SAMPLE RESPONSE PAPER (ANALYSING GRAMMAR AND LANGUAGE)

Grammar is one of the most important parts of English or other languages. It is not as simple as teaching of other skills because of its complexity. When we analyze the grammar of any language, we come across grammatical structures, items, rules, patterns and so on. Furthermore, grammar involves some remarkable parts of language such as adjectives, adverbs, verbs, nouns, noun phrases, conjunctions, determiners, prepositions, pronouns, relative clauses and such. In order to be successful in grammar teaching, it is essential that we should understand grammar well before teaching it to our students. So, it requires some research and careful thinking. We can check various grammar books and one or more dictionaries. We can think how we will teach these grammatical things and we can also make a few notes for tomorrow’s lesson. But trying to teach everything we know in a split second is absolutely wrong. We should be prepared for only the subject that we will teach in tomorrow’s lesson. In other words, we shouldn’t try to teach more than one thing or one aspect of the subject at a time. So, when we achieve a fully understanding of grammar teaching, we can make clear what does grammar mean and its form, meaning and function.

Grammatical forms are still taught at the sentence level. It is the same as we had our first language education in primary school. We used to learn new grammar structures bounded by the sentence that was given as an example by the teacher. But, if it is taught that some words are used together in sentences, [play tennis (not make tennis), play tennis with someone (not at someone)], students can understand the structures better when they make their own sentences. Applying a method that lets students be active during the course is the best way to teach these rules. “Substitution table” is the best example of this. Making substitution table lets students understand the subject better by selecting the best choice among alternatives, not depending on only one sentence. Although the meaning may require a little thinking, students can make a large number of grammatically correct sentences by using this method.

Sometimes students ask unexpected questions about meanings of the sentences or words during the lesson. In high school, when we asked the meaning of any word, the teacher just explained the meaning that was written in a dictionary or he just directed us to dictionaries. But we couldn’t understand the meaning of these words exactly because the definition written in a dictionary is more complex than the word being defined, or there are no examples of how these words might be used and there is no distinction between everyday meaning and rarer second usage. Instead of doing so, the teacher should have explained the meaning of the word with examples and its use in daily language. I think today’s teachers should avoid using language more complex than the word which the student asked. They can achieve this by using words that the students are likely to understand or using simple grammar or keeping the descriptive sentences short.

Moreover, to use the language effectively, students should learn specific words that are used together in some certain contexts. In Turkey, there is a warning that is always given to the language learners: “Do not think in Turkish!” But I have never seen anything done to avoid it. To prevent students from using their mother tongue while thinking and to make easier to memorize the words more effectively, teachers should teach every English word with their collocations (e.g. heavy traffic). Teachers should take into account collocations in vocabulary teaching, because they are an essential key to use English well. Sometimes, having knowledge about some collocations is more important and useful to student than being acquainted with the detailed meaning of all the words we have learned.

Furthermore, it is not necessary for the students to know complex names of the grammatical structures. Even the native speakers don’t know their names although they use them for hundred times a day. But it is necessary for the students to know the meaning of the sentences given as an example, while learning new grammatical structures. Again in high school, the teachers didn’t check if the meanings were clear or not. I think it is just a waste of time to memorize sentence structures without their meanings. Because the meanings were not clear, we forgot them in a short time and we couldn’t use them in daily life. By asking concept checking questions you can also establish whether students are clear about meaning or not.

In my opinion, the most common mistake in language education is to neglect the communication function of the language. For instance, in high school, I knew almost all grammatical structures but I wasn’t able to communicate using them. My grades were good but I wasn’t able to communicate with a native speaker because there wasn’t any program to teach us how to communicate in target language. The teachers always made us memorize the structures like a parrot, but they didn’t teach us how to use the language in daily life. Once, an English lady came to our class that was only foreign language class of the school. It means that we had the highest English grades in the school. Because we didn’t know how to use all that grammatical structures, we couldn’t communicate with the lady. So, to be able to use the language effectively and to teach students how to use the language correctly, teachers should emphasize the communication functions such as giving instructions, refusing, apologizing, disagreeing, recommending, suggesting, requesting, celebrating, offering, alerting, reminding, warming inviting and so forth. In addition, there should be speaking classes at least two days a week and if it is possible, they should provide organizations that lead students to communicate with native speakers. Only by doing these, a language can be learned and used effectively.

Additionally, when we analyze the languages, it is impossible not to come across Braj Kachru. He shows English-spoken countries in three concentric circles. The inner circle involves the countries (e.g. the USA, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada) where English is native language. The outer circle involves the countries (e.g. Singapore, Nigeria, Kenya, India, Pakistan, Philippines) where English is not native language but has historic roots. The expanding circle involves all the countries (e.g. German, Hungary, Turkey) where English is foreign language or lingua franca, not second language. Even if it seems that the best way of using English is in the countries in the inner circle, English is widely used as a lingua franca between people from different countries who do not speak each other’s native tongues, whether in face-to-face interaction or via phone or the Internet. Moreover, the vast majority of English-language interaction in the word is not between native speakers, but between none-native speakers.

Additionally, today, many books are designed according to either UK English or US English. The books that we used in high school were prepared according to one of them, generally UK English. I think teachers shouldn’t force their students to learn the structures and pronunciation of the UK English that is known as the best variety of English. It should not be forgotten that, if we want to use English in international platforms, we should know that we will not meet UK English speakers all the time. To communicate with speakers who use different varieties of English, we must have an idea about their speaking style. But, in Turkey, people regard language education as a need for the exam that students take to find a job. In fact, a language is learned for communication. Before determining which variety must be taught in schools, education system must be revised. After preparing national education policy, authorities must study on methods of language education.