is easy to understand and easy to copy down,
you will want to make sure that the grammar explanation is something
that the students and teacher can easily refer to during later grammar
practice and error correction stages. To achieve this you will need to
make sure that the grammar explained is exactly the same as is used
later in the lesson. You can also make it easy to refer to by keeping it up
on the board (in which case you will need to make sure when you write it
that there is room around it to write other things that come up), saving it
as an OHP slide you can put up when you need it, or by making students
write it in a separate grammar part of their notebooks.
6. Is actually referred to
The easiest way of making sure that students actually do refer to the
grammar presentation later in the lesson is to make some of the answers
to the exercises you have given them exactly the same words as you
used in the grammar explanation. The same thing can also be done with
useful phrases for communicative activities, or for sentences from the
homework. You can also encourage its use by getting students to refer
back to it every time you do error correction on that grammar point in
future lessons.

7. Stays up on the board
This point is mainly just one aspect of the points above, but you will also
need to make sure that at least part of the grammar presentation can
stay up on the board without giving too much away- for example by
erasing key words from the example sentences so they can't copy the
whole of the next grammar exercise straight from the board or by briefly
making it unavailable with paper stuck over it with magnets or sellotape
or by turning off the OHP.

8. Is at the right time in the lesson
There are two parts to thinking about this- making sure the students are
alert enough when the grammar explanation comes to understand it and
remember it, and making sure that it fits in with the rest of the lesson.
You can make sure they are alert by making the grammar explanation
near the beginning of the lesson, perhaps after a quick warmer. The end
of the lesson is the second most alert period, with the middle being the
worst. You can add to this alertness by making them need the grammar
by getting them used to a lesson structure where practice always follows
a grammar explanation, or by asking them to do a task where the
language could be useful first as in TTT and some versions of TBA.
9. Is at the right stage of the lesson
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This depends very much on what your teaching approach is and on the
specific grammar point. For example, do you want to introduce the
grammar point after the students have had a chance to use a task or text
where it could be used and so know why they need the language, or will
they feel "safer" if you introduce it from the start? Do you want to tackle
it after revising the most recent or most similar grammar point, or is
there the chance you will get bogged down in that and not be able to
concentrate on the new point? Which stage of the lesson grammar

explanations come in can often be a compromise with the timing of the
lesson in other ways. For example, lots of revision and seeing the
language in context might put the grammar explanation right in the
middle of the class when students are least alert.
10. Is at the right point in the day
Similar to being at the right point in the lesson, students are usually most
alert first thing in the morning, with the second most alert time being in
other parts of the morning, the next being late in the evening and the
least alert period being in the hour or two after lunch.
11. Is at the right point in the week
Similar to the points above, for a particularly difficult or important
grammar point the beginning and end are good and the middle is bad in
terms of alertness, but you will also need to take into account having a
chance to practice it enough before they forget it all over the weekend.
12. Is at the right point in the course
Ditto. A particularly big, difficult or important grammar point should be
dealt with near the beginning of a course when the students are still keen
and unconfused by other input, and if possible the same thing should be
revised right at the end of the course after the rest of the less
troublesome points. This approach of putting the most important
grammar first often doesn't match with a step by step approach to
grammar, and how you compromise between the two can depend on
things like how likely the students are to actually use that grammar
outside the classroom, how possible it is to explain the grammar without
studying more "basic" forms first, and how much they will need their
confidence boosted with easier points before tackling something big.
13. Is at the right point in their language development
The difficulty of choosing to tackle a grammar point just by when the
students are most alert is that their brains still might not be ready to take
that particular grammar point in. This is often connected to the idea of

Natural Order (the theory that both L1 and L2 language learners make
progress with grammar points in a predictable fashion), but sometimes is
more just simple logic of whether it is easier to explain the use of will for
predictions before or after teaching the use of will for conditionals.
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14. Comes at the right interval since the last connected grammar
explanation
Another factor worth bearing in mind when putting grammar into a
syllabus is how long it will take students to really absorb a grammar point
and therefore be ready for the next step with it. This factor can both
shorten and lengthen the amount of time you wait. For example, students
might be able to produce the first conditional at the end of the lesson but
for them to really get a subconscious feeling for what it means and how it
is used they will probably need at least another couple of weeks of
chances to mull on it, use it in conversation and/ or see it in context
before they will benefit from more conscious examination of this or a
related grammar point (e.g. will for predictions or the second conditional).
At the same time, the theory of Natural Order suggests that however
much time and help we give students, they will still make errors with the
Present Simple, so we shouldn't get stalled on that before we move onto
forms we can contrast it with like the Simple Past or Present Continuous
just because they are still making mistakes.
15. Comes at the right interval since the last unconnected grammar
explanation
As well as needing time to absorb the last connected or contrasting
grammar point, students might just need a bit of a rest for their brains
after even a totally unrelated grammar or even vocabulary explanation in
order to make sure they have a clear space in their heads and the energy
for the next grammar explanation. Ways of giving them a rest whilst still
improving their English include mechanical tasks like drilling, skills

