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In ESL and EFL grammar teaching methods are debatable. Some see grammar as the backbone of languages and learners should be presented with explicit grammar courses. Others, however, think that knowing the grammar doesnt necessarily lead to language mastery. They contend that focusing on explicit grammar teaching produces unsuccessful language users. Which one of these methods is the right one?
A balanced view
I believe that focus on grammar explanation and the absence of any reference to meaning can be detrimental to language acquisition. Of course grammar is the backbone of any language. Grammar knowledge can be helpful in producing accurate forms of language and acts in monitoring its use. But, it is worthwhile noticing that one can communicate more or less a message with vocabulary items alone while it is impossible to do so using grammar alone. This shows that grammar alone doesnt make the language. What is more, language use can be tremendously affected by conscious language usage as this may create a stressful environment. So a balanced approach to grammar teaching takes into consideration the appropriate use of language and doesnt reject the (conscious or unconscious) internalization of the rules. Some of the major approaches that hold this view are the communicative approach, the natural approachand the lexical approach. Here are key features of this type of grammar instruction. Exploration instead of explanation Explaining a rule doesnt necessarily lead to full understanding of the language point. It is preferable to let students get the rules by themselves. A grammar-discovery approach involves providing learners with data to illustrate a particular grammatical point and getting them to analyze it in order to reach an awareness of how the feature works. In effect, this needs acquirers to be active-thinkers in order to discover for themselves how the grammar works. Instead of giving students a set of model examples to repeat and drill, it would be wiser to give them the opportunity to explore the examples by noticing/observing, making hypotheses and drawing conclusions about the language forms. This leads to raising an awareness about the grammar and a meaningful and active understanding of the rules. Contextualized grammar
Habit formation through drilling and repetition cannot lead to language mastery. However, using authentic language (instead of artificial language) to unconsciously internalize language forms might be much more beneficial to language acquirers. Advantages of grammar-discovery
Students discover grammar for themselves instead of being told. Grammar becomes a content to be communicated about. Acquirers develop analytical skills to understand and internalize language rules. Grammar discovery leads to a deeper understanding and awareness of the mother tongue or the first language as well as the target language grammar. Grammar discovery teaches students to be autonomous learners.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, grammar must be part of any language instruction. But the approach one adopts in the grammar teaching differ from teacher to teacher. While some may underestimate any importance of grammar in the teaching practices; others put grammar in the forefront of the language teaching. I believe that a balanced view would consider grammar important as long as it leads to better language use in context rather than being a set of rules about the language that do not help much in the communication of meaning.