Easy English Communicative Grammar -- It's Time to Talk

Easy English Communicative Grammar -- It's Time to Talk.--Designing Activities in Teaching Subjunctive Mood Abstract: Grammar teaching plays an important role in English language teaching. It is not unusual to find that in senior high schools a lot of problems still exist in the English grammar teaching, especially in the way teachers teach it. Is teaching grammar explicitly the only choice left to be made? There are still problems existing in the current settings which are particularly exam-focused. Students need to achieve fluency as well as accuracy in grammar learning. Thus, the importance and methods of grammar teaching and communicative language teaching will be the main concern of this essay. Key words: communication; activities; communicative grammar teaching; information gap

1. Introduction:Grammar teaching plays an important role in English language teaching. Teachers have been debating on what method is the best for teaching grammar for generations. Many of us do not wish to teach grammar explicitly but are keenly aware that students need an understanding of the rules to achieve fluency as well as accuracy. Some also indicate that they feel constrained by the system under which they operate, especially those teaching in settings which are particularly exam-focused. To make it even worse, many of the students never use English outside the classroom. As a result, it is not unusual to find that in senior high schools a lot of problems still exist in the English grammar teaching, especially in the way teachers teach it. In this paper, the importance and methods of grammar teaching and communicative language teaching will be further discussed.

2. Main Body:Grammar teaching is by no means an easy task for teacher to accomplish. However hard we tried, it never seems possible to reach the point where we teachers will be satisfied. When our efforts come to nothing, a lot of teachers will just try to teach grammar explicitly as it is, which is the last choice left to be made. Do we have better ways to teach grammar? Communicative grammar teaching may be the answer.

Since communicative language teaching lay emphasis on communication, some teachers might argue that this method can't be employed genuinely with low levels as there is no authentic communication, due to a limited vocabulary and restricted range of functions. Most importantly, many of a learner's utterances are very formulaic.

However, according to William Littlewood, one of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language. Communicative language teaching itself has a lot of advantages. It really does benefit the students in a variety of ways. We believe that learners will learn best if they participate in meaningful communication. The method is learner-centered and emphasizes communication and real-life situations, compared with traditional grammar teaching which emphasize grammar rules. By employing communicative grammar teaching, we can get the student to communicate as well as to improve both fluency and accuracy. Furthermore, we can also increase motivation and promote learning.

As for students, they learn grammar for communication but not for learning grammar knowledge. Thus, our job is to create such kind of environment. In grammar learning students will experience different stages, that is to say, as a teacher our job is to design our teaching plans according to the process of grammar learning and create conditions by which learners learn naturally. First, students will be exposed to the language. Second, they will notice and understand items being used. Third, students will try using the language. Finally, they remember the things they have learnt. So, in a particular grammar lesson, designing good activities is vital and to some degree it will decide whether the lesson will be successful or not.

Lets take a look at some scenes of the grammar lessons the writer has experienced: Teaching and Learning of Subjunctive mood in SEFC Module 6 Unit 1 and Unit 2The objective of the lessons is that students will get a global impression of subjunctive mood and they will be able to use subjunctive mood effectively in real communication in their daily life. Students will master the use of the structure: If + _______, + would_______and the usage of the word wish and had done in subjunctive mood.

2.1 Lead-in:Teacher can use a question with subjunctive mood to get students to be exposed to the language. E.g. If you were an animal/flower, what would you be? The teacher may ask different students for different answers. Language practice should be organized as far as possible around topics of interest to the learners. By creating some more interesting contexts, teacher will get the students to be interested in the question and also get them to talk. Students answers may vary and there are not necessarily correct answers. After a lot of practice and repetition (or drills), teacher can still use some other questions like What would you do if you were rich? to lead the students to the further study of the language. In this way students will get a clear overall idea about the meaning of the language.

2.2 Eliciting the language:Teacher can put the following on the blackboard to illustrate the structure to highlight the key words in the subjunctive mood and at the same time get the students to notice the language and understand its meaning: If you ________ an animal, what ________ you be?