development like reading and listening, fluency tasks where they can use
the language they already know, and other kinds of revision.
16. Is for the most useful language at that point
As well as looking at what language students are mentally ready to learn,
we also need to look at what language they need. This can be defined by
what they need for their work or studies, what they need for an EFL or
other exam, what they need in order to cope with the next class they are
going to go into, what they need to catch up with the better students in
this class, what they need in order to boost their motivation, what they
need to be able to understand classroom instructions, what they need in
order to be ready for the next grammar point, what they need in order to
understand important functional language (e.g. Can for ability leading
onto Can for requests), what they need in order to use a particular
communicative skill (e.g. relative clauses for talking your way around a
word you don't know), or what they need in order to benefit from English
that is all around them (e.g. popular songs or station announcements in
English).
17. Is something students understand the need for
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A teacher who has decided a particular grammar point is what students
need will also need to make sure that students identify that need. This
can be achieved by some explanation from the teacher ("With this
grammar you will be able to "), by doing a communicative activity where
that grammar would be useful before you present it, or, even better,
something that is obvious to students straightaway as something they
can use inside or outside the classroom.
18. Is the right length
This usually means short, so that they can write it all down in their
notebooks and there is plenty of time for practice. Sometimes, however,
grammar presentations can be too short. You might need to plan for

extra example sentences if they don't understand the ones you have
chosen and/ or an extra little tricky bit of that grammar if they knew all
the rest of it before you started the presentation.
19. Includes revision
This could be revision of the form you are contrasting it with (e.g. Going
to when presenting Will), revision of the grammatical forms it is similar to
(e.g. Present Continuous or Past Continuous when presenting Future
Continuous), or revision of a different meaning of the same form (Present
Continuous for Present and Future).
20. Gives the students something new
One of the biggest criticisms of PPP is that the teacher often ends up
presenting language that the students already know. You can make sure
that you are adding something new by gauging what students know as
you elicit from them and then add one of the extra back up points you
have prepared just in case. Possible back up points include exceptions
(e.g. state verbs when presenting the continuous) and extra meanings
(e.g. Present Simple when the word makes something true in "I name this
ship" or "I do solemnly swear).
21. Gives the students a sense of anticipation
From your own experience of being taught grammar at school, it might
seem unrealistic that a class of students could be on the edge of their
seats waiting to see how a grammar explanation turns out. There are,
however, plenty of techniques to ensure that. One is to make sure that
something about the grammar explanation is completely new to them
(see other points). Another is to give them a spoken or written task they
cannot achieve properly without the grammar and let them try it again
after your explanation. In a similar way, starting a grammar presentation
with a collection of real student mistakes from that class is great for
getting their attention, Perhaps the most effective is to start with a
statement that what they thought about the grammar before is (at least

in part) wrong.
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22. Is asked for by the students
This is an example of the point above. The important thing to aim for is
the letter ‘s', i.e. students asking (or at least wanting to know) rather
than just one student. If more than one student asks for the same
grammar explanation, then that is the ultimate sign that you have
planned the lesson perfectly. Again, the best way of achieving this is to
give them a task where certain grammar is necessary to complete it.
Please note that many tasks in textbooks and communication games
books are perfectly doable with much lower level language than the level
of the book, and research suggests that at least some of your students
will be perfectly happy with having dealt with such a task in pidgin
English and so will be unlikely to listen carefully to any further
explanation. The secret, then, is to design an activity where it comes to
an end without a successful outcome without the language you are about
to present, which as mentioned in a point above should be something
that is in at least part new to them. It is very difficult to design a free
communication task where particular language is absolutely vital, so this
is generally easier with a comprehension question that most people will
get wrong because of grammatical reasons (sometimes available in EFL
exams like IELTS and TOEIC), or pairwork tasks where students try to
achieve a language-based task together. Examples of the latter include
grammar auctions and pairwork grammar correction tasks where one
student has the correct version for each pair of sentences.
23. Is something the students want to use straightaway
Another advantage of giving students a task that stops half way through
or comes to an unsuccessful end until they get the grammar is that they
are likely to want to turn straight back to the task at hand and finish it off
successfully with their new knowledge. As with anything students do

