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What And How To Teach Grammar?

How can I teach English if I don't understand grammar?

  • I was asked to teach to two brothers in their teens English. I can read and write and speak English but I can hardly explain how the English language works. I am unable to give an answer to a lot of grammar mysteries, just to name one among many: the difference between these verbs: to see, to watch, and to look. But what drives me mad is that when I look up the answer in a book or on the internet, I seldom succeed in solving my doubt. Could someone give me some advise about how to teach your language?

  • Answer:

    You can look and not see anything. For example, I may be looking for something I lost on the ground, a quarter for example, and I can't find it. Then my friend comes over to look as well and says, "didn't you see that? It's right there!" And the friend points to the quarter which is just in front of me but I never saw it. I was looking but did not see. When you look at something, you are trying to see it. If you see something, your eyes have reached the thing and your brain acknowledges the thing. As for watching...we only watch things that are moving. Watching takes place over time. When you sit and you look at something for a while (for example, TV), you are watching it. If your children are playing in the park and you are sitting on a bench with your eyes are on them, you are watching them. Look: move your eyes toward something to try to see it See: what you have looked for has been found by your eyes and processed by your brain Watch: look at something happening, some movement

Wei Haiping at Quora Visit the source

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You need an English as a Second Language (ESL) textbook.  If it's available, you could buy Oxford Practice Grammar, John Eastwood, ISBN 0-19-431370-0.  There are very many good ones. Go to a bookstore and find the language learning books. Look them over, and see which ones suit you. For instance, the Oxford gives a two-page spread on the grammar topic, followed by practice. Other books are self-learning (this would be good, with your guidance and practice), regular classroom textbooks, and finally grammars complete summaries of grammar). ESL teaches English grammar and usage in a way that answers all the questions you and your students have. For instance, to speak about the future, we have several ways:  What time does the train leave? It leaves at 11:18. I'm so tired. When I get home, I'm taking a nap. I'm going to teach you English. I will use this textbook. As you see, this gives your students the answers they need to use English properly.

Alice Wujciak

To teach something you need to understand it first, so it is a great idea to refersh (or to learn) some grammar before you actually give those classes. Few suggestions: 1. Before actually giving a lesson or engaging in teaching activity revise the material you are going to give your students in advance, look it up in the studenthttp://#59130920 and make sure you understand it before you try to explain it. 2. Familiarize yourself with the basic terms: what are different parts of sentence, how to build the sentence in English etc. 3. Don't feel intimidated and don't give up. If it gets hard for you to understand certain grammar aspects, just imagine how hard it is for someone who doesn't speak the language. I put together a blog post about teaching grammar, you can check it here if you would like: http://teachingprompts.com/how-to-teach-english-grammar/

Ekaterina Kiseleva

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