Imporatnce of Grammar to learn English as a second Language

Last night I was studying some comments on the above mentioned topic. The following is the reflection of my thought based on my professional experience with ESL:

Is ‘Grammar’ essential to learn English as a second language?



English is considered to be ‘lingua franca’ because of its widespread influence on ‘global economy’. Our learners have sufficient level of motivation to learn English. Consequently, they are trying to learn English and apply it wherever needed to keep pace with the rest of the world. But our learners are reluctant when it is the question of learning ‘English Grammar’. This tendency is misinterpreted with a school of thought of linguists where they believe ‘Grammar is an obstacle to acquiring English’. According to them, English even as a second language can be acquired without learning ‘Grammar’. By this they mean that a teacher must teach and facilitate a learner to prefer the use of grammatical rules to the memorizing grammatical rules.



The reality is that we can bring a learner’s fluency of English first and then go for his/her accuracy. There comes the necessity of learning ‘Grammar’. Before we come to a conclusion about learning grammar to learn English, let us examine the following facts:



Based on the present context the definition of ‘English Grammar’ by is very encouraging: “English grammar is a description of the usages of the English language by good speakers and writers of the present day.” This definition has a universal validity. It always emphasizes the demand of the present time. It is flexible and it welcomes any new, valid and standard use of English. For examples: the use of tenses is no more confined to twelve categories or the use of powerful verb-words etc. Thus we can limit or standardize the use of English grammar but we can not eliminate its use totally, especially-for the people who use it as their second language.



Technically, acquiring any language is an unconscious process and does not require serious or formal study of grammar. On the other hand, learning a language is a process to learn a language after the age of unconsciousness (childhood). A child can acquire his/her mother tongue in early age without the knowledge of grammar. He relies on the sources around him or her to acquire the language. These sources can be her parents, nanny, toys with sounds, senior playmates and televisions. When a child learns to talk, she speaks in broken sentences because there is no grammar to link the words together. As she grows older, schools teach her grammar. With the passage of time grammar allows her to develop the ability to use the language correctly.



English in is our second language and therefore we should use the term ‘learning English’ instead of ‘acquiring English’. It requires serious/formal grammar study of the English language we plan to learn. Generally there are three views of the learning process for English: learning by heart, learning by forming habits through drilling and repetition, and learning rules naturally through attempts to communicate. All these are valid views of the ways in which language skills can be developed. The third one is proved to be the most powerful, if used with proper techniques and methods. Habit formation undoubtedly has a role to play but if our aim is to develop the skill to communicate in unpredicted circumstances then we have to provide our learners with the opportunity to learn the underlying rules of the language. ‘Learning the rules’ of a language means that a learner is able to apply the rules. It is simply to understand and use the language correctly. It does not at all mean knowing how to explain the rules or talking about the language. All native speakers of English ‘know’ the difference between the present perfect and past tenses, in the sense that they use them correctly, but very few would be able to explain the difference; by contrast, some learners of English can explain the differences between the two tenses (they ‘know’ the rule) but they cannot use the tenses correctly. In fact, applying the rule is the key to effective language learning; and in the case of our first language this is entirely subconscious process. It may be that in learning a second language too the best way to learn rules is subconsciously, by reading and listening to language we understand and by attempting to communicate in the language, rather than by consciously ‘learning grammar’.



So it goes without saying that ‘Grammar’ is essential for learning English’. Then why on earth our learners are reluctant to study and learn ‘English Grammar’, why our learners are are interested more in only learning English without knowing, studying or applying ‘Grammar’! These questions lead to many answers but the focus here is on the ‘selecting methods and techniques’ to make the learning effective and useful.



Teaching English grammar can be a fun if a teacher wants to make it funny and comfortable for her learners. She should draw attention of the learners to the use of the rules by using interactive and participatory methods such as using funny, quiz type worksheets etc. The use of example is very important. She must always use something new to introduce any pattern of English sentence. For example, we have a very common tendency to use “He goes to school everyday” to introduce ‘3^rd personal singular number’ to the learners. Why not a name from the class, which involves an active participation of the learners! We must take real life examples in the class so that the learners can get enough food for thoughts to apply those rules and examples discussed in the classroom later in her real life situation. Level of motivation of the learners to study grammar depends on the presentation skills of the grammar topic by the teacher or trainer. It is all about how she uses and applies her innovative, interactive and participatory tools of teaching grammar irrespective of all levels of the learner group (beginner to advanced). There should also be a balanced use of inductive and deductive approach to teaching English grammar.



Learning is very interesting as well as fast when it is facilitated in a cheerful environment. Learner can learn from what is present in the environment, even if their attention is not directed to it such as rules of using tenses, use of articles etc. can be displayed on and around the classroom wall. This learning is called ‘peripheral learning’. If learners trust and respect the teachers/trainers authority, they will accept and retain information better. So the teacher must have the in-depth knowledge of the topic to deliver the information impromptu instead of looking at the hand notes while delivering the topic. The trainer/teacher can desuggest students’ fear and confusion with proper enthusiasm and positive environment. Errors must be corrected gently, not in a direct, confrontational manner. Learning English grammar can be fun through role play activity. The whole gamut of this approach and methodology can be widely used for effective English teaching for all four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Here the teacher is the ‘leader’ to make things happen. She needs patience to go along with these things. Remember ‘Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet.’



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Expert & freelance Teacher & Trainer (ELT)