Ron's ESL Blogs

Here is tip #2 on how to increase interest, involvement and results when teaching grammar:

Tip #2

Teach for a reason. There is a reason for teaching and knowing each grammar rule, other than passing the test.

Each grammar rule is taught for a reason. If your student knows that reason, they will be more motivated to understand and use what you teach.

For example, why do we teach the English parts of speech?

Because a person who knows the parts of speech understands the building blocks of the language. Moreover, when using the dictionary, they can find the right meaning more easily.

For example, Lisa reads the sentence “They water the plants.”

She’s not sure what “water” means in this case, so she looks it up in a dictionary.

Since the dictionary has the words organized according to their part of speech, she will have an easier time locating the correct definition if she know that “water” is used as a VERB.

So make sure your students actually know why they study each grammar topic in the first place!

Click here for more tips and articles on how to teach English.

Grammar is sometimes known to be not so interesting . . .

I must disagree, though, because in most cases I find grammar absolutely fascinating.

But if you, or your students, are not in the same opinion as me, there are some things you can do to increase interest and involvement (not to mention results!):

Tip #1

Make sure the student understands all the words and terms in the subject you are trying to teach.

Incorrect example: teaching the passive voice without explaining what “voice” actually means in this context.

Correct example: explaining what a “voice” means first. Also, make sure the student fully understands the terms SUBJECT and OBJECT, since they will encounter them shortly

And by the way, a voice in this context means:
The form of a verb that shows whether the subject of a sentence performs the action  or is affected by it.

If it performs the action – we call it the active voice.

If it is affected by the action – we call it the passive voice.

Click here for more tips and articles on how to teach English.