Page 126 - Teaching English at Primary Level: From Theory into the Classroom

Teaching Grammar and Vocabulary

Table 7.3 Stages of Grammar Sequencing
Stages Description Teaching practice
(Re)noticing Learners connect Using a story, a comic, a picture, etc. which illustrates a
form and meaning particular grammar point (e.g. the difference between
‘this’ and ‘these’ can easily be shown in a picture with
one object on one side and two or more on the other).
(Re)structuring Learners manipu- Several guided activities (movement activities, tasks on
late the forms and worksheets, etc.) in which pupils have to choose the cor-
meaning rect form.
Proceduralising Learners create Activities in which learners are encourages to use the
their own mean- grammar point for a communicative purpose. They may
ings play a game, prepare a presentation, create a poster,
record a short video, etc.

part of their internal grammar. Batstone (1994) suggests a useful sequencing
of grammar learning activities which consists of three stages – (re)noticing,
(re)structuring, proceduralising (Table 7.3). Noticing or (re)noticing involves
the learners becoming aware of the grammar patterns and connect form and
meaning. At the second stage, which is referred to as (re)structuring, learners
manipulate the forms and meaning through a series of controlled activities.
In thelast stageorproceduralising,learnersusethelanguagepatternsbyfor-
mulating their own meanings for communicative purposes. The three stages
are especially valuable as they allow for a combination of both accuracy and
fluency.
A grammar lesson can be contextualised and made meaningful in various
ways which the children can identify with. For example, stories and story-
telling can be used as efficient meaningful context for teaching the use of
articles (Puhner & Dagarin Fojkar, 2018). The teacher can use audio or vi-
sual materials, realia and props, storytelling, problem solving, giving exam-
ples, showing grammar usage, playing games, etc. In an experiment carried
out with fifth-graders, Lilić and Bratož (2019) concluded that activities based
on grammar games (miming games, board games, card games, etc.) are a
more efficient strategy for teaching grammar than more traditional ELT ac-
tivities. It is also important to consider that YLs are good observers. In order
to make sense of what they hear or see, they make use of contextual clues,
such as movement, intonation, gestures, actions and messages (Arikan,
2009).
An important Issue related to learning and teaching grammar at this stage
is the age at which it is appropriate to move to more explicit grammar teach-

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