Premium Essay

Can Grammar or Phonetics Be Taught Through Games?

In:

Submitted By rashasultan78
Words 5021
Pages 21
Can Grammar or Phonetics be taught through Games?

Table of Contents

I. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………..……………1 II. What is Grammar?……………………………………………...………………………………2
III. The place of Grammar in the language teaching……………….…………...2-4

IV. Games and Grammar teaching/learning: A.Background of Grammar Games……………………………………………..…..……4 B.The function of Games………………………………………………………………4-5 C.The roles of teachers and learners………………………………….………5-6 D.Factors affecting Grammar Games:
Age……………………………………………………………………..………6-7
Ability in the target language…………………………………..7
Motivation…………………………………………………………………..7-8
Size of group…………………………………………………………..8-9
Time…………………………………………………………………………....9
V. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...………10 VI. Appendix……………………………………………………………………………….…11-13

Introduction

This paper aims at discussing the issue of teaching grammar through game activities, which derives its importance from the pursuit of excellence in language learning and teaching. At this point it is probably a good idea to start with some definitions of grammar, followed by the place of grammar in language teaching. In this context, researchers speak of the grammars of a language rather than of the grammar. Therefore, different methods of teaching a language will be presented and two of them will be discussed individually; that is to say, structural and communicative. What I would like to take into consideration here is that balance between the product and process or form and function. To take an example of how to achieve that balance in the field of language description, a proposition of an effective way to teach grammar will be presented; namely, games and game-like activities.

In approaching games as a good way to teach grammar, some background information on it will be presented

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Student Learning Assessment

...Effects of age on RATE of second language learning ΚAdults are superior to children in rate of acquisition ΚOlder children learn more rapidly than younger children ΚWith regards to morphology and syntax, the adolescents do best, followed by the adults and then the children ΚGrammar differences diminish over time, and children begin to catch up, but adults outperform children in the short term Κ Where pronunciation is concerned, adults do not always progress more rapidly than children do Thus: adults learn faster than children, and this is more applicable to grammar than pronunciation, although in the case of formal learning situations adults seem to do better even in the pronunciation area. It is not clear when children start to catch up. b. GLA Factors affecting SLA success • Effects of age on the acquisition of native speaker proficiency Conflictive results: Some people say that under the right conditions adults can achieve native-like proficiency in...

Words: 4848 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Lexicology. Different Dialects and Accents of English.Doc

...Malta. Modern linguistics distinguishes territorial variants of a national language and local dialects. Variants of a language are regional varieties of a standard literary language characterized by some minor peculiarities in the sound system, vocabulary and grammar and by their own literary norms. Standard English – the official language of Great Britain taught at schools and universities, used by the press, the radio and the television and spoken by educated people may be defined as that form of English which is current and literary, substantially uniform and recognized as acceptable wherever English is spoken or understood. Its vocabulary is contrasted to dialect words or dialectisms belonging to various local dialects. Local dialects are varieties of the English language peculiar to some districts and having no normalized literary form. Regional varieties possessing a literary form are called variants. Dialects are said to undergo rapid changes under the pressure of Standard English taught at schools and the speech habits cultivated by radio, television and cinema. The differences between the English language as spoken in Britain. The USA, Australia and Canada are immediately noticeable in the field of phonetics. However these distinctions are confined to the articulatory-acoustic characteristics of some phonemes, to some differences in the use of others and to the differences in the rhythm and intonation of speech. The few phonemes...

Words: 3803 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Language Theories

...adults and older children around them who will listen and attend to their expressions and who will use and model appropriate language themselves. This has been called 'Motherese' by researchers led by Cathy Snow. Children's babbling during their first year includes the sounds of every world language and 'crib talk' demonstrates their intense interest in the sounds they hear around them. Although children with a hearing loss will stop babbling, if they grow up in a home with parents who can sign, they will follow the same patterns of development using their first language - signing - and will sign their first word at around the same age that hearing children speak theirs. Between two and three years of age most children will be able to use language to influence the people closest to them, indicating the links with brain development and their growing ability to 'mind read' (this means they are beginning to understand the minds of their parents, sisters and brothers and try to manipulate them through persuasion, mock tears, teasing and so on). Research shows that, in general, boys acquire...

