HBEL 3203 TEACHING OF GRAMMAR

FACULTY OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION

JANUARY SEMESTER 2011

HBEL 3203

TEACHING OF GRAMMAR

MATRICULATION NO IDENTITY CARD NO. TELEPHONE NO. E-MAIL LEARNING CENTRE

: : : : :

640625715328002 640625715328 0135497646 hamidahismail@yahoo.com.my INSTITUT PERGURUAN GAYA

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Contents
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1. Cover page 1

2. Content

3. Introduction

3-4

4. (a) Agree or disagree with Sheas (2008) findings (i) (ii) Linguistic value The value of the story 5-7

(iii) The value of the picture?

5. (b)

Feasible and Relevant practice in teaching grammar in an ESL context. The important considerations to teach grammar using picture story books 8-9

6. (c) (i)

The three main educational values of English picture story books in a particular grammar lesson

(ii)

Explanation on how to facilitate greater participation and promote learner interaction 10-12 13 14 15

7. 8. 9.

Conclusion References Appendix

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Introduction
B.C. by Johnny Hart

Source: http://www.comics.com It is time to begin a serious reappraisal regarding the teaching of grammar and a new vision that goes beyond dichotomies in approaches. In this task, we are advocating a story-based and guided participatory approach (Adair-Hauck, 1993; Rogoff, 1990) that may present as an alternative approach to grammar instruction. This task focuses on the teaching of grammar. Some aspects of grammar such as: functions, constituents, and structures for teaching and learning will be discussed further. The rationale for teaching grammar is multi-faceted. Two reasons exemplify this rationale. a. The first reason is theoretically motivated. i. Automatic (non-analysed) knowledge ii. Controlled (analysed) knowledge

b. The second reason for the teaching of grammar relates to the dynamics of classroom practice. Grammar instruction can also be beneficial because it raises learners consciousness concerning the differences and similarities of Ll and L2 (Rutherford, 1988). In this respect, grammar instruction can be used as a linguistic map, with reference points or rules of thumb to assist learners as they explore the topography of the new language. Both approaches also do not recognise how learning takes place among people in the real world; outside the classroom. This involves mutually responsive interactions that are

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fundamental to learning as it occurs naturally between humans in everyday life (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Forman, Minnick & Stone, 1993; Lave & Wenger, 1991, Rogoff, 1990). With the introduction of English lessons to EFL children in many countries, the use of English picture books has attracted much attention from EFL researchers. For example, some researchers suggest that stories are a rich resource for EFL teachers to revise or introduce vocabulary and sentence structures in a memorable and meaningful context (Brewster et al. 2002; Ghosn 2002) and have the potential to transfer EFL learners from mechanical language learning to a more personal involvement context (Collie and Slater 1987).

Referring to the article The value of English picture story book wrote by Sheu Hsiu-Chih, presents a study investigating EFL teachers views on the educational values of English picture story books in Taiwan. Ten teachers with experience of using the books with primary school children participated in this study. The results suggest three main educational values perceived by the teachers: (1) linguistic value, (2) the value of the story, and (3) the value of the picture. A pattern of how the teachers presented the books also emerged from the data: the majority of the teachers perceived themselves as a mediator whose job was not to transmit the meaning of the book to the students, but to encourage participation and interaction.

This article discusses approaches that was found successful for teachers with little formal ESL training and few ESL text materials to help their primary-aged ESL students to develop wide and varied uses of English. The approach has proved effective in a situation in which almost half of the school population (in Vancouver, British Columbia) consists of ESL students, and in which naturally, the great majority of teachers are not ESL specialists. The article discusses how English picture story books can be used for both oral language and literacy development across a wide range of topics, thinking skills, and text-types. These books and the approach to using them, will, we believe, work well in EFL as well as ESL settings.

