Introduction to

Ling 114: Structures of English

Program Outcomes:
• Demonstrate oral and written proficiency in English for communication and
teaching.
• Exhibit meaningful and comprehensive pedagogical content knowledge and
analytical and critical thinking skills in language and literature.
• Apply appropriate and innovative methodologies in teaching language and
literature.
• Apply skills in developing and using ICT-based instructional materials to
enhance instruction.
• Construct appropriate assessment and evaluation tools to measure
learning outcomes.
• Apply skills in language and literature research.
Ling 114: Structures of English
• This course is an analysis of the structure and function
of grammatical constructions of English with
particular emphasis on the form, meaning, and use of
these elements. Intended for future English language
teachers, it prepares them to foster pedagogical
content knowledge in the teaching of grammar which
is a rich resource for making meaning in contextually
appropriate usage.
Ling 114: Structures of English
• analyze English in terms of its branches of study with
emphasis on the form, meaning, and use of the
grammatical categories;
• make elementary but principled description and analysis of
real linguistic data of English;
• explain frequent difficulties experienced by ESL learners
along different forms; and
• conduct an error analysis of selected learners’ written
outputs.
Ling 114: Structures of English
• Take-home quizzes 40%
• Two major exams 30%
• Error analysis paper 15%
• Participation 15%
Ling 114: Structures of English
• 1.0 97-100 • 2.25 82-84
• 1.25 94-96 • 2.5 80-81
• 1.5 91-93 • 2.75 78-79
• 1.75 88-90 • 3.0 75-77
• 2.0 85-87 • 5.0 Failed
What is Grammar?
• Are you afraid of grammar?
• Or do you love it?
• What frightens you about grammar?
• Have you already had an embarrassing experience with
grammar?
Why care about Grammar?
• Grammar has been criticized
• Some language teaching methods rely exclusively or
predominantly on grammar
• Students are frustrated with exceptions to the rules, with
inability to communicate, or with being penalized for errors.
• BUT grammar is not a sterile compilation of rules. Rather it is
a rich resource for making meaning in contextually
appropriate usage.
What is Grammar?
• Set of rules that describes the structure of sentences or part
of them (e.g. ‘white rice’, not ‘rice white’)
• Grammar needs theories and evidence
• Broadening our view about grammar prepares us to deal
with English language learners
• LEXICOGRAMMAR – structure is interconnected with lexicon
• ‘taking a photograph’ vs ‘making a photograph’
• Less for rules, more for patterns (i.e. constructions)
What is Grammar?
• Constructions: –ed, the + n, a+ n, s+v → v+s, in par. N then
pro, {A teacher…he?}

• Grammar is a meaning-making resource. It is made up of

lexicogrammatical form, meaning, and use constructions that
are appropriate to the context and that operate at the word,
phrase, sentence, and textual levels. (Larsen-Freeman &
Celce-Murcia, 2016, p. 2)
What is Grammar?
• Rules are not airtight formulations and have exceptions.
• Rules are conventionalized patterns.
• Rules are arbitrary formulations.
What is Grammar?

Form Meaning
How is it What does it
formed? mean?

Use
When/Why is
it used?
Grammar Learning and Teaching
• Language learning is a complex process (often the topic in SLA)
• We can attribute language development to a variety of processes
• Associative memory for formulaic language (e.g. What’s your
name?)
• Pattern detection for the acquisition of generalizations/principles

• Help students acquire the skill of grammaring

• Explicit teaching of grammar is a means to an end, not an end in
itself
Grammar Learning and Teaching
• Traditional grammar teaching – giving students a rule to be applied in
a written exercise
• Less direct methods – e.g. input flooding (use of activities which
expose learners to particular constructions)
• Practice of grammar – using a construction in a meaningful and
appropriate way
• Providing grammatical rules and terminology is effective (Norris &
Ortega, 2000) but can often be discouraging in using language for
communicative and meaningful purposes, hence the proposal to
teach grammar reactively only (Long, 2007)
Grammar Learning and Teaching
• Use multidimensional teaching approach – use different techniques
for teaching different aspects of the three dimensions
• purposeful iteration, not rote, for form (e.g. play 20 questions for
yes/no questions)
• TPR for phrasal verbs (e.g. stand up, turn around, sit down)
• Use ‘present, practice, produce’ as technique but not always
• Use inductive learning
• On the sequence of syllabus design on grammar: Don’t be stringent;
view syllabus as checklist, not an ordered sequence