Re: comments on Grammar ppp -- Discourse and Grammar

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 15:33:51 09/29/09 Tue
Author: Ana Carolina
Subject: Re: comments on Grammar ppp
In reply to: Renata Ferreira 's message, "comments on Grammar ppp" on 16:10:16 09/21/09 Mon

I agree that there is some value in "drilling" exercises because, after all, we're not ESL teachers who have the benefit of knowing that their students will leave the classroom and immediately be able to apply the knowledge acquired in his/her own, completely individualized and drenched in meaning, real-life situation.

Our difficulty, as EFL teachers, is to make grammar meaningful, for our context is limited. We are just now beginning to venture out with our creative juices to bring meaning into the classroom, which is exretemely difficult if you have limited resources, which is so often the case in public schools and language institutes where we're textbook-bound.

BUT, however difficult, discoursive grammar is far from impossible (not to mention so incredibly important) and must always be strived for.

>Dealing with grammar only at the sentence-level has
>negative consequences. The importance of communicative
>competence (linguistic, sociolinguist, discourse and
>strategic) isn't considered here. Students are not
>provided with favorable circumstances to observe, to
>interpret and practice the grammar in context, in
>discourse. The relation between the sentences is not
>observed.
>
>That is why grammar shouldn’t be seen as context-free.
>All languages have context-dependent choices; all of
>them make cohesive devices. What differs them is the
>extent and the ways they are dependent.
>
>Even though many researchers have demonstrated the
>importance of the relation between grammar and
>discourse, few materials help the teachers providing
>contextualized activities. Some suggestions in how to
>deal with grammar and how to test students’ knowledge
>in different stages are offered in this Celce-Murcia’s
>text.
>
>Of course there is still room for mechanical
>activities. Sometimes students need drills to practice
>a specific structure for example. However what we
>should keep in mind is that later they should be able
>to use grammar in a context (in a conversation, in a
>text).
>
>I believe that in the power point presentation the
>group was able to cover the essence of the text. It
>was clear and well written some important examples
>were offered in order to facilitate our understanding.
>
>Good job.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]