unguided by a teacher, this is likely to increase how much they learn.
24. Uses a familiar format
In order to make sure that students can concentrate on the grammar
being explained rather than the explanation itself, it is good to develop a
familiar format of grammar explanations so that students instantly
understand (consciously or unconsciously) what each part of your
explanation means. Things to standardize include the colours of pens
(red= name of tense etc), the layout of board (you always use tables and
the right column is always the meaning of the grammar etc), the use of
names and symbols (writing out "noun" or "subject verb" in full or just
using first letters etc.), and gestures (hand over the shoulder to illustrate
"past", always exactly the same hand positions to illustrate each
preposition etc.)
25. Breaks the format
Once you have set up a format, it becomes time to break it. This can be
done systematically in steps so that they gain the ability to understand
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more and more difficult grammar explanations (moving from labelling
just SVO to labelling the adverb, noun, pronoun etc.) or just to add a bit
of variety to get their attention (the use of amusing pictures, new
technology etc.)
26. Is visual
This makes a grammar explanation catch the eye more, cuts down on the
amount of difficult language you need to explain the grammar, caters
well to students who have a visual learning style, allows you to approach
the same grammar for several different directions, and can be easier to
copy down and recall than the part of the grammar explanation that has
words. Probably the most effective way of using pictures is to have a
striking and memorable image such as a famous TV commercial or
painting that the whole lesson is built around and students can use to

recall the grammar point by picturing the image. Other techniques
involving a visual element include the use of different colour pens to
mean different things, time lines, simple stick man drawings and using
flashcards.
27. Is active
This can partly be a case of getting the students involved by asking you
questions or joining in when you are eliciting, and partly a case of making
sure the physical movement and noise you can easily build into a warmer
doesn't die to be replaced by still bodies staring blankly at the board
when this stage comes. This can be achieved by using gestures to
illustrate grammatical forms (e.g. pointing forward = future), example
sentences ("I was jumping when you shouted stop"), word and sentence
stress, and right and wrong answers.
28. Is personalized
As with many things in language learning, making sure the example
sentences used in grammar explanations are personalised to the
students can really help them understand more easily, and make the
language more memorable and obviously useful. Ways of personalising
the language include statements about individuals in the class ("William
is next to John"), statements about the teacher ("He is wearing a pink
tie"), or statements about the class as a whole ("Most people live in a
flat"). Another way of looking at personalisation is telling students that
the language covered is aimed particularly at their weaknesses, most
common mistakes, upcoming test, jobs or studies.
29. Is topical
Another way to make any language stick in the mind is to make it
connected to the particular time and day it is being explained on. In a
similar way to using a striking picture, many people find they can then
help recall the relevant grammar point by bring back to mind the time it
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was explained. Ways of making it topical include using recent news,
celebrity gossip, weather, seasonal changes, natural events, national
holiday etc. as an example sentence.

30. Is memorable
The tips about being visual, physical, personalised and topical above can
all really help with making a grammar explanation and therefore the
grammar you are explaining more memorable. Other tips relevant to this
dealt with elsewhere include making sure students are awake and ready
to take it in. The use of humour and making sure you connect the
grammar to things the students already know can also help a lot.
Teaching grammar in context is also important.

31. Is true
Although this one is very obvious, how difficult it is to achieve in practice
is quite complex. The first problem is that the most accurate grammatical
explanation is probably not the easiest to understand, easiest to
remember or easiest to copy down, for example because it will need to
include lots of exceptions. It might also be the case that the theory that
students are mentally prepared to learn and that covers the most
important uses for them is not the same as the most strictly correct
definition of a grammar point. You may also find that the grammatical
explanation that explains the language you are going to cover in the
most generalizable way contradicts something you said in a previous
lesson. It is also possible that grammar experts don't even agree on what
the truest explanation is, or that there is still a gap between what most
people say and what most people think you should say.

A practical way of working your way through this minefield is to choose
lots of grammar explanations for the point you are going to teach and

then to put them in order of how generally true they are. You can then
reject or change the explanations by how well they fit in with the level
and needs of your students until there is only the one or two best
compromise explanations left.
32. Is easy to understand
Ways of ensuring this include the use of gestures and visuals, but you will
need to make sure that you introduce even these simple techniques for
the first time during easy grammar explanations and that you use the
same ones consistently. The same is true of grammatical terminology
such as the names of types of words and the names of tenses. You can
also simplify this point by using grammatical jargon that is most similar
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to that used in the students' first language, school system or dictionaries.
For example, many students know SVO without knowing the words
Subject Verb Object, and the same is true of dictionary abbreviations
such as (n) for noun and (adj) for adjective.
33. Is easy to reproduce
As well as being easy to copy down, a grammatical explanation should be
something that students can easily repeat back to you when it comes to
eliciting an explanation of the same grammar point for revision or to
contrast it with another grammatical form. For example, you can make
the grammatical terminology more memorable by explaining why an
adverb is called an adverb and what the Simple in Present Simple means,
so they can use those words the same way you do next time you ask
them to correct their own or their partner's mistakes.
34. Is linked in theme to the rest of the class
For example, you could make the character names and place names of
your example sentences the same as in the textbook, use example
sentences straight out of a listening or reading text, use student mistakes
from a previous speaking exercise, or give sentences that could be useful

