Presenting grammar to students: common mistakes

We do use different techniques when we have to present new vocabulary. We can prepare different flashcards, interesting activities so that students have a lot of fun. However, the situation is different with grammar.

Is there any teacher who does not know grammar rules? I mean an English teacher, not an English speaker. Yes, grammar is what we learn at university. That is what we are comfortable with. And that is where we are confident. We know the rules, we know the exceptions to the rules, and we know hundreds of exercises to practice these rules. However, it is one thing to know how to practice this or that grammar rule, but it is completely different thing to effectively present them.

In this article, we will discuss some mistakes that teachers might make while presenting grammar to students.

1. They use terms and rules most of the time

Students are not linguists; they may not know the terms. I remember when I was teaching adults of Elementary level, I used the same terms as in grammar rules (coursebook — New English File). Imagine my surprise when at the end of the academic year one student asked: “Sorry, but we were shy (the whole year!) to ask you — what does “the Subject” mean?”

Students may know how to use the present perfect, but they may not know the name of the tense. It is ok. Do not bombard them with terms. For example, you could say; “Today we are going to learn a new tense that will help us speak about the actions or activities closely connected with the present time”.

2. They put too much seriousness into it

Remember, grammar is usually challenging for learners. They usually do not comprehend the rules as well as we, teachers, do. We have spent years studying the language. We feel the language, unlike the students. As soon as we introduce the topic of grammar and say that they have to be very attentive, we make them lose their confidence. Moreover, not every student needs all the grammar presented in the coursebook (why would a person, willing to improve Speaking to feel more confident while travelling, need to know Third Conditional?).

3. Just after they present grammar, they introduce exceptions to the rules

Exceptions should be second stage or phase of grammar presentation. Do not frighten students with exceptions. Let your students get used to new grammar, have as much practice as necessary to feel confident to use it. Exceptions can be added during the practice smoothly and unnoticeably.

Moreover, just “giving” rules is not effective. Use the Inductive method to present grammar rules. You provide different examples and ask your students to see the patterns and derive the rules. This can be fun as the student will feel empowered discovering the rules.

4. They do not step back and make sure that the student knows and remembers what he or she needs to be able to understand the new topic

We should always go back and revise studied materials. For example, when you have to teach present perfect, your student should not have any issue with the present simple and past simple.

5. They do not spend enough time practicing new grammar.

So much should be done during the lesson, so sometimes teachers just introduce new grammar, do a couple of exercises and hurry to the next stage of the lesson. Even if students seem to understand the presented grammar from the first second, it’s better to present the topic and make it focused throughout the lesson. Make sure that the sample sentence or a phrase or a pattern that was used to introduce the topic is emphasized and used several times.

For example, you have to introduce Present Perfect. And the sentence/sentences you used to explain it, is underlined and visually expressive for the students. Any time during the lesson a student makes a mistake, you can repeat the sentence you used as an example to explain whenever the student makes a mistake.

6.They don’t personalize the materials.

The text (exercises) can be a story where the hero or a person shares common features with your student. For example, if your student is a middle-aged accountant working in a small local company, the hero of the text where you are presenting a new grammar rule, can be an accountant working for an international firm. This technique helps to “shorten the content distance”.

Remember whatever you do, make the grammar more fun and interesting. Let your students enjoy the lesson and find it more and more interesting every time.