GRAMMAR

Grammar Study



Grammar Study

1. Introduction

Language teachers and linguists believe that the educational or pedagogical grammar is a significant characteristic of the Second Language Acquisition (SLA). However, many other people consider that the foreign grammar cannot be taught unequivocally (Wagner, 2003, pp. 1).

At the centre of it, grammar refers to the sentences, i.e. syntax and morphology, and the intrinsic structure of the words in a language. Grammar also refers to the description or study of the structure that is published as grammar rules about the language in various books.

Many topics are covered under the term grammar like semantics, i.e. word meanings, orthography, i.e. capitalization, punctuation and spelling, phonology and phonetics, i.e. sounds, and pragmatics, i.e. language used in the context. Grammar describes that how the language can be structured and organized using different approaches (White, 2012).

The study of grammar can be regarded as one of the most vital part in the learning process of a foreign language. Grammar enables discernible rules to the learners so that they can correctly speak or write the language. However, the grammar rules are comprehensible or not, the learners have myriad dilemmas in using them.

The teachers and linguists have put maximum endeavours to assist the learners in surmounting their intricacies and confronts. In managing this appraisal, two grammatical points will be discussed so that the further strategies and approaches for teaching them can build up.

The two grammatical points, which a foreign learner that was interviewed is facing, are prepositions and relative causes. The foreign learner who was interviewed is a twenty four years old Korean boy, namely Hyun Ryu. Hyun is a learner of English from the past six years and still he is having difficulties in learning the grammar.

2. Grammar Interview

During the interview, it was revealed by Hyun that he started to learn English at eighteen years of his year. The method and approach used by his teachers was the translation one which did not benefit him. Hyun also described that only translation classes were conducted however no communicative method was used. For complete interview see Appendix No. 1.

When he was admitted in the University for the Masters Program, then the cross communication process began. By this description, it is clear that the grammar translation was the overlooking method for him in the learning process of English process.

I: Can you tell me the method of learning and teaching English at the time when you started learning it.

H: Um, (3.0) at that time my (1.5) um (2.0) my teacher just translate the grammar in Korean and give us few models and we only (2.0) ah (1.5) go behind the models, yeah.

I: Yes, so we can call it the grammar translation method?

H: Um, (1.0) yes.

I: Yes, that is similar in Japanese. So the teacher educated you diverse grammar points?

H: Um, (1.0) what?

I: [ I mean different points of English grammar.

H: Um, (1.5) Yes.

...

I: Did you do several exercises to improve your knowledge of grammar?

H: Um, (2.5) not so much because I think, um, ...