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(a)

Agree or disagree with Sheas (2008) findings

With the participation of ten teachers in this study the results suggest three main educational values perceived by the teachers which are:(i) (ii) (iii) Linguistic Value Using picture story books allowed students review words and sentences they had learnt in the textbooks in a meaningful context. Picture books provide all kinds of situations so that students will know how a word can be used in all sorts of situations. Picture story books also help them to practise sentence patterns and to know how to use a sentence in certain kinds of situations. Linguistic value The value of the story The value of the picture

From situation to how to use, the above statements suggest that the role that meaningful context played in language learning, and the potential of English picture story books for providing the context.

English picture story books have not only benefited the students but also a few teachers were able to provide the functional and communicative aspect of language learning, and helped her to learn how to communicate more efficiently and economically. This important point not only echoes the concept of the communicative approach (cf. Richards and Rodgers 1986), but also suggests the potential of picture story books to help teachers enhance their productive skill.

The value of the story

The stories have the potential to motivate learning, a story to be attractive to students and the story itself is very important. This corresponds to what has been suggested by Brewster et al. (op. cit.) that stories could provide an ideal introduction to the foreign language as they are presented in a context that is familiar to the students. For EFL children who have acquired the conventions of narrative they have learnt from their mother tongue, stories have the

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potential to help them make the links with their prior knowledge, and to make the foreign language classroom less foreign.

A good story will always attract students. They like to read pictures, but for a story to be attractive to students, the story itself is very important. The ending had better be very dramatic. Something they could not expect.

The value of the picture

Two main points were suggested: (i) (ii) picture increase comprehension picture stimulate imagination

Pictures arouse students learning interests, they can understand it very easily and it motivates their learning especially in their language learning. Pictures are just a learning aid to attract learners attention so that they wont forget the meaning of the words.

Pictures can stimulate students imagination, the meaning and the interpretations of the pictures. Each students will see something different because they have different views. The mediator, the teacher, gives rise to an idea and students expand it until they can see things they have never seen before. After reading the article wrote by Sheu Hsiu-Chih for a few times, I definitely agree that the researchers have provided important insights into understanding the rationale of using English picture story books in the EFL classroom, whereas research concerning how EFL teachers themselves perceive this issue has hardly been discussed at all. This study attempts to investigate the use of English picture story books from the aspect of EFL teachers in Taiwan to understand how they perceive the educational values of using English picture story books with children. Among the three of Sheas (2008) findings on the educational value of English picture story book in terms of its linguistic value, the value of the story and the value of the picture, I would agree to choose the linguistic value. This is because we are talking about provide suitable answer for grammar classroom so picture story books will help them to practise

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sentence patterns and to know how to use a sentence in certain kinds of situations. Therefore, in order to know how to use the language to express the meaning, learners need to be exposed to different kinds of situations as pointed out by Littlewood (1981: 2) that just as a single linguistic form can express a number of functions, so also can a single communicative function be expressed by a number of linguistic forms. To justify my answer here I provide suitable examples from a grammar classroom with relevant support from related studies on teaching of grammar. Linguistic value According to Kurstedt and Koutras (2000), The rich language and beautiful rhythm of picture books make them excellent choices for introducing the characteristics of great writing. . . . Students can more easily understand and appreciate how literary elements work from a short, complete work than they can from longer chapter books and novels (p. 5). The concise format of picture books offers teachers a practical tool for modelling great writing. Picture books also offer students authentic examples of correctly written grammar and parts of speech, as opposed to isolated worksheets and exercises. Reference: Teaching Grammar Can Be Fun: An Oxymoron? by Lisa Patrick ,p.8

According to Degler (1979), these texts can be used to develop oral language, and since there are no right or wrong answers in 'reading' these texts, they appear to foster positive attitudes towards books. In our own work in Vancouver, we have found that not only are these books a good vehicle to develop oral language, but they are also good for developing particular discourse types. Since the illustrations in the books are generally beautifully detailed, they can be used to develop the language of description. Since they often depict clever, moral tales presented on several levels of meaning, they can be read literally to develop the language of temporal sequence and choice and inferentially to develop the language of predictions, hypothesis, and cause/effect. Reference: Using wordless picture books to promote second language learning
By Margaret Early

[Related articles refers to appendix]

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(b) Feasible and Relevant practice in teaching grammar in an ESL context. The important considerations to teach grammar using picture story books. Shea (2008) has also found that when using English picture books to teach the language, most EFL teachers position themselves as the mediator to encourage students participation and interaction but not to transmit the meaning of the book to the students.

