 Re: If you couldn't use grammar, how would you teach?
Some thoughts:
If L1 is very similar to L2 (like Dutch, German to English), the grammar will feel very natural to the students. If L1 is quite different, such as Vietnamese, they will find it much harder. In particular, English is a chronological language, placing importance on time, and this is an issue many students will find hard to grasp if their L1 doesn't have a similar concept.
So what I'm saying is that it helps to give learners the big picture. This helps adults anyway. In the case of young learners, maybe they can pick up the grammar more naturally. They'll have years of English classes at school to sort it out, anyway.
And there are many ways to teach without grammar. Try a functional syllabus, for example. Or if you look at a text like Headway, grammar plays an incidental part (aimed at European students, I guess) |