MASARYK UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

TEACHING GRAMMAR TO

11-15-YEAR-OLD LEARNERS

BACHELOR THESIS

BRNO 2007

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Written by: Martina Bulková Supervisor: Mgr. Naděžda Vojtková

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Statement

I declare that I wrote this thesis by myself and that I used only the literature listed

in the bibliography.

Martina Bulková

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Acknowledgments

I am very grateful to my supervisor, Mrs Mgr. Naděžda Vojtková, for her help and

professional advice.

Martina Bulková

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Contents: Statement.................................................................................................... 3

Acknowledgments...................................................................................... 4

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 9

1. Theoretical part ..................................................................................................... 9

1.1 Introduction.......................................................................................... 9

1.2 What is grammar? ................................................................................ 9

1.3 Grammar of words ............................................................................. 10

1.4 Teaching grammar at basic schools ................................................... 10

1.5 Czech language versus English language .......................................... 11

1.6 Why to teach grammar....................................................................... 11

1.7 Why to learn grammar ....................................................................... 12

1.8 How learners learn grammar.............................................................. 13

1.9 Language study techniques ................................................................ 13

1.10 The ways of teaching grammar in TEFL history ............................. 14

1.11 Deductive and inductive approach................................................... 15

1.12 Presenting and explaining grammar................................................. 16

1.13 Teaching grammar from examples .................................................. 16

1.14 Teaching grammar through texts ..................................................... 17

1.15 Accuracy and fluency ...................................................................... 18

1.16 Grammar practice activities ............................................................. 19

1.17 Other factors influencing grammar teaching ................................... 20

1.18 Grammar Errors ............................................................................... 24

1.19 Testing Grammar ............................................................................. 24

1.20 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 25

2. Practical part........................................................................................................ 26

2.1 Introduction........................................................................................ 26

2.2 Description of my group .................................................................... 26

2.3 Questionnaire “A”.............................................................................. 27

2.4 Lesson Plan A – Presenting structure through the text ...................... 30

2.5 Lesson plan B – Presenting grammar from the text........................... 31

2.6 Lesson plan C - Practising the structure ............................................ 34

2.7 Lesson plan D - Practising and using the structure............................ 36

2.8 Lesson plan E - Revising and testing the structures; Evaluation ....... 38

2.9 Questionnaire “B”.............................................................................. 41

2.10 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 43

3. Bibliography:....................................................................................................... 44

4. Attachments......................................................................................................... 46

4.1 Attachment 1 - Dotazník A ................................................................ 46

4.2 Attachment 2...................................................................................... 47

4.3 Attachment 3 – pictures, postcards, booklets, maps .......................... 48

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4.4 Attachment 4...................................................................................... 56

4.5 Attachment 5...................................................................................... 57

4.6 Attachment 6...................................................................................... 58

4.7 Attachment 7...................................................................................... 59

4.8 Attachment 8...................................................................................... 60

4.9 Attachment 9...................................................................................... 61

4.10 Attachment 10.................................................................................. 62

4.11 Attachment 11.................................................................................. 63

4.12 Attachment 12.................................................................................. 64

4.13 Attachment 13.................................................................................. 65

4.14 Attachment 14.................................................................................. 66

4.15 Attachment 15.................................................................................. 67

4.16 Attachment 16.................................................................................. 68

4.17 Attachment 17.................................................................................. 69

4.18 Attachment 18.................................................................................. 70

4.19 Attachment 19.................................................................................. 71

4.20 Attachment 20.................................................................................. 73

4.21 Attachment 21.................................................................................. 74

4.22 Attachment 22.................................................................................. 75

4.23 Attachment 23 - Test........................................................................ 76

4.24 Attachment 24.................................................................................. 77

4.25 Attachment 25 - Dotazník B.............................................................. 78

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Introduction

My thesis focuses on teaching grammar at primary schools, i.e. children from 11 to

15 years old. This target group was chosen because children at this age learn most of the

basics of grammar and hence it is vital to provide them with clear and factual principles.

The thesis deals with all sorts of problems which can arise in connection with this

conception. It is created to help especially for my own development and for practical

purposes which can be used throughout my working experience of teaching as well as

to trainee-teachers to orientate in this complex notion better. The thesis is divided into

two parts, a theoretical and a practical part.

The theoretical part gives answers or guides to other sources of some possible

questions which may occur while teaching grammar, however it is mainly focused on

the two principal parts of grammar teaching process which are presenting and practising

grammar. It is not an exhaustive study so it leaves a room for further ideas and

supplementary information because the topic itself is a quite complicated notion and it

still requires a new outlook throughout the time and changing needs in teaching foreign

languages.

The practical part is an action research developing a few ideas from the material of

the theoretical part of my thesis with the help of other complementary sources. The

activities and tasks are mainly extracted from contemporary authorities in the field of

English teaching and my own favourite personal aids.

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1. Theoretical part

1.1 Introduction

The theoretical part of my thesis treats teaching grammar as a very complex matter

which can be viewed from various points of view.

I present grammar in a way of answering questions and refering to problems which

can arise and must be taken into consideration when we are talking about teaching

grammar globally.

As I wrote above, this thesis is not an exhaustive study and even though I mainly

use the ideas and opinions of the renowned authorities, I am also mentioning my own

experience with the system of teaching in an everyday reality where a common teacher

have to do what he/she is asked to do by his/her supervisor teacher.

1.2 What is grammar?

The following quotation gives rather an explicit answer to the initial question:

Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. The set

of rules governing a particular language is the grammar of that language;

thus, each language can be said to have its own distinct grammar. Grammar

is part of the general study of language called linguistics.

The subfields of contemporary grammar are phonetics, phonology,

morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Traditional grammars

include only morphology and syntax.

(The Free Encyclopedia)

The definition proposes an idea that grammar is a complex conception and

therefore it is logically suggested to be an essential part of teaching and learning foreign

languages. But according to the definition it must be mentioned that without the

knowledge of morphology and syntax learners cannot be successful to the full extent.

However, grammar can be further divided into spoken and written. As the word

suggests the former type of grammar is that of speech. This type comprises vocabulary

and structures which are mainly used in a spoken language, i. e. words are not rigidly

structured and strict rules can be removed to a certain extent.

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On the other hand, the latter type must obey the basic rules completely otherwise it

can be regarded as incorrect. It means that a written language is a very demanding

feature which must be learnt thoroughly (Thornbury 7).

1.3 Grammar of words

According to what have just been said in a few paragraphs above it must be also

mentioned that every language uses words as basic units for creating sentences and

utterances and that every word belongs to a particular word class or a part of speech

such as noun, adjective, verb etc. This means that every word refers to certain rules

which must be followed when producing a sentence, e.g. countability or uncountability

of nouns, transitivity or intransitivity of verbs, morphological changes of words etc.

Without these rules all other grammar principles would be functionless and therefore

these pieces of knowledge are essential for further development of language knowledge

(Harmer 21-22).

1.4 Teaching grammar at basic schools

Although the current trend in education prefers teaching English to young learners

without overloading them with grammar, the necessity of common grammar is still

requested. Rod Ellis in his article reports that despite the fact of minimizing grammar in

lessons, it is inconceivable to manage without it, though many approaches have

struggled with the idea of ‘grammar free lessons’ a lot. Ellis also claims that teachers

should highlight necessary grammar structures, especially those which are different

from the referential or native language. In other words, grammar should focus on

structures which are generally taken to be more problematic than others (Ellis 7-12).

The article could be also understand in the way that grammar must be taught

because learners do not have enough time to adopt a foreign language as native

speakers.

Other sources suggest that it is primarily teachers´ contributions to define their own

simplified versions of basic rules which would give learners expert help for applying

these rules while using a language. These rules can be divided into rules of form and

rules of use (Thornbury 11-12):

Rules of form are generally defined easily and are better understood than the other

ones. They usually suggest verb endings and/or the composition of the structure, e.g. To

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form the 3rd person singular of present simple tense use the ending -s (variation -es,

-ies).

