What is the best way to teach English grammar to high school students?

Answer 1

A balanced, engaged approach is my favourite. Too much chalk talk is the death of most approaches at grammar & syntax.

I would rather engage the students in "interactive" study of grammar and syntax, as well as some historical and applied linguistics.

Bring back diagramming! It stimulated the mind of the learner as well as put some order in the apparent chaos of English.

Include some films and music where the students can hear examples of what is proper Queen's English, Oxford English, American Standard, and other dialects. Don't teach students to be ashamed of their parents' dialect, but do teach them to learn standard English so they can be part of a larger English speaking community.

Answer 2

I've taught English and ESL for 20 years and from observing students and learning styles I've come to realize that because grammar is really a concept and highly ABSTRACT, many people have great difficulty grasping the rules. It's very similar to physics and mathematics, subjects that quite a few students dislike, and yet some don't. It is a well known fact that children's brains don't start to develop abstract thinking until 9+ and for some it's much later, even into the late teens and for some, never. This is not to say that grammar is unteachable but it must be done through CONCRETE means, like pictures, games, songs, activities and lots of interactive practice. You will have much better success if you teach it similarly to ESL because in ESL the focus is on a Communicative Approach using all of the above methods. Let me give you an analogy - let's take teaching driving - if you only teach how the engine works and you only have classroom explanations of the driving techniques, most students will never learn how to drive. But if you take them out in a car...you get my point. So, I would suggest, especially for high-school students, that you go to ESL websites (one of the best is eslcafe.com & google ESL activities)and start collecting fun ways to teach/present grammar. High school students are usually easily bored and don't see the point. Keeping explanations at a minimum and fun activities at a maximum will ensure success much better success and acceptance of the subject from this or any other age group. PS. It's also more fun for the teacher too so it becomes a win-win situation. Good luck,have fun and remember: Yesterday is history - Tomorrow is a mystery - Today is a gift and that's why we call it the present.

Answer 3

As a former English teacher, I learned more grammar by teaching it than doing exercises. My experience is that a student can get perfect papers on worksheets, but for some reason, the knowledge does not transfer to their writing. One reason is that the majority of students write how they speak. One thing I did was start each class with DOGS, daily oral grammar. This would take about 10 minutes a day. I would follow up with a short homework assignment, 5 to 10 questions, on the skill we covered. Instead of just saying, "Yes, that is correct," I would ask why it was correct. Repetition is the key. When grading writing, you could tell the students what your grading is going to consist of content and commas. I also had a strict policy that all answers had to be written in complete sentences using proper grammar. Again, I was looking for correct answers, but I wanted correct usage. I would make answer worth 5 point, 3 point for correct answer and 2 points for correct grammar. I would give the students the opportunity to correct grammar mistakes for more points. This had to be done in class using a grammar handbook. This method becomes a grading nightmare for the teacher, but I found with my college prep students this method of grading took about a month before they started to improve. Some people will never learn correct grammar. If you are not around people who speak correct grammar constantly, you will pick up the incorrect grammar and use it.

Answer 4

Coming from a highschool student;
Keep it interesting! No matter how many times you repeat activities with students, if they aren't interesting, the students won't retain the information. Also, instead of alot of tests at the end of a unit, try to have 3 small quizes a week. This helps us review, and students will pay more attention if they know they are going to be quized on the concept the next day. Have them keep journals aswell. Not only does this allow them to be creative with their writing, but you can assign grammar assignments within that, like writing an exciting entry in only declarative sentences. Overall, just try to think of unique activities that will keep their minds engaged.

Answer 5

You need to explain it and show examples. Whether it's from a book or a poster or a movie, try to use examples easy to understand. Explain it thoroughly so you don't leave room for confusion. Before giving them the practice, ask questions to be answered by the students.

I'm taking French right now and the teacher gives us examples of the grammar in sentances we could use, then gives us about 5 minues to have conversations in French.

One thing that could confuse them is that in English, we usually put the adjective in front of the noun when saying, for example "red dog" wheras in Arabic you would say "kalbun ahmar", and this is true also for French and other languages.

Also, use diagrams! These are very important, when you split the English grammar into sections so they know where everything goes. For example, split nouns into 'Person', 'Places', etc. My Arabic teacher (at my school many of us speak Arabic at home so it is not really the basics in my level) always puts a diagram. He'll start with splitting 'Kalimah' into 'Name', 'Verb', and 'Harf', and then he'll split it much further so we see where we're going and how to classify it.

Answer 6

Definitely a real life approach. I have taught English for many years and this is by far the best way to do it. One of my students' favorite activities is to have a volunteer come up to the front of the classroom and then have class members tell all the nouns about the person, adjectives, etc. The kids love this and they remember it. And yes.....I do teach high school.

Answer 7

Diagram sentences and learn the parts of speech. It's important to know not only what words mean, but also how those words function in a sentence. Diagramming is very helpful for the visual learners (the spatially oriented) since it provides a picture of the relationships between words and phrases.

I know students generally hate learning grammar rules and diagramming sentences. (I sure did when I was in high school!) However, students need to learn about the language and how it functions if they are to become proficient users of the language.

Answer 8

The best English teachers are the ones that show the student how to build knowledge of Greek and Latin words that form the roots of many English words, especially the polysyllabic terms that sometimes cause students to stumble. They would teach students to define and use words with Greek and Latin roots, and use word origins and derivations to determine the meaning of new words, as they increase their own vocabularies and develop valuable test-taking skills.
The best way to teach this is to have a passion for the language and make it relevant to the student.

Answer 9

Make it fun! Have a contest in which students compete to bring in examples of the worst grammar they can find. They can go online, read the newspaper, look at signs, etc. Then, you can work as a class to correct the mistakes. After a while, students will begin to see the patterns of error in what they bring in, and you can use that to bridge into lessons (continuing to use their found examples as your teaching material). Get inspired by Eats, Shoots and Leaves!

Answer 10

This question has plagued English teachers for generations. I keep it short and concentrated. Unfortunately, many times the skills in isolation don't transfer to their writing.

It's a balance.

If you're worried about keeping it upbeat and fun, try a book called Hot Fudge Monday, by Cottonwood Press. They're great for disguising grammar in fun activities.