By Stephen Leung1
Whenever we talk about teaching grammar in English classes, it will stir up a lot of discussions and arguments, particularly when our students are new immigrants. Some may say that they need to start with learning the language through talking with native speakers, like a newborn picking up the language of their parents. Others think that learning English grammar is good, but too intimidating to newcomers. This is so true, when we have the time to learn casually through spontaneous conversation.
DIVERSITY
In a typical ESL class for new immigrants, we will have people coming from different parts of the world, speaking different languages. Some of them are similar to English in terms of alphabets and language structures, such as Spanish, which can easily be “transposed” to English. However, more often we will have people speaking languages beyond our reach, such as Arabic, Dari, Hindi, Korean or Chinese. Certain languages are not even found in our Indo-European language system, thus having totally different alphabets, structures and even direction of writing.
EXPERIENCE
I have experienced an ESL class of 30 immigrants who came from Nigeria, Rwanda, Ukraine, China, Brazil, Afghanistan, Colombia… all speaking totally different languages. I tried to help an Afghan young lady. Though she literally could not utter a word in English, she was later known to be an RN in her own country. Another gentleman was a computer programmer from Ukraine who needed immediate help to brush up on his language to get a pass in an English proficiency test. Spanish speakers do not have a big problem picking up the language and can communicate freely in class. In this diverse situation we need to address their individual needs at the very beginning of class—say in the first few days—because their time is precious and their patience is limited, just like ours.
INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
Furthermore, different people may have totally different goals and schedules in life. We have to systematically group them, putting them in smaller groups according to their immediate needs. For those who just want to improve their day-to-day communication in a leisurely fashion, they may not need to learn English grammar seriously.
However, for those who want to join a professional organization or pass an English language test like IELTS or CELPIP to meet certain criteria (PR or collegiate prerequisites)—taking English grammar seriously is a must.
When newcomers come through the door of our church under the banner “ESL Class,” they are desperately in need of our help to pass an exam or meet certain requirements to survive in this land. So, our service to them should be specific and timely.
APPLICATION
To help, we need to know their English level individually. I like conducting a survey at the beginning of class and doing the same set of questionnaires2 at the end. In the questionnaire, I would set the question range covering the full spectrum of English proficiency, including questions on vocabulary, collocations, prepositions, sentence structures, short reading comprehension and spontaneous verbal communication with the class leader.
Figure 1 shows the survey result of a small ESL class held earlier this year. Based on the chart, I identify that I need to spend more time on vocabulary building. Other areas of focus would be grammar, listening and speaking. At the end of the course, I will repeat the same survey again. It will show how well my students have been doing and whether I have accomplished the course outcomes. Next to the chart is the CELPIP result of one of the students in that class. He sent it to me with his gratitude.
OUR MISSIONS
Churches today are blessed with people coming from different parts of the world instead of us “going” to their places and learning their languages. They are coming to our doorsteps for help today. How then can we not attend to their needs carefully? The good news is most of them are adults and professionals in their own countries. Thus, the way we teach them English should not be arbitrary. Instead, we need to stand in their shoes and understand their needs and feed them accordingly. We need to know which part(s) of the language they need to improve, in order to unleash their God-given talents and skills.
THESIS STATEMENT
Here comes my thesis—providing students with the mechanics on how to express themselves in English. This calls for grammar teaching. We need to provide students with the appropriate words, special terms and phrases in their professions—together with different sentence structures to deliver specific ideas and concepts. For instance, we should not limit our tense teaching to express time and aspects of an action only, but further to the moods and propensity of the speaker.
SHARE OUR JOY
Language learning has a more profound implication than just speaking and reading the language. Through language we develop our thoughts, our behaviour, our philosophy of life and finally our religious beliefs. Thus, language teaching is a great opportunity for us to convey thoughts and eventually instill in them our faith. Telling the “Good News” should be joyful and intriguing. Likewise, grammar learning should not be boring. For that, we need another session, another time, to further discuss what grammar is and how to teach English grammar in a cheerful, creative way so that new Canadians feel happiness in learning the language and share the internal joy of becoming a Christian.
“… and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.” Rev 14:6
1. Stephen’s Bio: 15 years lecturing experience on communication/translation to undergrad students of all disciplines at the University of Hong Kong. Developed the Teachers of English Language Education Network (TeleNex, HKU) for English language teachers in Hong Kong. MA in Linguistics. BSc in Computer Science (UCalgary). Certified TESOL/TESL/TEFL instructor at Oxford Seminars.
2. Questionnaire is available at CESLM
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