Rules of use are more difficult to refer to the rules of use because they are much

more complicated in their essence and sometimes they are not fully and logically

applicable to every condition and can be only recognized according to the context, e.g.

The present simple tense is used when describing states or repeated actions (however, it

is also known that it is also used for thoughts and feelings and for the future meaning

too).

All this evidence points to the conclusion that the targeted group, primary learners

from 11 to 15 year-old, are likely to have more problems with applying rules of use to

some specific situation than with employing a form of a particular structure, i.e.

teachers should provide learners with examples and standards which are taken from

reality and can be applicable within learners reality; teachers should present the rules of

form as much vividly as it is possible.

1.5 Czech language versus English language

It is generally known that Czech language belongs to West-Slavic languages but

English language is considered to have its origin in Germanic languages. The facts

show that both languages were developing distinctively and consequently, problems are

expected while learning languages from different development roots, e.g. Germanic and

Slavic origin (The Free Encyclopedia).

The adults take this point into consideration and before they even begin to

contemplate about learning English language, they are already full of prejudice to what

may go hand in hand with learning it.

But young learners do not commonly know about these facts and they enjoy

learning English because children are very excited about every situation and

information that is new and unexplored, which should be the basic knowledge for

teachers, and hence teachers´ main role is to raise the curiosity and also to distribute

information to young learners according to their level.

1.6 Why to teach grammar

These statements about grammar teaching were cited by well-known experts in the

field of ESL and EFL:

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“There is no doubt that a knowledge – implicit or explicit – of grammatical rules is

essential for the mastery of a language” (Ur qtd.in Thornbury 14).

In other words, grammar can be also viewed as basic rules of every language and

therefore teaching or learning languages would be more or less impossible without such

a standard, especially when the language is studied intensively.

“A sound knowledge of grammar is essential if pupils are going to use English

creatively” (Hutchinson qtd.in Thornbury 14).

That is, students can very improbably create correct sentences in target language if

they are not aware of the basic rules.

But other authors have totally different opinions on the matter of teaching

grammar. Contrary to the first two authors, the third one suggests that grammar is more

likely confusing than helpful:

“Grammar is not the basis of language acquisition, and the balance of linquistic

reasearch clearly invalidates any view to the contrary” (Lewis qtd.in Thornbury 14).

Based on the preceding definitions, it can be said that it is more than obvious that

language teachers and language experts are not unified in their resolution about using

grammar or not while teaching foreign language. But grammar is without any doubt an

inseparable part of language teaching.

Unfortunately, learners are basically a little negative about learning grammar

because they are required to remember many different principles and rules without

which the usage of a correct language would be impossible. However, a teacher should

be inspiring and motivating enough to prevent such negative attitudes.

1.7 Why to learn grammar

To communicate in a foreign language does not have to be difficult if the speaker

wants to use only basic vocabulary (e. g. Water. Hungry. Thank you. Bye.). However, to

create more complex, more effective and more complicated structures, grammar helps

with all possible expressions (Scrivener 1).

Even at basic school, learners are solicited to perform their ideas wholly structured,

using their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. Nonetheless, teachers are those who

select the grammar and topics suitable for the level of their learners.

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1.8 How learners learn grammar

It takes time for learners to absorb grammar knowledge, that means to use the

patterns naturally and without major problems. This process of learning could be

divided into four stages (Scrivener 2):

1. notice the structure when learners see it in texts, in stories, in articles, in

conversation, etc. If they recognize the structure as frequently as they can,

they will remember it better.

2. understand verb endings, word building, word order, what part of speech it

is, collocations, etc.

3. try or more precisely practise the items in a stressed free environment, i.e.

to practise without a hurry, through errors and mistakes - to come naturally

to them.

4. use the acquired language in writing or speaking. But in the same time the

acquired language can still remain a part of their passive knowledge only.

Penny Ur uses a similar idea in her work. She splits the process of learning into

three similar stages (20):

1. verbalization (explanation) - it involves an introduction to the structure; a

teacher is a main source for desired information.

2. automatization - the stage of practising and familiarizing with the

structure; a teacher still figures here a lot.

3. autonomy - independent use of any external input, the self-learning stage,

the stage of self-control.

All in all, both authors came to the same conclusion and that is, all learners

experience almost identical steps in a process of a foreign language learning. No matter

how they call them, the stages are basically the same or with the very similar

definitions.

1.9 Language study techniques

Several study techniques which can be used as a tool for better understanding and

autonomous usage of language. Jeremy Harmer divided them into these six aids (154-

156):

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1. Demonstration - teachers can demonstrate particular language

constructions by various means of aids, e. g. by using actions, texts, pictures

or real subjects. However, some students still need the concrete explanation

for understanding properly.

2. Explanation - can be done through diagrams, usage of Cuisenaire rods,

finger-pointing (picture 1) or simply by the grammar explanation of a

notion.

3. Discovery - students work with a text on their own and with the help of

their teacher they elicit a rule which is applicable to a whole text.

4. Accurate reproduction - is learning new language forms by repeating new

words, phrases or sentences after a teacher /tutor. A teacher helps to correct

the possible mistakes and praises students when their reproduced item is

uttered correctly. To some extent, this method is used by PPP, i.e. a

Practice phase

5. Immediate creativity - students are asked to make their own sentences

according to what they have just learnt. This can be also describe as a

´production´ phase of PPP methodology.

6. Check questions - teachers can ask these check questions to be sure that

learners understand the language forms without further problems.

1.10 The ways of teaching grammar in TEFL history

The following chapter deals with a basic method used for presenting and practising

grammar as was described by authorities in TEFL:

1.10.1 Presentation, Practice, and Production

The following introductory definition gives a clear direction about the PPP

technique:

A variation on Audio-lingualism in British-based teaching and

elsewhere is the procedure most often referred to as PPP, which stands for

Presentation, Practice, and Production.

(Harmer 80)

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In this short paragraph Jeremy Harmer opens an idea that many of contemporary

methods, which are used for teaching foreign languages, are closely connected with

each other and can be also said that one method can penetrate and influence other

methods, which is a basic process of developing things in general.

In PPP an introducing a new language structure starts with a concrete situation or a

visual aid, e.g. a picture or a flashcard , and a teacher checks whether learners

understand to a situation which is described. Then a teacher presents, with the help of

his students, the target structure which relates to the introduced situation, e.g. She is

watching TV (Presentation). After saying the sentence, students are asked to repeat it.

Then a teacher utters a part of another sentence but he wants some other student to

finish it, and a correct repetion follows (Practice). This continues until a teacher is

satisfied with the practice and students can try to create their own sentences while using

the same structure (Production) (Harmer 80).

In conclusion, PPP is one of the methods which gives real reference of the

language to students, which helps them to recollect information better and hence it will

be easier for students to understand and use a new-learned structure.

1.11 Deductive and inductive approach

These two notions can be regarded to as highly important ones because they

suggest the approach to the language itself.

A deductive approach means that learners are given rules at first place and even

than learners try to apply these rules on examples. This system of rule-driven learning is

mainly used by Grammar-Translation method which is not popular nowadays mainly

because it does not follow modern attitudes towards teaching/learning languages which

support the idea of self-discovering and cognitive mode (Thornbury 29-30).

On the other hand, an inductive approach operates with examples first and only

then the rule is derived from the examples. This rule-discovery learning is typical for

language acquisition, hence it is mainly used by the Direct Method and the Natural

Approach. It is premised on the way how little children learn the language - they learn it

slowly, without any knowledge of rules, only through repeating examples and creating

their own similar sentences even on the assumption that they may be wrong (Thornbury

49-51).

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Both approaches have their negative and positive sides but still they can be

considered the basic approaches in the field of teaching, not necessarily teaching

languages.

From my experience I know that nowadays the inductive approach is being

promoted a lot, however I think that a teacher should use such a method or approach

which is the most effective and applicable on a subject matter.