Teacher can first collect the answers were and would from the students if they could (This may be possible after so much repetition done by the teacher.), if not the teacher himself/herself can give the answers instead and then get the students to repeat the question to pay more attention to the structure. In this stage, we expect students to grasp how new items are structured as well as what they mean. For accuracy practice of new structure, mechanical drills are necessary to ensure the successful mastery of the language. The teacher should try to make drills as meaningful and attractive as possible for the students because they are more enjoyable for the learners if the topic is attractive for them. Drills are also more effective if handled in a brisk, lively, cheerful way. So in order to enable the students to get a further understanding of the structure mentioned, the teacher can present two pictures and ask some follow-up questions. The following is what the writer has done in class: Teacher presents the following pictures one by one.

4321 Explanation: By presenting the above four pictures(1,2, 3 and 4) one by one together with the follow-up questions for each picture, the students will make a comparison between the two conditions and know the differences between a real condition and an unreal one, thus know when to use the subjunctive mood. After this teacher can list some sentences with both real conditions and unreal conditions and ask students to judge whether they are real conditions or unreal conditions to check their understanding of the structure..

2.3 Practising the language:Language practice activities are arguably the most important part of any grammar lesson. Although teachers often spend a lot of time on input stages--for example, in giving explanationsthe real learning experience is when learners try to use the language themselves. In this stage, both accuracy and fluency are required. Generally speaking, early practice tends to focus on accuracy, later practice on fluency. Based on the previous stage, teacher can divide the class into pairs or groups and ask the students to talk to each other. If possible, teacher can also get the students to sum up or report other students ideas by using the subjunctive mood. In this way, students will be engaged to this real communication because there are information gaps between each other, which will make the communication go smoothly. With more advanced students, teacher can create some imaginary but interesting situation for the students to practice. E.g. If you won one million pounds in the lottery, what would you do? Later on teacher can ask students to report what theyve talked about on a certain subject.

The following activities are what the author has done in her class:

Explanation: To further understand and use the different conditions in real situations for further study. I designed two situations and students will put the correct answers in the blanks. These two activities aim at training the accuracy of language.

Activity 1 (Pairwork): Complete the following sentences using the first conditional.If I ________ (not clean) my glasses I _____ (not see) anything. If I ________(not see) anything I ____ _____(bump) into things. If I bump my head I _______(get) dizzy. If I _______(be) dizzy I _________ (not be able) to go to school. If I cant go to school I __________(not be able to learn) English. If I __________ (not learn) English I ____________ (never be) a famous Hollywood film star. I think Ill clean my glasses!(Key: dont clean; will not see; dont see; will bump; will get; am dizzy; will not be able to; will not be able to learn; dont learn; will never be)Activity 1 is an interesting story. It might not make sense, but the students found it really funny.

Activity 2 (Individual work): Complete these sentences using the second conditional.Example: I havent got any money so I cant go to university.If I had money, I would go to university.1. Im not a film star. I dont live in Hollywood.If I were a film star, I would live in Hollywood.2. Im not rich. I dont live in a castle.If I were rich, I would live in a castle.3. I havent travelled around the world because I havent got enough money.If I had enough money, I would travel around the world.Explanation: After finishing Activity 2, students will get a clear idea about what unreal condition is.

Activity 3 (Pair work / Individual work) (Practising the usage of wish): Write sentences beginning I wishExample: I dont know many people (and Im lonely).I wish I knew more people.1. I dont have a key (and I need one).I wish I had a key.2. Ann isnt here (and I need to see her).I wish Ann were here.3. Its cold (and I hate cold weather).I wish it werent so cold.4. I live in a big city (and I dont like it).I wish I didnt live in a big city.5. I cant go to the party (and Id like to).I wish I could go to the party.6. I have to work tomorrow (but Id like to stay in bed).I wish I didnt have to work tomorrow.7. I dont know anything about cars (and my car has just broken down).I wish I knew something about cars.8. Im not lying on a beautiful sunny beach (and thats a pity).I wish I were lying on a beautiful sunny beach.

Activity 4 (Pair work): Make three wishes that you would like to realize most. Then tell your partner about your wishes.If Activity 3 is designed to improve accuracy of language, then Activity 4 is definitely for fluency. In Activity 4, the students attention should be more on the information they are communicating than on the language itself.

Activity 5(Pair /Group work): Just Imagine! Students will be given a situation related to Unit 1. If someone gave you a valuable painting as a present, what would you do with it? Teacher can give a sample answer (If someone gave me a valuable painting as a present, Id hang it on the wall of my bedroom.) to get students started with their own discussion. Students will then tell each other in groups of four or five. Later on they will report what they have discussed to the whole class. In this way, students will not only practice their language and its structure but also it is a good way to express their ideas towards arts, which is related to the topic of Unit 1.

