Grammar habits formation lesson

According to the criterion of a student’s operations with the grammatical material under study, E.I. Passovdistinguishes between the following 6 kinds of grammatical exercises constituting a grammar habits formation lesson: 1) perception; 2) imitation; 3) substitution; 4) transformation; 5) reproduction of separate structures; 6) combination of various structures. Each kind has its own specific character and purpose to be clearly understood by a teacher.

1) Perception as a primary acquaintance is adequately organised when a student listens to phrases, built after one and the same grammatical structure. It is essential that students should be aware of the function these grammatical structures perform. Perception takes place in the process of presentation, which can be defined as demonstration of a grammatical structure in its communicative function.

2) In the process of imitation a student finds a grammatical phenomenon in a speech pattern and uses it without changing. Imitation forms the basis for the link (connection) between aural and articulatory images of a grammatical structure. The realisation of its communicative function is being reinforced and its formal side is being memorised.

3) Substitution presupposes substituting lexical items into a grammatical structure. At this stage a student begins to grasp the generalised character of the pattern. His ability to reproduce the pattern is increased on the basis of analogy.

4) Transformation drills are aimed at transforming a source speech pattern, modifying one or more of its grammatical characteristics. These operations are of a more advanced level than the previous ones. The establishment of an association (link) between the formal and the functional sides of a pattern is being reinforced. The operation of autonomous actuation of a pattern starts forming.

5) Reproduction suggests students’ reproducing in speech the phenomena assimilated in the previous exercises. In comparison with a student’s earlier reproduction after a given pattern (imitation), after an analogous form (substitution) or a similar form (transformation), this reproduction is completely autonomous, though isolated. At this stage the link between the formal and the functional sides of a grammatical structure is being completed. The inner image of the pattern is formed. The students are now able to use the pattern autonomously in guided communication.

6) At the stage of combination the purposeful controlled combining of the newly acquired pattern with the previously assimilated ones takes place. Combination exercises should be organised in such a way that the pattern under study would be combined with its major satellite patterns. The major satellite patterns refer to the structures habitually accompanying the structure under study in real communication. In the process of combination the learners’ attention shifts from the assimilated pattern to the content of the whole utterance. The attention is focused on the communication techniques to convey the idea of the utterance.

E.I. Passovrecommends forming a separate grammatical habit in two lessons, with the following proportion of imitation and substitution on the one hand and transformation, reproduction and combination (as more creative, autonomous and therefore more useful techniques) on the other hand:

  Transformation Reproduction     Combination

Perception Copying the structure Imitation Substitution   Transformation Reproduction

Lesson I Lesson II

Such a proportion ensures effective formation of a grammatical habit.

If we compare E.I. Passov’s approach to grammar habits formation with G.V. Rogova’s structural approach, we will see the advantages of simplicity, effectiveness and time-saving in communicative approach. G.V. Rogova suggests the following scheme of assimilating grammatical phenomena. The grammatical material is processed in 4 stages, each of which includes a number of steps. Stage I

Step	Operations	Comments
	Perceiving simple sentences with a new grammar phenomenon constituting a structural group	Corresponds to Passov’s perception
	Perceiving and comprehending sentences both in teacher speech and on tape	No principal difference between steps 1 and 2. Explanation’s missing
	Individual and choral drills (imitation, substitution, completion, answering questions)	Reproduction and transformation are missed out
	Using structures in speaking (T-CL/P)	Is it reproduction or combination?
	Using structures in conversation (P-Cl, P-P, P1- P2, P3 )	Is it already combination?

Stage II

	Using familiar words in new structures	Is it substitution right after combination again?
	Teacher’s presentation of new words if it is necessary for pupils to use them in the structures under study	Is it non-guided communication or introducing new words?
	Combination of new structures with the ones assimilated before	What kind of combination?
	Various exercises in speaking: describing pictures/objects; asking/ answering questions; speaking on the suggested situation/topic; making up dialogues; dramatising the texts read; commenting on a film; telling a story read or heard; translating into English; participating in free conversation	Looks like the final step in habit formation. Productive grammar habits seem to become part of speaking skill. They are based on the receptive grammar habits (‘dramatising the text read, telling a story read or heard’), which will be worked on in Steps 10 and 12. How very peculiar!
	Assimilating the grammar phenomenon in reading	It is just high time! Logical sequence is broken: step 9 already includes exercises based on the text read
	Deduction of a grammar rule	What’s the use after free conversation?

Stage III

	Listening to a text containing structures under study	Step 9 already includes exercises based on the heard text
	Performing drill exercises with the structures in monologues and dialogues	Incoherent step repetition
	Using the structures in speaking with the help of ‘props’	Monologue or dialogue? What about Step 9 (speaking on the suggested topic, etc.)?
	Describing various situations and events, using the structures with the help of ‘props’	No difference whatsoever between Steps 14 and 15
	Using the structures in monologues and dialogues without ‘props’	At last there comes differentiation in forms of speaking, but what about Step 9 (making up dialogues and the like)?

Stage IV

	Utilising the grammar structures in speaking in new situations within topics	If utilising concerns all topics, then it is not the habit formation, but already the skill improvement
	Retelling the contents of the story already read	The same as above
	Participation in a conversation about a text or a film	The same as above
	Using the structures in communication with a study purpose or in a natural context	The same as above

In short, G.V. Rogovasuggests 7 main stages of assimilating the grammatical phenomenon: perception, imitation, substitution, completion (as a separate case of transformation?), reproduction, combination and explanation (as deduction of a rule). All the stages, except explanation, more or less coincide with those introduced by E.I. Passov. Yet, structural approach spares no effort to make the process of grammatical habits formation as obscure as possible and succeeds in losing sense and purpose in the variety of the so-called speech exercises, presenting various cases of combination.

Nevertheless, grammatical habits, viewed as the integral component of productive skill formation, require grading of language and operational difficulties. While forming the skill of oral and written utterance production, every interconnected block of tasks, taken as a separate stage of activities, should be started as perception. Then activities should become of receptive-reproductive origin. It is necessary to create the productive aspect of speech through receptive-reproductive communicative tasks. Thus, the task, which is included into the stage of communication output in listening and reading, can be included into the stage of practice output in speaking.

Besides, there is one more important factor that has proved noticeable of late. It is students’ inability to form logically consistent and syntactically coherent oral and written utterances in their mother tongue. In other words, our task is twofold. It is not only to form the grammatical side of skill in English, but also to help student learn to organise grammatically their speech in Russian.

Conclusions

This talk has considered communicative efficiency in grammar. From this we have derived the content and objectives of teaching grammar in school. We have discussed the correlation between receptive and productive grammar habits. The need for selecting active and passive grammatical minima has lead us to defining criteria for their selection with the account of syllabus requirements. Viewing different approaches to the grammar course organisation has enabled us to outline the most effective way of acquiring active and passive grammatical habits. Finally, the talk has suggested the general outline of the grammar habits formation lesson.

Discussion

1. How do you understand the concept of communicative efficiency in grammar?

2. What is the content and aim of teaching grammar in school?

3. What are the major characteristics of speech habit? What does each of them provide?

4. What stages does the process of habit formation go through?

5. Dwell on the correlation between reproductive and receptive sides of the grammatical habit and their affect on the grammar minimum selection.

6. What are the criteria for the active and passive grammar minima selection?

7. What approaches to the school grammar course organisation do you find preferable? Why?

8. Characterise the stages of acquiring active grammatical minimum.

9. What is the difference between the stage of operation automation and the stage of action automation?

10. Characterise the stages of acquiring passive grammatical minimum.

11. What kinds of exercises constitute the grammar habits formation lesson?

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