point of “Grammar 1”it is faultless; it conforms just as completely to the structural patterns of English as does “he isn’t here.”
9
Then, according to Jeremy Harmer The Grammar of a language is the description of the ways in which words can change their foerms and can be
combined into sentence in that language.
10
Another definition come from Sidney Greenbaum, he stated Grammar refers to the properties and processes that underlie the use of the language—
that underlie the ability of speakers to speak and understand the language.
11
2. The Scope of Grammar
Talking about scope of grammar, there are three main points that are focused in grammar. They are form, meaning and use.
Figure 2.1
Three Dimensional of Grammar
9
Virginia P. Clark, Paul A. Eschholz, and Alfred F. Rosa, Language Introductory Reading
. USA Martin’s Press, Inc. 1972, p. 112
10
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Languge, 3
rd
Edition, England:Pearson Education Limited, 2001, p. 12
11
Sidney Greenbaum, Good English and…. p. 23
FORM How is it formed
MEANING What does it
mean?
USE WhenWhy it is used?
Larsen described about Three-Dimension Grammar framework as below:
Our framework takes the form of a pie chart. Its shape helps us to make salient that in dealing with the complexity of grammar, three
dimensions must concern us: structure or form, semantic or meaning and the pragmatic conditions governing use
12
Grammar has so many forms. The first is form; every form has their own characteristics that depend on the using. According to Krashen, grammar
teaching is attention to the forms of the language acquisition. More recently, research suggested that without some attention to form, learners run the risk of
fossilization. A focus on form does not necessarily mean return to the drill-and repeat type methods teaching. A focus on form may simply mean correcting a
mistake
13
. Usually, in grammar book, the form is divided into Tenses etc. In this case, Irregular Verb and Regular Verb are included in miscellaneous
things in grammar. The second is meaning. Meaning has an important place in Grammar.
It becomes a focus in teaching learning grammar. The third thing is use. How to use grammar, when we use grammar, and where we use it become a
discussion things and also an important things. Furthermore, we will discuss how the state of the three things above in teaching learning grammar.
3. The Purpose and the Role of the Grammar in Language Learning
Jeremy Harmer stated that our aim in teaching grammar should be ensure that students are communicatively efficient with the grammar they
have at their level. We may not teach them the finer points of style at the
12
Dianne Larse-Freeman, Teaching Grammar in Teaching English as a Second Languge or Foreign Languge
Marianne Celce et al editor, USA: Heinle-Heinle Publisher, 2001 p. 253
13
Scoott Thornbury, How to Teach Grammar, England: Pearson Education Limited, 1999, p. 25
intermediate level, but we should make sure that they can use what they know.
14
In teaching anyone of structures, one should be – getting students to learn quite a large number of different, though related, bits of knowledge and
skill: how to recognize the example of the structure when spoken, how to identify its written form, how to produce both its spoken and written form,
how to understand its meaning in context, and produce meaningful sentences using it themselves. All these “bits” may be presented in the form of a table,
thus:
TABLE 2.1
ASPECT OF THE TEACHING LEARNING OF STRUCTURES
Language Skills
Form Meaning
Listening Perception and
recognition of the spoken form of the structure
Comprehension of what the spoken structure
means in context Speaking
Production of well- formed examples in
speech Use of the structure to
convey meanings in speech
Reading Perception and
recognition of the written form
Comprehension of what the written structure
means in the context Writing
Production of well- formed example in
writing Use of the structure to
convey meaning in writing
14
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching, 3
rd
edition, England:Pearson Education Limited, 2001 p. 23
Some teachers, andor the course books they use, have a tendency to concentrate on some of these and neglect others: they may spend a lot of time
on getting the forms right and neglect to give practice in using the structure to convey meanings: or they may focus on written exercises and fail to cover the
oral aspects satisfactorily. It is important to keep a balance, taking into account, of course, the needs of the particular class being taught.