1.12 Presenting and explaining grammar

To present and explain a foreign-language grammatical structure is a difficult work

for a teacher. Firstly, a teacher must understand a structure himself and must be able to

assume the level of difficulty for learners and secondly, must find the way of

demonstrating and explaing a structure as clearly, accurately, simply and helpfully as he

is able to do. He must be aware of an oversimplification and an inaccuracy which can

both cause major difficulties for learners to absorb a new grammatical structure in its

correct and precise way (Ur 81).

It must be also emphasized that a choice of terminology should consider the age of

students, i.e. a teacher should use such expressions which are understandable for

students. Teachers at basic schools cannot expect that the sixth grade children know

language definitions to such an extent that they will follow him/her without bigger

problems. For a better result in this case a mother tongue should be used here for

introducing and explaining a new language.

1.13 Teaching grammar from examples

Generally speaking, teaching grammar from examples uses an inductive approach,

i.e. learners are exposed to a considerable amount of material which helps them to

absorb the language and to suggest the usage of the structures. Scott Thornbury

describes several varieties which can be exploited when teaching grammar (49-68):

First technique adapts the main ideas of the Total Physical Response (TPR)

method. It can be recommended for teaching and practising basic commands, which are

a part of the syllabus for primary schools. In this case, a teacher says the order and is

followed by his students, i.e. a teacher responds to orders along with his learners and so

they are practising altogether. Since students use their bodies for expressing the

language, they are likely to remember it more easily.

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Second method works on the basis of realia, i.e. objects of a real life which give the

realistic image of possible connections with real people, real situtations and real actions.

They are mainly used at beginners level and hence learners at primary schools can

benefit from them widely.

Another way of teaching from examples is using a generative situation, which

means that a teacher introduces a situation to a class and then he tries to elicit possible

ideas about the situation by asking questions. The given questions are specific and

should lead a whole class to the point. Then a teacher can use a new structure without

which the whole activity would be uncomplete and nonsensical. However, this method

is more suitable for advanced learners and therefore more suitable for learners at a

secondary school level.

Fourth method is a method of a minimal pairs construction which can be applied

when comparative grammar structures should be introduced, e.g. I go to school. and I

am going to school. This comparison is inevitable in order to outline the differences

between the two notions and this method can be employed at a primary school level as

well as at a secondary school level.

Finally, the last method using concordance data, i.e. structures which are similar

but can carry different meanings, e.g. I´d like to check my luggage. and I like swimming.

First statement means “want” rather than “enjoy” the activity and second statement

means “pleasure” or “enjoyment”. This concordance data are mainly introduced at a

secondary school level.

1.14 Teaching grammar through texts

Since a sentence in a foreign language does not have to make a sense when it stays

on its own taken out of the context, it is quite logical that in many cases teachers use

texts as a tool for presenting language. As language is in its substance context-

dependent, it is vital to work with texts of all possible sources, i.e. coursebooks,

authentic sources such as magazines, newspapers, comics, books, songs, the internet

etc., the teacher and students themselves (Thornbury 69-72).

Nevertheless, it should be also stressed that texts within the coursebooks are not

realistic enough because they are usually prepared for the purposes of teaching the

target language and therefore teachers should widely introduce to their students some

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other alternative sources of texts or instruct them where to find the texts of their desires

(Thornbury 72).

Finally, it must be also marked that usage of grammar itself cannot be correctly

applied when the context is unclear, especially in English language, and hence learners

should be given clear and understandable support which can be provided through

different texts and background knowledge.

1.15 Accuracy and fluency

The principal aim in grammar teaching perspective for teachers should be accuracy

and fluency. Both these skills can be mainly developed through the long-time process of

practising structures, which is considered to be the best device for automatizing the

language (Thornbury 91).

Accuracy is the ability of learners to employ the correct form of a grammar

structure in a particular situation. Thornbury suggests that if learners are led to be

precise in a form, they should be familiarized with the meaning. He also claims that

meaning can become more familiar due to reading and listening tasks, i.e. receptive

skills. He stresses that drilling at very first stage of introducing new structures can do

more damage than if not use at all (92).

When practising for accuracy, these features should be maintained (Thornbury 92):

1. Attention to form - learners should devote their attention to how they say

it, not to what they say.

2. Familiarity - learners have to know the language they use, i.e. meaning.

3. Thinking time - no-timing and stressed-free environment are needed for

accurate output.

4. Feedback - one of the features which is essential for self-correction and

realizing mistakes.

Fluency is a skill which improves its quality through the process of automatization

of the language. In this case the main emphasis is not placed on the form but meaning.

Fluency is closely linked with real-life communication and hence the most helpful

device for fluency practising is comunnicative tasks, i.e. situations which arise from

every day life and a hunger for information (Thornbury 93).

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When considering the fluency as the main objective, these characteristics should be

followed (Thornbury 93):

1. Attention to meaning – learners should concentrate on the meaning, not on

the form.

2. Authenticity – tasks given should be created similarly to the real-life

situation to evoke spontaneity.

3. Communicative purpose – learners must communicate in order to gain the

information which are requested by the situation, i.e. if learners will not

communicate, they will not fulfil the task.

1.16 Grammar practice activities

These activities are very important for learners especially at early stages of learning

because they help students to remember and use a structure whenever a situation

requires it. Grammar should be rather overpractised and be used automatically than be

learnt consciencelessly and perfunctorily. Teachers should be responsible not only for

presenting and explaining grammar structures but also for their practising because

students are very much dependent on their teachers who should lead students from

accuracy to fluency, which could be accepted as comprehensible and meaningful (Ur

83).

The following table indicates a various number of practice activities. They are

hierarchically organized from very much in control and accuracy-oriented activities to

more free activities with an emphasis on fluency (Ur 83-84):

1. Awareness: once students are aware of a new structure they are asked to

find the same kind of the structure in a piece of text or other writing, e. g.

students are looking for usage of present perfect tense in a interview with an

old woman and must underline every example of it.

2. Controlled drills: students must alter sentences as an example suggests it.

The task is to write or say statements about John and follow the example:

Example: John plays football but he doesn´t play tennis.

a) help: his mum /his brother b) go: to the cinema /shopping

3. Meaningful drills: this activity is similar to the preceding one but students

have to create sentences about the people they know and follow the pattern:

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Example: He /She reads magazines; OR He /She doesn´t read magazines.

a) swim: very well b) like: oranges c) collect: stamps

4. Guided, meaningful practice: learners create sentences after the model but

they can use their own vocabulary:

Example: Practising past tenses, the given pattern is:

While I was walking in the street ... what happened?

5. (Structure-based) free sentence composition: learners are asked to

produce sentences according to a picture or situation. They must used a

required structure:

Example: A picture shows different people in the street and learners are

asked to describe their actions using an appropriate language structure, i.

e. tense.

6. (Structure-based) discourse composition: learners speak or write a short

paragraph about a specific topic and they have to apply some of the

structures:

Example: Your friend got ill and you should recommend him what to do

to get well soon as you two want to go to the cinema tomorrow. Use should

or shouldn´t.

7. Free discourse: this activity is based only on a provided situtation but no

reference to the grammar structure is given:

Example: Write your promises; What will you do when you become the

president of the Czech Republic tomorrow?Use the appropriate grammar

structure.

1.17 Other factors influencing grammar teaching

It can be generally agreed on that the grammar teaching methods are specially

designed to help not only teachers but also learners of foreign languages. However,

these methods are not the only devices which can be considered helpful for both sides.

Teachers usually prepare their lessons according to factors which influence the process

of teaching, e.g. relatively homogeneous or heterogeneous classes, behavioural

problems, usage ICT technology etc. Thus it can be said that the following aspects of

teaching play an important part in a teaching process itself:

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1.17.1 Classroom environment

The quotation offers an idea that a school classroom is a place where we spend a

long time and thus we should pay attention when we decorate our classrooms as well as

we do it at home:

Your classroom is "home away from home" for you and your students.

