View Content #28128

by Johanna Lyon, CASLS Graduate Employee

             Learner-oriented instruction in the language classroom is challenging when dealing with grammar. Grammar, due to its typically prescriptive nature and many rules, is often seen as something that is taught to students and not as something that they explore and manipulate on their own. However, grammar is ripe with opportunity for exploration and discovery that will lead to deep student engagement and thorough retention.

             One of the most critical steps in making grammar learner-centered is ensuring that the grammar studentsare learning is applicable and descriptive instead of abstract and prescriptive. For example, many language classes involve instruction related to “can,” “shall,” and “may” when the relevant focus is modal auxiliaries (Grammar and Mechanics—Hunter College, n.d.). However, many of these words are no longer heavily utilized (“shall, v.”, 2020), a reality that leaves students confused on why the language they are learning in class is not the language they are hearing in the world. To increase learner orientation, teachers could engage with learners by asking, after clearly demonstrating examples, what versions of modal auxiliaries they hear in the world or simply by teaching more modernly common ones such as “have to (ɦɑftə),” and “ought to (ɔtə)”. By including more pertinent words to students’ lives, the class has already oriented towards their needs, increasing their investment in the content.

            Further, learner-orientation can happen in how the grammar is instructed, not just in the choice of content. One effective approach to learner-centered grammar instruction is inductive reasoning. Teachers may cultivate such reasoning in a variety of ways. For example, teachers may divide a class into groups and provide each group with a series of examples of a specific instance of grammar use in context. Each group works together to find the pattern or rule behind their instance, compares their rules with other groups, and works with other groups alongside the teacher to iron out any inconsistencies. This and similar approaches that involve inductive reasoning are highly effective since they actively engage learners in the construction of knowledge and deepen understanding of how the language works. Their engagement in higher-order thinking processes during the pattern detection and rule creation ultimately facilitates better uptake and retention of the grammar at hand (Ivie, 1998).

            Through making the adjustments above, the classroom becomes a more learner-oriented space in terms of grammatical instruction. Such shifts encourage engagement and promote relevant content that will lend itself to learners' future proficiency and confidence using their L2.

References

Grammar and Mechanics—Hunter College. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2020, from                                    http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/grammar-and-mechanics-1

Ivie, S. D. (1998). Ausubel's learning theory: An approach to teaching higher order thinking skills. The High School Journal, 82(1), 35. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uoregon.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.uoregon.edu/docview/220213213?accountid=14698

“shall, v.” (2020). In Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www-oed-com.libproxy.uoregon.edu/view/Entry/177350?