In the organization of grammar teaching, Penny Ur explained some best way to teach grammar, what t kinds of teaching procedures should be
used and in what order- will have to take into account both the wide range of knowledge and skills that need to be taught. The organization of usage
suggested here to represent only a general framework into a wide variety of teaching technique will fit. Ur advocates a traditional four-stage approach to
the teaching of grammar items: 1. Presentation, making the structure salient through an input text in which
the item appears 2. Isolation and explanation. Ensuring that the students understand the
various aspects of the structure under investigation 3. Practice. Getting students to absorbs and master the language
4. Test. Getting learners to demonstrate mastery
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. The function of such exercises is simply to help make the rules of form
clearer and to ensure that they are learnt more thoroughly. A learner who has worked through a series of them may find it easier, eventually, to express him
or herself correctly, in language that will be acceptable to a native speaker. But because they give no practice in making meanings with the structure and
are therefore, incidentally, usually not very interesting these exercises have limited usefulness; so we should move on to meaning-based practice as soon
as we feel our students have a fundamental grasp of the rules of form and their application.
15
Penny Ur, Grammar Practice Activities... p. 7
Christopher Brumfit says in his book that there is only one method for teaching grammar. The method never varies and it is called explanation, which
of course is something has been known all along. Explanation is always the method: it is up to the teacher to decide what kind of explanation is the most
suitable in any given circumstance. If a child says to his mother ‘you buyed this mummy’ and mother gently corrects:’ not buyed, dear, bought’, mother is
giving an appropriate lesson in grammar. If teacher are teaching young children English as a foreign language and one of them says ‘ I haven’t got
some milk’ and they say: I haven’t got any milk. Using any is because they are
saying not’, they are giving their pupils a grammatical explanation. when explaining, teachers use every means at their disposal, including contrasts with
the mother-tongue if necessary; they know that a particular sr\tructure will interfere with one in the target language. It goes without saying that
explanations may be elicited from students as well as given by teachers.
16
Scoot Thornbury stated there are basic principles for grammar teaching: they are The E-Factor and The A-Factor.
The E-Factor: Efficiency = economy, ease and efficiency Given that dealing with grammar is only a part of a teacher’s activities,
and given that classroom time is very limited, it would seem imperative that whatever grammar teaching is done as efficiently as possible.efficiency, in
turn can be broken down into three factors: economy, easy and efficacy When presenting grammar, a sound rule of thumb is: the shorter the
better. It has been shown that economy is a key factor in the trainig of technical skills: when learning how to drive a car or operate a computer, a
little prior teaching seems to be more effective that a lot. The more instructor piles on instructions, the more compused the trainee is likely to become. The
same would seem to apply in language teaching: be economical. The ease factor recognises the fact that most teachers lead busy lives,
have many classes, and simply cannot afford to sacrifice valuable free time
16
Christopher Brumfit, Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching, London: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 1991 p.50
preparing elaborate classroom materials. Of course, the investment of time and energy in the preparation of materials is often acomponied by a commitment
on the part of the teacher to making them work, but, realistically, painstaking preparation is not always going to be possible. Generally speaking, the easier
an activities is to set up, the better it is. Finally and the most important is efficacy. This factor is the least easy
to evaluate. Learning, like language, resist measurement. Of course, there are tests, and these can provide feedback to the teacher on the efficacy of the
teachinglearning process. Nevertheless, testing is notoriously problematic. Moreover, there is much greater skepticism nowadays as to the extent that
teaching causes learning. Efficiency, then, can be defined as the optimal setting of three related
factors: economy, ease, and efficacy. The A-Factor: Appropriacy
No class of learners is the same: not only are their needs, interest, level and goals going to vary, but their beliefs, attitudes and values will be different
too. Thus, an activity that works for one group f learners, i.e that fulfils the E- factor criteria- is not necessarily going to work for another. It may simply not
be appropriate. Hence, any classroom activity must be evaluated not only according to criteria of efficiency, but also of appropriacy. Factors to consider
when determining appropriacy includes: The age of the learners
Their level The size of the group
The constitution of the group What their need are
The learners’ interest The available materials and resources
The learners’ previous learning experience and hence present expectations
Any cultural factors that might affect attitude
The educational context
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B. VERB
