INTRODUCTION
In teaching English as a second language, all the four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing should be emphasized in order to ensure that the learners have a good mastery of the language. In addition to these basic language skills, vocabulary and grammatical structures should also be taught. By vocabulary in this context, we mean the stock of words. For users of English as a second language to be able to communicate effectively in the language, they should be equipped with a good amount of the vocabulary of English.
Apart from the stock of words, users of English as a second language should also be familiar with the grammatical structure of English. This is particularly necessary in a second language situation if the cases of mother-tongue interference at the grammatical level are to be reduced. The knowledge of the grammatical structure of English will enable the learners of English as a second language to improve their communicative competence in the language. This unit will describe vocabulary and grammar as well as the methods for teaching these.
3.1 Developing the Learner’s Vocabulary in ESL
Words are the building blocks of language. There are two broad groups of words in language: content words and structural or grammatical words. Content words are those that carry the bulk of meaning in language and they include nouns, lexical verbs, adverbs, adjectives. Structural or grammatical words are those that do not carry much meaning, but express some structural or grammatical relationship. They include prepositions and conjunctions etc.
In second language teaching the development of a learner’s vocabulary is a very important activity. We can identify learner’s active and passive vocabulary. The learner’s active vocabulary consists of those words while he knows and makes use of in his language often. On the other hand, his passive vocabulary consists of words which he knows but which do not feature often in his language use.
Below are the suggested strategies that can be adopted in developing the learner’s vocabulary:
Use of the dictionary: Learners of English as a second language should be taught how to use the dictionary. A good dictionary supplies useful information in respect of pronunciation of words, dimensions of meaning and range of usage, word classes among others. Frequent use of the dictionary will be productive.
Reading activities: Through qualitative and quantitative reading, the learners will become familiar with many words. In fact, extensive reading i.e. wide reading develops the reader’s vocabulary power. So, in a second language situation, learners should be involved in adequate reading activities.
Use of synonyms: Synonyms are words that are similar in meaning. No two words in any language have exactly the same meaning because their social values will be different; they will have different connotations.
Such is the case with “thrifty” and “stingy”. The latter tends towards negative orientation while the former does not. Also, when two words are synonyms, one maybe informal while the other is formal e.g. “go” and “proceed; “start” and commence” But the relevant point to us here is that familiarity with the lexical relationship of synonymy will help to expand the learner’svocabulary.
Use of antonyms: Antonyms are words that are opposite in meaning. Examples are “wide” and “narrow”, “dead” and “alive” . There are different types of antonyms e.g. gradable antonyms and complementary antonyms. With complementary antonyms, the negative ness of an item in the pair means the assertion of the other e.g. “not dead” means “alive”. This is not so with the gradable antonyms. For example “not hot” does not necessarily mean “cold”. Between “hot” and “cold” are some possibilities e.g. “warm”, “lukewarm” etc. The use of antonyms is a good means of developing the vocabulary of learners.
Registers: Registers here refer to words and expressions specially used in various occupations and fields of endeavours. For example, we can
have the registers of building, agriculture, medicine, photography etc.
In a second language situation, the learners should be exposed to a wide range of registers. They should know the appropriate English words to be used in many areas of human activity.
3.2 Is the Teaching of Grammar Necessary in an ESL Situation?
We take grammar here to refer to the description of the form of a language. That is, the description of its rules. If English as a second language is to be effectively taught, it is necessary to expose the learners to the grammatical structure of the language. Thus the question should not be whether or not the grammar of English should be taught, but rather how it should be taught. A good knowledge of the grammatical structures of English will help the learners to use the language effectively and minimize the errors of mother tongue interference. The knowledge of the grammatical structures of English will also enable the teacher to know what to teach and how to arrange and teach the language material in a systematic order. In this sense, grammar does not mean teaching the rules of prescription. We know that all languages are rule-governed, but in an ESL situation, the emphasis should be on the description of how language is used rather than the prescription of how it should be used.
3.3 Some Methods of Teaching the Grammatical Structure of English
Many methods of teaching the grammatical structure of English have been identified. These methods relate to the theories and practice of teaching English as mother tongue, foreign language and second language. The methods are the grammar – translation method, the direct method, the audio-lingual method, the cognitive code-learning method and communicative language teaching method.
