Review Teaching Grammar in Today's classroom.

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Swan, himself, proposes that there are “some things that actually matter”. He is referring to grammar, of course. He formulates that grammar teaching does make a difference in students acquisition. Also, he states that zero grammar denies the student the right to get the whole picture of language. Students, in fact, have the right of knowing how things are put together and it is our must to provide them with this kind of knowledge. His main idea is to prioritize features of grammar. He agrees with what Keith stated before. We know our students, we know their needs, and that is what we should teach them. Additionally, he addresses the issue of overgeneralizing some grammar aspects. That is, we must take into account different things like learnable goals, different situations, levels, mother tongues, purposes, and so forth. Thus, we encounter the way of teaching English by being realistic.

Finally, they three discuss some important aspects about teaching grammar like explicit grammar saves students time and provides them with efficiency. Also, that we should avoid metalanguage or terminology as much as possible. In addition, they advise us about not lecturing students when making mistakes because errors are the ones that create good teaching opportunities to consolidate knowledge. Furthermore, that we should lead students to self discovery, that is, the inductive approach. So, this also confirms us that we should create a balance between the direct and indirect grammar teaching methods. From my teaching experience, I consider this is more meaningful for students. They are first presented with different communicative activities to practice the target language, but then when they study it and talk about structures and patterns, they actually get better retention, and afterwards they are more able to recall and use language meaningfully and properly.

It has been really interesting that these three linguists complemented each other. What I found in the lecture was sort of a sequence, that is, the talk was not redundant in any way. It was, in fact, very complementary. In other words, each of them talked about grammar, but they focused on very different aspects, and that is something that allows me to get more knowledge. On the other hand, I strongly agree with what was presented in this talk because even though I am teaching in an EFL context, I have actually confirmed and experienced that this hybrid works. My students can communicate and they can also talk about language per se, and I consider that that ability provides them with fluency and accuracy in English acquisition.

As a conclusion, even though this lecture was carried out eight years ago and that there are controversial and contradictory points against this proposal, I think this is what we should implement in our classes if we want our students to have a better understanding of the target language. This does not mean sacrificing any aspect because what we would be doing is to create a balance that allows students to know the language and know how to use it. To communicate in a meaningful and proper way.