This book by Jim Scrivener should appeal to any teacher wanting to make teaching grammar less of an instructional chore and more of an interactive adventure.
Even if, like me (and millions of English teachers around the world) you consider your copy of Murphy's Grammar to be your teaching Bible, this book by Jim Scrivener should appeal to any teacher wanting to make teaching grammar less of an instructional chore and more of an interactive adventure. It's one thing to have your trusty grammar reference on hand, full of structural explanations and worked examples of usage but, in my opinion, pairing it with a 'How To' manual, such as this this one, makes it much easier to spread the 'grammar gospel' in the most effective way
"Whilst there might be nothing of startling originality in this book, I think that this may be its greatest appeal."
Jim Scrivener is very much the 'teacher's teacher', in that his many books are written from the perspective of a classroom teacher who has experienced the best and the worst of student-teacher interactions as they pertain to the often dry and laborious task of teaching English grammar. The best thing about this approach is that it doesn't assume any one teaching or learning style, instead he provides a veritable recipe book of grammar teaching methodology. The author also includes a variety of ingredients that might be added or omitted in any given grammar lesson, depending on the needs of both students and teachers. The book assumes that the two main staples of grammar teaching revolve around 'presentation' and 'practice' and it provides ideas and examples for introducing grammar topics within 'contexts' and 'situations', so that usage is exemplified alongside structure and form. The Practice sections of the book give teachers a variety of ideas for enabling students to comfortably begin using the grammar in question. So, for example, the unit dealing with Countable and Uncountable Nouns begins with the simple clarification: “We can count things we think of as individual items” (followed by a list of examples); and : “We can't count things we think of as a single mass” (followed by a table of uncountable items; foods, liquids, materials/substances, and so on.)
Class 'presentation' begins with the teacher drawing a picture on the board of a woman the students are told is about to go shopping. On one side of the board are two columns, headed 'a/an' and 'some', respectively. The teacher begins by talking about the things the woman is going to buy, replacing each use of 'a/an' and 'some' with a sound (a bell or buzzer, for example) and asking the students to decide which word should be used and which column should be ticked. The teacher then explains the rule and elicits examples from the students by using a choice of practice exercises. In this case, suggestions include a game to be played on the board (the teacher begins by saying: “I went to the market and bought 'an' apple.” Students, following the model, offer up items in alphabetical order.) An additional exercise recommends providing students with photocopied lists containing many of the same (countable and uncountable) items and encouraging them to do pair work, asking and answering questions about what they each have (or don't have) on their lists. Supplementary 'situations' are provided, all requiring maximum input from the students, appropriate to different age groups and interests and suitable for individual, pair or group work.
All units also highlight areas of common confusion with regard to the grammar item being taught, as well as useful tips for addressing them. Scrivener suggests that the 'key notions' behind teaching and learning grammar, which he identifies as: Contexts, Eliciting, Modeling, Drilling and Story/Dialogue Building, can be presented and practiced with a degree of flexibility. This book helps to remind teachers that the notions of contexts and story/dialogue building are more effective when adapted to suit the character and interests of the class or individual student. Examples given in the book can be built upon to create lesson plans tailored to specific needs and interests, whilst still providing essential elements of traditional grammar instruction. The format of the simple situations and exercises cited above, for instance, can be used with equal effect in a Business English class as in any other, simply by selecting appropriate contexts, situations and vocabulary. (This simplistic approach might actually help reduce the prevalence of “advices” and “information” still being offered by otherwise advanced students!)
Whilst there might be nothing of startling originality in this book, I think that this may be its greatest appeal. Here are all the methods and practices that most teachers will have read about, heard about and possibly even employed in their teaching courses, prior to gaining their credentials. Having this book close at hand is easier than trawling one's memory for the ideal way to structure a particular grammar class and is a boon for teachers wanting to increase both their own and their students’ confidence in presenting and practicing English grammar. Familiarity with the concepts covered in this book allows the teacher to adapt material in such a way that the gap between learning and natural usage of (grammatically correct) English is lessened. Above all, this book provides variety, which has long been known to be 'the spice of life' … and (more recently) of English grammar teaching!
