Liudmyla

Grammar is very important not only for the intermidiate or advanced levels but also for a starter too. I prefer introducing grammar material in such a way that the students can formulate the grammar rules themselves as a conclusion from the strutures given to them either in a short conversation, a funny story, a song, an article, a letter or a movie. Such demonstrative material can be selected by the teacher in accordance with the group's interests, field of activities, age etc. based on the reflexive teacher's strategy and critical thinking methodolgy. Also, grammar rules are better learnt when the students feel the necessity of this or that structure, especially in unprepared speech, like debates, expressing their opinion on various subjects, or role-plays.

Nancy

This article places the undeniable importance of teaching our students English grammar. Grammar is an essential tool which gives the foundation for learning a language well. I agree that grammar must be combined with oral and written communication skills so the student can understand the reasons behind the way we speak. Good article!!

Adelina

Grammar is, by no means, essential in ESL teaching. It is the backbone of the language; the framework from which we build on. The way we present it to our students is also important and I am convinced that making students realize grammar has a practical and real use gives them a sense of "experiencing" the language, so they are able to understand the whole picture better. Role plays, paraphrasing, summarizing stories and the like, are great ways to put the "grammar rules" into action without them even realizing they are using them. Very interesting and illuminating article. Thank you!

Oscar

Thank goodness there are still people who believe that grammar is really important in the teaching of a second language. Those who believe that conversation can be taught without the skeleton of grammar are creating a strange being: an animal without a skeleton, a kind of slimmy thing that is not consistent and not lasting. Thank you very much for giving us the support we need to continue with the hard labor of communicating properly in other languages than our own.

Tim

Dear Adelina
I hope you are not actually teaching the English language. You start your paragraph with "by no means" which literally means that "it is not at all" and then you finish the rest of the paragraph explaining why it is so "essential" which means "critical" or at least "important". Maybe you should work on meaning instead of grammar. English is one of the easiest languages as far as grammar is concerned (subject + verb + object, can get the meaning across) but the important part of language is to be able to communicate. I am usually thought of as a grammar fanatic, but I would rather hear "me take hospital" than "me, by no means, take to the nearest hospital"

The beauty of English is that it is functional. I believe in working on meaning first and style second. In Korean, Japanese, Czech, etc. word order doesn't matter -- they use markers, but in English, "The boy bit the dog" is very different from "The dog bit the boy". Although both are grammatically correct.

Terry

I must agree with Julio. It seems that many ESL teachers consider it heresy NOT to teach the name of things in grammar - how many native speakers know the terms conjunction, adverb, clause, and yet still function well in all aspects of the language? It's like learing to drive - you have no need to name all parts of the engine to drive well - you just need to know something about its function and listen to make sure it is running smoothly. In fact, worrying about naming the engine parts while driving may well lead to an accident!

Don

Great article. The hardest thing for me, as a TESL teacher, is working out how to explain to a student, the definitions, rules of the parts of speech without it going over their heads. English may be my first language but grammar has left me doubting its effectiveness. If the teacher was ever intimidated or irritated by the grammatical approach when he /she was at school, that might give some indication of how the student might feel (X100). I want them to learn English, not definitions. Grammar is a cold entity, a ball and chain. It has the potential to turn a lesson into a bottomless pit full of confused and overwhelmed souls. Depends on how deep you want to take them. I think the basic grammar framework is enough to help students keep account of the things they have covered. It helps teachers review previous lessons by eliciting specific forms, verb endings for example. Keep it concise and easy to manage. Small talk about the lesson content helps students get over the "Post-grammatic stress" and relax a bit."