Make it attractive, comfortable, and functional.

(Denise Young)

The classroom environment is an important part of teaching in general. It does not

depend only on pupils and their relationship, which is relevant to all teachers - better

team they are, better work for teachers, but also an appropriate classroom decoration

should be used.

As well as in all other cases, the rule of frugality must be taken into consideration

because learners should not be overwhelmed with information of any kind. But it is

quite useful to decorate a classroom with helpful and usable boards which learners can

easily employ while learning and practising a subject.

These boards, however, should contain only basic and explicit aids. Everything

complicated can cause bigger loss than profit. But teachers can also use pictures on

walls and learners´ own products which is considered to be the most natural and the

most appreciated (by the students) thing to do.

1.17.2 Seating and grouping

Teaching languages also encounters with a serious problem nowadays which is the

number of students in a class, i.e. 24 students as a possible maximum. It is very difficult

to work with so many students as a whole class all the time so it is essential to divide

learners into smaller groups if the activity supports this idea.

It is also very practical to divide the class into two bigger groups for deepening and

practising the grammar structures, i.e. a half of a class has a written task and the other

half practices with their teacher in the circle. However, in this case a number of learners

in a group matters because it is not really effective to create two groups out of the whole

class when each of the groups consists of 12 students. Such a situation should be solved

again by distributing learners into smaller groups (3 to 4 students) with different tasks.

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The layout of desks in the class is mainly determined by the space in a classroom

and by the activity that is going to proceed in the classroom.

1.17.3 Problems with behaviour

Although it can be said that this topic does not directly influence the process of

grammar teaching, it can be thought as a crucial aspect for successful presenting and

explaining not only the grammar structures but also all other possible activities within

the class.

Trainee-teachers are those who have primarily problems with such an issue.

However, no general answer to this problem can be granted. Every individual and group

of people is different and in order to that a different attitude must be employed for

effective results.

All in all, teachers should be patient, understanding and caring but on the other

hand they are supposed to be a direct, fair-minded and unshakeable person with basic

psychological and pedagogical skills which should be gathered and updated thoroughly.

I personally try to follow this saying: “If you are bored of your lesson, you can be

sure that children are more bored than you and totally undisciplined.”

1.17.4 Visual Aids

Many pictures, images and realia are widely used by teachers for a lot of reasons. It

mostly gives learners the real idea of the concrete subjects and hand in hand with

learners´ imagination pictures help to fix the new information better (Harmer 134).

Using pictures while teaching grammar is quite restricted because not everything

can be expressed by a picture. But it definitively can help while describing action or

explaining continuous tenses. Teachers can find a great selection of pictures in various

sources, e.g. magazines, newspapers, internet, photocopiable books or elsewhere.

1.17.5 ICT in lessons

It is entirely inevitable to apply modern technologies in a teaching process. And it

is also one of the basic educational principles to use modern technologies where it is

vital and available.

Large amounts of modern technology are quite common for present teenagers and

they have very positive posture on demonstrating new structures, texts or grammar

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exercises as well as pictures, diagrams, or learners´ writing through mainly computer

presentation or other technical devices (Harmer 136, 137, 145-150).

1.17. 6 The language laboratory

Although it is still quite uncommon to work or use language laboratories while

teaching foreign languages in our geographical latitudes, they slowly start being

essential in a language teaching process especially at universities but it definitely would

be helpful to have one of these laboratories at every bigger school because it would give

better opportunity to practice language as much as it is appropriate and needed at all

levels of learning.

Practically, the language laboratory is a room with several box-like tables and at

each of these tables learners can find suitable pieces of technology for practising

languages such as a tape recorder, headphones, microphone and even computers

(Harmer 141-145).

It can be suggested that the language laboratory does not imply grammar practising

but grammar can be also practised through listening and speaking activities and because

one cannot be without the other, the usage of language laboratories can be considered at

least supportively.

1.17.7 Coursebooks

This citation suggests an idea that a good choice of a coursebook is a very

important step when teaching languages, which is also true for teaching grammar:

Whether you're starting with a new class or just changing direction a

little the decision of how to structure a course without a coursebook can

sometimes be difficult for a new or even experienced teacher.

(Jennifer Goodman)

In conclusion, a good choice of a coursebook offers a supportive material which

includes a syllabus, teacher´s notes, various texts completed with CDs or cassettes,

ideas for presenting and practising language structures and, last but not least, a good

coursebook supports students when studying or practising on their own.

23

1.18 Grammar Errors

Making errors is an integral part of grammar teaching process and should be

classified as one of the natural vehicles which helps every learner to identify his/her

weak and strong sides considering the learning or self-learning process. From this point

of view, teachers are those who should give their learners a feedback about learners´

output and thus teachers assess learners knowledge, which should further lead to the

correcting of mistakes and learners affirmation of correctness and reliability of their

own attainments.

In grammar, teachers should correct mistakes which are appropriate to the task, e.g.

when a task is focused on accuracy, i.e. a rule of form is applicated primarily, a teacher

should strictly correct a mistake immediately so as not to fix errors.

However, correcting mistakes should be done in a stressed-free way in order to be

supportive and helpful, e.g. a teacher can invite learner´s schoolmates to try to correct a

mistake if a structure is practised on a board or orally or can mime or suggest a possible

solution.

1.19 Testing Grammar

Testing is a final component of grammar teaching process and is done regularly.

Tests are of various kinds and offer a feedback for learners and teachers primarily. The

result of a test also functions as an assessment not only for teachers purposes but also

for learners because the score of a test gives them an overall expression on their

achieved knowledge.

However, tests are parts of lessons which are not popular at any levels. But one of

the contemporary teachers suggests this solution:

If material is presented in a lively and attractive manner, consistent

with the age and background of the test-takers, then they are more likely to

engage positively with a test and to perform to their best.

(Lynda Taylor)

And this may be a very true answer to all teaching problems. Teachers should be

attentive to their students and must carefully choose a material they want to use in their

lesson so that when done precisely, children will enjoy all activities including testing.

24

1.20 Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that teaching grammar could be applied, if everything

is ideal, as synchronized pains of teachers to teach their best and those of students to

learn as much as possible. Both sides use their most effective strategies and both sides

have to listen to each other. If not, results will be very poor or none, no matter how big

amount of knowledge a teacher possesses.

25

2. Practical part

2.1 Introduction

The practical part of my thesis is a controlled experiment of presenting and

practising grammar to the pupils in my 8th grade class. The methods of presenting the

grammar structure are based mainly on teaching grammar through texts and from

examples which I consider as a very helpful strategy for presenting grammar as children

can read and revise the text or provided examples whenever they need.

The practical part can be divided into 3 main parts in which each stage is connected

with another and naturally arises as the logical step in the progress. The first part is the

questionnaire “A” which was created for my internal purposes of the lessons evaluation

at the beginning of my experiment.

The second part deals with lesson plans which were practised with my group of 8

graders. I tried to accommodate all the material, which I used, to the needs and moods

of my group, i.e. I was supported by pupils´ opinions from my previous evaluation

research. The lesson plans contain mainly grammar focused exercises but they also

comprise other activities which either help them to understand new vocabulary or give

them overall expression of the English language use and English culture.

The majority of the material used in this part of the thesis is based on my travelling

experience which is completed with other suitable and thematic materials. My intention

is to show that the language is better understood when the context is clear and personal-

like.

The third part is the questionnare “B” which evaluates the experimental lessons

and ask children about their own experience from the lessons.

2.2 Description of my group

My experimental group (EG) consists of 16 pupils and I have been teaching my

group of 8th graders for 3 years now. Since in our school we try to sort pupils from each

grade into homogeneous groups for English lessons only, (these groups are penetrable,

i.e. pupils can change their group if they feel like that or their knowledge is

considerably stronger or weaker than it is the standard in their group), I can say that my

group is the best in the grade. According to this fact I can say that working with such a

26

group is very pleasant, for I do not have to deal with behavioural problems, but also

very challenging for creating activities.

