21 objectives along the timeline. They might also need to match the assignments
they will give to the students once in a while throughout the course. All in all, despite the existing several distinctive features among them, all
models of Content-based Instruction basically share a match in the way that each focuses on learning and acquiring both specific content and either related or
supporting language skills. ‘In content-based language teaching, the claim in a sense is that students get “two for one” – both content knowledge and increased
language proficiency” Wesche, 1993 – Diane Larsen-Freeman, p. 142 .
4. Theories of Grammar
Grammar has many definitions in accordance with many grammarians. According to Scott Thornbury 1999: 1, grammar is defined as “a description of
the rules that govern how a language’s sentences are formed”, while The Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics
defines it as “a description of the structure of a language and the way in which units such as words and phrases are combined to
produce sentences in the language” Richards, Platt, and Weber, 1985. Based on the details above, it may be concluded that grammar is generally thought to be a
set of rules which specify the correct ordering of words at the sentence level.
a. The Importance of English Grammar
Here are some evidences supporting the importance of grammar in learning English as a second language, for it may not be perfectly done without
learning grammar.
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22 1 Burton 1982: 128 states that “Although it is possible to communicate in
speech without much knowledge of grammar, we still need grammar because the knowledge of grammar is a handy tool.”
2 Widdowson 1983 proposes that “The communicative approach does not involve the rejection of grammar. On the contrary, it involves the recognition
of its central mediating role in the use and learning of language. An understanding of grammar speeds up learners’ language learning.”
3 Wilkins 1976 suggests that “The acquisition of the grammatical system of a language is still the most important element in second language learning.
Knowledge of grammar helps them to understand why some ways of using language are more efficient than others. It widens the range of linguistic
resources available to a language learner.”
b. The Teaching of Grammar
Scott Thornbury 1999: 1 states in his book, How to Teach Grammar, that the teaching of grammar has always been one of the most divisive and least
implicit aspects of language teaching. Consequently, there have been many debates in deciding whether or not grammar is still important in today’s English
language learning. Few teachers stay behind uninterested to grammar, whereas many are obsessed by it. Basically, grammar teaching is not only a matter of
asking the students to memorize the rules of a language but it also includes the process of internalizing the rules in their subconscious mind.
There is a common theory in second language acquisition that once we know the grammatical rules of a language, we will be able to produce an infinite
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23 number of sentences. However, one popular problem in learning grammar is that
while some rules are easily understood, others seem to be horribly complex. Dealing with this problem, thus certain principles for teaching grammar need to be
set. First, teachers are required to integrate both inductive and deductive
methods into their teaching. The process of learning in deductive method is from rules to examples, while in the inductive one; it goes backwards from samples to
principles. Teachers should both give a grammatical explanation or rule followed by a set of exercises designed to clarify grammatical points and present some
samples of language in which the rules are used. This may help the learners master the points and, and through the process of guided discovery, students are
expected to work out the principles underlying the samples. By discovering the rules themselves, it is expected that the students may reach a deeper understanding
on their grammar learning. Second, teachers are to use tasks that make clear the interrelated
connection between grammatical form and communicative function. Every now and then, teachers often give students grammar exercises for them to work on
without giving the explanation of how and why people apply the rules in real-life situation. Therefore, the rules may easily be left unnoticed and the grammar
learning is likely to be unsuccessful. Principally, teaching grammar as an abstract system which fails to give learners proper context for the grammar points is
relatively ineffective. Thus, teachers should be able to present the grammar in a
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24 real communicative context, e.g. discussing the reasons why and when passive
voice is used in the students’ real life while teaching about passive forms. Third, teachers should give an emphasis on the development of procedural
rather than declarative knowledge. David Nunan, in his book, Practical English Language Teaching
, proposes that declarative knowledge is a matter of knowing language rules, while procedural knowledge is related to the ability of using the
knowledge of language rules for communication. Therefore, teachers should focus on developing students’ procedural knowledge by which they are able to apply the
knowledge they have about a language to communicate with others. They should provide sufficient opportunities for students to practice on their language abilities
in conversations. In this case, learning by doing principle is applied where students are mastering the target language grammar items, not by memorizing the
rules, but by using the language for communication.
c. Spoken and Written Grammar