3.3.1 The Grammar-Translation Method
According to Williams (1990:31-32), this method dominated language teaching in Europe during the 19th century. In the classroom situation, as Williams notes, the method would involve the following activities, among others.
Rote: memorization of vocabulary items with their native – language equivalents;
Translation of sentences from the foreign language to the native language of the learners (and viceversa);
Explicit statements and explanations of the rules governing the use of structures to be learned;
Explicit teaching of terminology as it applies to the grammars of the native language and the foreign language etc.
This method emphasizes the study of the form and rules of language rather than the communicative use of language. Applying the principles of the grammar translation method, language learning is seen as a process of learning the rules of language and how these rules are applied. There is no systematic practice in oral skills that is, listening and speaking skills. Students are required to translate texts from English to mother tongue and viceversa.
3.3.2 The Direct Method
According to Williams (1990) the direct method is characterized by the following:
There is no translation from the target language to the learners’ mother tongue. A target language is the language being learnt. In our situation it is English;
Lessons begin with dialogues or brief stories spoken by the teacher in the conversational style in the target language;
Questions based on the oral presentation by the teacher are asked in the target language and answered in the target language;
The class is immersed in the totality of the target language, learning the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
The Direct method emphasizes the primary of speech and the direct association of words and structures with objects and actions. The method is also activity-based and discourages explicit grammatical explanations. The learners are to arrive at their own understanding about the structures being learnt, through the actions, activities involved in the process of learning.
The Direct Method, however, has its own demerits. It may be too demanding on the teacher and the learners may be tongue-tied, not knowing what to do or say. In a second language situation, the mother- tongue cannot be totally disregarded.
3.3.3 The Audio-Lingual Method
The original name given to this method was Aural-Oral method. The method emphasizes aural-oral skills, that is, listening and speaking skills. It relies heavily on the use of dialogue. The learning material is introduced in dialogue form and used as a basis for structural drills. Also, mimicry and memorization of structural items are involved. In fact, the audio-lingual method is based on the theory of behaviorism, especially the stimulus-Response (S-R) connection. Structural linguistics also has its influence on the methods.
However, the method has some drawbacks, which include the following:
Its mechanical laboratory drills may not represent language in real-life situation;
It over-emphasizes the aural aspect to the detriment of those who are visual-minded;
It insists, of course wrongly, on error-free learning.
3.3.4 The Cognitive Code-Learning Method
As Williams (1990) observes, this method is a reaction against the audio-lingual method. The method takes language learning to be a process of rule-formation rather than habit-formation. It does not allow pronunciation drills and it discourages the automatic repetition of phrases and sentences. The method also uses group work and individualized instruction and makes allowance for the use of mother- tongue and translation.
3.3.5 Communicative Competence Language Teaching
The major concerns of this method are appropriateness of usage, contextual usage, transactional usage and interactional usage. The method is both situational and functional and it involves group activities, situational drills, dialogues and role-plays. It situationalises and contextualises the teaching of grammar.
With communicative language teaching, all aspects of ELS are taught
e.g. phonology, syntax, lexis and semantics. The entire learning environment is judiciously used, with the learner at the centre. The problems with this method include the fact that it is demanding on the teacher. Also, those who do not properly understand its principles may feel that it disregards the teaching of grammar, whereas it does not.
Self-Assessment Exercises
1. Explain how you can conduct any grammar lesson to a JSS class,
making use of any one of the five methods or approaches discussed above.
4.0 CONCLUSION
In addition to the teaching of the four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, the teaching of vocabulary and grammatical structure is also important in a second language situation. In the teaching of vocabulary, the teacher should involve the learners in quantitative and qualitative reading as well as other creative activities. With the teaching of grammatical structures, the teacher may have to go eclectic, making use of what is best in the various methods. This also calls for creativity on the part of the teacher.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have discussed briefly the teaching of vocabulary and grammatical structure. We have also looked at the various language teaching methods and recommended that in the teaching of grammar the teacher should be creative in method.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENTS
1. Mention and describe three strategies for developing the
learner’s vocabulary in EL2
(a) What do you understand by the term grammar?
(b) State and describe two methods or approaches to teaching grammar in an EL2 situation.
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Boadi, L.A. et al (1968) Grammatical Structure and its Teaching. Lagos: African University Press.
Williams, D. (1990) English Language Teaching: An
Integrated Approach. Ibadan: Spectrum.
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