in a future speaking exercise. This not only makes how the language links
to the rest of the lesson clear, but can make everything dealt with in that
lesson sit together as one memory in students' heads and so make recall
easier. You can consciously use this effect in future classes by eliciting
error correction with comments like "What was happening when the
Italian waiter Paolo came into the room? Can you remember?"
35. Is relevant to the tasks in the rest of the lesson/ course
The most well-known ways of tying in with the course is by choosing
suitable practice tasks and (if you are using PPP) making free speaking
tasks ones students could use that same language in. Other things you
might want to look at is tying the grammar in with a present or future
class graded reader, end of term student presentations, project work, a
production (free speaking) task a couple of weeks later when they have
had a chance to really get to know the language, a future reading or
listening, or GTKY (getting to know you) tasks at the beginning of the
course at the next level up.
36. Helps the next grammar explanation
For example, explaining "going to" as "a plan i.e. something in your
head" in today's lesson can help explain Present Continuous as
"something in your diary" when you introduce it in next week's lesson
37. Stretches the teacher
Ways of making sure you are as interested in the grammar explanation
as the students are and therefore pass on some of your passion include
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introducing new technology such as a video extract, teaching an
exception to the rule that you have always tried to avoid before, dealing
with the stages of a grammar lesson in a different way (e.g. TTT instead
of PPP), teaching the same grammar but to a different level (all the uses
of Present Simple to an Advanced class or Simple Past before Present
Continuous to a Beginner class), using an explanation from a different

book, finding the best explanation from all the possible books, adding
phonemic symbols to the drilling of the grammar, and copying the
grammar presentation of another teacher you have observed.
38. Looks at the grammar in a different way
As well as adding a little something to the understanding of the students
each time they see the same point, looking at the same grammar in a
totally different way in the hope that is suddenly clicks in a different part
of their brain is always worth a try to maintain interest and boost
learning. Methods include combining grammar points in unusual ways
(e.g. a lesson on all the Continuous tenses to cover Future Continuous
instead of a future tenses review) and teaching grammar just as sentence
stems ("If I were you I'd ").
39. Looks at grammar in a different way
Even better than the point above is if you have manage it is to get the
students to reconsider grammar in general, e.g. by looking at the
different uses in spoken and written English, looking at the point where
collocations merge with grammar, or looking at how quickly grammar has
changed. In some classes you can also get the same effect with the much
simpler techniques of making grammar interesting and explaining it
without the use of translation.
40. Is a myth buster
This is another way of stating a couple of the points elsewhere. If you can
choose a common language myth such as something that is usually badly
taught or that is different in old fashioned prescriptive grammar books,
that will make sure that all the students in your class are learning
something new and that you will really get their attention.
41. Takes into account common student difficulties
For example, is designed with difficulties in mind such as commonly
confused grammar, common misconceptions, common mistakes in EFL
exams, or common mistakes in academic writing.

42. Takes into account L1
For example, deals with grammatical forms that look the same in English
and L1 but have different meanings or uses, and is designed in such as
way as to subtly point out the differences- also possible without using L1
if you have an English-only policy.
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43. Takes into account how that grammar is usually taught
If 90% percent of the grammar books around the world teach that you
must always say "If I were you ", you'll need to know that before
deciding whether to give them a jolt with the expression "I was you " or
just to go with the flow on that point so you can teach something more
important such as Second Conditionals in general.
44. Takes into account the education the students have already had
This includes taking into account the grammar explanations they have
probably already had as a basis for you to build on, a source of your
myth-busting surprise, or just a warning to yourself on possible problems.
Knowing about how grammar is dealt with in their country can also give
you some information on how much grammar terminology they are likely
to know, their attitude to the conscious teaching of grammar, the use of
L1 in grammar teaching, and their attitudes to prescriptive and
descriptive grammar. How they were taught their own language can
sometimes be as relevant to these points as how they were taught
English. Please note, however, that many people will go into an English
class they have chosen precisely because they expect the opposite
approach to grammar to the one they had at school.
45. Isn't contradicted by what you are going to do in the book
Despite the suggestions above on giving students the truest grammatical
explanation from the best of all possible sources and one that contradicts
common misconceptions, if you then go onto do a grammar practice
exercise in the book that is based on a much more simplified or old-