As a working body my group appears sometimes very calm and rather unaffected

or untouched by my performance. On the other hand they cooperate with me and

welcome every innovation even though they look sceptically at the very beginning. I

often use this group for pioneering new methods but this time my preference was

strengthened by the choice of the grammatical structure.

Their working pace is neither slow nor fast and although they are supposed to be

the homogeneous group there are two or three pupils who are weaker than the rest of the

class but they do not wish to change the group. The EG use their cooperative skills

when it is needed but several of them prefer to work individually. They are all very

creative and helpful with creating classroom posters or decorations of the room where

we meet thrice a week.

2.3 Questionnaire “A”

I made the questionnaire “A” (attachment 1) for the purposes of my lessons

evaluation which I had taught in my EG before I started with my research. I created my

own questionnaire on the bases of my previous experience. The questions were asked in

an understandable way and were further interpreted if the help was needed.

The questionnaire has 15 questions and the central theme of the questionnaire is the

grammar in my English lessons. Each question can be answered “YES” or “NO”. If

pupils agreed with the statement, they were asked to circle answer “YES”. The question

number 15 is an open question, i.e. pupils could have written their opinions, suggestions

and ideas.

Since this was for the first time my EG were asked to fill such a questionnaire I had

to explain that the answers were anonymous and that I wanted to read only true answers

no matter how critical it could be.

27

2.3.1 My hypothesis

Taking from my point of view I was more critical about presenting and practising

grammar than was finally suggested by my EG. I was particularly interested in the

answer number 15. I also wanted to know, in the question number 1, if any of the pupils

studies other foreign language than English, which could help with grammar rules

comparing.

My teaching doubts and weak parts of my lessons are reflected in questions as I

preferably wanted to know whether my EG has the same feelings about the lessons or

not.

2.3.2 Results

According to the table with results and the graph it can be concluded that the pupils

were quite positive in their opinions. However, pupils suggested that presenting and

practising grammar structures are the most important parts of grammar focused lessons

and that the teacher could provide exercises which could be more practical for better

understanding of the new structures and for the real-life situations. Quite on the contrary

to this suggestion, more than half of the group agreed that the most of language

structures they learnt at school during the classes.

Only one pupil stated that English is not his/her one and only foreign language,

which I had supposed before. Six pupils wanted to do a few changes in the question

number 15. The majority of them described their wish to practise grammar more often

on computers and more games. Three pupils expressed to do more exercises focused on

grammar practising and one pupil suggested to use completely new textbooks.

2.3.3 Conclusion

In conclusion to this I can say that pupils are mainly satisfied with my teaching

performance, but still I learnt important suggestions for my further practice. I also took

into consideration a fact that my EG wanted to be polite and thus they were not so much

critical. All in all, I think that their answers help me at least for better communication.

28

2.3.4 The results of the Questionaire “A”:

Question number: YES NO

1. 15 1

2. 5 11

3. 4 12

4. 15 1

5. 9 7

6. 9 7

7. 11 5

8. 12 4

9. 14 2

10. 15 1

11. 6 10

12. 10 6

13. 10 6

14. 8 8

15. 6 10

2.3.5 The graph with results (Questionaire “A”):

Questionnaire "A"

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Questions

Answers

NO

YES

29

2.4 Lesson Plan A – Presenting structure through the text

Aims: to introduce the present perfect simple structure

to revise the names of the countries

to practise listening comprehension

to gain new culture information

to enjoy the lesson

Materials: the course textbook English for you 3, “My Travelling Story” (attachment

2), pictures, postcards, booklets and maps (attachment 3 – pictures).

1. Warm up - talking about travelling:

� Do you remember any words connected with travelling? - brainstorming, ideas on

the board

� Have you ever been to a foreign country?; Why do people travel?; Can you find

pictures from France, Belgium, Italy, the USA, Japan, India? - working with the

course textbook p. 3 for question 3

2. Talking and reading:

� the pupils are asked to sit with their chairs in the middle of the room and make

themselves to feel comfortable for listening and cooperating

� the teacher is talking about her experience with travelling while standing at the map

of Great Britain and with the help of a school map of Europe

� the worksheets with “My Travelling Story” are distributed to pupils together with

the maps of The British Isles

� the pupils listen and read again now with pointing to the places on the map and with

the pictures provided by the teacher

� the pupils are encouraged to ask questions about the places in the pictures

� the pupils in groups are invited to stick the pictures to the places on the main map in

the classroom

Teacher´s comments: At the beginning of the lesson the pupils were asked to

remember any words connected with travelling. The group gave their ideas but basically

they mentioned only means of transport and a few verbs which could be included in this

30

group too. I provoked their thoughts with the words such as summer, sea, holiday etc. so

that I could have finally received broader vocabulary on this topic. I had to translate a

few words into English for them but we were eventually managed to deal with this task.

I asked them the questions about travelling and they seemed to be quite excited

about sharing their own experience and knowledge. Then I called them to sit in the

circle in the middle of the classroom and I started to tell them my travelling experience

while pointing to the places on the maps (Attachment 3 – Map 1 and Attachment 5).

They were very interested in this topic so they were nearly immediately asking me

questions about the places. I had stopped them for a while just to distrubute them the

text (Attachment 2) and all the other material (Attachment 3 – Pictures 1-10; Booklets

1,2; Map 1). In the text I purposely used the present perfect structure in a few sentences

written in bold to be easily found. I solicited the reading of the text and I assured myself

of the pupil´s understanding the text. Since they had never seen the present perfect

structure before they tended to be puzzled with this new sentences and a few students

translated the sentences with using the verb “have got”. However, a considerable

number of the pupils understood the sentences correctly with the reference to the other

words and meanings in the text.

We started to talk about the places I had personally visited asking them to raise the

picture if they felt that they had the correct one and let it circle for everybody could

have seen it and found it on the map. This activity took longer than I had expected but I

think that they learnt much useful information during this activity.

Before we finished the lesson with sticking the pictures and booklets on the wall

map in the classroom (Attachment 4) we had a little time to read and tried to fix the

structure of the questions written underneath the text. We will work with these

questions in one of the next lessons.

2.5 Lesson plan B – Presenting grammar from the text

Aims: to introduce the usage of the present perfect simple tense

to revise and learn vocabulary

to practise reading comprehension

to elicit a simple rule from the EG

Materials: attachment 6 and 7, a blackboard, the pupils´ exercise books.

31

1. Warm up:

� each pupil receives a small copy of the vocabulary list (attachment 7) where the

third column is cut and mixed together, each pupil gets his/her own pile – find the

correct pair and fill in the gaps on the paper then stick it into your exercise book

2. Reading and writing:

� the teacher gives every student a small copy of the prepared text (attachment 6)

� the pupils read the text and the teacher checks if the pupils understand the main

information in the text by giving questions, e.g. What is the first paragraph about?;

Who was he?; How old is he?; How many books did he write?; What are they

about? etc. Similarly the teacher helps with the second paragraph, e.g. What is the

second paragraph about?; Who is he?; How old is he?; How many books has he

written? What is it about? etc.

� the teacher elicits the usage of tenses in the articles

� the pupils try to find the simple rule for using past simple and present perfect tense

with the help of a time line

� the pupils make a simple record about the new information to their exercise books

3. Finishing the lesson:

� match the pairs of vocabulary on the board – revision of the vocabulary from the

begginning of the lesson

Teacher´s comments: The pupils struggled with the vocabulary task a bit but with my

little help they managed to finish the task successfully. While they were sticking the

worksheets with correct answers into their exercise book I distributed them the prepared

text and I asked them to read it when they finish their work. The pupils were laughing at

the pictures I used in the articles.

