Types of Exercises for the Assimilation of Grammar

The following types of exercises may be suggested.

Recognition exercises are the easiest type of exercises for pupils to perform. They observe the gram­mar item in structures (sentence patterns) when hearing or reading. Since pupils only observe the new grammar item the situations should be natural and communicative. For example:

- Listen to the sentences and raise your hands whenever
you hear the verbs in the Past Indefinite.

Alike lives in Pushkin Street. 1 lived there last year, Ann collie's home at half past two. She came home at four o'clock yesterday, etc.

It is desirable that sentences formed should concern real situations and facts,

Pupils listen to the teacher and raise their hands when they hear a verb in the Past Indefinite. The teacher can see whether each of his pupils has grasped the sentence.

- Read the sentences in which (I) the action was not com­pleted, e. g.. She was reading a book, (2) the action was com­pleted, e. g., Site had read the book.

1.Mother was cooking dinner. Mother had cooked dinner./when I came/

2.Mary was sending letters when I saw her in the Post Office.

3.Mary had sent letters.

-Read the sentences and choose the correct form of the
verb. The following sentences may be suggested:

1.I (go, went) to the library last Monday.

2.Tom (lakes, look) a bus when he goes to school.

3.The children (say, said) good-bye to the teacher and ran away, etc.

Pupils should read the sentences and find the signals for the correct choice of the form. Since the necessary form is suggested in each sentence they should only recognize the one they need for a given context.

Recognition exercises are indispensable as pupils retain the grammar material through auditory and visual percep­tion. Auditory and visual memory is at work.

Drill exercises are more complicated as they require reproduction on the part of the pupils. In learning a foreign language drill exercises are indispensable. The learn­ers cannot assimilate the material if they only hear and see it. They must reproduce it both in outer and inner speech. The more often they say it the better they assimilate the ma­terial. Though drill exercises are those in which pupils have only one difficulty to overcome, they should also be graded: (a) Repetitive drill. Pupils pronounce the sentence pattern after the teacher, in imitation of the teacher, both individually and in unison. For example:

Teacher: They are dancing in the park. Class: They are dancing in the park. Individuals: They are dancing in the park.

Or pupils listen to the dialogue and say it after the speaker.

—Is Ann dancing now?

—No, she isn't.

—What is she doing?

—She is watching television.

Attention is drawn to the correct pronunciation of the sentence pattern as a sense unit, as a statement (sounds, stress, and melody).

(b) Substitution. Pupils substitute the words or phrases in a sentence pattern. For example:

The children are dancing in the park. The children are dancing in the garden. The children are dancing in the street. The children are dancing in the yard. The children are dancing in the hall. The children are dancing after classes. The children are dancing at the party.

A pupil substitutes a phrase, the rest may say it in unison. Then they are invited to replace the word dancing with other words.

They are singing in the park.

They are working in the park.

They are walking in the park.

They are playing in the park.

They are running in the park.

They are talking in the park.

They are watering flowers in the park.

They are planting trees in the park.

They are helping the workers in the park.

The use of a particular verb is stimulated with pictures (or a Russian word). Quick revision is achieved with a small expenditure of effort- In this way they review many words and phrases. As pupils have only one difficulty to overcome the work does not take much time. Or pupils are invited to replace the words in the dialogue with those given in columns (see the dialogue above).

Kate helping her mother

Your sister doing her homework

This girl working on the farm

reading a book listening to the radio washing windows

They work in pairs.

There is one more advantage in performing this type of exercises — pupils consolidate the grammar item without thinking about it. They think of the words, phrases, but not of the form itself, therefore, involuntary memory is at work.

(c) Completion. Pupils complete the sentences the teacher utters looking at the pictures he shows. For example:

Teacher: Look at the picture. Mike is…

Pupil: Mike is getting up.

Class: Mike is getting up.

Teacher: Mike is….....

Pupil: Mike is dressing.

Class: Mike is dressing.

Attention should be given to the use of is in this exercise. The teacher should pronounce Mike is... to prevent the typical mistake of the pupils (Mike dressing). This is essential structural clement of the tense form of the Present Continuous; Russian-speaking pupils, however, do not feel any necessity to use it.

(d) Answering the teacher's questions. For example:

Teacher: Is Mike getting up?

Pupil1: Yes, he is.

Teacher: Who is getting up?

P u p i l₂: Mike is.

Teacher: What is Mike doing?

P u p i l₃: He is getting up.

Drill exercises may be done both orally and in written form. Pupils perform oral exercises during the lesson and written ones at home. For example, they are told to write five or seven sentences on the model given.

During the next lesson the work done at home is checked orally. In this way pupils have practice in pronunciation while reading their own examples, and in auding while listen­ing to their classmates.

Creative exercises (speech exercises). This is the most difficult type of exercises as it requires creative work on the part of the learners. These may be:

(a)Making statements either on the picture the teacher shows, or on objects. For example, the teacher hangs up a pic­ture and asks his pupils to say or write three or five statements in the Present Continuous.