Pictures are very different from texts. Readers can create the meaning of pictures. A picture could have many interpretations. Teacher might ask the students: What do you see? They will raise their hands and tell the teacher all kinds of their thinking. Different ideas bump into one another. Each will see something different because they have different views. The mediator, the teacher, gives rise to an idea and students expand it. In the beginning, students might just see one point, but, after the discussion, they will be able to see things they have never seen before.

Student interpretation about the picture above might be different from each other. Student A said: The boy playing in the field. Student B said: The boy happy have lot of money. Student C said: Wind blowing the paper words. Student D said: The boy who loved money. Student E said: The boy who loved words. Different ideas between students A, B, C, D, and E bump into one another. Each will see something different because they have different views. Teacher only act as a mediator.

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Refers from: Image Grammar is a very successful classroom practice., July 7, 2002 By Tina M. Seese (Ohio) - See all my reviews This review is from: Image Grammar : Using Grammatical Structures to Teach Writing(Bk & Cdrom) (Paperback)

There are many, many theories that involve the teaching of grammar within the classroom, however, few are successful when put into practice. I've studied a lot of them and tried some out to no avail. Fortunately, I had the pleasure of hearing Noden speak at a seminar and instantly realized that his ideas were highly conducive to the English teacher motto of "show don't tell." I got a hold of his book as soon as I could. I found out that Image Grammar utilizes authentic works of writing in an effort to model how grammar works within the writing structure; how it manipulates words to communicate one's ideas, tone, mood, description, etc. . . I have found that once your students understand WHY learning grammar is important to them as writers, as communicators, then they want to master grammar. They want to use it to make their writing sing like the professional authors' writing used to model the concepts. Image Grammar offers an authentic approach to grammar instruction that no typical English text book could possibly do. For the last two years, I have used Image Grammar in my classroom and have had more successes with my students collectively and individually.

At November 26, 2004 12:39 PM,

Johnsonchu said...

Through stories to teach grammar is a good way to get students' attention in a class, but how to select an attractive and suitable story for students will be a challenge for teachers. Through dialogues to teach grammar is a practical way of teaching. Using the practical sentences to teach students and let them through the daily conversation to familiar with the grammar that will be an efficient way. Then through pictures to teach grammar. I believe that beautiful pictures will be the most useful tools for teaching children languages, especially for teaching vocabulary. But for teaching grammar or for teaching those abstract items, the teacher will be hard to draw the pictures, Such as temperament, knowledge, virtue and information...etc.

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(c) (i) The three mai educati al values of English picture story books in a particular grammar lesson How I would exploit the three main educational values of English picture story books in my grammar lesson? Here I state three stages using picture story books in my grammar lesson.
  

Stage 1 (Li

i ti

i. Show pictures to the students with the title mbrella. Ask students to talk about the picture. After that open the next page to show the sentences regarding the picture showed. ii. Students reading pictures with their own opportunities to review words or sentences they have learned before and they will know the same words can be used in different kinds of situations. For example: Umbrella Lily has an umbrella. She use umbrella when its raining. She use umbrella when its hot sunny day.

iii. Picture books provide all kinds of situations so that students will know how a words can be used in all sorts of situations. iv. Picture story books help students practise sentence patterns and to know how to use a sentence in certain kinds of situations