Activity 6 (Group work): What do you think you would do or might do in these situations? You found a valuable piece of jewelry in a park You were on vacation overseas and lost all your money and credit cards You saw two people fighting in the street You discovered your friend has a drinking problem Someone stole your clothes while you were swimming at the beach A friend borrowed money form you and didnt return itExample: A: What would you do if?B: Im not sure. I think Id.C: I might.

Activity 7: You ask a friend questions. Use What would you do if?1. Maybe one day your friend will win a lot of money.What would you do if you won a lot of money?2. Your friend never fails exams but perhaps one day he/she will.What would you do if you failed your exam? 3. Perhaps one day your friend will lose his/her ID card.What would you do if you lost your ID card?4. There has never been a fire in the building.What would you do if there were a fire in the building? Activity 6 and 7 aim at improving students oral accuracy of languagethe question form of subjunctive mood as well as oral fluency with the help of dialogue scripts. Information gap and students desire to express themselves freely make the conversation go smoothly, though there are still some errors, which I consider inevitable. (In Activity 7, students will have to first change the sentences into a question form then the conversation can be carried out.)

Activity 8 (Group work): Please use these verbs and expressions to give the people below some advice on how to overcome their problems. Have you ever had a similar problem? If no, whats your problem? Ask your group for advice.

advise, propose, recommend, suggest, it is crucial, it is essential, it is important, it is necessary etc.Mary: Im overweight. Every time I decide to lose weight, I can only hold on for two or three days. What should I do?Susan: My problem is that I always get distracted from my class. When the teacher is talking, I want to listen carefully. But I just couldnt help it. Please help me out.Jim: Many times I go shopping and buy things I like very much, but when I arrive at home, they seem to be useless. I feel as if I am an idiot, but I just keep doing this. Who can help me overcome it?Explanation: Foreign language teaching must be concerned with reality: with the reality of communication as it takes place outside the classroom and with the reality of learners as they exist outside and inside the classroom. In short, communicative teaching methods leave the learner scope to contribute his own personality to the learning process(William Littlewood,1981). These activities focus on communicative skills by asking and answering questions using subjunctive mood. On the one hand, the topics are closely related to students daily life. On the other hand, there is obviously information gap between students, which surely leads to the success of the conversation. Also the conversation is authentic.

2.4 Consolidation:In this stage, teacher can design some follow-up activities which require writing such as survey in the question forms and ask the students to write down the answers in full sentences or simply ask the students to write a report of the discussion using the subjunctive mood. To make it simpler, teacher may just ask the students to fill in the gaps with the appropriate words or do matching exercises. By responding to students writings, teachers will be able to communicate with the students and at the same time, students will be able to see that writing was another way they could communicate in English. And it this way they remember how the language is used. The following activities are examples for reference.Activity 9(Individual work/Pair work): Match the clauses in column A with information from column B. Then compare with a partner.

Ai. If Id listened to my parents, ______ii. If Id been more active, ______iii. If Id been more ambitious, ______iv. If Id studied harder in school, ______v. If Id saved my money, _______BI could have gotten a promotion.I wouldnt be as broke as I am now.I could have learned a lot more.I would have made some better decisions.I wouldnt be overweight.Add your own information to the clauses in column A. Then compare in groups.In Activity 9, the students task is to connect each if-clause to an appropriate main clause, either by drawing a connecting line, or by writing out the complete sentence. To make it more difficult as a written work, the teacher can change it into another version. Do not include the word if and mix both types of clause in each column, as shown below. The students task is to create sentences, adding if, by connecting two clauses, one from each column.

BId been more ambitiousI wouldnt be as broke as I am nowI could have learned a lot moreId saved my money II wouldnt be overweightAi. Id listened to my parentsii. Id been more activeiii. I could have gotten a promotioniv. Id studied harder in schoolv. I would have made some better decisions _______

Activity 10: IF ONLY. Imagine a whole other life for yourself.A: Complete this survey with information about yourself. Think of reasons for your answers.1. If you had been born as a famous person, who would you be?2. If you had been in a different century, what century would you choose?3. If you could have chosen your own name, what would it be?4. If you had been born in a different country, which country would you choose?5. If you could change one thing about your appearance, what would you change?6. If you had been born as a famous musician, who would you like to be?7. If you were an animal, what animal would you choose to be?8. If you had had the chance to be in a movie, what movie would you have been in?B: Class activity: Go around the class and compare your surveys. Ask follow-up questions of your own.Example:A: If you had been born as a famous person, who would you be?B: Id be Whoopi Goldberg.A: Really? Why?B: Because shes really funny. She always makes me laugh.

