1. How to teach grammar?
Guido Riquelme
Jaime Saez
The following essay is focused on the grammar system, based on authors such
as Freeman, Douglas Brown, Celce-Murcia, and Nunan. While the essay
develops, it will answer interrogatives as, what grammar is? How to teach
grammar? Which is the suitable manner to teach grammar?
Grammar is a subject of knowledge which teachers and researchers have been
studying for several years. Think in a specific manner to see grammar is a very
complicated job to do, because grammar is part of the language, and language
is in constant changes, developing new words, theories and rules. Two teachers
of grammar could teach the subject slightly different, for the wide-range of
theories that can be handled nowadays.
Grammar is one of the most difficult aspects to learn and teach, Larsen-
Freeman (2003) pointed out that “Grammar is much more about humanness
than some static list of rules and exceptions suggests” (p.142). In fact, when
undergraduates hear the word grammar the things that comes to their heads
are a well-structured set of words forms, rules, theories and more, yet grammar
is more than a basic set of principles, outlines or guidelines used in order to
create coherent sentences. The word grammar encodes many different types of
things, and not all that compendium of knowledge can be equally teach or learn.
Learning grammar can be a difficult, hard and tough task to do; however,
according to Larsen-Freeman (2003) states that “Grammar is acquired
naturally; it doesn’t have to be taught” (p.19) She also adds “it is difficult to
refute the statement that grammar can be acquired naturally because such is
the case with native language acquisition. More to the point here, many of us
know of successful second language learners who have picked up the language
on their own, that is, have learned it implicitly through immersion in an
environment where the language is spoken. However, compelling
counterevidence to this statement is the experience of all those learners who
have lived for a long time in an environment where the target language is

2. spoken all around them yet who have failed to acquire even its rudimentary
morphology. So perhaps this statement is more a comment on language
learners than it is on language learning” (p.19). Even when grammar can be
learned by nature, why second language learners find so difficult to achieve this
knowledge? Is there a problem with the subject? Is there a problem with the
methodology of the class? Or just a problem with the students who are not
capable of put grammar into action?
Celce-Murcia (1996, pp19) recommends one specific and successful way of
teaching grammar. Teaching in groups, in other words, students work in groups
while they are in a grammar class. The base of this theory is that grammar itself
is considered, according to Murcia, as a monotonous subject, and that teaching
student who work in groups is easier and more stimulating. Also, this technique
is held on the fact that when student work together as a group the student-
student interaction is improved. As well, It must be considered that a student
tend to admit in a better manner a correction from a pair than a correction from
the teacher.
As Larsen-Freeman (2003) notes, “Even those who subscribe to an innatist
Universal Grammar (UG) perspective, for instance, allow that core grammar
may be innate but that peripheral grammar may be learned through a different
mechanism. However, it is the case that language teaching methods have
sometimes been based exclusively on one view of the language acquisition
process. Thus, for example, there was an affinity between audiolingualism and
behaviorism, and between cognitive code approach and cognitivism. Such
affinities gave rise to general claims about the whole of language acquisition,
that is, that language acquisition is a product of habit formation or of rule
formation”(p.20-21) as Diane Larsen-Freeman mentioned in this fragment of her
book, every aspect of grammar can be learned in the same way, but this does
not mean that students can learn it with the same methods, in order to learn
grammar students must use a great variety of techniques and methods, and
being constantly studying the subject with the objective of learning in a
significant way to apply the structures, rules, and theories of grammar in real life
situations.

3. The vast majority of the second language learners believe that grammar is a
boring subject to learn, they are constantly avoiding it, the more they avoid
grammar the more they slow down the progression of their own learning. But,
what can teachers do to handle with boredom in class? Larsen-Freeman (2003)
established that “First, although I do not think that it is my job to entertain my
students, I do believe that it is my job to engage them. It is at the point of
engagement that most learning is likely to take place-when students are
focused, relaxed, and attentive. Second, if grammar is presented as a system of
rules, students may not put in the time that they will need to master it. Third, I
will have to work on the attitude of (some of) my students. Just as I believe that
teachers are well served when they cultivate attitudes of inquiry, I suggest that
this is a good attitude to nurture in students” (p.21). As Larsen-Freeman states
teachers must engage their students, engagement is essential in class, is the
best way to fight boredom and laziness, motivate students to be responsible
with their own learning is a task that every teacher must fulfill, motivated
students learn more and faster than bored students, also motivation improves
the learning environment, providing the appropriates learning tools in order to
overcome the obstacles that can appear while learning grammar.
Another point that teacher should consider to teach grammar is the students’
purpose to learn grammar, students needs goals to reach in order to
successfully acquire knowledge in every field such as chemistry or
mathematics, giving purposes to students will generate motivation to learn, they
will look for the knowledge by their own free will instead of waiting for the
instructor to teach them everything they need.
According to Douglas-Brown (2000, pp363-364) on Celce-Murcia (1991) there
are six variables that can easily indicate, how important grammar is in language
teaching. First of all, age, as long as the student cognitive capabilities develops
the way of teaching grammar is different, for instance, a older children will be
capable of understanding grammar by generalizations, yet an adult will learn
and use some grammatical aspect in order to develop their communicative
abilities. Secondly, the proficiency level, this means that beginner learner’s
lessons should not be focused on just teaching grammar, this may cause a
block on communicative fluency; however, for advanced learner’s lessons

