Teaching Grammar - Term Paper Example

Education is a process of learning and acquiring skills and knowledge and it involves training that allows the learner to improve objectively. Textbooks, videos, modules and e-learning are just some of the ways how education is delivered (Dimarco 18). In the modern times, the said definition of education greatly applies as people prepare themselves for the corporate world after graduation, and organizations function through the application of knowledge and skills of the members and staffs. The education may not be limited only to formal education where classroom instruction is the prevalent method where skills and knowledge are passed on to the learners.

Alternative education existed already before the onset of formal education but recently more educators are advocating alternative education since many people still cannot afford the formal education. They also focus on lifelong education and adult learning (Antikainen 11). In short, learning and education are intertwined in the pursuit of improvement of people. In teaching people about language, grammar is one of the main parts as rules must be present in constructing the words and sentences corresponding to certain sounds.

Grammar revolves around a set of rules such as being taught widely, it is fixed and difficult. The grammar set and rules are just part of a narrow perspective of what grammar is (DeCapua 1). Grammar can also be defined as the systematic description of the skill level of a speaker as measured by the linguist (Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams 13). In teaching grammar, many approaches can be used like IC analysis, TG grammar, case grammar, communicative grammar, and pedagogical grammar (EDL201). IC Analysis or Immediate Constituent Analysis is used to separate and dissect the words that make up a sentence with layered constructions (EDL201 207).

On the other hand, transformational grammar describes the grammatical structure of the sentences using a set of rules that matches the knowledge of native English speakers (EDL201 243). Case grammar differs from IC analysis and TG grammar because case grammar includes semantics between verb and noun together with grammatical structure (EDL201 272). The fourth approach in teaching grammar is communicative grammar which is one of the newest methods. Competence in grammar is not the only consideration in linguistics since structure, function and form must also be taught in real life situations (EDL201 297).

The last approach is pedagogical grammar which prioritizes the effectiveness of teaching methods to the students. It makes use of different approaches to boost the grammar learning efficiency via consciousness-raising approach and word approach (EDL201 323). The following approaches will be applied in various situations in the succeeding paragraphs. Various situations are provided to explore the importance of the methods described in the preceding paragraph. Each method is designed for particular scenario or needs of the learners, so some methods may become more effective than other approaches in a particular situation.

Five situations will be used: first, Filipino caregivers employed in Japan, Korea, China who have to teach their young wards how to speak, write and read English as part of the wards’ day- to- day school work; second, 15 to 17 year old Filipino high school students who have been hired as tourist guides for international tourists whose common language is English; third, Filipino adult migrant workers who are