Shaharni Aliaa bt Sharizan Rabiatul Adawiyah bt Muhmad Toha Nor Amalina bt Mohamad Arshad Noor Aqeela bt Mohd Noor

oor Nur Laila bt Abdol Rahman Nurulhusna bt Mohamed Nasir

History and development of grammar teaching

Introduction
What is grammar?
The word grammar comes (indirectly) from

the Greek word techn grammatik which simply meant the art of using letters (grammata)

 Starts Ancient Greece, around 300 BC though

Socrates, Plato and Aristotle had all made incidental contribution to its foundation
Modern grammar nowadays was built on

traditional grammar

Timeline
300 BC1957

1957 now

300 BC 1957 (Traditional)

Some very important general facts were

discovered and applied to the grammar of various European languages Eg. word classes (verb and noun), grammatical functions (subject and object) Languages could best be described in terms of abstract categories number, gender and case

1957 Now (Modern)

Linguistics has changed into a science Noam Chomsky (Massachussets Institute of

Technology) showed how grammar could be studied in a scientific way by building completely explicit formal models of grammars Grammar was called generative grammar (they generate structures in a technical sense) It contains rules

Traditional Grammar
It refers t ra ar t at evel e i t e i le f 18t a 19t ce t ry.

Hallmarks (features) of Traditional Grammar:

1. Insisted that only certain styles of English were worth

studying.  Formal speech was given more priority compared to informal speech.  Informal speech was condemned as incorrect.
2. Treated their subject in a highly difficult way  Describe grammatical patterns through the use of

an analytical apparatus which derived from Latin grammars.

How grammar was treated?

During the traditional era, English grammar was treated seriously. Examples of situations: -The focus was always on the written language. -Tried hard to eliminate grammatical errors. -Students learnt by rote learning and only for exam purposes. -Why? Lack a solid basis in English language. -So, it was better to just memorize and do not question.

Prescriptive ra
Prescriptivism :
y

ar

Is an approach to language y It is considered as traditional grammar y View that language has an inherently higher value than others and ought to be the norm for the whole of the speech community.

 Prescriptive rules vs. proscriptive rules

y Prescriptive: the usages of grammar that is

considered to be acceptable
y Proscriptive: the usages of grammar that is to be

avoided. (grammatical dos and donts)

Example of the approach: Complaint:  Only should be next to the word to which it relates.  People should not say I only saw John  when in fact, they mean I saw only John. Comment:  Only is always linked with the next word that carries a strong stress.  I only saw JOHN (and no one else)  I only SAW John (I didnt talk to her)

Irony of the prescriptive approach:

 Its universal censoriousness promotes the very

skepticism about grammatical correctness which it was designed to eradicate.

Censoriousness : the act of tending to criticize

people or things Eradicate: to destroy something completely

Introduction

Chomsky introduced Transformational Grammar to the world in 1957 monograph syntactic structures. Followed up with a more complete explanation of the theory in 1965 (Aspects of the theory of syntax) In his books, Chomsky declares that language can be explained as a system of rules.

Chomskys theory is a way to explain what is going on when people use and interpret language (explanatory adequacy). Linguist believe that we are born with the capacity for language already in place. Every human born with the ability to learn any language.

Transformational Grammar suggests what an ideal native speaker of a language must already know about language in order to use and interpret it. Most of this knowledge is subconscious. All of our knowledge of language , both conscious and subconscious (called speakers competence) E.g: because of linguistic competence, people understand that two sentences can be related or have the same meaning even though that they appeared different or may seem not related

How Transformational Grammar works?

Describing the production of structurally wellformed-sentences, matching the inborn native speakers competence. TG separates syntax from semantics Chomsky claimed that structure of a language works independently from consideration of meaning.

In Transformational Grammar, grammar refers to how the structure of language operates. The term ungrammatical indicate that a particular utterance is not well formed. Utterances that are grammatical are conformed to the system of rules which generate well-formed structures in a language.

Rules describe the way a language actually works. Linguistics is a descriptive study. Linguists describe the way they observe language working, based on their observations of real language users.

Characteristic of Modern Grammar

broader in scope: including topics which were ignored in traditional teaching better motivated: with the aim of expanding children's language and deepening their understanding rather than eliminating errors or simply keeping them busy better taught: using methods that allow fun to be combined with clarity, interest and improved skills.

TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR

MODERN GRAMMAR
1957 until now Some new methodologies were introduced Chomsky introduced Transformational Grammar to the world in 1957 monograph syntactic structures. Linguistics has changed into a science Grammar was called generative grammar (they generate structures in a technical sense) It contains rules

300 BC 1957 Prescriptive Grammar Insisted that only certain styles of English were worth studying Treated their subject in a highly difficult way

18th -19th Century 19th Century 19th-20th Century

Grammar Translation Method

Natural Method

Direct Method

1920s1930s 1970

Audiolingual

Silent Way Community Language Learning

1972

1972

Communicative Language Learning

1970

Total Physical Response