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.