When they all had read the articles, I started to elicit the information about the text

from the pupils. I had prepared the questions on the board before so that they could be

easily understood and clear. The questions were similar in structures but they differ in

the usage of tenses according to which article we were talking about. The pupils´

answers about the first article were very clear because they had already known the past

tense used in this one. I observed slight difficulties with the second article in which I

32

used the present perfect tense. If they were not sure about the correct structured answer

they answered in Czech and claimed the answer in English.

Then I wrote on the board the two questions:

How many books did he write? X How many books has he written?

and asked which question is connected with which text. They easily detected the correct

realtion and they also gave me the answers:

Peter Old wrote 25 books. X Paul Young hasn´t finished his first book yet.

I drew a time line on the board and wanted the group to indicate the two sentences

on it:

After a short discussion, the pupils were able to produce their ideas quite clearly

but not correctly enough:

But I corrected it into its final form:

Then we discussed the use of lines and their meaning. The labelling of “Peter Old”

was quite clear but I had to clarify the use of line in the “Paul Young” case. I explained

33

that in the case of “Paul Young” we knew that Paul is still alive this year and that he

started to write his book sooner this year or last year or even before and that he is in the

middle of the process of writing it and that he can still be writing it in the future. I

checked if everybody understood what I had just said and ask them to write the two

questions with answers and the time line into their exercise books.

In the rest of the lesson I offered to those who finished their writing the matching

exercise prepared on the board. The pupils were asked to match the words from the

opposite column:

receive abroad

a foreign a letter

go yet

be country

be pleased

not somebody

tease surprised

2.6 Lesson plan C - Practising the structure

Aims: to practise the present perfect structure in a familiar context

to revise and learn vocabulary

to practise reading comprehension

to practise the written form of the present perfect structure

Materials: attachment 2, attachment 8, attachment 9 to 16, attachment 17, attachment

18, attachment 24, exercise books

1. Warm up:

� similarly to the previous lesson each pupil receives a small copy of the vocabulary

list (attachment 8) where the third column is cut and mixed together, each pupil gets

his/her own pile – find the correct pair and fill in the gaps on the paper then stick it

into your exercise book

34

2. Reading and writing:

� pupils are instructed to find the introductory text with the questions (attachment 2),

read the text and the questions then complete the task - find true for you answers for

each question which are scattered in a different places in the classroom (attachment

17) and record it into your exercise book

3. Writing:

� each pair is given one verb and one or two pictures (attachment 9 to 16) – create true

for you sentences according to the verbs and pictures

4. Homework:

� describe the pictures - attachment 18

Teacher´s comments: The vocabulary task in this lesson was completed easily than in

the previous lesson not only because the pupils had known this kind of activity from the

previous lesson but the pupils also stated that the vocabulary was easy to match.

Then we returned to “My Travelling Story” and after reading the story again I

asked the class to find the true for them answers somewhere in the classroom and write

them to their exercise books. For each questions were two possible answers, one was

positive and one was negative. A few of the questions requested completion such as the

name of a country or other place. None of the pupils seemed to have any problem with

completing this task and they chose the answers quite happily. After checking the

answers, firstly in pairs and then a few answers were read for a whole class, I concluded

that they understood the questions and the task in full.

For the next activity each pair received one verb and, besides “attachment 11”

which contained only one verb and one picture, two pictures. Then each pupil was

asked to write a sentence using present perfect in which he/she would use the verb and

one of the pictures. One sentence should have been in first person and one sentence

should have been a report about the pupil who had the same verb but the different

picture. Because the class looked very puzzled about the task I made an example on the

board. I used the verb “clean” and the picture of “a mirror”. Then I approached to the

real mirror in the classroom and made it dirty with a marker and asked the class: “What

quality is the mirror?” and the class answered: “Dirty.” Then I took a piece of a cloth

and cleaned it. I asked: “And what quality is the mirror now?”, they answered: “Clean.”

35

“Yes,” I said “and I can say now: ‘I have cleaned the mirror’.” I wrote the sentence on

the board and I also wrote the report sentence: The teacher has cleaned the mirror. I

stressed that the picture is the result of the action caused by the verb.The whole class

was provided with a table similar to the attachment 24 which helped with the structure. I

went to the class and gave the help to those who was not sure what to do. Those pairs

who finished their task successfully helped the other pairs too. Finally, I saw a smile on

every face so we checked the answers. A few pupils used the present perfect structure

wrongly but the majority of the class were correct.

While checking the task I offered the matching exercise, which I had prepared

before, for those who were finished and were a little bored:

If that…

Have you you know it, …

I suppose exactly.

It´s £ 10 ever…?

the true serious.

to agree information

It is with

At the end of the lesson I distrubuted to the class the worksheets with the

homework (attachment 18) and explained the activity. I checked if evebody understood

and our lesson finished.

2.7 Lesson plan D - Practising and using the structure

Aims: to check the homework

to practise the structure

to explain the difference between “since” and “for”

to practise the learnt vocabulary in real context

Materials: attachment 18, attachment 19, attachment 20, attachment 21, attachment 24

1. Warm up:

� checking the homework (attachment 18)

36

2. Presenting new information:

� the teacher distributes worksheets (attachment 20) and tries to elicit from the group

the rule of use

3. Practising:

� the group is given worksheets (attachment 19, attachment 21, attachment 22) –

working in pairs and groups

4. Homework:

� suggests questions for the questionnaire Find Someone Who…?

Teacher´s comments: We started the lesson with the homework. The class was very

active in giving the answers and they agreed that the homework was quite easy and

understandable.

Then I distributed the worksheets with the time prepositions “since” and “for”

which contains two examples for each prepositions and a few words for practising the

rule of use. I read the examples and I gave them clear idea how we would present the

meaning of the sentences into Czech. I asked the class if they could have seen any rule

which would have been applicable to the examples. David expressed his feelings about

the rules and I confirmed them with a clear statement for everyone that David correctly

judged that usage of “since” is connected with a time data which can be clearly drawn

on the time line such as yesterday, 2 o´clock, last year, this afternoon etc. and the usage

of “for” does not request exact point in time but a time interval during which the action

proceeds such as one year, three months, two days, four hours etc. After this explaining

the group was able to do the task which follows the examples. The majority of pupils

comprehended the usage after the practising task.

The group was given another two-paged worksheets and they started to work on

them. The first two exercises were created for practising the structures of present perfect

tense and the pupils were asked to fill the gaps individually and then we checked it

together. They could have worked in pairs if they felt like that. The third exercise is a

questionnaire with questions suggesting a real involvement of the pupils. They were

instructed to find the answers from three schoolmates, write the notes and then report at

least two sentences about each mate. It is very similar to “Find Someone Who …”

game. The children very interested in this task and helped each other with reporting to

37

the class. When I asked them if they liked it they told me that they liked primarily the

questions because they were very funny and relevant. I used most of the vocabulary

learnt throughout the last lessons.

However, the other page was more interesting for them because it contains pictures

and again we were talking about travelling. After my instructions, the pupils worked in

pairs on the tasks. They used perfect tense and they also revised reading dates, names of

European countries and writing postcards which included using present perfect tense

and writing address. All in all, they practised the usage of language globally and, which

is the most important for me, they liked it and were not bored.

For the homework, I asked them to create two or three more questions for the

questionnaire they were filling at school. I wanted them to do more real-like questions

to let them see that it is not as easy to do it as it looks like. I also emphasized that they

should revise the present perfect tense and past participles at home for the next lesson. I

requested them to learn the past participles since we learnt about irregular past simple

verbs so they should not have problems with the usage now because we were practising

it even before.

2.8 Lesson plan E - Revising and testing the structures; Evaluation

Aims: to check the homework

to practise and revise the structures

to write the test

to fill the questionnaire “B”

Materials: attachment 23, attachment 25, attachment 19

1. Warm up:

� checking the homework - with the help of attachment 19

2. Revision:

� the pupils practise on the board - refreshing the memory

� the pupils write the test (attachment 23)

3. Final evaluation:

� the group fill the questionnaire “B” (attachment 25)

38

Teacher´s comments: The pupils revealed their questions but they demanded it was a

very difficult task to do because they liked my questions the best. Despite that they

produced very nice and funny sentences such as: Have you ever eaten a dog?; Have you

ever swam in the sea?; Have you ever killed a mouse?; Have you ever drank beer? etc.