fashioned view of the language, you are in for trouble. Ways of combining
your best practice with the textbook's less than best practice is to use the
exercise before the grammar presentation TTT-style so you can then
correct the book to get their attention and then carry on with a better
grammar practice exercise you have written or found elsewhere. Another
possibility is to get students to just skip controversial questions in the
book, perhaps by giving it to them as a photocopied page with the dodgy
bits Tippexed out.
46. Is in context
You can make the language easier to understand and more memorable
by making sure the sentence on the board has as much context as
possible. This can be achieved by basing it on a previous book listening
or reading or a previous communication activity, or by the tips above on
personalisation, making it topical, using character names etc.
47. Is not swamped by other grammar
This includes making sure they have had a good break since the last
grammar point as mentioned above, but also making sure small but
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important grammar points seem more important than they do small. This
can be achieved by making it the only grammar point of that lesson or
week, or by linking it together with several other related grammar points.
48. Is adaptable
For example, is adaptable if students ask you questions half way through
by leaving space on the board to add extra stuff.
49. Involves everyone in the class
If there is one student who is too shy to speak out in whole class
activities like eliciting grammar or one student who dominates all
grammar presentations due to level or personality, you can tackle this by
using guided grammar discovery tasks in their books or on worksheets
and helping out each group individually. Alternatively, you can give parts

for the grammar presentation like the example sentences and names of
sentences to different people or groups, and ask them to cooperate to
put it all together.
50. Is the right level for everyone in the class
This means the right level in terms of which grammar point you present,
which of the possible uses of and exceptions to that grammar point you
deal with, what language you use to describe it, what approach you use
to presenting the language first or not, and what texts and practice
activities you use before and after.
51. Uses the learning styles of everyone in the class
This can generally be achieved by using the visual and active techniques
described above, but how much you use of each of those techniques and
others such as setting grammar up like a logic puzzle will depend on
individual students and classes.
52. Ties in with the teaching philosophy of the school
This could be a case of thinking about how to tie it in with the use or not
of L1, not letting grammar explanations interfere with student talking
time, following a school syllabus, sticking to the textbook, cutting down
on photocopies, getting through as much grammar as possible, or
providing lots of student correction. Some of these can be difficult to tie
in with the points I have made elsewhere, but most of them are possible.
53. Ties in with the teaching philosophy of the textbook
To make life easier on yourself when you first start using a textbook, it is
best to look at what its approach to grammar is (prescriptive, descriptive,
discovery, TTT, PPP, (over) simplified, based on a particular native
speaker model, mainly spoken grammar, mainly written grammar, taught
in context, taught in isolation, taught consciously, taught unconsciously,
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building up grammar terminology, avoiding grammar terminology, step
by step, and/ or needs based) and try to teach the first few lessons that

way, maybe by following the teachers' book as closely as you can bear
to. Otherwise you might have problems with practice exercises that do
not fit in with the explanation you have just given, discovery exercises in
the book that reproduce what you have just done on the board, or even a
grammar explanation that contradicts yours. Students might also believe
the book more than you until they have learnt to trust you.
54. Stretches the teaching philosophy of the textbook
Once you have worked out what the textbook is trying to do with
grammar and how much you are happy with it, it is time to throw some
adaptation into the mix. Easy techniques include getting photocopiable
communication games from elsewhere to use as practice or production
tasks, mixing up the stages, replacing the grammar explanation there
with one on the board, using a different warmer, and using a different
prompt (e.g. a picture) to get the grammar presentation started.
55. Ties in with your preferred teaching style
For example, if you have a very dynamic classroom personality, trying to
subtly guide groups of students through a textbook grammar discovery
task might not work when they are looking up from their books all the
time to see which of your jokes the other groups are laughing about- in
which case a whiteboard presentation might be better.
56. Stretches your teaching style
When you and a new class have got used to you teaching them the way
you like, it's time to make a change or two. This can sometimes be as
simple as trying to follow the book more closely. Other possibilities
include using different supplementary materials, planning the language
to cover less and responding more to student needs on the spot, and
letting the students give the grammar presentations.
57. Doesn't overload the brain
As even a good grammar explanation can take a lot of mental power to
understand, remember and use in future activities, any parts of the brain

that are being used to work out other things that are going on will sap
that vital energy away. Possible distracters include names of unfamiliar
or difficult to pronounce people and places in the example sentences
(e.g. "Jose went to Gdansk" for the Simple Past), needing some logical
power to transfer the situations in the text into example sentences (e.g.
because the text is a murder mystery), grammar terminology, trying to
remember previous grammar points that are used elsewhere in the
example sentences, unfamiliar vocabulary, pronunciation difficulties, the
teacher's handwriting, new or only half remembered phonemic symbols,
difficult timelines or timelines used for the first time, difficult or unfamiliar
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gestures meant to illustrate the grammar, and jokes and other examples
of going off topic.
58. Shows similarities
If you can show that the Present Continuous, Past Continuous and Future
Continuous are all basically the same thing shifted along in time a little,
that can mean the class is both a new grammar point and revision, that
the explanation will be easier, that you can reuse timelines etc that they
already know and so reduce the mental load, and hopefully that the
grammar will stick together in their brains and so be easier to recall and
to use.
59. Shows differences
The human mind seems to respond well to oversimplified dualities like
"good and evil" and "black and white", so contrasting two tenses, "make
and do", "in and on" etc. should easily stick in their minds.
60. Is not replacing something more useful
This not only means not interfering with another more important
grammar point such as a little point that is usually left out or revision that
would be more important than something new, but also on whether more
vocabulary, skills development or functional language might be what