Words: 21453 - Pages: 86

Free Essay

Child Study

...child based on her behavior and family background. Based on her behavior because we saw that her behavior towards school and her development in maturity is high. We also choose her because of family background due to the fact that family has a great factor in the child's development. D. Educational placement or setting. When we accompany the child in school we have noticed the colorful room and lots of play things like puzzles and musical instruments. The room is decorated by posters giving information about different subjects like math and science. The room can accommodate all the children in a class. It is well lighted and ventilated. II. MOTOR DEVELOPMENT A. Gross (large) motor skills. She can walk, run, jump, climb, throw, catch, swing, hop, skip, and dance. She can walk in a slow or fast pace. She also run and do other skills specially when playing with her friends. She can dance as well but quite shy. As we observed, she is well developed with these skills and her...

Words: 2922 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Health

...concept of communicative competence • To reflect upon the communicative teaching techniques What do you have to do in this unit? • Warming up discussions • Input reading • Self-assessment questions (SAQS) • Exploratory tasks • Integrated task Warming up discussion 0 Warm up the concept of a “communicative situation” (situation, in which it is necessary to communicate orally and/or through writing in order to achieve a certain goal). Produce a “mind map” of the concept listing most typical communicative situations in your own real world Communicative situations Input reading 1 The way towards communicative teaching Warming-up discussion 1.1 Rate in order of importance the items that the students need in order to master the language communicatively (more than one item can get one rank) |Items |Rating | |Vocabulary | | |Grammar | | |Pronunciation | | |Knowledge of typical situations | | |Target culture ...

Words: 6836 - Pages: 28

Free Essay

Aaa Bbb

... pages 104-105 Silent letters ........................... pages 106-107 Vowel contrasts ...................... page 108 Consonant contrasts .............. page 109 Practice sentences ................. pages 110-111 Pronunciation key ................... pages 112-113 CLICK HERE Introduction English is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world today, necessary for international business, cultural and travel purposes. The English language has a rich vocabulary and flexible grammar use. However, its pronunciation can be challenging at times because of the many complexities. ABC Pronunciary, an American English pronunciation dictionary, is set up to help students learn clear and effective pronunciation. It is aimed at beginning-tointermediate English learners but can benefit all who wish to improve their speaking abilities. The approach used is the phonics method, in which all of the sounds of the alphabet are taught. Once the sounds and their symbols are familiar, students can “sound out” whole...

Words: 8265 - Pages: 34

Premium Essay

Teaching a Ba by to Read

...babies to read?.................................................. 1 Shouldn’t I teach the alphabet first?..................................... 2 What if my baby doesn’t enjoy reading?............................... 2 What are the learning methods for babies?.......................... 2 Chapter 2: WHY TEACH READING EARLY?........................... 3 Babies are linguistic geniuses.............................................. 4 Isn’t learning to read supposed to be difficult?..................... 5 From speaking to reading … a giant leap?........................... 6 Reading’s place in history.................................................... 7 The promise of early reading................................................ 8 Early reading can prevent dyslexia....................................... 9 Chapter 3: WHOLE LANGUAGE VS PHONICS...................... 12 Why teach whole language?................................................ 13 Why teach phonics?............................................................ 14 The dyslexia debate............................................................ 16 The voice in the head.......................................................... 17 Earlier is easier.................................................................... 18 Summing up....................................................................... 21 Chapter 4: FLASH...

Words: 10487 - Pages: 42

Premium Essay

Child Development

...and let it be know that they have the desire for attention. The first year from birth on they are able to lift there heads a little, make facial expressions, make a fist with there hands. They are able to suck on a bottle, grasp and hold your finger and use the reflexes in their mouth. During the first six months they have gotten stronger and are able to do: reach and touch, crawl, roll over, push body forward, change hands with objects, lift head and chest, and make clearer sounds. Six months and older they will sit up, throw things, roll ball, walking holding on, and standing. By the age of one they are walking picking up things, move to sounds. Age two and up they are capable of turn door knobs. Walking, talking, running, playing games and sharing with other children. They are now able to use crayons, to draw, paint and many other things. The physical development for infants and toddlers is amazing and with every stage comes a new development. Their bodies, brain as well as their physical status has so many adjustments to reach completion. Page 2 Infant or Toddler Development B.Cognitive...