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Stage 2 (The value of the story

i) Tell students a story that have the potential to motivate learning. Ask questions about the title of the story Umbrella What is an umbrella? When can we use umbrella? Why do we use umbrella? How do we use umbrella? Who usually use umbrella? ii) All the questions are related to the content of the story and it is the value of the story.A story will attract students, they like to read the pictures, but for a story to be attractive to students, the story itself is very important. iii) Reading together Use different voices, be funny, be dramatic, use sound effects CDs, and most importantly enjoy the book yourself. Talk about the art before you read the text. Ask children questions, and encourage them to ask you questions. Use big books, if available, so every child can see. Have volunteers to hold the books, turn the page so you can use both hands for actions and mimes. Put the books on the floor and have children sit around it so they can point to the art easily. iv) I use these techniques when I introduce a new unit of English Time Student Book in order to elicit children's English and also to assess how much English they have retained from previous lessons. English Time Storybooks can be treated the same way as described above. As I read aloud the storybook pages, using different voices for children internalize the language and become ready to read aloud by themselves. Stage 3 (The value of the pictures


i) Show pictures to students in sequence and different situations and this will increase student comprehension and stimulate imaginations. They can understand it very easily and motivates their learning.

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ii) Show students picture showing umbrella in a rainy day and in hot sunny day. The picture will help students to know about the weather. The purpose of using picture books is to help students with their language learning . Picture are just a learning aid used to attract learners learning.

(C) (ii) Explanation on how to facilitate greater participation and promote learner interaction

To facilitate greater participation and promote learner interaction, I will show more picture with different situation and function of umbrella to the students. For example :

1. Picture books provide motivation for learning. Children love to read their favourite books, Picture books promote learning and retention. Children learn the language in a context more quickly and easily and retain it better than otherwise. 2. Picture books offer well-chosen, rhythmical language. Text in picture books is not necessarily abridged for beginners but natural and authentic. In most picture books the narration is in the past tense and children hear the narration in a natural context. This is more natural than keeping the young learners in the present tense for the first two or three years of learning. 3. Pictures offer opportunities for extended learning. Art in picture books contain much more than is expressed in the written text. Children love to be read to again and again, as they keep finding new information from the art. This allows us to bring in cultural aspects into the classroom. 4. Picture books stimulate children to express themselves. Personalization activities can be developed based on children's favourite picture books.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, explicit grammar knowledge can foster the acquisition of implicit knowledge through noticing. Teachers can draw students' attention to certain language features of input through explicit instruction, increasing the frequency and perceptual salience of the structure, and/or designing tasks that require the students to notice a structure to complete it using English picture story books. The results of this study suggest three educational values of using English picture books perceived by the teachers in Taiwan. Through analysing these values, an important pattern about how teachers used the story emerged; more than half of the teachers emphasized the importance of teachers as a mediator during story reading, especially in discussing the meaning of the pictures. An important point made by teachers about how pictures can allow readers to make their own interpretations and to encourage discussion provides some insights into understanding the educational value of picture story books in EFL teaching and learning.

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References

Arshad Abd. Samad .et.al(2010).HBEL3203 Teaching of Grammar.4th ed .Meteor Doc.Sdn.bhd.Selangor Darul Ehsan Brown, Roger. (1973). A first language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Sysoyev, Pavel V. (1999). Integrative L2 Grammar Teaching: Exploration, Explanation and Expression. The Internet TESL Journal. Vol. V, No. 6. Available: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Sysoyev-Integrative.html Teaching EFL/ESL Students Grammar: Tips and Strategies for Grammar Lesson Plans http://www.suite101.com/content/teaching-eflesl-students-grammara31850#ixzz1GUk8Sn1T [15/2/2011] condor.admin.ccny.cuny.edu/~jdavis/.../LinguisticTheoryESLPedagogy.doc [20/2/2011] Adolescent Literacy In Perspective, May/June 2007, Unconventional Conventions: Teaching Grammar and Mechanics www.ohiorc.org/record/10163.aspx [20/2/2011] FunBrain is the Internet's premier location for interactive, educational games (math, grammar, science) for children and kids of all ages. www.funbrain.com/kidscenter.html [21/2/2011]

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APPENDIX

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Using wordless picture books to promote second language learning Margaret Early
Background Language skills and cognitive skills
This article discusses one approach that I have found successful for teachers with little formal ESL training and few ESL text materials to help their primary-aged ESL students to develop wide and varied uses of English. The approach has proved effective in a situation in which almost half of the school population (in Vancouver, British Columbia) consists of ESL students, and in which, naturally, the great majority of teachers are not ESL specialists. The article discusses how wordless picture books can be used for both oral language and literacy development across a wide range of topics, thinking skills, and text-types. These books and the approach to using them, will, we believe, work well in EFL as well as ESL settings.