your students need for their daily lives, to pass an exam or to get up to
the next level rather than tacking more grammar at all.
61. Teaches students how to pick up other grammar they come across/
makes students self-sufficient language learners
To justify the conscious teaching of grammar to those who still think that
it is better picked up the way a child does in L1, we need to show not only
that students learn each grammar point we teach better than just by
reading examples of it in a text, but also that they will have more chance
of picking up other grammar points that they see in texts because of the
skills they have developed through talking about grammar. Techniques to
achieve this include encouraging student questions, taking a discovery
approach to grammar, and teaching them to use self-study grammar
resources such as the grammar summary section at the back of their
textbooks to do homework with a grammar point you haven't tackled in
class yet.
62. Combines prescriptive and descriptive grammar
Students will need to know not only what things native speakers don't
say, but also the things native speakers do say but others don't approve
of and so could get them in trouble in a language test, academic paper or
translation of a company brochure.
63. Doesn't take too much preparation
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Ways of cutting down on preparation include: keeping the OHPs for
previous grammar presentations; keeping laminated picture resources to
elicit example sentences; having files of supplementary materials
arranged by grammar point; and having lots of reference books to refer
to for timelines, grammar explanations and simple drawings.
64. Is given with you facing the students
This can be difficult to achieve when giving a whiteboard presentation,
but techniques include using an OHP, guiding them through a discovery

task in their books or on a worksheet, and explaining each point once
orally facing them and again (maybe with different example sentences or
just a summary of what you said) on the board.
65. Boosts their confidence
This can be achieved by eliciting things they knew already but making a
grammar explanation they didn't know they knew out of it, by tackling
something that seems difficult but making it very simple, by emphasizing
how simple it is, and by emphasizing how well they have done to
understand it and to contribute when you are eliciting.
66. Reminds them of something
One of the easiest ways of making a grammar explanation stick in
students' memories is to make it stick to something they already knew
before the class started, e.g. a song they know the lyrics to, maybe even
one they did in kindergarten, or a famous quote or film line.
67. Explains something they have always wondered
This could also be the explanation of grammar in a line they already
know, or an explanation of something they have always been taught as a
collocation, sentence stem or functional language for use in restaurants
etc. that doesn't fit in with the other grammar they have been taught.
68. Takes into account what nationalities students will be speaking to/ EIL
This could mean whether they will be encountering more British English
or American English, or which non-native speakers they are likely to
communicate with through the immigrant communities or business
dealings. When taking into account which non-native speakers they will
be speaking to, that gives you the option of telling them what mistakes
people from that country usually make so that they notice the grammar
each time they hear the mistake- meaning they not only don't copy the
mistake but actually learn that grammar point more easily. Alternatively,
you might want to avoid a grammar point as something that only native
speakers use and therefore of little use to students who only

communicate with other non-native speakers.
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69. Talks about real usage
For example, by saying "this grammar also exists, but 95% percent of the
time we use this form". This can help make the distinction between two
forms that seem interchangeable, help students concentrate on the most
useful language, and be a way of introducing grammar that is different to
what other teachers have shown them without being too aggressive
about it.
70. Is fun
Hopefully the sixty nine points above haven't made grammar
presentations as daunting for the teacher as it was for the students
before these kinds of things were taken into account. As with all parts of
teaching, having a good atmosphere in class with smiling, joking and
feeling like a group working together is at least as important as any more
easily analysable technique like the ones described here.
Copyright © 2008 Alex Case. Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com
Why your students still make mistakes with grammar they know well
Whether your approach to grammar is to drill it incessantly, explain it
thoroughly and/ or hope students will pick it up through exposure to the
language, unless you know a magic method that is not explained in any
of the popular TEFL books you must have had at least one student who
after 6 years of English study still occasionally says "My father have "
and makes you wonder briefly if you know what you are doing in the
classroom at all. The bad news is that I don't have that magic formula
either, but the good news is that I have found that examining why
students continue to make the same errors despite our best efforts can
help you make little steps in the right direction and give a sense of
perspective.
Possible reasons why students keep on making the same mistakes

