know what? the words that you underlined are verbs’. Teaching
grammar indirectly. But, no, they start with the same things: ‘the verb
is the part of the speech that...’ and the students reject it. They prefer to
be sick than to take the medicine.
Other students were concerned about the amount of grammar they are exposed to. The
amount depends on the teacher:
Ge: Saturation, there is excess of grammar
But it should depend on the learner. S thinks that
S: They should take into account what the student wants. If she doesn’t want to
become an expert but just to break the communication barrier, then she only
needs the basics of grammar
and adds, using a metaphor of exercising and going to the gym:
What if I don’t want to participate in the Olympic Games? What if I just want
it as a hobby or as a means to keep me in shape? I don’t need that pressure.
But all of them agreed that the presence of grammar, without any practice does not
satisfy them:
Gl: Here in the Language Centre they stuff you with grammar, and
what happens, after four years? You still cannot speak.
E: I don’t like a Iessonjust dealing with rules, it is boring and
complicated.
However, some students placed grammar and practice in opposition to each other,
clearly stating that it is a matter of "either∕or", in which practice plays a more important
role:
E: Grammar is boring...Practice leads to success
This view is the result of two different situations. On the one hand, it is caused by
teaching methods that favour grammar over practice:
Ge: there is an excess of grammar. Saturation. Teachers believe that if they
give us the grammar, you will take care of the rest. You come to the
classroom for your doses of grammar for you to go out and apply it.
On the other hand, some learners favour practice instead of grammar because
they believe in a personal inclination to it. This is the way T explains it:
T: I Ieam when talking, I do not Ieam when I have to work with grammar mles.
Instead of widening my possibilities, for me, grammar is an obstacle to my learning.