| Based on my 15 years of EFL (English as a Foreign | | | | as easily or as well as children. Acquisition, however, is |
| Language) teaching experience, the statement | | | | the most important means for gaining linguistic skills. A |
| "grammar teaching should be implicit, not explicit" could | | | | person's first language (L1) is primarily learned in this |
| be argued both for and against. Whether to teach | | | | way. This manner of developing language skills typically |
| grammar as an extracted focus of ELT (English | | | | employs implicit grammar teaching and learning. |
| Language Teaching) or more passively as an inductive, | | | | Grammar teaching should be explicit |
| integral topic has been the theme of countless | | | | This does not exclude explicit grammar-teaching |
| debates on the part of institutions, professors, | | | | entirely, however. Some basic features of English |
| grammarians and language researchers for decades. | | | | language grammar structure are illogical or dissimilar to |
| Grammar is the branch of linguistics dealing with the | | | | speakers of other languages and do not readily lend |
| form and structure of words or morphology, and their | | | | themselves to being well understood, even in context. |
| interrelation in sentences, called syntax. The study of | | | | In cases where features of English grammar are |
| grammar reveals how language works, an important | | | | diametrically opposed or in some other way radically |
| aspect in both English acquisition and learning. | | | | different from the manner of expression in the |
| In the early 20th century grammarians like the | | | | student's L1, explicit teaching may be required. |
| German-American anthropologist Franz Boas and the | | | | Aspects of English language grammar that may offer |
| Danish linguist Otto Jespersen began to describe | | | | exceptional challenge to EFL students include use of |
| languages and Boas' work formed the basis of various | | | | word order, determiners (this, that, these, those, a, an, |
| types of American descriptive grammar study. | | | | the), prepositions (in, on, at, by, for, from, of), auxiliaries |
| Jespersen's work was the fore-runner of such current | | | | (do, be, have), conjunctions (but, so, however, therefore, |
| approaches to linguistic theory such as Noam | | | | though, although), interrogatives, intensifiers (some, any, |
| Chomsky's Transformational Generative Grammar. | | | | few, more, too) and distinctions between modal verbs |
| Chomsky, who studied structural linguistics, sought to | | | | (can, could, would, should, may, might, must). Phrasal |
| analyze the syntax of English in a structural grammar. | | | | verbs also present considerable difficulty to Spanish |
| This led him to view grammar as a theory of language | | | | speakers learning communicative English. |
| structure rather than a description of actual sentences. | | | | Some students also are logical or linguistically-biased |
| His idea of grammar is that it is a device for producing | | | | thinkers who respond well to structured presentation |
| the structure, not of a particular language, but of the | | | | of new material. Logical-Mathematical and |
| ability to produce and understand sentences in any and | | | | Verbal-Linguistic intelligence learners are prime |
| all languages. Since grammar is the means by which | | | | examples of those that would respond well to explicit |
| we can understand how a language "works", a | | | | grammar teaching in many cases. |
| definitive study of language grammar is essential to | | | | Based on my English language teaching and on my |
| language study. | | | | second and third foreign language learning (L2, L3) |
| Strictly explicit grammar study however, and even | | | | experience, an exclusive approach using either implicit |
| grammar-focused lessons are often not | | | | or explicit methodologies is not as effective as utilizing |
| communicatively based. They can therefore be boring, | | | | one or the other of these approaches as required. |
| cumbersome and difficult for students to assimilate. | | | | Although it is essential to teach elements of language |
| The strict teaching of grammar / structure, except | | | | and develop communicative abilities in our students, |
| with students of the Logical - Mathematical or Verbal - | | | | there is no one best way to introduce and provide |
| Linguistic multiple intelligences, can be frustrating and | | | | practice in them. Young learners have more natural |
| highly ineffective. | | | | facility in acquisition, while adults may benefit |
| Grammar teaching should be implicit | | | | substantially from more "formal" language learning. |
| In the early 20th century, Jespersen, like Boas, thought | | | | Learning styles and intelligence strengths are also a |
| grammar should be studied by examining living speech | | | | significant factor. |
| rather than by analyzing written documents. By | | | | There are many generally accepted ways of |
| providing grammar in context, in an implicit manner, we | | | | introducing the sounds, structure and vocabulary of |
| can expose students to substantial doses of grammar | | | | English, including colloquial forms of conversation and |
| study without alienating them to the learning of English | | | | the four basic communication skills. Grammar provides |
| or other foreign language. I also agree with this implicit | | | | for "communicative economy". Grammar teaching |
| approach of teaching grammar. The principal manner in | | | | should be implicit, or explicit, as teaching / learning |
| which I accomplish this is by teaching short | | | | conditions may dictate helping to minimize the student |
| grammar-based sessions immediately followed by | | | | response teachers fear most, "Teacher, I don't |
| additional function-based lessons in which the new | | | | understand." |
| grammar / structure is applied in context. | | | | Note: Academic references for this article are |
| The hypothesis is that adult language students have | | | | available on request. |
| two distinct ways of developing skills and knowledge in | | | | Related language learning and teaching articles in this |
| a second language, acquisition and learning. Acquiring a | | | | series available online include: |
| language is "picking it up", i.e., developing ability in a | | | | "Learning a Language: 6 Effective Ways to Use the |
| language by using it in natural, communicative situations. | | | | Internet" |
| Learning language differs in that it is "knowing the rules" | | | | "Six Quick Tricks for Learning a Language" |
| and having a conscious knowledge of grammar / | | | | "What's the Strangest Thing you've Ever Eaten?" |
| structure. Adults acquire language, although usually not | | | | "What Makes a Person Intelligent? |