1. What is Grammar?
2. Why should we teach Grammar?

What is Grammar?

• “Grammar is the business of taking a language to pieces, to see how it works.” (David Crystal)
• Grammar is the system of a language.
• Grammar is the mental system of rules and categories that allows humans to form and interpret the words and sentences of their language.
• grammar adds meanings that are not easily inferable from the immediate context.

Why should we teach grammar?

• The sentence-machine argument
• The fine-tuning argument
• The fossilisation argument
• The advance-organiser argument
• The discrete item argument
• The rule-of-law argument
• The learner expectations argument

1.Teaching Grammar through texts .
If learners are to achieve a functional command of a second language, they will need to be able to understand and produce not just isolated sentences, but whole texts in that language.
Language is context-sentitive; which is to say that an utterance becomes fully intelligible only when it is placed in its context.

(Contrasting Present Progressive“Going to” Future)
This is Mr West. He has a bag in his left hand. Where is he standing? He is standing at the door of his house. What is Mr West going to do? He is going to put his hand into his pocket. He is going to take a key out of his pocket. He is going to put the key into the lock. (from Hornby, A.S. Oxford Progressive English Course, Oxford University Press, 1954)

Teaching Grammar through stories

Everyone loves a story.

A story provides a realistic context for presenting grammar points and holds and focuses students’ attention in a way that no other technique can. Although some teachers are better at telling stories than others, almost any of us can tell stories with energy and interest. Students naturally like to listen to stories, and most are remembered long after the lesson is over.

Teaching grammar through songs and rhymes

Since the meaning is an important device in teaching grammar, it is important to contextualize any grammar point. Songs are one of the most enchanting and culturally rich resources that can easily be used in language classrooms. Songs offer a change from routine classroom activities. They are precious resources to develop students abilities in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Capital letters
(Hailee Steinfeld)

Never was a leader
Я никогда не была лидером,
Never had a thing for fairy tales
Никогда не было сказок на уме,
Not really a believer
Да и по правде я не верю,
Small voise in the quiet
Скромный голос в тишине,
Guess I never dared to know myself
Думаю, что я никогда еще не осмливалась познать себя,
Can my heart beat quiet? No
Но может ли мое сердце биться тише? Нет.

never-никогда,
leader-лидер,
have a thing for-иметь слабость к кому/чему,
capital letter- прописная буква,
crowd-толпа,
heart-сердце,
small voice-слабый голос,
dare-дерзать, посметь,
heart-сердце,
loud-громко,
beat-биться,
truth-правда,
believer-верующий

A teacher's selection of a technique or a set of techniques should be based on his or her
objectives for the classroom. After deciding the grammar point to be studied, and the song
and the techniques to be used, the teacher should prepare an effective lesson plan. Since songs
are listening activities, it is advisable to present them as a listening lesson, but of course it is
necessary to integrate all the skills in the process in order to achieve successful teaching.

Since every class is different, teachers should creativity determine the teaching procedure. It
is not advisable to apply one procedure too strictly. A teacher should adopt the activities
according to the needs of the learners. However, it might not be very useful to use poems for
young students or for beginners. Instead of poems, using nursery rhymes or songs would be
more helpful since they provide more joyful and easier contexts. From pre-intermediate to
advanced levels, it is really beneficial to use either songs or poems.