学生爱学语法,为什么老师却讨厌?

Students Love Grammar! So Why Do Teachers Hate It? 学生爱学语法,为什么老师却讨厌?

Today we have a special guest. Betty Azar is the most successful writer of grammar textbooks in the world. Generations of English learners will recognize her best-selling book Understanding and Using English Grammar. The famous blue grammar book, now in its fourth edition, is in use at language schools across the world. Ms. Azar also supports research and professional development in the English language teaching¹ field.  Today Ms. Azar will offer some advice on how to teach grammar.

Have you ever heard an English teacher say, “Teaching grammar is boring!” Betty Azar has, and she strongly disagrees.

“For me teaching grammar is the most fun class of all. I think that is a misconception -- that teaching grammar is a boring thing to do -- when teaching grammar, for me, always was the class I looked forward to the most because grammar was just the foundation². It was where you started. Grammar is just the starting point.”

Betty Azar is a world famous expert on teaching English grammar. She talked with VOA about how teachers can move from grammar to communication experiences.

“From there you do conversations, you do games, you do communicative interaction³, you do all of the wonderful things you do in a second language classroom, but you do it in combination⁴ with having a solid foundation of the structures that they are using.”

Why do students need to learn grammar?

Michael Swan is a co-author of the Oxford⁵ English Grammar Course. He writes that when teachers are deciding which grammar points to teach, they should first ask two questions. First, will understanding the point help students be understood – will it help them understand better? Next, if that is true, will learning⁶ the grammar point help learners be acceptable⁷ as English speakers?

The common misunderstanding that Ms. Azar sees is that grammar can be taught as a subject, like history or math. Teachers try to get students to memorize rules. Grammar is not just learning rules. It is a way to help students along the way to communication. 

“If you have a class named 'grammar,' it doesn't mean you're teaching rules that the students have to learn. It just means, ‘grammar is where we're going to start, and then we're going to have a lot of fun with it, and practice, and do a lot of interesting things, and, most importantly, have successful communication experiences.’ Those are the building blocks of learning a second language.”

Another piece of advice for teachers is that students do not all learn in the same way. Each may have a different learning style when it comes to learning grammar. Some may see a pattern and understand the rule. Others need explanations and more practice.

“But to teach grammar as a subject matter and test it as though you were testing the memorization of dates in history is sure to bore everybody and not reach the goals that you are trying to reach - successful communication experiences.”

Why do some teachers hate teaching grammar?

Because grammar was removed from the regular course of study in the U.S. and U.K. in the 1960s, most native speakers of English did not learn it in school. Ms. Azar imagines that many teachers are not comfortable teaching grammar because they do not know how to answer their students’ questions.

“We now have an entire pool of possible teachers who don’t know the grammar of their own language. If you don’t know any grammar of your own language, and then you are asked to teach it, you walk into a class; very likely your students may know more grammar than you know, and you cannot answer their questions. You’re going to have hostility⁸ towards teaching grammar.”

What does the research show about teaching grammar?

Michael Swan says that teachers should apply modern research on language to teach the most frequent grammar points before they spend time on those that are not often used. He wants teachers to understand their students’ language backgrounds, too. If the students have a native language with a similar grammar rule, they do not need to spend time practicing it in English.

The worst situation, Mr. Swan says, is when teachers try to make their students “perfect” English speakers by teaching too much grammar. This approach makes students afraid to speak, because they do not want to make any mistakes.

An organization called The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF) has been doing long-term studies of ESL students. TIRF’s research reports that teaching grammar along with communication is effective.

“There have been a number of research studies that show the combination of having a grammar component⁹ in a communicative program allows students to progress faster and better than if there were no grammar component.”

Can teaching grammar really be fun?

Betty Azar hopes that her textbooks help teachers learn to make the teaching of grammar fun. She says that her students enjoy learning grammar as much as she enjoys teaching it.

“Students in my experience, love it. … I think grammar is absolutely fascinating, endlessly fascinating. It is the glue that holds language together. It is a many-colored interwoven fabric¹⁰ that is really beautiful when you get to know it. Grammar is quite a remarkable¹¹ thing.”

For the VOA Learning English Education Report, I’m Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

misconception – n. a wrong or mistaken idea

building blocks – n. an important part that is grouped together with many other similar things to form something larger — usually plural¹² — usually + of

communicative language teaching – n. an approach to language teaching that emphasizes¹³ interaction as both the means and the ultimate¹⁴ goal of study

learning style – n. an individual's unique approach to learning based on strengths, weaknesses, and preferences.

memorization – n. the act of learning something so well that you are able to remember it perfectly¹⁵

hostility – n. an unfriendly or hostile¹⁶ state, attitude, or action

frequent – adj. happening often

component – n. an important piece of something

1 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

2 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

3 interaction   

n.交流；相互作用，相互影响，合作

参考例句：

• The interaction of the two groups produced many good ideas.两个组的相互交流产生了许多好主意。
• Price is determined through the interaction of demand and supply.价格在供需的相互作用中形成。

4 combination   

n.组合，合并，联合；

参考例句：

• He carried on the business in combination with his friends.他与朋友们合伙做生意。
• The materials can be used singly or in combination.这些材料可以单独使用也可以混合用。

5 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

6 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

7 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

8 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

9 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

10 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

11 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

12 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

13 emphasizes   

强调( emphasize的第三人称单数 )； 加强语气； 重读； 使突出

参考例句：

• Marx concentrates on the alienation of labour and emphasizes the invidious aspects. 马克思集中论述了劳动的异化，强调它令人厌恶的方面。
• What he emphasizes most is that we must walk the mass line. 他最强调的是我们必须走群众路线。

14 ultimate   

adj.最远的；最后的；终极的；根源的，基本的

参考例句：

• What was his ultimate goal?他的最终目标是什么？
• The sun is the ultimate store of power.太阳是能量之本。

15 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

16 hostile   

adj.不友好的，敌对的；敌方的，敌人的

参考例句：

• The local people are hostile to outsiders.当地人敌视外地人。
• Their hostile looks showed that he was unwelcome.他们怀敌意的表情说明他不受欢迎。