I found my old notes taken while preparing for various exams in teaching spanish to english methods.
I decided to leave them on the blog, to help novice teachers, and create a new section “Fundamentals of teaching foreign language teaching methods” (FL is a foreign language).
At the end of the article there is a task that will help you better understand the material.
The term grammar has several definitions. First of all, grammar is understood as a section of linguistics containing the doctrine of the structure of words, forms of inflection, types of phrases and types of sentences (theoretical grammar).
Grammar is also called the structure of the language, the system of rules in the language for the formation of words and word forms, word changes, word combinations into phrases and sentences (practical grammar).
Sometimes they also distinguish the so-called pedagogical or educational grammar filipino to english, that is, the reduction of grammatical material in accordance with the goals of learning, as well as the appropriate organization of this material, highlighting those components that students must master for use in speech.
Grammar exercises can have different purposes:
Introduction to new material. It can occur inductively (from form), when students analyze the material and formulate a rule, or deductively (from meaning and use), when the rule is first studied, and then exercises are performed to consolidate it.
Conducting training exercises of various types (imitation of a phenomenon, modification of a grammatical phenomenon, combination of grammatical phenomena).
There are different views on the advisability of using translation exercises. Opponents of this approach emphasize that they violate the monolingual nature of the process and contain a heap of difficulties of various kinds. Supporters insist that translation exercises contribute to overcoming linguistic interference, and allow you to focus on the form of a grammatical phenomenon, rigidly dictating its use. As part of the communicative approach, translation exercises are not used.
On a note:
Grammar studies the structure of the language and the patterns of constructing correct language structures, but the language is constantly changing, and grammatical rules are changing accordingly. Grammar reference books do not always keep up with these changes.
The teacher needs to track changes, be aware of trends in the use of language structures.
Grammar rules describe the written language to a much greater extent than the spoken language. For example, repetitions, abbreviations and exclamations characteristic of oral speech are by no means always described in grammar reference books.
The study of grammar rules and constructions facilitates language learning for some students, but does not bring tangible benefits to others. Here it is necessary to take into account such factors as the individual characteristics of students, previous experience in learning foreign languages, expectations from classes, and the age of students. So, preschoolers easily master the language without studying grammar.
The main goal of learning any foreign language is to be able to use the language in situations of real communication. The study of grammar rules and constructions alone cannot help students achieve this goal. Until recently, the grammar-translation method was widely used, but other approaches are now relevant that emphasize the functioning of the language, the development of language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) and fluency.