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Teach
Grammar or Communicative Skills? Why Not Do Both?
John Brezinsky, Higher
Education
Marketing Manager
Many teachers ask
whether they should spend more time developing students'
knowledge of grammar or their communicative abilities. I tend to
respond as Betty Azar (2007) does—do both. Grammatical knowledge
improves students’ abilities to communicate effectively, and this
same communication solidifies grammatical knowledge through the
targeted negotiation of meaning.
Improve Communication with Grammar
More accurate understanding of grammar leads to better communication.
When students have a solid foundation in the form, meaning, and use of
grammatical structures, they are better able to understand and use
their target language. They are more effective communicators as well as
more confident users of the language.
Improve Grammar with Communication
Students need both controlled and free practice with target structures.
After they have reached a level of comfort with the grammar, students
need a chance to practice using it in an authentic context.
Students' attention is focused on accomplishing a task, and they
naturally focus on the meaning created by the grammar being used. This
focus on the task at hand reinforces their grammatical competence.
Do Both
As Azar (2007) states in her description of Grammar-Based Teaching, effective instruction incorporates many
different aspects of language. Teaching both grammar and communicative
skills together results in stronger language acquisition. So do both!
Reference
Azar, B. (2007) "Grammar-Based Teaching: A Practitioner's Perspective."
TESL-EJ 11(2).
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