How to Teach Grammar in EFL

Teaching Grammar in EFL

Grammar skills and the ability to simply explain grammar is another hallmark of a skilled EFL teacher. Students expect their teacher to be skilled in grammar and if you aren’t you will probably lack confidence in the classroom. So, get skilled!

While I would like to give you a simple explanation and a couple easy links to read, as in most the other sections, there is not really a super easy way to master grammar. However, I can recommend the Fast Track Grammar Review for EFL Teachers.

This eBook was used in 2009 by the University of California – Irvine Campus – as part of their Education 134 Teaching English Internationally course.

Fast Track was written by an experienced TEFL Teacher-Trainer with a master’s degree in education (me!). Students on the TEFL Certification course I taught were having trouble quickly grasping the grammar they needed to pass the course and get their TEFL Certificate. Thus was born Fast Track to help them get what they needed quickly and easily.

Fast Track Grammar Review is a downloadable 66-page grammar eBook that is written for people intending to teach English or teachers who wish to brush up on their grammar skills. It emphasizes the idea of staying flexible and understanding grammar at a deep level. It also gives you a lot of vocabulary so you don’t have to feel intimidated when the subject of grammar comes up.

You should be able to read this e-book, check a few other resources, and bring yourself up to speed quickly (thus the “Fast Track” notion). Remember, most native-speakers of English already KNOW grammar intuitively, it is only that they don’t know how to explain what they already know.

Read the eBook with the idea that you will be introduced to a variety of NEW ideas about grammar. Note, for example, that some grammar books say there are eight parts of speech. Some say nine, some say more. Keep your thinking flexible and understand that different authors say different things. Just get to know the vocabulary of grammar, so you know what people are talking about.

Try the eBook, do all the exercises, pre-tests, and post-tests and you will be in good shape with grammar. Not to worry, the book is written with lots of graphics, practical examples and exercises and a bit of humor. The author knows that grammar is not a favorite topic of study. It also comes with a 100% no-questions-asked guaranteed refund. If you don’t like it, just ask for your money back, no problems.

Click here: Fast Track Grammar Review for EFL Teachers to read more about it and see some sample pages:

TED’s Tips™ #1: Get yourself skilled in good basic grammar. It is an area where many teachers feel inadequate and it is not difficult to get yourself up to speed.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Don’t pretend to know what you don’t know. If you can not accurately answer a student’s question, tell them you will have a good answer for them at the next class. Don’t hurt them by giving them a made-up half answer.

Boardwork in the EFL Classroom

Boardwork for the EFL and ESL Classroom

Organizing the marker board for a more effective lesson is the mark of a skilled EFL teacher.

KISS or “Keep it Simple for Students” is a good rule. Walk through your lesson and as you do it, put everything on the board. Ideally, you don’t erase anything in one lesson and it should, by the end of the lesson, look very well-organized and understandable. Even from the back of the room. Go to the back and look.

Usually the best way to organize your board work is to literally present the lesson in a dry run and write everything on the board including target language, grammar structure, and vocabulary (off to the side).

As you think your way through the lesson you will probably notice that you need to reorganize or restructure your thinking. This is an excellent practical exercise just to catch the flow of your lesson as well as for organizing your boardwork.

Note that in many classrooms, students will not be able to see the bottom one-third of the board from the back of the room (other students are in the way). And, in many classrooms, the far left and right sides of the board may not be visible to students on the far opposite of the room due to the extreme angle or from bright light from windows (in the front).

Glare from windows and lights can make parts of the board unreadable for many students. If there are curtains in a room to block bright light in the front of the room – use them. What this means is that you should probably only use the top two-thirds of your board – and the middle 60%.

Write on the board in a classroom and walk around the room to see if your writing is BIG enough, clear enough and visible to everyone. You will probably be surprised how little of the board is visible to everyone in the room

Never erase anything from the board without asking your students first. Why? Your very best students are taking notes! Just a simple, “Okay if I erase this?” and a fast look around the room will do the job. It’s only polite, isn’t it? Good teachers certainly don’t mind waiting while their best students are taking notes.

A good lesson plan should have an example of what the board will look like, usually on the last page. This will help you plan your boardwork in advance.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Boardwork is a fine art that the best teachers practice improving regularly.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Help your students by presenting your lesson on the marker board clearly, visibly and in an easily understandable manner.

Games for the EFL Classroom

Games and Activities in the EFL Classroom

Games and activities are an important part of almost every EFL classroom.

Games and activities create situations where students can use the target language of the lesson in a playful situation (a game) or in practice or production (study or activation) exercises. Games and activities allow opportunities to use language repeatedly and to build a habit from the structures provided.

Most EFL classes should start with a “warm-up” activity to help the students relax and settle into the class. The warm-up is often a game, just to start things on a “fun” level.

Structured activities will be provided to students during the practice and production stages of the lesson as well, and if time allows a short language game may also be used at the very end of the class.

The basic idea is to let the class play, have a couple laughs and some fun right at the very beginning – work them very hard in the middle – and finish up the class with some fun.

Following this process, where the class begins and ends with anxiety-reducing activities or games, we should find the students more motivated for their next class.

Every experienced EFL teacher has several favorite games and activities that require minimal preparation ready to go at any time. These games and activities also come in handy should you be asked to teach a class for someone else, when you don’t know the students and have not had an opportunity to prepare. Such surprises are not uncommon in the EFL teaching world.

The Internet is full of websites of games and activities. Probably the best place to start is at Dave’s ESL Cafe.

ESL EFL Games

TED’s Tips™ #1: Spend some time at Dave’s ESL and find five or six games that you enjoy and understand. Think about how to use those games in a variety of settings, with different age groups and for different topics.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Do a web search for “ESL Games” or “EFL Games” and see how many websites you find. There are literally hundreds.

Correct Errors in EFL

Correcting Student Errors in EFL

When and how to correct students errors in the EFL classroom is an issue of concern for every EFL teacher. What should we correct, when should we correct it, and how should it be corrected?

How do we give students the feedback they need and want to improve without damaging fluency and motivation?

Research Suggests . . .

Research tends to indicate that three types of errors should be addressed: high frequency errors, stigmatizing errors, and errors that block meaning or the understanding by the listener. I might add another: errors in using the target language of the lesson.

When and how should these errors be corrected? There is, unfortunately, no conclusive evidence/research about these issues.

Research seems to indicate that the most effective ways to deal with errors and offer corrections seem to include:

When hearing an error, speak the corrected statement

Listen for errors and make a general review of them at the end of the activity segment

Encourage peer correction

Correct the student personally (use this less than the other methods)

Balancing Fluency vs. Accuracy

EFL teachers always need to be careful of the balance between fluency (ability to speak quickly and smoothly without much thought) and accuracy (ability to speak in a grammatically correct manner).

There is a tension between fluency and accuracy, where too much desire or struggle for accuracy denies a student fluency. And too much emphasis on fluency can result in spoken gibberish that follows no rules at all.

Teachers need to stay tuned in to how their students are doing and attempt to keep a good balance of fluency vs. accuracy in the classroom. Not an easy task, but generally, in a speaking or conversation class, error on the side of fluency. In a writing class, error on the side of accuracy.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Give careful thought to the methods you will use in correcting student errors. It is important enough to even be a part of your lesson plan.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Your approach to correcting errors needs to reflect the skill levels and educational history of your students.

If they have studied in a highly punitive environment, then work more on fluency as they will likely be hesitant to speak at all. If they come from a liberal “anything goes” environment then you may need to stress accuracy.