Good method to learn English grammar

1. Notice gaps in language knowledge

When learners focus seriously on their language shortcomings, they realize the gaps in their knowledge. They can even discover these gaps when participating in the Dictogloss method - learning grammar integrated into English communication, which is now widely used in English centers.

The following is an example of how the Dictogloss method works.

In an English class for adults at level A2, the teacher put sentences in the passive voice of the simple present about the olive harvest. After creating interest in the lesson's topic among the students, the teacher reads the following paragraph at a natural pace:

There are an estimated nine million olive trees in Palestine, which can produce tons of oil. Green ripe olives are picked in October by thousands of Palestinian population participate in the olive harvest. Once the harvest is completed, fresh olives are sent to the press. Olive oil is then exactred from the olives and packaged in yellow gallons. The product is not only sold in Palestine but also shipped around the world.

The teacher checked the learner's general understanding of the text, then read it again. This time learners will write down the key words they hear. Students are asked to work in groups to try to reconstruct the text by memorizing it as closely as possible to the original. Then, each group will compare their results with other groups to come to a common decision. Finally, the teacher will project the text they just read earlier onto the board.

During this activity, learners used their language knowledge and worked out the meaning and form of the language. This is a way for them to notice the "gaps" they hear in their English notes. This process can lead to a restructuring of their conscious overview of the language system.

2. How can learners focus on both meaning and form?

Although we can deduce the rules and forms of language, when communicating to convey a message, no matter how fluently, we lack grammatical precision.

Here is an imprecise but communicative example:

• Man kill cat.

Through the above sentence, we know that a man was involved in killing a cat. The lack of grammatical precision that results in the above statement can be understood in any of the following cases:

• A man killed a cat.

• A cat was killed by a man.

• A man killed cats.

• The man may have killed his cats.

"Grammaticalisation" is a term coined by Dianne Larsen-Freeman and Marti Anderson in the book "Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching" (2011). This term means that learners focus simultaneously on semantics and grammatical forms.

Learners can express themselves correctly when they learn to add grammar to reading methods such as: tense signs (past, present and future), articles (the/a/an/- ), aspect (continuous or perfect), prepositions (on, at, in, etc.), plurals, negation and questions.

In one of the teenage classes at level B1, the teacher read aloud the following grammatically simplified text:

Jemina – Jeremy – young – rich – couple – live – work – London – Sunday evening – drive – home – Jaguar – see – car – resemble – Porsche – rush – home – discover – Porsche – not there – stolen – feel – terrible – call – police.

The teacher asked the students to tell a story using single words. Then, the teacher writes vocabulary words on the board and encourages students to build a story by adding necessary grammar points. When finished, the teacher will display the entire complete story on the board to compare with the students' results.

Jemina and Jeremy were a young, rich couple who lived and worked in London. One Sunday evening, they were driving home in their Jaguar when they saw a car resembling their Porsche. They rushed home and discovered that there; it had been stolen! They felt terrible and called the police.

In this way, learners improved their understanding of past statements through paying attention to the form and meaning of the language,

3. How to change your learning attitude from passive to active

In the book: "Implementing the Lexical Approach: Putting Theory into Practice" by Michael Lewis, he advocates activities that allow learners to pay attention and observe linguistic forms. According to him, these activities encourage learners to move from passive learning to active learning, thereby ensuring faster understanding and learners building a foundation of grammar rules more carefully.

Teachers can do this by using “fill in the blank” activities – which test learners on their existing knowledge as they predict missing grammatical structures.

At the end of the activity, learners compare their predictions with the original text. This type of exercise helps learners realise that they will largely avoid using phrasal verbs and prefer more familiar verbs. This encourages them to explore the differences, as well as the meaning and use of the target language.

What will happen if learners don't pay attention to grammar?

Without paying attention to grammar, learners may still make mistakes even though they have quite a bit of experience with verb tenses in English. Students can also accurately infer language rules and patterns based on what they have learned, but avoid using these structures in real-life situations.

Changing the state from "not paying attention" to "paying attention" and using language naturally is not something that can happen instantly. The conversion process can take minutes, hours or even days, or it may not happen at all. However, it is the teacher's job to help learners discover how grammar works in real-life situations.