Modern ESL grammar instruction combines practice of structures with practice in communication. With the variety of resources available, every grammar class can address all learning styles. You can make each stage of the process of learning grammar interesting.

Plan what grammar you will teach and what order you will use. Marianne Celce-Murcia and Sharon Hilles, authors of "Techniques and Resources in Teaching Grammar", state that the conservative approach of a structural syllabus will work fine. Research has not discovered the ideal sequence, so you can follow your school district or textbook.

Understand and employ the basic steps of teaching grammar. Celce-Murcia and Hilles count four steps: presentation, practice, performance and feedback. Feedback differs from the other steps because it overlaps them all.

Present the grammar as you choose, inductively or deductively. You can explain the rules first if you like. Then read a story or show a video clip that demonstrates the grammar point. Or reverse the order by first teaching a skit that exemplifies the grammar. Then explain the rules. For example, you can use action games such as "Simon Says" either before or after teaching the imperative (used for commands). Vary the order and the technique to make the presentation more interesting.

Use the practice stage to allow students to start using the new structure. Many textbooks only provide sentence practice at this stage. However, Celce-Murcia prefers that these exercises include more context. The sentences of the exercises can form a continuous story or dialog, for example. Or give them a folk song with the target forms missing. Providing more context makes practice more authentic and engaging.

Give students a variety of creative opportunities in the performance stage. Performance can include games, songs, role playing, creative writing, narrating comic strip stories and more. Play a short video, for example. Pause it every few minutes and ask students what is going to happen next to practice the future tense. Try other activities such as problem-solving in groups. Present a problem and ask each group to present its solution to the class as a role play.

Don't forget feedback. While presenting rules, ask if students understand. During the practice phase, correct all mistakes since accuracy is the focus. However, use discretion about interrupting too much during a performance. Dr. Roy Lyster of McGill University says you should give feedback with humor and a good nature. Correct sparingly to keep the fun in performance.

Research new ideas to keep grammar lessons fresh. Use puzzles, comics, games, poetry and drama at the discovery and practice stage as well as for performance. See the "Resources" section for more ideas. Don't worry if unfamiliar structures creep in with the target ones in some activities. As language acquisition expert Stephen Krashen believes, comprehensible input is the key to learning grammar naturally. When your students participate in English activities with enthusiasm, they are learning ESL grammar.