Topic: None are so blind as those who will not see

From: Mohammed Ali Alfadhel

Added: 10.08.09

By Mohammed Alfadhel

M.A. in English Literature

Alandalus University

mafnaz@yahoo.com

None are so blind as those who will not see:

Teachers of grammar insist on using old- fashioned methods

   Despite the great progress that has been made in almost every aspect of education, we, teachers of English, still cling desperately to outdated methods, namely, in teaching grammar. We live in ivory towers. Ironically, we became tools of destruction instead of construction. Worse than that, we are the major reason behind students' hatred of this course whether we like it or not. Is it wise to bury our heads in the sand and pretend as if nothing happened? Or rather seek remedial measures to overcome this serious problem?  To begin with, we need to emphasize the importance of studying and applying rules of grammar for all students irrespective of their levels. Grammar is not merely some dead rules we memorize and repeat like parrots; it is an effective tool for using and mastering the language, if used properly.

   In my earlier article, entitled " To Kill two Birds with one Stone: Using Literary Texts to Teach Grammar", published in Education-supplement, number 25, I have shed some light on making use of an effective way to teach grammar using literary texts. In this article, I am going to highlight other approaches and reasons attributed to this problem. Metaphorically speaking, teachers are called as gardeners since they plant seeds and watch them grow, while students are like dough since we mould them into any shape we like. As such, we must take our share of the blame and admit responsibility for having this problem.

   Some teachers prefer using the deductive approach rather than the inductive approach or the other way around. It is not a matter of using this approach or that; it is more complicated, therefore, we need to get to the root of the problem. The real problem is teachers turning the entire class into grammar lesson, denying the students the right to participate and work on exercises. Students are passive learners and onlookers. They are not given the chance to put into practice what they have learned. There is no point in repeating the rules over and over without really using the language. Besides, some other teachers dictate the rules to their students in Arabic wasting their time. As a result, the students can hardly differentiate between tenses or other structures for they lack real exposure to English, not to mention lack of applying these rules in sentences.

   One way to remedy this situation is to reconsider our approaches and devise new methods so as to create genuine passion in our students to such a degree that they are glued to their chairs. For example, teachers can allot some time to run competitions among students to stimulate and enhance them. They can divide the class into groups at the end of each topic. Each group is given copies of questions to be answered in a limited period of time. When the time is up, we can add the scores and announce the winners. This activity can be repeated once in a while. We can even make use of the internet (if available) to make our students have online-exams. I myself have always employed such outstanding methods in my classes and the results have always been fruitful and rewarding.

    As has been mentioned, the problem lies with some teachers not students. They refuse to modify their approaches and keep pace with changes on the ground that they are experienced enough to make the lesson comprehensible, and as a result they loose their impact on their students. Some teachers may argue that using such methods require great efforts and patience, but believe me it is worth the effort. Basically, there are numerous activities which a teacher can employ. Choosing the most convenient activity will depend on the topic the teacher is teaching and on the level of his students. For example, when teaching the third conditional, the teacher can use written exercises by distributing cards to different students, on which are written the following words: known, visited, have, had, if, you, I, would, I, were, in, hospital, you. Ask the students to stick the cards on the board to form sentences. Additionally, you can adapt this activity to suit your students. For instance, instead of sticking the cards on the board, write more sentences on a sheet .This sheet has a total of ten sentences in a table, which allows for twenty students. Cut the table into cards and distribute one card per student. Ask your students to mingle with each others and walk around the classroom to find the missing half of their sentence. In this activity the students will recognize different verb tenses.

   When teaching the passive, the teacher can write various active sentences and cut the sentences into strips. Divide the class into teams. Give each team one strip. The students should work together to change the active sentences into passive. Each time, one student of each team should race to the board in order to change the sentence into passive. The team who finishes first with grammatically perfect sentence gets one point. An incorrect sentence is worth 0 points. 

   To teach the 2nd conditional creatively, the teacher can draw a picture of himself with thought bubbles of a lottery ticket, a fancy car, and big house.The students are asked to guess what he is thinking about.
"If I won in a lottery, I would buy a fancy car and a big house." The teacher can use split sentences as a controlled practice activity. He gives students lots of sentence halves and in pairs they try and match the beginnings and ends of the sentences. Example: "If I were in your shoes," …. "I'd listen to the teacher."

   A teacher who intends to teach tenses such as past simple, past progressive or present progressive and so forth, can employ this exciting approach: First, tell a student to read. Then, ask him what he is doing. Have another student open the door. Ask him what did you just do? Choose a third student and ask him to describe the two actions, using when and while respectively.

  To make the lesson amazingly enjoyable, meaningful and memorable, the teacher can select and photocopy some grammar points from Grammar with Laughter by George Woolard to supplement what has been studied in class, in which jokes are used to highlight grammatical structures. Employing such amazing techniques will not only increase motivation but also make grammar more appealing instead of being least understood by most students since jokes are easily memorable. Consequently, they will prompt students to remember grammar effectively and make it less frightening.

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