This blog captures my tryst with English grammar for the past few months. It will take into account the topics that were explained to Vocational Trainees. The sad thing about this blog is that the first version of the same was in inadvertently deleted from my PC. The lesson is learned in the hard way and now i am better equipped when it comes to preparing a blog. I am using Evernote for creating the first draft of the blog. The app is available in both my iPhone and iPad. So it is easy to sync using the Internet. There is no hassle of copying into a flash or a HDD. It simply synchronizes with the server. The updated file can be accessed in my Iphone and Ipad and even my PC. I plan to write about some of my the most common topics that are taught here. There is no in-depth analysis of language sentences or structures. The basic building blocks of language is discussed in a practical way. The grammatical items are not studied in isolation but seen in the context of their daily usage. The methodology that I have adopted is based on the premise that language is used to describe the world. If that is the case then grammar helps in the correct way of describing the world. In other words grammar helps the user of any language to speak or write in an accepted way with the other users of the same language. The methodology also takes into account the users experience with the language. The learner should have minimal competence in the language especially grammar.
The first grammatical item he or she will be introduced to will be - verbs,nouns and adjectives. Using pictures and other audio visual aids learner will get to the know the types of actions and how the actions are described using adjectives.
Tom kicked the ball swiftly - Noun + Verb + Noun + Adjective
This combination is used especially to talk about people and to describe their actions. At this stage the details of these grammatical items are not divulged. There is no references to pronouns, regular/ irregular and comparatives. These topics will introduced at a later stage.
In the next stage, the concept of prepositions is introduced - of time, of place and of movement. This will enhance the linguistic descriptive power of the learner. If the need arises, there can also be training in Numbers,mathematical register, weather and even time expressions. As a follow up to the prepositions the idea of imperatives also can be introduced. Directions and verbal walk-throughs can be arranged in such a way that there is an integrated approach towards learning. As an addition interrogatives also can be taught here as they are required to ask for directions.
Once the learner has grappled with the above mentioned topics, the next level of grammar topics can be introduced starting with comparatives, modal auxiliaries, abilities and possibilities, some tense items like - present continuous and future ( using will and going to). These topics will reinforce what he or she has learned and will give a better understanding of English Grammar. Once these stage is achieved then new can slowly moved towards analysis of single sentences and then on to complex paragraphs. It will be more like a poetry appreciation class, where the learner is asked to jot down the grammatical items that he can identify in the text. These textual dissections calls for a large amount of discussions and debates and the use of a standard reference book for consultation.
Grammar teaching can be made quite interesting by using various audio visual aids. The first foremost aid is the dictionary either in the soft copy of hard copy format. Then the use of language softwares like Face to Face and Language in Use. There are also several podcasts available from the BBC like Grammar challenge. There is also a useful podcast by the name Grammar girl.
Thus Grammar learning is never a boring thing. It can be made interesting and result oriented. The methodology or the approach matters a lot.
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