Teaching EFL Grammar
1. Click on the video below for an overview of this page
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2. Download your grammar eBook HERE. It will open in a new window.
Important: Don’t expect that you can work through one grammar book or even read anything just once and get a firm grasp on grammar. Teaching EFL grammar just isn’t that easy.
TEFL Educator recommends that you not teach grammar points as the main point of a lesson, but teach grammar to support the teaching of functions. You can read an excellent article on this issue by clicking on this link Don’t Teach Grammar, Teach Functions (The link will open in a new window).
A good approach is to familiarize yourself with grammar and its terminology and keep a good resource book handy so you can look up more difficult or unfamiliar concepts when they come up in the classroom or in a lesson plan.
Teachers that are really skilled at grammar usually took more than a few years to get there. There is absolutely nothing wrong with telling your students, “I’m not sure how to explain that. I will give you a good detailed explanation during our next class“. Native speakers will usually know when something is correct or not, but sometimes cannot explain exactly why.
Basic Concepts
Grammar skills and the ability to explain grammar simply is another hallmark of a skilled EFL teacher. Students expect their teacher to be skilled in grammar and if you aren’t, you will probably lack confidence in the classroom as well as lose the confidence of your students. Get skilled in at least the basics and keep a resource book handy for when you need it.
While TEFL Boot Camp would like to give you a simple explanation and a couple easy links to read, as in most the other sections, there is not really am easy way to master grammar.
However, TEFL Boot Camp recommends the Fast Track Grammar Review for EFL Teachers. It is a great way to get a handle on teaching EFL grammar.
Fast Track was written by an experienced TEFL Teacher-Trainer with a Master’s degree in Education. Students in the TEFL training courses he taught were having trouble quickly grasping the grammar they needed to pass the course and get their TEFL Certification. The book helped them get confident about teaching EFL grammar.
Fast Track Grammar Review is a downloadable 66-page grammar eBook that is written for people intending to teach English or teachers who wish to brush up on their grammar skills. It emphasizes the idea of staying flexible and understanding grammar at a deep level. It also presents vocabulary so you don’t have to feel intimidated when the subject of grammar comes up.
Read the eBook with the idea that you will be introduced to a variety of NEW ideas about grammar. Note, for example, that some grammar books say there are eight parts of speech. Some say nine; some say more. Keep your thinking flexible and understand that different authors say different things. Just get to know the vocabulary of grammar so you know what people are talking about.
Download your grammar eBook HERE.