1. They are not ready yet
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that language learners, like native
speaker children, pick up grammar points and stop making mistakes with
them in a very predetermined order. For example, third person s
mistakes (I do/ he does) tend to persist in both. If this is the problem (if
indeed you think of it as a problem), the only solution is patience!
2. They don't realise it's the same grammar
Although you may be surprised when students who have finally stopped
saying "He has to goes" still say "He must goes" because both should be
infinitives, it may be that the students consciously or subconsciously
don't put the two pieces of grammar together as one. The best solution
would be to work on making the points as closely associated in students'
heads as possible, e.g. doing a lesson on all uses of infinitives, teaching a
Phương pháp dạy Tiếng Anh Trương Trọng Bình
very general rule, or even pairing questions up where they have to fill the
gaps in pairs of sentences with the same word.
3. They are overloaded
If the students are making elementary errors with something they usually
don't, it could be because their brains are busier than usual with other
things, e.g. coping with the rules of the language game, digesting the
latest language point, sorting out a logic or problem solving puzzle, or
concentrating on another point like their pronunciation. Learning to cope
with many different demands on the brain at the same time is a good
thing, as it is what you need to do with the language in real life, but make
sure all language input and correction are left to a time when they can
concentrate on the language more.
4. They are overusing one point for good reasons
In both native and non-native speakers, the process of learning a new
grammar point seems to often include a period of overextending its use.
For example, even people who know the Simple Past well will start using

the Past Perfect in situations they would have used (correctly) the Simple
Past until the day they studied the new tense . Apart from understanding
that this is part of the process and being patient, ways to tackle this
could be to give them lots of controlled practice of the new grammar
point, come back to the original grammar point they confuse it with a few
weeks or months later, and concentrate on correcting one area of
confusion at a time.
5. They are having a bad day
Anyone who has ever lived in a foreign country can tell you there are
days when all your language skills seem to disappear. Again, this is
something they will need to be able to cope with eventually. Apart from
trying to take away their tiredness and take their minds of their troubles
by giving them something easy to do or doing a physical warmer, maybe
the best approach is just to be less demanding on that day. This is also a
good opportunity to practice your skills in spotting the difference
between little slip ups they would usually get right and are probably best
ignored on "one of those days", and things they really don't know that
are more worth some correction and explanation.
6. They don't think that grammar point is important
Consciously or subconsciously, native and non-native speakers tend to
put a low priority on stopping mistakes with language that does not
convey a lot of information- i.e. if they can make that mistake and still be
understood putting more effort into it can wait until later. This natural
reaction can actually be a sign that they are right and you should move
quickly on from the Present Simple to giving them the stacks of
vocabulary they will need to reach the next level. There is a chance,
though, that they are just missing the way in which they could be
Phương pháp dạy Tiếng Anh Trương Trọng Bình
misunderstood. The general principle here is to include possible
misunderstandings in all error correction. If you can't do so, maybe that is

a sign that grammar point can wait until later.
7. That point is more difficult for them than it seems
The reason why students pick up some grammar points more quickly
than the teacher expects and others more slowly is often connected to
their first language, e.g. confusions between different uses of similar
forms or grammatical forms that don't have an equivalent in L1. Even
teachers who know the language the students speak can be miss out on
particular aspects of this, such as students who speak a particular dialect
or different language at home, or grammatical forms that only educated
speakers of that language would be familiar with. Responses to this
include rearranging the syllabus to leave more difficult points for
particular students until later, concentrating on the particular areas of
difficulty they have when the time comes, and approaching the same
grammar point several different ways with gaps in between to let their
subconscious get to work.
8. It's an attempt to be informal
It may be that in the student's native language grammatical forms are
dropped when they are speaking informally, in a similar way to "No way!"
or "Long time no see" in English. Common examples that students
sometimes reproduce in English include dropping the subject or using a
different tense. Although this is usually subconscious, it can be reinforced
by the language they hear in English pop music and in certain English
dialects. Depending on their level, you might be able to do a lesson on
substituting these with informal forms we really do use or even doing a
whole lesson on the more general grammatical changes between
informal speech and formal speech or writing.
9. Accuracy is not their priority
Again, there is a chance they are right on this one and teaching them
how to express something they couldn't at all with a new grammatical
form, new vocabulary, or new functional language might be better than

spending more time trying to root out basic errors. If, however, you think
lack of accuracy is the main reason they are not being understood, are
not ready for the next level, cannot transfer speaking skills into writing
skills or will do badly on a test, it is worth letting them know. Clearly
showing what effect mistakes can have on communication with dialogues
with communication breakdowns etc can also help.
10. They just have that kind of personality
Just as it is no surprise when some perfectionists become obsessive about
getting their sentences right, there are some people whose outgoing
nature, slapdash character or hyperactive speaking style just seems to
make it difficult for them to stop for a minute and pay attention to what
Phương pháp dạy Tiếng Anh Trương Trọng Bình
they are saying. Although this is not the only example of a situation when
students' language skills could be best improved by them changing their
personality, this is no easier to do here than in any other case! Ways to
get them to concentrate on accuracy more include making error
correction fun with grammar auctions etc, giving them an easy speaking
task they only need simple language for and can't get distracted from,
and forcing them to slow down to speak to someone who is a lower level
(either in reality or by their partner playing that role).
Why your students don't want to do pairwork
Perhaps the most common cultural clash in the English as a second or
foreign language classroom is between teachers who want to get the
amount of pairwork up to the maximum possible and students who want
it to be less or even zero. By looking at why those feelings sometimes (or
even often) occur I hope to be able to give some tips on how to reduce
that resistance and prompt some discussion on whether the students
may not sometimes be right.
Here is a list of possible reasons (in no particular order) with some tips on
how to deal with those points.