(b)Asking questions with a given grammar item. For example, pupils are invited to ask and answer questions in the Past Indefinite:

Speaking about the situation offered by the teacher. For example, one pupil gives commands to perform this or that action, the other comments on the action (actions) his classmate performs.

Pupil1: Go to the door, Sasha.

P u p i 12: Sasha is going to the door.

P u p i 1₃: Open the door.

P u p i l₄: Sasha is opening the door.

It is possible to use the Present Perfect and the Past In­definite as well.

He has opened the door.

He opened the door a minute ago.

(d)Speaking on a suggested topic. For example, a pupil tells the class what he did yesterday.

(e)Making dialogues using the grammar item covered. For example:

1 Pupil: I have read an interesting book:

2 Pupil: What is it about?

1 Pupil: Indians.

2 P u p i 1: Will you give it to me to read?

1 P u p i l: Why not?

(f) Dramatizing the text read. For example, pupils read
the text Nancy's Best Picture in persons.

(g) Commenting on a film-strip, a film.
(h) Telling the story (read, heard).

(i) Translating into English.

(j) Participating in free conversation in which pupils are to use the grammar item they have learned. E. g., pupils have learned sentence patterns with the impersonal it. (It's cold. It's late. It's winter).

Teacher: What's the weather like, children?

Is it cold today? Do you like it when it's cold?

Through these questions pupils are stimulated to speak about the weather and use the grammar item they have learnt.

All the exercises of the creative type are designed for con­solidating grammar material pupils need for hearing and speaking.

As to the grammar items pupils need only for reading, Pupils assimilate them while performing drill exercises and reading texts. This is usually done only in senior grades where the grammar material is not necessarily used in oral language. The teacher should train pupils in observing and determining the devices which signal their structural mean­ing to the learner. Pupils must know the functional words as they are of great importance in comprehending difficult sentences such as: since, for, despite, in spite of, by means of, with the help of, according to, etc.

All the exercises mentioned above are designed:

(1)to develop pupils' skills in recognizing grammar forms while auding and reading English texts;

(2)to accumulate correct sentence patterns in the pupils' memory which they can reproduce whenever they need these patterns for speaking or writing;

(3)to help the pupils to produce sentences of their own using grammar items necessary for speaking about a situation or a topic offered, or writing an essay on the text heard or an annotation on the text read.

Grammar tests. A check on the assimilation of grammar material is carried out through:

(1)auding (if a pupil understands what he auds, he knows grammar);

(2)speaking (if a pupil uses the grammar item correctly, he has assimilated, it);

(3)reading (if a learner understands what he reads, he knows grammar);

(4)tests.

Tests allow the teacher to evaluate pupils' achievement in grammar, that is, how each of them has mastered forms, meaning, and usage. Tests in grammar may involve: filling in the blanks; opening the brackets; transformation (e. g., make it negative, change into plural, etc.); extension (e. g., / like to read books — I like to read English books in our li­brary); completion (e. g., When I came home...); making state­ments on the pictures given; translation.

For example:

— Choose the correct word:

Last year he (reads, read) a lot of books.

— Open the brackets:

When I came home, Kick (to do) his lessons.

—Make it negative: He likes to get up early.

—Complete the sentences: // the weather is fine....

 

 

—Make statements on the pictures given.

—Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

The teacher corrects mistakes and assigns marks. He finds the commonest mistakes which show what his pupils have not assimilated yet. A part of the next lesson (3—8 min.) is devoted to drill exercises to help pupils get rid of the mis­takes.

In conclusion it should be said that in teaching grammar, as well as in teaching pronunciation and vocabulary, various audio-visual aids and teaching materials should be extensively utilized) If grammar is to be a means to an end and not an end in itself the teacher should follow the principles and observe the rules described above.

Recommended Literature:

Программы средней школы. Иностранные языки (Грамма­тика).

Программы средней школы. Иностранные языки (Грамматика).

Беседы об уроке иностранного языка. Авт.: Пассов Е. И., Л., „Просвещение", 1975.

Волкова Е. И. Английский язык в речевых ситуациях. М., 1974.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Grammar is very important in foreign language learning. Why?.

2. There are different viewpoints on grammar teaching. Analyse them and say which you consider justifiable in foreign language teaching in schools. Give your reasons.

Activities:

I- Examine one of the lessons in Pupil's Book and Teacher's Book to deduce upon what principles grammar is taught.

2.Select a grammar item and prepare lire plan of a lesson to be used with a standard textbook.

3.Give a contrastive analysis of one of the grammar items to deter­mine the difficulties it presents to Russian-speaking pupils.

4.Review the principles grammar teaching should be based upon and show how you will utilize them in teaching some grammar item.

5. Compile a grammar test. Select a grammar item from a standard textbook.