Wordless picture books tell stories entirely through graphic illustrations. Frequently, people think of these books only in relation to very young children, but more recently the value of wordless books for younger and older students alike has been demonstrated (McGee and Tompkins, 1983). These books, because they lack texts, can be used for a multitude of purposes and a wide range of age and proficiency. Moreover, while text materials for teaching English as a second language may, in some instances, be in short supply, schools and public libraries around the world frequently have a plentiful supply of wordless picture books, or indeed, students and teachers can make their own inexpensive versions of this type of picture book. Several researchers have considered the language skills that children can acquire when working with wordless texts. According to Degler (1979), these texts can be used to develop oral language, and since there are no right or wrong answers in 'reading' these texts, they appear to foster positive attitudes towards books. In our own work in Vancouver, we have found that not only are these books a good vehicle to develop oral language, but they are also good for developing particular discourse types. Since the illustrations in the books are generally beautifully detailed, they can be used to develop the language of description. Since they often depict clever, moral tales presented on several levels of meaning, they can be read literally to develop the language of temporal sequence and choice and inferentially to develop the language of prediction, hypothesis, and cause/effect.
ELT Journal Volume 4513 July 1991 Oxford University Press 1991 245
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The value of English picture story books

Sheu Hsiu-Chih
This paper presents a study investigating EFL teachers views on the educational values of English picture story books in Taiwan. Ten teachers with experience of using the books with primary school children participated in this study. The results suggest three main educational values perceived by the teachers: (1) linguistic value, (2) the value of the story, and (3) the value of the picture. A pattern of how the teachers presented the books also emerged from the data: the majority of the teachers perceived themselves as a mediator whose job was not to transmit the meaning of the book to the students, but to encourage participation and interaction. Introduction With the introduction of English lessons to EFL children inmany countries, the use of English picture books has attracted much attention from EFL researchers. For example, some researchers suggest that stories are a rich resource for EFL teachers to revise or introduce vocabulary and sentence structures in a memorable and meaningful context (Brewster et al. 2002; Ghosn 2002) and have the potential to transfer EFL learners from mechanical language learning to a more personal involvement context (Collie and Slater 1987). Some point out that pictures in picture story books can serve to clarify the text and facilitate language learning (Smallwood 1987; Johnston 1994). These researchers have provided important insights into understanding the rationale of using English picture story books in the EFL classroom, whereas research concerning howEFL teachers themselves perceive this issue has hardly been discussed at all. This study attempts to investigate the use of English picture story books from the aspect of EFL teachers in Taiwan to understand how they perceive the educational values of using English picture story books with children. Method The present study applied semi-structured interviews to understand EFL teachers views on the use of English picture story books in EFL teaching. This was a follow-up of a questionnaire study that was carried out to understand EFL teachers general attitudes towards English picture story books. Forty EFL teachers with experience of teaching children English in primary schools and private language schools in Taiwan participated in the questionnaire study. The study was designed to pursue key issues that emerged from the questionnaire data so as to add detail and depth to the teachers views on
ELT Journal Volume 62/1 January 2008; doi:10.1093/elt/ccm077 47

The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
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these issues. Ten EFL teachers with the experience of using English picture story books with children participated in this study. Seven of them have previously participated in the questionnaire study and were willing to participate in the follow-up interview. The three teachers who had not participated in the questionnaire study, were asked to fill in a questionnaire before the interview, so as to help themto gain a general idea of this study. Of the ten teachers, seven were teaching in an urban area and three were in a rural area.

Findings and discussion

The interview results suggest that the teachers views on the educational values of using English picture story books can be broadly categorized into three areas: (1) linguistic value, (2) the value of the stories, and (3) the value of the pictures. Linguistic value The interviewdata revealed that the way that picture story books can provide ameaningful context for language learning was perceived by eight out of the ten teachers as the primary linguistic value of using English picture stories.