Activity 11 (Pair work): Write a response using should have for each statement. Then talk with a partner about which statements are true for you.Example: I was very selfish when I was younger.I should have been more generous when I was young.1. I didnt pay attention to what I ate as a kid.2. I never read very often before I went to college.3. I didnt make a lot of friends when I was in high school.4. I argued a lot with my parents when I was a teenager.

Activity 12: Revision for I shouldnt have.A: Look at the five situations below and think about the past month. Then write down an example for each situation.1. Something you shouldnt have bought2. Someone you should have e-mailed or written to3. Someone you should have called4. Something you shouldnt have said5. Something you should have doneB: Pair work: Talk about each situation in part AExample: A: I bought a lamp at a supermarket. I shouldnt have bought it because I really dont like it.B: I did something similar recently. I shouldnt have bought.Written practice may often be left until after substantial oral practice. If properly done, written practice will not only provides a change of activity, but also helps and encourages visual and analytical learners. In this stage, different structures should be mixed as they are in real conversations (as shown in Activity 10). The practice can be accuracy oriented as shown in Activity 11, or more fluency oriented as shown in Activity 10 and 12 B. (All the activities in this essay are taken from the authors real class and are just for reference. They do not necessarily have to be done in one class at a time. Also the activities do not happen in a time order. But the teachers can choose some of them to adjust to your own class. If necessary, any changes can be applied to suit your own students. Just remember: when teaching grammar, follow the four steps which the author mentioned on Page 2.)

2.5 Some things to keep in mind:To ensure the success of a grammar lesson, we teachers need to bear the following in mind: First, always remember that all language practice should be organized as far as possible around topics of interest to the students. Second, always keep the teaching plan as flexible as possible. Third, always try to teach step by step, giving the idea that the students can certainly achieve something if they try. Dont let students down with too difficult tasks. But also, there should be challenges for the more capable students, with those average students feeling their effort is valid at the same time. Fourth, always remember to keep the practice simple and short in the practice stage. Finally remember to add some exercises which require writing as consolidation work either in the classroom or after class, providing a variety of access to grammar to cater for different learning styles.

3. Conclusion:The teaching of grammar is by far, the most challenging task any teacher may face in his/her daily classroom. We believe that the classes should be learner-centered, with meaningful, functional activities. But I also think the students should be regarded as explorers, active learners who bring a great deal to the learning process and at the same time, draw from their environment as they develop new understandings. Through communicative grammar teaching, students will be able to get new information, hear different thoughts and opinions from various group members due to the information gap. By finishing the task in a communicative way, students become more responsible and play a more positive role in their learning. It is a big change that the students no longer just listen to the teachers but they also ask questions when they don't understand and make every effort to use the language. In this sense, varied activities, interactions and topics can all contribute to making language practice, and lessons in general, more enjoyable and effective for the students.

As a teacher I felt, at first, this way of grammar teaching requires more work on the teacher's side. However, seeing students trying to use the language to communicate with one another and asking me questions when they get stuck, encourages me to continue this activity. They also provide me with scope to step out of my didactic role in order to be a human among humans. Hence, we, as language teachers, must consider how to expand their space and opportunities for learning. In the meantime, I hope that you can derive some practical use from this essay.

ReferencesGeorge Yule, Explaining English Grammar, Shanghai Foreign Language Education PressH.G. Widdowson, Teaching Language as Communication, Shanghai Foreign Language Education PressWilliam Littlewood, Communicative Language Teaching, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Hadfield, J. (1992). Classroom Dynamics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jeremy Harmer, How to Teach English, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Wright, A., Betterdige, D. & Buckby, M. (1983). Games for Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Jim Scrivener, Learning Teaching, Macmillan.Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use, Cambridge University Press.Jack C. Richards & Chuck Sandy, Passages, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.Paul Davies & Eric Pearse, Success in English Teaching, Shanghai Foreign Language Education PressTricia Hedge, Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press

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