English Teaching Gramar Through Short Stories

Project director: MA. in ELT. Cesar Jaimes Jaimes/ Alejandra Jaimes; Ximena Pineda
3 mar 2021
2 Min. de lectura

Actualizado: 18 mar 2021

24/02/2021

Before begin we are going to work with some key concepts, the first is:

Grammar

According to Thornbury (1999) “Grammar is partly the study of what forms (or structures) are possible in a language. Traditionally, grammar has been concerned almost exclusively with analysis at the level of the sentence (as the subject, the verb, and the predicate in the sentence). Therefore, grammar is a description of the rules that govern how a language’s sentences are formed”.

2. Method

(Edward Anthony-1963) Define method like "The plan of language teaching which consistent with the theories".

Examples:

Stories are widely used for teaching children, both in their L1 and L2. Indeed, most approaches to teaching languages include stories because they are compatible with all of them; from the Grammar Translation method to Multiple Intelligences, Neurolinguistics, CLT, and to the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning). —Thornbury (1999: 138 -139)

As teacher, you can spice up your grammar lesson and beat boredom with a short story. There is an endless number of short-story options to choose from, including dramatic, classics, or modern comedies.

The aim of using short-story in teaching English is to encourage the students to use what they have previously learnt, and therefore, it is student-centered teaching.

Importance of the use of literature:

William Littlewood (2000) emphasizes the importance of the use of literature in EFL classes as follows:

Creation of an authentic situation for language.
In the case of literature, language creates its own context.
D. W. Harding calls ‘the role of the onlooker”
These events create, in turn, a context of situation for the language of the book and enable it to transcend the artificial classroom situation (p. 179).

Advantages

Arigol believes that short stories can have the following pedagogical advantages:

a)Making the students’ reading task easier because they are simple and short;
b)Giving learners a better view of other cultures;
c)Requiring more attention and analysis;
d)Presenting a fictional and interesting world;
e)Helping students to be more creative and raising the critical thinking skills;
f)Raising cultural awareness;
g)Reducing students anxiety and helping them feel more relaxed;
h)Providing multicultural contexts because of its universal language.

Recommendations for Using Short Stories

Before giving the short-story, the teacher should decide the readability of the text.
The teacher must choose a suitable text to use in class, and should help her/his students understand the story with various activities.
Is the duty of the teacher to choose a story short enough to handle within course hours.
The vocabulary and sentence structure of the short-story to be studied must be suitable to the level of the students.