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The majority of the teachers pointed out that picture story books allowed them to help children review words and sentences they had learnt in the textbooks in a meaningful context. The following statements are typical examples: Reading picture books with them gives them an opportunity to review words or sentences they have learned from the textbook and they will know the same word can be used in different kinds of situations. Picture books provide all kinds of situations so that students will know how a word can be used in all sorts of situations. (T3) In story, children will know in what kind of situation a sentence can be used, so childrens books are highly applicable to learning vocabulary. Picture story books help them to practise sentence patterns and to know how to use a sentence in certain kinds of situations. (T5) From situation to how to use, the above statements suggest that both teachers were aware of the role that meaningful context played in language learning, and the potential of English picture story books for providing the context. Therefore, in order to know how to use the language to express the meaning, learners need to be exposed to different kinds of situations as pointed out by Littlewood (1981: 2) that just as a single linguistic formcan express a number of functions, so also can a single communicative function be expressed by a number of linguistic forms. Comments made by the teachers suggest that they believed themeaningful contextembedded in the books helped the EFL learners to have a deeper understanding of linguistic forms and their functions. The linguistic benefit of reading English picture story books wasmentioned by T9 froma different aspect. T9 regarded stories as an effective reminder that can be used to trigger students memory of certain words or phrases they have encountered in stories. She remarked: When using picture books, if students forget a word they have learned from one of the stories, I would remind them by saying: Do you
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remember we have learned this from the story of . . .? It is a good reminder. (T9) The way that picture story books can help young learners trigger the memory of another text and make a link with the prior knowledge has been discussed by Cameron (2001) who points out that when listening to a story in a foreign language, EFL learners are able to recall the meaning of some words or phrases in the foreign language. Although the storymay be told in the foreignlanguage, themental processing doesnot need touse the foreign language, andmay be carried out in the first language, or in some languageindependent way (Cameron 2001: 40). As stories are able to engage learners in using their existing language resources and knowledge of the world, readers are able to understand the underlying meaning and remember some phrases. It should be noted that a few teachers reported that froma linguistic aspect, they themselves also benefited from English picture story books. A comment made by T4 provides a vivid example: There are some situations I dont know how to express in English, but picture books let me know how to explain a situation in simple English. This kind of learning gives me a lot of happiness. (T4) A significant implication here is that T4 believed that English picture story books were able to provide the functional and communicative aspect of language learning, and helped her to learn how to communicate more efficiently and economically. This important point not only echoes the concept of the communicative approach (cf. Richards and Rodgers 1986), but also suggests the potential of picture story books to help teachers enhance their productive skill. A recent study conducted by Butler (2004) revealed that teachers of English in primary schools from Korea, Taiwan, and Japan perceived their proficiency in productive skills (speaking and