Then they revised past participles which were written on the board:

write buy travel

take find send give

break receive drop

And were requested to write three sentences in present perfect tense with the use of

the verbs written on the board. This was an individual task and I checked it throughout.

Then we continued with the test:

2.8.1 Test

I handed the children copies with the test and ask them to do their best and not to

cheat. I created this test according to the knowledge and exercises which I had done

with my class before so that they would be able to handle it without bigger problems.

The results were quite surprising but very safisfying:

2.8.2 The results of the test:

Marks 1 2 3 4 5

Number of Pupils 7 5 3 0 0

take receive break drop

buy travel see find get

miss bring help be

39

2.8.3 The graph of the test results:

Test Results

0

2

4

6

8

1 2 3 4 5

Marks

Number of Pupils

As the table and the graph above show the results were very good. None of the

pupils scored 4 or 5 grade for the test and only 3 pupils scored 3. The results suggests

two possible conclusions. One could be the fact that the test was too easy for the class

and the other conclusion offers a suggestion that the class is really intelligent and smart,

which I prefer the best. I had used this marking table:

25 - 23 …………. 1

22 - 18 …………. 2

17 - 11 …………. 3

10 - 6 ……………4

5 - 0 ……………..5

The final part of the lesson was dedicated to the questionnaire “B” which helped

here as an element of evaluation:

40

2.9 Questionnaire “B”

The questionnaire “B” was created on the bases of the previous lesson and it is very

similar to the questionnaire “A” , which should help the pupils to orientate in it more

easily.

The questions could be answered only “YES” or “NO” and if the pupils agree with

the statement they were asked to tick the answer “YES”. If pupils did not understand

any questions I tried to retell the questions in a more understandable way.

2.9.1 My hypothesis

I expected the results of the questionnaire eagerly because I wanted to know if the

children would like this kind of teaching better than following the textbook and the

workbook only and if it was easy for them to follow my lessons when they could not

study in advance as a few pupils normally do.

2.9.2 Results

According to the table and the graph I can say that the pupils were again very

positive about the changes. They liked the lessons and in this case they were satisfied

with the practising the language within the real context. They also felt better about

being part of the lessons, which I strongly welcome. Only one pupil answered “YES”

for the question number 15 that he/she prefers to do the same subject matter from the

textbook but it was due to lack of practising which he/she felt as deficient.

2.9.3 Conclusion

All this leads to the conclusion that the pupils were mainly satisfied and happy with

this experimental lessons of grammar teaching we had experienced during last few

lessons. Thus I promised to my group that we could do few changes more often

depending on the language matter.

41

2.9.4 The results of the Questionaire “A”:

Question number: YES NO

1. 14 1

2. 13 2

3. 13 2

4. 14 1

5. 13 2

6. 15 0

7. 14 1

8. 4 11

9. 14 1

10. 12 3

11. 14 1

12. 12 3

13. 15 0

14. 13 2

15. 1 14

2.9.5 The graph with results (Questionaire “B”):

Questionnaire B

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Questions

Answers

NO

YES

42

2.10 Conclusion

As the practical part of my thesis suggests I wanted grammar lessons to be focused

not only on grammar structures but also on language itself which is the one of the most

important matters we should bear in our minds while teaching.

I wanted to present to my children some of my knowledge and materials from

English speaking countries, partly because I had known that they are interested in my

experience of my staying in Great Britain. And this could have been easily done through

the new grammar structure.

I also wanted to find out if the children could work more spontaneously when they

are involved in texts and exercises more and when they have personal connection to the

texts and can become parts of a situation.

I liked working with my children in a very different way to what we had done

before. I tried to keep a very stress-free class-environment which helps in every

situation not only in language teaching and I think this time it helped too.

All in all, I would like to emphasize that grammar lessons can be both interesting

and cheerful and not only boring and unwanted, and nobody should be afraid of

grammar lessons because the most difficult point on teaching grammar is to find the

way HOW.

43

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Eastwood, John. Oxford Practice Grammar. Second. New York: Oxford University

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Ellis, Rod. "Current Issues in the Teaching of Grammar: In SLA Perspective." Tesol

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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammar>.

Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language Teaching. '3rd ed'. London:

Longman, 2003.

Hutchinson, Tom. Project 3 - Workbook. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 2000.

"Indo-European Languages." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Nov 2006. 21 Nov

2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages>.

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Oxford University Press, 1986.

44

Newbold, David, and Tom Hutchinson. Project 3 - Teacher´s Book. Hong Kong:

Oxford University Press, 2000.

Scrivener, Jim. Teaching Grammar. London: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Taylor, Lynda. "Young learner testing." British Council Teaching English:

Methodology. 25 Mar 2006. British Council. 1 Aug 2007

<http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology.shtml>.

Thornbury, Scott. How to Teach Grammar. New York: Longman, 2004.

Ur, Penny. A Course in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

2000.

Young, Denise. "Classroom Environment: the Basics." LearnNC. 4 Feb 2006. The

University of North Carolina. 1 Aug 2007

<http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/BasicEnv1>.

45

4. Attachments

4.1 Attachment 1 - Dotazník A

1. Anglický jazyk je zatím jediný cizí jazyk, který se učím. ano ne

2. Ve srovnání s českým jazykem jsou pravidla pro

používání anglického jazyka obtížná. ano ne

3. Hodiny AJ zaměřené na gramatiku jsou nudné. ano ne

4. Myslím si, že učitel je při výuce gramatiky názorný. ano ne

5. Nové učivo pochopím již během výkladu. ano ne

6. Nové učivo pochopím až v průběhu procvičování. ano ne

7. Učitel nám dává čas, abychom si poučky vyvodili sami. ano ne

8. Učitel nás vede k samostatnému vyvozování pouček. ano ne

9. Myslím si, že nové učivo procvičujeme dostatečně. ano ne

10. Vybraná procvičovací cvičení mi pomáhají k upevnění

znalostí. ano ne

11. Vybraná procvičovací cvičení by mohla být názornější. ano ne

12. Vybraná procvičovací cvičení jsou často zábavná. ano ne

13. Při procvičování mám příložitost použít novou gramatiku

v reálném kontextu, tzn. situace z běžného života, řešení

problémů běžného života atd.

ano ne

14. Myslím si, že by se nové učivo mělo procvičovat více. ano ne

15. V hodinách gramatiky bych některé věci změnil(a). ano ne

Pokud jsi v otázce č. 15 odpověděl(a) ANO, napiš svůj návrh zde:

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Děkuji Vám za odpovědné vyplnění dotazníku. Doufám, že nám pomůže ke zlepšení

výuky gramatických jevů v našich hodinách AJ. ☺ ☺ ☺

46

4.2 Attachment 2

My Travelling Story

As everybody knows here, I have travelled quite a lot. So far I have been to

Slovakia, Austria, France, Belgia, Holland, Spain, Ireland, and of course Great Britain.

And because I spent quite long time in Britain, especially North England and Scotland,

it is my favourite country.

I was travelling to many different towns, cities and other interesting places. Here

are some of the pictures I have taken there and some of the postcards I have bought

there. Look, these pictures are from London, the capital city of Great Britain. Can you

recognize them? (London Eye, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge). These pictures

and postcards are from Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland (Floral Clock in Princess

Street Gardens, the Scott Monument, Edinburgh Castle).

And these are some pictures and postcard from other places – St. Andrew, Isle of

Skye, Balmoral Castle, Urquhart Castle – and a picture of a Highland Coo.

