thewriter: The Importance of Grammar in English Language Teaching and Learning.

Grammar, according to the Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary, is defined as; (the study or use of) the rules of how words change their form and combine with other words to make sentences.

We can describe Grammar as the backbone of a language that a learner or a user must understand in order to communicate effectively and accurately. By effectively I mean the ability to express clearly what one thinks, feels or wants. By accuracy I mean without an errors that will hinder understanding of meaning.

The reason for grammar’s importance is that we can write and speak without error. Nowadays we write more than we speak. Emails, sms and Internet forums have increased as well as traditional media like letters, books, magazines, contracts, reports and journals. The need for grammatical accuracy has grown. As a result of this situation grammatical accuracy is needed evermore. This is so when commands, orders, requests and are made and they must be understood. As well as that, in social settings grammatical accuracy is also needed if there is to be accurate understanding of what is said. In Britain back in the 1970s when there were a lot of immigrants coming into that country from Asia and Africa, there were situations where the misunderstanding of meaning took place. In supermarkets where there were stands for magazines which had some free offer for a product or service described inside the periodical. There were unfortunate incidents of what appeared to be shoplifting. When these immigrants saw the banner with the word “Free” they took it to mean that the magazine itself was free. However, the banner was meant for some free offer that was described inside the magazine. So not knowing what it meant they just took the magazine thinking that the magazine was free. This unfortunate lack of grammar resulted in many people being caught for shoplifting. Had these people had a working knowledge of English and English grammar that mistake would not have occurred.

When it comes to English learners, we see the need for grammar in English language teaching. The reasons for this are two-fold. One is Competency. By competency is meant that when an English learner displays competency in grammar that person creates a good impression of themselves. When English language learners display grammatical competency they create a good impression of themselves with other people, be they native speakers or other English language learners. It shows the effort they have made in learning the language. If the English language learner fails to achieve competency he or she runs the risk of giving a poor impression of themselves. It shows their lack of enthusiasm and lack of effort to learn the new language. They will also fail in the ability to communicate effectively and understand the meaning of what is said to them or what they read. The lack of competency can lead to alienation in a society or be deemed as arrogance. The other reason for good grammar among English language learners is Presentation. By presenting themselves as having good grammar, English language learners can present themselves to employers who need staff who can communicate well in English. These employers will be willing to recruit such people knowing they can rely on them to transact business well with god grammatical accuracy. As well as this the English learner will present himself or herself well in any social setting. This will increase their prestige. Competency does not mean that the learner is incompetent. Contrary, it just shows lack of interest in learning the language.

English language teachers need to have an excellent command of grammar. This knowledge will enable the teacher to;

They will be to show their professionalism in the English language.

They will be able to integrate form, meaning and content in the design of syllabus according to the level of capability of their students.

They will be better able to select and prepare materials for classroom activities.

They will be able to identify and analyse which student errors to concentrate on.

They will be able to select and sequence the grammatical forms at any given time.

They will be able to prepare appropriate exercises and activities for rule presentation or error correction.

They will be able to deal with any queries or doubts posited to them by their students.

A teacher with a sound knowledge of English grammar will be better able to teach English compared to one with a poor grasp of grammar. These teachers with a sophisticated understanding of grammar can teach without creating confusion or teaching erroneous rules to their students. An effective and good teacher must have a sophisticated understanding of grammar. They will be able to better understand grammar and teach it at the appropriate level of understanding of their students as well s know when, where and how to use this sophisticated knowledge.

In conclusion I think that grammar is very important in language teaching and learning as it creates learners who can use and understand the language and communicate effectively. Teachers need an excellent knowledge of grammar in order to know what level of difficulty to teach their students.

References.

10. http://languages.com/2013/02/20/the-importance-of-english-grammar/

11. http://languages.com/2013/02/28/making-a-good-impression-importance-of-learning-english-grammar/

thewriter

Tuesday 25 June 2019

The Importance of Grammar in English Language Teaching and Learning.

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