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writing) weaker than those in receptive skills (listening and reading). The gap in their proficiencies led the researcher to suggest that there is a need for the governments in these countries to consider how to improve teachers proficiency in productive domains, especiallywhen primary EFLteachers in these countries are all facing the growing need to develop communicative abilities in their students. Findings in this study suggest that, to some extent, picture story books might be a rich source for EFL teachers to improve their productive skills. The value of the story The interview data indicated that nine out of the ten teachers reported that stories have the potential to motivate learning. T4 and T8 provided vivid examples: Alot of students are happy to hear the story and theywould ask Could you tell us a story again? I think it is highly related to the content of the story. (T4) Agood story will always attract students. They like to read pictures, but for a story to be attractive to students, the story itself is very important. The ending had better be very dramatic. Something they could not expect. My motivation to use English picture books is very simple. I just want to use stories to motivate students to learn English. (T8)
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Both teachers pointed out students enthusiasmfor stories, and suggested it was the content of the stories that naturally drewstudents into the narrative. This corresponds to what has been suggested by Brewster et al. (op. cit.) that stories could provide an ideal introduction to the foreign language as they are presented in a context that is familiar to the students. For EFL children who have acquired the conventions of narrative they have learnt from their mother tongue, stories have the potential to help themmake the links with their prior knowledge, and to make the foreign language classroom less foreign. T9 and T4 also provided their opinions about the power of the story in engaging readers in the narrative. When we are teaching children, we use textbooks, which are either full of grammatical rules or dialogues. Books like these are dull, as the topics in these books mainly talk about everyday life. However, when you are reading picture books, you feel like you are watching a TVprogram. They provide you with all kinds of TV programmes, so it is a more fruitful and special learning. (T9) It is the idea and the content. Some stories are very interesting, so when you are reading them, you feel as if you were reading a Chinese book, not an English one. (T4) As noted by Rosenblatt (1970: 193) literature offers an important source of awareness of possible alternatives and, this kind of vicarious participation in different ways of life has a liberating influence (p. 194). The above statement seems to echo the idea as comments made by both teachers implied that the focus of reading stories was more content -based, rather than grammar-based. Key words used by teachers such as stories, the content, Chinese books, TV programmes, indicate that picture story books can bring readers an alternative world that is more pleasurable and engaging, compared with reading textbooks. Another issue brought up by a few teachers in this section was that they believed that English picture story books can be used not only to motivate learning, but also to sustain the reading process. For example: Because of the use of plots in a picture book, apart from learning vocabularies, students can be interested in the story and go on reading sentences without being aware of it. (T5) Students show great interest in the story. They are amazed to know that there are different ways of learning English. It is fun . . . For me story telling is like an activity. A teacher plants a seed there. It might help students to realize there are different ways of learning

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English. (T1) Both statements suggest that literature allows readers to shift from mechanical language learning to a more personal meaningful context (Collie and Slater op. cit.). The statement given by T1 also indicates that she believed that English picture story books can provide an alternative way of learning English, which is different from the textbook -based formal teaching.
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The value of the pictures

In terms of the value of reading the picture, two main points were suggested: (1) pictures increase comprehension, and (2) pictures stimulate imagination. The use of pictures to increase students comprehension of the story was reported by all the teachers. The statementmade by T7 is a typical example: Pictures arouse their learning interests. If you give them a pictureless book, they would say they dont understand the story.However, if you give them a picture book: on the right page, it says a book; on the left page, it has a picture of a book, they can understand it very easily. It motivates their learning. (T7) T7 considered that picture books could facilitate English learning and boost students confidence as reading pictures increases their comprehension of the text. A similar comment was made by T9 as he pointed out that reading pictures helped students to obtain a broad idea about the development of the story: They would look at the pictures and get a broad idea about what is happening. Then, they look at the language to see what exactly is happening in the story. The purpose of using picture books is to help them with their language learning. Pictures are just a learning aid and I use them to attract learners attention. I am not an art teacher, so I dont treat pictures as a main subject in my class. I hope when students read a picture, they are attracted by it and wont forget the meaning of the words. (T9) As pointed out by Schwarcz (1982) language discloses its content in time, whereas pictures confront the viewers all at once. Nodelman (1988) also notes that our understanding of language starts with details and moves towards the whole, whereas our understanding of pictures starts with wholes and breaks down into details. This feature of pictures allows beginning EFL readers to apply a top-down reading model when reading picture story books. As for beginning EFL learners whose limited English ability might constrain them from conducting a top-down model, pictures, to some extent, provide a source for them to form their own interpretation of the story by activating their prior knowledge. With regard to how pictures can stimulate childrens imagination, the interview result suggested that seven out of ten teachers considered pictures in picture books had the potential to stimulate students imagination. For example: Pictures are very different fromtexts. Readers can create the meaning of pictures. A picture could have many interpretations. I might ask: What do you see? They will raise their hands and tell me all kinds of their thinking.Different ideas bumpinto one another.Each will see something different because they have different views. The mediator, the teacher, gives rise to an idea and students expand it. In the beginning, students might just see one point, but, after the discussion, they will be able to see things they have never seen before. So when you ask if picture books can stimulate imagination, I think so. (T4)
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HBEL 3203 TEACHING OF GRAMMAR