4. grammar should or should not take a privileged place during the learning
process. Educational background is also a variable considered by Celce-
Murcia, non-littered and highly educated students are completely different in
terms of facing focused grammar lessons. Highly educated student will accept
and will ask for corrections when is needed; on contrary, non littered students
will hit upon a wall because student will misunderstand the rules. As Celce-
Murcia states, the language skill are also a variable that is necessary to keep in
mind. This variable is also related with the English proficiency. For instance,
grammar is given more importance in listening and reading when the learners
are beginners, and grammar is focused on writing when the learners are
advanced. Style, needs and goals are the last variables considered by Douglas
Brown on Celce-Murcia. These variables are focused more in the way of using
grammar and not on the way of teaching it or acquire it. The style refers to the
fact that a person will not care about using a perfect grammar, for instance
when speaking with a peer. And also, little mistakes will not be considered or
pointed out.
On the other hand needs and goals, refers to the final use of the language that
is learned. If the language learned is used for “survival”, grammar mistakes, as
in style, will not be considered or pointed out. But, if the language is learned in
order to be used in professional contexts the grammar used is more accurate.
At the moment of teaching grammar, Douglas Brown states, the best way of
teaching grammar is the inductive way, this means, focused on grammar, the
teacher do not give the rules explicitly; instead, the student get the rule by their
own based on the examples provided by the teacher. This approach is well
recommended because the students tend to learn faster for the reason that they
are acquiring the rules subconsciously. Also, the motivation of the student for
grammar increases. Furthermore, he affirms, that at the moment of teaching
grammar the vocabulary used by the teacher in order to explain grammar,
should be simple a concrete, long instructions and excessively difficult to
understand will result in the misunderstanding of the students. Likewise, if the
students do not understand the instructions in English, the teacher should use
mother tongue. When he is asked about is grammar should be taught in

5. isolated grammar class, he declares, that grammar should not be taught in
isolation and that should be learned from context.
David Nunan, on his article on ELT Oxford journal (1998, pp101), expressed the
issues of teaching and learning wrongly the English grammar due to the means
of teaching grammar, in other words, teachers tend to teach grammar in
isolation based on isolated sentences. Nunan states that grammar should be
taught in context. How this is possible? Nunan on his article presented a new
approach that should replace the old lineal approach. The organic approach
implies that the grammar should be taught in context, not just isolated rules that
must be learned by heart. This approach also encourages students to be
responsible about their own learning.
To conclude there is a lot to said about grammar, how to teach the subject and
also how to learn the topic, the wide-range of theories, structures, words forms
and more are undoubtedly difficult to acquire if the one who want to learn it is
not focus on the process of learning, also the motivation and engagement with
the theme can foster an appropriate environment to learn in a proper way, this
does not mean that if students are motivate grammar will be easier, but it will
become more enjoyable the process of learning grammar. In addition to this
teachers must be aware of the techniques they use to teach grammar, if the
methods they use are not working, change it to another in order to maximize the
learning of their students. Teachers should motivate students to avoid the
boredom and laziness that some of the students feel when they hear the word
grammar that is the reason why teachers should use dynamic methods of
teachings.

6. References.
• Larsen-Freeman, D. (2003). Teaching Language from Grammar to
Grammaring. The University of Michigan and the school for international
training. Donald Freeman series editor, Thomson Heinle.
• Douglas Brown, H. (2000). Teaching by Principles: an Interactive
Approach to Language Pedagogy. Longman.
• Nunan, D. (1998). Teaching grammar in context. ELT Journal Oxford
University Press.
• Celce-Murcia, M. (1996) Integrating Group Work with the Teaching
Grammar. Journal of NELTA 1996 Vol. 1 No. 2:19

7. References.
• Larsen-Freeman, D. (2003). Teaching Language from Grammar to
Grammaring. The University of Michigan and the school for international
training. Donald Freeman series editor, Thomson Heinle.
• Douglas Brown, H. (2000). Teaching by Principles: an Interactive
Approach to Language Pedagogy. Longman.
• Nunan, D. (1998). Teaching grammar in context. ELT Journal Oxford
University Press.
• Celce-Murcia, M. (1996) Integrating Group Work with the Teaching
Grammar. Journal of NELTA 1996 Vol. 1 No. 2:19