literacy development.
21
More specifically Brown categorized some keys of effective foreign language teaching that he developed from Bell’s
questionnaire, they are:
a. Grammar Teaching
Grammar is central to the teaching and learning of languages. It is also one of the more difficult aspects of language to teach well. A lot of people,
including language teachers, hear the word grammar and think of a fixed set of word forms and rules of usage. They associate good grammar with the
prestige forms of the language, such as those used in writing and in formal oral presentations, and bad or no grammar with the language used in everyday
conversation or used by speakers of non-prestige forms. Language teachers who adopt this definition focus on grammar as a set of forms and rules. They
teach grammar by explaining the forms and rules and then drilling students on them. This results in bored, disaffected students who can produce correct
forms on exercises and tests, but consistently make errors when they try to use the language in context.
According to Ur there are four stages in teaching grammar, they are: 1 Presentation, the goals of the presentation is to make the students
recognize the structure – its form and meaning – either in speech or
writing to take it into short-term memory. 2 Isolation and Explanation, the goal is to make learners understand the
various aspects of the structure. In academic classes, it will take more time if learners have difficulty to comprehend the structure.
3 Practice, this stage aim to make learners absorbing the structure toughly or to transfer what they know from short-term to long-term memory by
giving exercises and assignment whether in the classroom or at home.
21
John Harris and Pádraig Ó Duibhir, Effective Language Teaching: A Synthesis of Research
, Dublin: National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2011, p. 14.
4 Test, the test is used to demonstrate how good student mastery of the material they have been learning to themselves and to the teacher. The
main objective of this stage is to provide feedback.
22
In summary, grammar teaching is not only about fixed set of word forms and rules of usage but there are some stages that need to be done in
teaching grammar such as presentation or explanation, practice, test and teacher’s feedback.
b. Error Correction
In error analysis, experts distinguish error from mistake. According to Brown, “An error is a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of native
speaker, reflecting the interlanguage competence of the learner”.
23
In another word, an error is something that can be seen; it shows the learner’s ability. In
addition, error is viewed as a natural and important part of learning process
because teacher can get more information about learning process through error.
24
At all proficiency levels, learners produce language that is not exactly the language used by native speakers. Some of the differences are grammatical,
while others involve vocabulary selection and mistakes in the selection of language appropriate for different contexts. In responding to student
communication, teachers need to be careful not to focus on error correction to the detriment of communication and confidence building. Teachers need to let
students know when they are making errors so that they can work on improving. Teachers also need to build students’ confidence in their ability to
use the language by focusing on the content of their communication rather
than the grammatical form.
22
Penny Ur, Grammar Practice Activities: A Practical Guide for Teachers, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, pp.7-9.
23
H. D. Brown, Principle of Language Learning and Teaching, 5th edition New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007, p.258.
24
H. Douglas Brown, Principle of Language Learning and Teaching, Fourth Edition, New York: Pearson Education, 2000, p.217.
