I was asked by a Japanese colleague recently to provide an outline for an English course for Automotive professionals from the Far East. No problem! However, in the example format he gave me to fill in, there was an assumption of Grammar lessons – three hours every afternoon! I don’t know about you, but if I saw a course outline that suggested I would be taught grammar three hours a day, I think I’d steer clear – and if I couldn’t I’d be approaching it in a negative frame of mind. Sounds dry, uninteresting: difficult. My response included no Grammar lessons! It is possible, and preferable, to teach English Grammar in disguise!

Why would you want to do this?

The first reason I have already given – it sounds like a scary, boring, complicated subject, reminiscent of chanting at school: Amo, Amas, Amat; Je Suis, Tu Est, Il Sont. Secondly – well, what is Grammar anyway? The term refers to the nuts and bolts, the ‘engine’ of the vehicle that is language. Without it, the car wouldn’t go – the language won’t work. The teacher is the mechanic – he or she needs to understand how the engine works – how each piece functions. The student is the driver: he or she needs to be aware of the engine’s capabilities so that they can get the best out of it – but does he really need to be bale to name parts? The surgeon patient analogy works just as well! So how to disguise grammar? I offer you a couple of simple techniques (there are as many out there as the teacher’s imagination, I suspect).

Top Trumps

You know the playground game – decks of cards with pictures and stats on on a particular subject. The stats are in a few categories, and the players state their chosen category when playing their card which their opponent then has to hope he ‘trumps’ with his next draw from his hand. “My car’s faster than your car”; “this engine’s bigger than that one”. This way, you’re teaching Comparatives and Superlatives!

Timetables

Study a timetable – for anything, the more complex ones for the more advanced students! – a few targeted questions and you’re teaching tenses! Trying to teach Grammar as a series of components ignores the fact of the complexity of language – everything is interrelated: one bit needs the other to function. So it’s best taught by stealth – let’s see together how the language works - by using it!

Andrew Carter
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