Module 6: Communicative Grammar

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Units in this module

Welcome to Module 6 — Communicative Grammar

The ability to communicate effectively in any situation involves the skills of listening and responding appropriately to messages. It also includes the ability to perform language functions effectively. This is often referred to as communicative competence. People with good communication skills have a better chance of success in both the workplace and life in general. As language teachers, we must be proficient in oral and written communication, as very often we are the only role models for our students. This module on communicative grammar seeks to equip you with strategies and activities to develop communicative competence in your students, which can be defined as language use for meaningful communication marked by fluency, as well as grammatical appropriateness.

Is this module for you?

This module is intended for teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) at the Junior Secondary School (JSS) level.

Module objectives

The objectives of this module are to:

Objectives

  • enable you to develop your students’ grammatical competence,

  • enable you to teach language functions using relevant structures and vocabulary,

  • help you equip your students with appropriate language expressions to communicate effectively in both oral and written contexts, and

  • give you strategies to make the teaching of grammar interesting and meaningful across disciplines at the JSS level.

Module outcomes

Upon completion of Module 6 — Communicative Grammar you will be able to:

Outcomes

  • teach communicative grammar using a variety of strategies,

  • use grammar to develop your students’ communicative competence,

  • help your students perform various language functions effectively, and

  • encourage the teaching of grammar across the curriculum.

Time frame

How long?

You will need approximately 15 weeks to finish this module — eight weeks for formal study and seven weeks for self-directed study — to complete all the activities recommended.

This is a distance learning programme, thus the time frame is flexible and largely self-directed.

Study skills

Study skills

As an adult learner your approach to learning will be different from that of your school days: you will choose what you want to study, you will have professional and/or personal motivation for doing so and you will most likely be fitting your study activities around other professional or domestic responsibilities.

Essentially you will be taking control of your learning environment. As a consequence, you will need to consider performance issues related to time management, goal setting, stress management, etc. Perhaps you will also need to reacquaint yourself with such things as essay planning, coping with exams and using the Web as a learning resource.

Your most significant considerations will be time and space; that is, the time you dedicate to your learning and the environment in which you engage in that learning.

We recommend that you take time now — before starting your self-directed study — to familiarise yourself with these issues. There are a number of excellent resources on the Web. For example:

The “How to Study” website is dedicated to study skills resources. You will find links for tips on study preparation (a list of nine essentials for a good study place), taking notes, strategies for reading textbooks, using reference sources and coping with test anxiety.

This is the website of Virginia Tech’s Division of Student Affairs. You will find links to tips on time scheduling (including one called “Where Does Time Go?”), a study skill checklist, basic concentration techniques, how to take control of your study environment, note taking, how to read essays for analysis and tips on developing memory skills (“Remembering”).

Another “How to Study” website with useful links to learning about time management, efficient reading, questioning/listening/observing skills, getting the most out of putting your knowledge into practice, memory building, staying motivated and developing a learning plan.

The above links are our suggestions to start you on your way. At the time of writing these Web links were active. If you want to look for more go to www.google.com and type “self-study basics,” “self-study tips,” “self-study skills” or a similar combination.

Need help?

Help

Contact your Google Group support email, SMS number or your tutor.

Group email: orelt_tutors@googlegroups.com

 

Assessment

Assessment

  • Each unit of this module consists of a self-assessment activity. The assessments are for self-development purposes and need not be submitted to anybody. The goal of the module is to develop your teaching-learning skills, not to test you.

  • Assessment is also meant to encourage you to think about and devise some innovative teaching practices that could make your teaching more exciting and relevant to your students.

  • All assessments are to be completed at the end of every unit. You may cross-check your answers with your colleagues.