Words: 3402 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

The Study of Language

...This page intentionally left blank The Study of Language This best-selling textbook provides an engaging and user-friendly introduction to the study of language. Assuming no prior knowledge of the subject, Yule presents information in short, bite-sized sections, introducing the major concepts in language study – from how children learn language to why men and women speak differently, through all the key elements of language. This fourth edition has been revised and updated with twenty new sections, covering new accounts of language origins, the key properties of language, text messaging, kinship terms and more than twenty new word etymologies. To increase student engagement with the text, Yule has also included more than fifty new tasks, including thirty involving data analysis, enabling students to apply what they have learned. The online study guide offers students further resources when working on the tasks, while encouraging lively and proactive learning. This is the most fundamental and easy-to-use introduction to the study of language. George Yule has taught Linguistics at the Universities of Edinburgh, Hawai’i, Louisiana State and Minnesota. He is the author of a number of books, including Discourse Analysis (with Gillian Brown, 1983) and Pragmatics (1996). “A genuinely introductory linguistics text, well suited for undergraduates who have little prior experience thinking descriptively about language. Yule’s crisp and thought-provoking presentation of key issues works...

Words: 114096 - Pages: 457

Free Essay

Methodology

...teaching 19 2.2 Stages on Teaching English Vocabulary 23 2.3 Ideas for teaching vocabulary 23 2.4 Plan of a lesson 27 Conclusion 32 List of literature 33 Introduction Teaching English vocabulary is important. Just as important as teaching grammar and pronunciation. I still meet English teachers who tell me that teaching vocabulary is a waste of time. I disagree with this view and...

Words: 8797 - Pages: 36

Premium Essay

Developing Guidelines to Design Gestures for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language

...meaning by iconics, metaphorics, deictics, and beats. The project also discovers an etymological way to connect gestures to Chinese vocabulary. Based on the findings, the project further develops some guidelines to design gestures for teaching Chinese. They are making easy movements, identifying teaching content, making gestures understandable to your students, and applying gestures into teaching. In the end, the project applies the guidelines in designing activities for teaching Chinese pronunciation, vocabulary, character, and culture. Keywords: guidelines, gestures, teaching Chinese, kinesics, linguistics 1. Introduction 2.1 Background Gestures are common body movements: teachers instruct with gestures, referees in soccer game use gestures, people greet each other with gestures. Then what are gestures? Generally speaking, gestures are body movements which accompany and even sometimes replace verbal language. Because of its intimacy with language, it has attracted the people’s attention since Greek and Roman era. People back then treated gestures for the purpose of art. Not until modern times did scientific research emerge and shed lights on understanding the physical components of gestures and how gestures carry meanings. (Kennon 2004, 90) Adam Kennon and David Mcneill, two authoritative scholars, have published a large number of articles exploring the essence of gesture and its relation to language....

Words: 3195 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Teaching English Language and Literature in Socio-Linguistic Context

...PADMASHREE DR. D. Y. PATIL ARTS , COMMERCE AND SCIENCE COLLEGE, PIMPRI, PUNE 18 M.A. PART 2 SEM 3 PAPER 2 ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE TEACHING PROJECT TOPIC: “TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN SOCIO-LINGUISTIC CONTEXT” SUBMITTED BY: GAURAV .N. SHIMPI CHECKED BY: PROF. DIPTI PETHE YEAR : 2012 -2013 INDEX Introduction Aims and Objectives Meaning and Nature of Language English Language and Literature in India Role of Language in Teaching Literature Sociolinguistic Contest in Learning and Teaching English Language Conclusion Bibliography INTRODUCTION Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society. Sociolinguistics differs from sociology of language in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on the language, while the latter's focus is on the language's effect on the society. Sociolinguistics overlaps to a considerable degree with pragmatics. It is historically closely related to linguistic anthropology and the distinction between the two fields has even been questioned recently. It also studies how language varieties differ between groups separated by certain social variables, e.g., ethnicity, religion, status, gender, level of education, age, etc., and how creation and...