Teaching Grammar Can Be Fun: An Oxymoron?

by Lisa Patrick
Teachers and students alike often yawn when it comes time to study grammar and mechanics. These topics tend to be dry and boring, but they are required skills according to Ohios Academic Content Standards. In Ohios Writing Conventions Standard: Students in grades 6, 7, and 8 are required to use all eight parts of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, conjunction, preposition, interjection). Students in grade 9 are required to maintain the use of appropriate verb tenses. Students in grade 10 are required to use clauses and phrases. Students in grades 11 and 12 are required to use correct grammar. According to the Writing Conventions Standards, students are expected to grow more skillful at using the grammatical structures of English to effectively communicate ideas in writing and to express themselves. So how can we get our students to grow more skillful? I have found great success in using picture books to teach grammar and parts of speech. Elementary school teachers have long been advocates of using picture books in the classroom, but they can be valuable resources for middle and high school teachers too. One of the masters of the picture book, Maurice Sendak, in his introduction to James Marshalls book George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends (1997), believes, The picture book is a peculiar art form that thrives on genius, intuition, daring, and a meticulous attention to its history and its various, complex components. The picture book is a picture puzzle, badly misunderstood by critics and condescended to by far too many as merely a trifle for the kiddies. Quality picture books

Adolescent Literacy In Perspective May/June 2007

www.ohiorc.org/adlit/

contain memorable language and beautiful illustrations. If you have ever experienced reading a childs precious picture book aloud, you know the value picture books can provide to adults and children alike. I teach a class to educators at Ashland University on teaching children to write. In this class, I encourage teachers to use picture books with students of all ages to illustrate quality writing. According to Kurstedt and Koutras (2000), The rich language and beautiful rhythm of picture books make them excellent choices for introducing the characteristics of great writing. . . . Students can more easily understand and appreciate how literary elements work from a short, complete work than they can from longer chapter books and novels (p. 5). The concise format of picture books offers teachers a practical tool for modeling great writing. Picture books also offer students authentic examples of correctly written grammar and parts of speech, as opposed to isolated worksheets and exercises.

Teaching Grammar with Picture Books

I like to use mini-lessons to teach the rules of grammar.

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HBEL 3203 TEACHING OF GRAMMAR

Mini-lessons are short lessons designed to introduce, model, practice, and apply skills. For example, if I want to teach my students about adverbs, I might begin my minilesson by reading Ruth Hellers Up, Up and Away: A Book About Adverbs (see below). After a discussion about what an adverb means and where to locate adverbs within sentences, I would model how to effectively use adverbs in a piece of writing. Next, I would provide guided practice in using the skill by giving my students a variety of action words and having them practice writing appropriate adverbs to describe these verbs. Students could then apply this skill by searching in their writers notebooks for correctly written adverbs. They could also search their individual writing pieces for verbs and add adverbs to help describe the actions in more detail. A number of authors have written picture books that explore grammar and parts of speech.

Ruth Heller
Ruth Heller has an impressive series of picture books that address a variety of language arts concepts. This World of Language series is a valuable resource to help students who struggle with using grammar correctly in their writing. Hellers picture books not only provide detailed definitions of the various parts of speech; they are also powerful models of grammatical structure. Using lively verse and vivid illustrations, Hellers books combine grammar definitions with a multitude of examples. She uses playful rhyme to teach the rules of grammar. And her books are very appropriate for older students, as they cover high-level grammatical concepts. For example, the author doesnt stop at defining a pronoun; she also covers more difficult concepts like reflexive and interrogative pronouns. At the end of her first book, A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns (1987), Heller introduces her World of Language series this way: But nouns arent all collective, and if Im to be effective, Ill tell about the other nouns and adjectives and verbs. All of them are parts of speech. What fun! Ill write a book for each. Ms. Heller went on to write seven other engaging books that focus on various parts of speech. In Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs (1988), the author observes: A VIGOROUS VERB is super superb.

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