Questions:

1. Do you also take photos when you travel abroad?

2. Have you every been to any place mentioned above?

3. Would you like to go to any place mentioned above?

4. Have you had an opportunity to speak English while travelling?

5. Have you met any interesting people on your travels?

6. Have you read any book about travelling?

47

4.3 Attachment 3 – pictures, postcards, booklets, maps

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

4.4 Attachment 4

56

4.5 Attachment 5

57

4.6 Attachment 6

Peter Old was 90 year-old when he died last year. He was a very kind man and he

travelled a lot because he worked as a writer. He wrote at least 25 books. His books are

about travelling and that´s why he had to travel so much. Every time when he travelled

to some foreign country, he had to find out information about this place such as where

to go for a trip, where to eat, where to sleep etc. and then he used this information in his

books. On his travels he met a lot of people and he learnt many different things.

And this is Paul Young. He is 30 year-old and he is still at the beginning of his

professional career. He has also travelled a lot recently because he still hasn´t finished

his book. It is his first travel book and so he wants it to be perfect. He has already been

to Hungary twice but he hasn´t found enough suitable places for camping holiday. He

writes for young people so he thinks that this kind of holiday would be the best fun.

58

4.7 Attachment 7

1 2 3

receive verb (pravidelné sloveso); when you get or are given

something, e.g. I . . . . . . . . . . . . . a letter yesterday. obdržet, dostat

foreign

adjective (přídavné jméno); connected to a country which is not

your own, e.g. He has had an opportunity to travel to a . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . countries.

cizí, zahraniční

abroad adjective (přídavné jméno); in or to a foreign country or

countries, e.g. We always go . . . . . . . . . . in the summer.

do zahraničí,

v cizině

surprised

adjective (přídavné jméno); feeling or showing surprise

because something has happened that you did not expect,

e.g. I am very . . . . . . . . . . . . to see you here.

překvapený

pleased adjective (přídavné jméno); when you are happy or satisfied,

e.g. I am really . . . . . . . . . . . . with your work today.

potěšený,

spokojený

not yet adverb (příslovce); not till the present time,

e.g. She has . . . . . . . . finished cooking . . . . . . . . . ještě ne

tease

verb (pravidelné sloveso); to laugh at someone or say unkind

things about them, usually just for fun,

e.g. I was only . . . . . . . .+ing you, I didn´t mean it.

napínat, škádlit

59

4.8 Attachment 8

1 2 3

if conjuction (spojka); . . . . . you ask me, I will tell you. jestliže

ever adverb (příslovce); Have you . . . . . . . . been to London? vůbec (kdy),

někdy

suppose verb (pravidelné sloveso); to think that something is likely to be

true, e.g. I . . . . . . . . . . . . that she is at home now.

předpokládat,

připustit

agree verb (pravidelné sloveso); to have the same opinion or idea,

e.g. I . . . . . . . . with you, that car is beautiful.

souhlasit,

dohodnout se

exactly

adverb (příslovce); used when you are giving or asking for

information that is 100 % correct,

e.g. That´ll be £ 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

přesně

true

adjective (přídavné jméno); when something is right and not

wrong (correct), e.g. This is the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . story about

London.;

pravdivý

serious adjective (přídavné jméno); when something is severe or bad,

e.g. This situation is very . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. vážný

60

4.9 Attachment 9

61

4.10 Attachment 10

DRINK

62

4.11 Attachment 11

63

4.12 Attachment 12

64

4.13 Attachment 13

65

4.14 Attachment 14

66

4.15 Attachment 15

67

4.16 Attachment 16

68

4.17 Attachment 17

Yes, I do. I take photos when I travel.

No, I don´t. I don´t take photos when I travel.

Yes, I have. I have been to Slovakia, Austria, …

No, I haven´t. I haven´t been to any place mentioned above yet.

Yes, I would like to go to Slovaika, Austria, …

No, I wouldn´t like to go to any place mentioned above.

Yes, I have. I have already had an opportunity to speak English. I was in …

No, I haven´t. I haven´t had an apportunity to speak English while travelling yet.

Yes, I have. I have met a lot of interesting people on my travels.

No, I haven´t. I haven´t met any interesting people on my travels.

Yes, I have. I have read some books about travelling, e.g. …

No, I haven´t. I haven´t read any book about travelling yet.

69

4.18 Attachment 18

70

4.19 Attachment 19

Complete these sentences with “have” or “has”.

1.She __________ broken her leg. 6. He ________ written a long letter.

2. I ________ opened the window. 7. We _________ been abroad.

3. They _________ drunk everythink. 8. He________ done his homework,

hasn’t he?

4. Mum _________ made the cake. 9. I _______ eaten a ham sandwich.

5. Peggy _________ bought new jeans. 10. Paul and Peter ________ come.

Make questions. Answer the questions in a negative way.

e. g. she / do homework = Has she done her homework? No, she hasn’ t done her

homework yet.

1. they / come from work = ____________________________________________ 2. he / bring the book to you = __________________________________________

3. you / meet Jane at school = __________________________________________

4. Jane / wash the dishes = _____________________________________________

a) Questionnaire – “Have you ever ...?” = “Yes, I have.” / “No, I haven’ t.”

Names 1. - 2. - 3. -

received a postcard from the

USA?

travelled by plane?

teased your little brother or sister?

cooked a dinner?

been to England?

read a fantasy or sci-fi book?

71

b) Now report about your friends. Write 2 sentences for each friend.

1.

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

2.

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

3.

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

72

4.20 Attachment 20

“For“ or “since“?

I haven’t been to Scotland for 10 months. X I haven’t been to Scotland since August.

I have been a teacher for 3 years. X I have been a teacher since January 2004.

Practise.

Christmas Day ten days August yesterday two hours

2002 many years last May five minutes half past six

my birthday last week two weeks six months New Year

a year a long time last year ten years half an hour

FOR SINCE

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

………………………………………………..

73

4.21 Attachment 21

74

4.22 Attachment 22

75

4.23 Attachment 23 - Test

76

4.24 Attachment 24

Present Perfect Simple

I I

You have been. you

We¨ Have we been ?

They they

He he

She has been. Has she been?

It it

I

You have not been. /

We haven´t been.

They

He

She has not been. / hasn´t been.

It

Have you been ? Yes, I have. X No, I haven´t.

77

4.25 Attachment 25 - Dotazník B

1. Myslím si, že uplynulé hodiny AJ byly zajímavější než obvykle.

ano ne

2. Články, které pro nás vytvořila naše učitelka AJ, byly pro mě přínosnější než články z učebnice.

ano ne

3. Články, které pro nás vytvořila naše učitelka AJ, mě oslovily a zaujaly.

ano ne

4. Články, které pro nás vytvořila naše učitelka AJ, mi pomohly porozumět nové gramatické struktuře.

ano ne

5. Během výuky mi byl ponechán prostor pro vlastní vyvození pouček.

ano ne

6. Názorné příklady učitele byly dostatečné. ano ne

7. Názorné příklady učitele mi pomohly pochopit podstatu daného gramatického jevu.

ano ne

8. Bez názorného příkladu bych daný gramatický jev pochopila i z kontextu připraveného článku.

ano ne

9. Vybrané procvičovací cvičení byla názorná a jasná. ano ne

10. Vybrané procvičovací cvičení byla zajímavá. ano ne

11. Vybrané procvičovací cvičení mi pomohly upevnit nově probrané učivo.

ano ne

12. Myslím si, že jsem měl(a) možnost, vyzkoušet si použití nového učiva v reálném kontextu.

ano ne

13. Opakovací test je přiměřený tomu, co jsem se naučil(a). ano ne

14. Forma opakovacího testu mi připomíná opakovací cvičení (vím, co se po mě chce a to mi pomáhá se soustředit).

ano ne

15. Byl(a) bych raději, kdybychom stejné učivo probírali z učebnice.

ano ne

Pokud jsi v otázce č. 15 odpověděl(a) ANO, napiš svůj důvod zde.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Děkuji Vám za odpovědné vyplnění dotazníku. Doufám, že nám pomůže ke zlepšení

výuky gramatických jevů v našich hodinách AJ. ☺ ☺ ☺