Reasons why students might be resistant to pairwork
1. They are afraid of picking up mistakes from their partner
This is one of the most common concerns and, quite frankly, sometimes a
justified one. Ways to avoid this complaint include providing lots of error
correction during and after pairwork, making sure the highest and lowest
students don't (often) work together and providing a model for language
they can use during the pairwork.
2. They think they won't get enough correction
This one is another common fear. Ways of including enough error
correction for those that want lots without interfering with your lesson
plan include spending time with their group during the pairwork, giving
written feedback on errors at the end of the class and offering extra
homework or suggested self-study practice on the most common error of
the day.
3. They want practice of speaking out in front of a group of people
I've never come across this one as far as I know, but it could happen.
Reactions include using pairwork as preparation for a whole class
speaking activity such as a debate, presentation or meeting.
4. They want to speak to and find out about the teacher.
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This is fairly common when the teacher is a native speaker and the
students haven't met many native speakers before. Ways to indulge this
interest without the teacher becoming the centre of the whole class
include getting them to work in pairs to write questions to ask you,
getting one of the pair to pretend they are you and then check if the
things they said are correct, doing a reading on the teacher's hometown,
or the teacher joining a different group for each activity.
5. They just don't like speaking
Although students won't often say they don't want to speak in class,
many students understandably find it difficult and uncomfortable. This

can manifest itself in a protest against pairwork. Ways round it include
also using pairwork for non-speaking tasks such as comparing answers
together, starting all pairwork with very controlled speaking such as
reading out a script, and using pairs to help each other in group speaking
work, e.g. working as a tag team or preparing what they are going to say
together.
6. There are personality clashes between partners
Ways round this include using threes instead of pairs to take away some
of the tension, changing pairs after each activity, working with one of the
clashing students as a pair if there are an odd number of students in the
classroom, and using roleplays so they are in effect working with
someone who has taken on a different and less annoying personality.
7. They feel more shy in pairs than speaking out in front of the class.
This is usually the other way round, but can happen if there are
differences in gender, age, status level, language level, personality or
approach to the language (e.g. one student correcting the grammar of
another), or if one of the students is flirting with the other. Again, careful
selection or shuffling of pairs and groups can help in larger classes, as
can roleplays and games.
8. They feel the teacher is being lazy and not doing their job
This is another unspoken concern, but it does exist- either because the
teacher is not doing what the students think should be their job such as
modelling or error correction, or because you seem to be inactive while
the students are doing all the work whilst speaking. As well as busying
yourself with closely monitoring groups, writing down the language they
use, some selective correction etc while the pairwork is going on, make
sure you do all the other things they think you should such as error
correction in other parts of the lesson.
9. They are a class clown, teacher's pet or other show off that wants the
teacher's or everyone's attention

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You could give them a chance to perform afterwards, e.g. show everyone
the roleplay they just performed, let them pair up with you during the
pairwork, or put them in a three rather than a pair (if there are an odd
number of students in the class) to give them a slightly larger audience.
10. They had a bad experience with a previous teacher
Although there are many good reasons for using pairwork and many good
ways of using it, like anything else it is possible to misuse it. If students
had a previous teacher who used it as a way of reducing their own
workload or just because they had been told to do it without having any
clear idea why or how to do so, students might take a bit of converting.
First of all, introduce pairwork slowly or late in the course to give them a
chance to come round. In the earlier classes, show them you do all the
things their less than professional previous teacher did not, such as
giving clear and full grammar explanations or teaching less obvious
pronunciation points like linked speech. They should then be ready to
trust you when you use pairwork in class.
11. They just don't understand what pairwork is supposed to be for
With higher level students, you can explain before each activity what that
activity is for. If they couldn't understand an explanation in English, make
sure your school has a leaflet describing the teaching methodology and
the reasons behind it in their own language that they are given when first
coming into the school or after they sign up. You could also lead them to
the point of suggesting pairwork themselves by doing a whole lesson on
language learning methods and posing the question "How can each
student in class be given more time to speak?"
12. Classes in their culture are always teacher-centred
Again, introduce pairwork slowly, live up to their expectations in all other
ways, and explain why you use pairwork in terms that are
understandable to someone from their culture.

13. They've never done it before
See points 11 and 12 above
14. Their favourite teacher didn't do it
See points 10 to 12 above.