Words: 4944 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

The Role of Culture in Language Teaching

...Content Introduction 1. Comparative Teaching Methodologies 1.1 Grammar Translation Method 1.2 Direct Method 1.3 Audio-Lingual Method 1.4 Silent Way 1.5 Total Physical Response (TPR) Community Language Learning (CLL) 1.6 Suggestopedia (Suggestology) 1.7 Communicative Approach 1.8 Natural Approach 1.9 Emotional-semantic method 2. Theoretical aspect of effective methods of teaching 2.1 The bases of teaching a foreign language 2.2 Effective ways and techniques of teaching a foreign language 2.2.1 Constructivist teaching strategies 2.2.2 Communicative Teaching Method 2.2.3 Using project method in teaching a foreign language 2.2.4 The method of debates 2.2.5 Games 2.2.6 Role plays as a method of teaching 2.3 Methodological principles of modern methods of teaching 2.4 Practical aspect of ways of teaching 3. Comparative characteristics of modern techniques of teaching English 3.1 Features of techniques 3.1.1 Communicative method 3.1.2 Project methodology 3.1.3 Intensive method 3.1.4 Activity Based method 3.2 Similarities of methods 3.3 Positive and negative aspects of techniques Conclusion Bibliography Appendix Introduction Language teaching came into its own as a profession in the last century. Central to this process was the emergence of the concept of methods of language teaching. The method concept in language teaching—the notion of a systematic set of teaching practices based on a particular theory of language and language learning—is a...

Words: 23635 - Pages: 95

Free Essay

Knjnjokn

...NOTES ON PERSONAL LANGUAGE LEARNING EXPERIENCE John Whelpton The reminiscences and reflections collected here cover almost six decades of language learning, from childhood in Nottingham, where I was born in 1950, through study at Oxford (1968-72), teaching English in Nepal (1972-74), working as a civil servant in London (1975-81), graduate studies and teacher training in London, Nepal, India and Manchester (1981-87) to the last twenty-two years when I have been teaching English in Hong Kong but paying regular return visits to the UK and to Nepal. I began the compilation early in 1997, when I was teaching only part-time and occupied mainly with an intensive course in Cantonese and with work for an M.A. in Applied Linguistics. At the suggestion of my course director, Professor David Nunan, I had decided that my M.A.dissertation would be a diary study of my efforts with Cantonese and I needed a summary of my previous language learning experience as part of the exercise as well as for incorporation, in condensed form, in the eventual dissertation (completed in September 1998). I included any language which I had been formally taught for any length of time and also any others which I had worked at on my own over long periods, but not those which I occasionally looked at just out of linguistic interest or to learn a few phrases for short holiday trips. Earlier drafts were circulated to friends and colleagues...

Words: 16202 - Pages: 65

Premium Essay

Descriptive Linguistics

...Language Teaching Methodology Theodore S. Rodgers, Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii Background Language teaching came into its own as a profession in the last century. Central to this phenomenon was the emergence of the concept of "methods" of language teaching. The method concept in language teaching—the notion of a systematic set of teaching practices based on a particular theory of language and language learning—is a powerful one, and the quest for better methods was a preoccupation of teachers and applied linguists throughout the 20th century. Howatt's (1984) overview documents the history of changes of practice in language teaching throughout history, bringing the chronology up through the Direct Method in the 20th century. One of the most lasting legacies of the Direct Method has been the notion of "method" itself. Language Teaching Methodology Defined Methodology in language teaching has been characterized in a variety of ways. A more or less classical formulation suggests that methodology is that which links theory and practice. Theory statements would include theories of what language is and how language is learned or, more specifically, theories of second language acquisition (SLA). Such theories are linked to various design features of language instruction. These design features might include stated objectives, syllabus specifications, types of activities, roles of teachers, learners, materials, and so forth. Design features in turn are linked...

Words: 12744 - Pages: 51