Nature of Grammar Models of Teaching Grammar

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c. Nature of Grammar

According to Larsen 2003: 13, there are six statements about the nature of grammar. One of them is that grammar is arbitrary which is related to the problem of irregular verbs in this research. He also states that English language employs a particular form to convey a particular meaning. For instance, in understanding the past forms of verbs, the English uses –ed, -d, or –ied to mark the past tense of regular verbs. In other words, it can be said that those are arbitrary. On the other hand, the researcher wants to explain further that irregular verbs are the real problem faced by the students. Irregular English verbs are one of the important features of English. It is because the students use a lot of irregular verbs in speaking and less in writing. Rozakis 2003:29 states that irregular English verbs are those verbs that fall outside the standard patterns of conjunction in the language in which they occur. Irregular English verbs are often the most commonly used verbs in the language. Rozakis 2003:33 also says that no pattern is followed when the past and past participle are formed. Instead, there are many different forms. For instance, there are some irregular English verbs in which vowel changes and is added by – n in the end of the word, such as begin, began, begun. Meanwhile, in other verbs, there is a consonant change from – d into – t, such as lose, lost, lost. Irregular English verbs are those verbs that do not end in – ed in the past tense. In other words, the endings of irregular verbs differ from those of regular verbs. 15

d. Models of Teaching Grammar

In order to give the students some oral or written practices, the teacher should use the activities carefully to restrict the language needed and require the use of the target items in teaching grammar. According to Scrivener 1994:118, there are some typical restricted which use activities, such as drills, written exercises, and grammar practice activities. 1 Drills Scrivener 1994:118 states that drills provide oral practices of selected sentences. It is used to make the students accustomed to use grammar point. It also helps the students to memorize the change of sentence pattern in part of subject, object, or verb. The aim of drilling is to improve accuracy in doing oral practices of selected sentences. 2 Written Exercises Written exercises are a common and useful way of giving the students concentrated practices of language items as stated by Scrivener 1994:121. Written exercises aim to help the students become familiar with the use of verbs in English especially in filling in the blanks in a text. 3 Grammar Practice Activities Scrivener 1994:123 states that grammar practice activities are designed to focus on particular items of grammar. For example, a teacher gives a grammar quiz for two teams. The teacher asks the students to write a verb on the board. The first team who puts the past participle correctly on the board gets a point. 16 By doing the three activities, the teacher can help the students understand the models of teaching grammar, so that the students are easier in learning grammar and do not get bored easily.

4. Teaching Media