LING 414: Pedagogical Grammar

Course Aims and Objectives

Some basic assumptions:

  1. We will be using relevant grammatical description - if it works, then we use it. We need to be clear though about how it works - what it does, and why it is relevant. One clear criterion is that the description helps us to teach the language. If appropriately formulated, the issues here are researchable.
  2. The above implies that we are aiming to understand the grammar in terms of teaching-learning problems or challenges. Central to this is to understand some of the major learning problems learners have with grammar. As we go through the module, considering different aspects of the grammar of English, I anticipate that we will clarify our ideas on this. Concepts tend to be clarified as we discuss specific issues.
  3. The reason for trying to understand learners' problems with learning grammar is so as to enable us to identify a range of teaching strategies, and decide on appropriate strategies for any given grammatical point, and for a given group of learners. So we need also to consider the main pedagogical priorities and the kinds of techniques and procedures that are available or can be developed to teach the points effectively.
  4. Relevance is the key: what we hope to emerge from the module is a shared understanding of the main problems posed by the teaching of grammar, in light of our experience, insights, readings.

Types of session

Mostly we will be working on tasks structured around extracts of text, and extracts from teaching materials or course books.

Sessions 1-5 will be entirely tutor led. Later sessions will consist partly of lectures, and partly of student-led workshops.

Course Content

Week 1: Introduction: describing, learning and teaching grammar

Week 2: Form meaning and function in the basic units of grammar

Week 3; Simple noun groups: forms, learning and teaching.

Week 4: Complex noun groups & post-modification.

Week 5: Simple verb groups: present and past

Week 6: Reading week

Week 7: Complex verb groups 1)- progressive, perfect, future.

Week 8: Complex verb groups 2) - passive, modals.

Week 9: Grammatical aspects of cohesion

Week 10: Towards a researched approach to the teaching of grammar

Assessment

5,000 word written assignment.

Recommended Reading

Biber,D., S.Conrad & R.Reppen. 1998. Corpus linguistics: Investigating language structure and use. Cambridge: CUP

Bloor,T. & M.Bloor 1995. The functional analysis of English. Arnold

Celce-Murcia,M. & D.Larsen-Freeman. 1999. The grammar book: An ESL /EFL teachers' course. Heinle/Thompson.

Larsen-Freeman, D. 2003. Teaching language: from grammar to grammaring. Heinle/Thompson.

Yule, G. 1985. The study of language. Cambridge University Press.

Additional Information

The course is taught in Term 1