Grammar at the Point of Need Tex TESOL

Grammar at the Point of Need Tex. TESOL 2013 Colin S. Ward Lone Star College – North Harris

Imagine you want to teach the passive voice in your writing class… When would you teach it? How would you teach it?

Key Questions: What grammar do you tackle in a writing class? How do you tackle grammar in a writing class? When do you tackle grammar in a writing class?

Pre st 1 Draft o i t c u r t s n o C r a m n m a Gr Prefabs

Prefabs at Level Zero from grammar charts to flow charts

Choose Prefabs based on need Process: …so that I can…. I want to get a degree so that I can earn more money. Problem-Solution : By + gerund…. By offering more public transportation, fewer people in Ho Chi Minh will drive to work. Cause-Effect: Because of greater. . Because of greater job opportunities, more immigrants are choosing to stay in Houston.

A couple examples….

Interlanguage in real time got it… …but not quite

Prefabs don’t always work… I am going to open my own beauty salon so that I want to have a lot of customers. By providing more education to children will help reduce illiteracy. Learning a new language, it will open up new doors for my life. …so they need more practice!

What the research says… Construction grammar (Hinkel) Use language chunks/prefabs Allow students to create new “units” vocab and grammar on a continuum

What other research says… Analyzing is less helpful than sentence generating, combining & manipulating (Weaver) Teaching formal grammar systematically & through isolated lessons & drill doesn’t work (Weaver) Reduce overload (Myles) Control content Models for grammar

What prefabs would you teach? Opinion Narrative Classification Definition Cause-effect Problem-Solution

nd rd 2 -3 Draft t n d! e d e u t St era n e g Grammar

Grammar Throwdown

Mini-lesson

What the research says… Grammar chosen should reflect what students need most (DCF) Use the students’ own writing (Weaver) Teachable moments & minilessons (Weaver)

Post nd 2 Draft t n d! e d e u t St era n e g Parallel Structure

Parallel Structure

Parallel Structure

What I did not expect…

Post rd 3 Draft t n d! e d e u t St era n e g Wordiness

What the research says… Little research regarding wordiness in ESOL writing No systematic way of tackling wordiness Skill often glossed over

What native speakers are told… despite the fact that despite due to the fact that because in the event that if in the vicinity of near for all intents and purposes X …does not necessarily work for ESOL students.

Another common approach Reduce the wordy expressions in the essay on a separate sheet of paper. Be sure to keep the meaning of the original even if you make grammar changes: The bad effects of garbage are not limited to the personal lives of individuals and families. In fact, the effects have spread out immensely to become a social and global phenomenon affecting the whole earth and the whole universe. Garbage has invaded and threatened our lives. Pollution and toxic chemicals and substances, some of which are the result garbage, are Michigan threatening our existence. The ESLof Writer’s Handbook, ELT, 2010

Why are ESOL students wordy? 1) Direct translation 2) Insufficient vocabulary 3) Lack of word form knowledge 4) Lack of grammar knowledge 5) Unaware of redundancy 6) Attempt to fill the page

Wordiness

Wordiness

Correcting Wordiness in Action

Correcting Wordiness in Action

Correcting Wordiness in Action

Correcting Wordiness in Action

Perhaps my biggest points are. . Timing is everything Use student-generated grammar. Be a grammar detective.

Questions or Comments? Email: Colin. S. Ward@lonestar. edu Links to Power. Point/Handout: http: //www. lonestar. edu/colin-