ESL Grammar Strategies Article Critique

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English is one of the hardest languages to learn. It has a number of complex grammatical structures and conventions that are often not in line with other languages, making it difficult for learners to really grasp English grammar while learning the language as a second or foreign language in ESL or EFL classes. Traditional methods for teaching grammar are often difficult in ESL and EFL courses. Thus, Widodo (2006) provides a series of alternative strategies with clearly outlined step to help better introduce complex conventions of English grammar to those learning English as a second language.

Widodo (2006) developed a five-point method for teaching English grammar within the context of his work, "Approached and Procedures for Teaching Grammar." It is geared specifically towards teaching English as a second language in EFL and ESL courses. Thus, these students already have an advanced understanding of grammatical conventions in another language and are learning English as a second language. Widodo (2006) understands how important grammar conventions are in order to increase the degree of fluency students are capable of in their second language, in this case English. Thus, he developed a strategy that aims to use their advanced thinking skills in order to help digest new grammatical materials and rules within their second language earning. This five point method contains a number of steps that is meant to introduce students to grammatical conventions, provide those prime opportunities for practicing the skills they are learning, and for the teaching of more comprehensive thinking that allows students to then extend their knowledge of certain conventions past what they have been immediately taught. The steps include practice, conscious raising, explicit and implicit knowledge, and deductive and inductive strategies for teaching grammar. Practice entails providing room for students to practice and then be evaluated on their performance, whereas conscious-raising activities are meant to make students aware of the context of certain grammatical rules.

There are a number of strengths within the article that help its legitimacy and credibility within the field. Widodo (2006) does thoroughly develop the importance of grammar within language learning in order to show the necessity of his plan within the context of learning a second language. He writes, "grammar is though to furnish the basis for a set of language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing," as "grammar plays a crucial part in grasping and expressing spoken language (e.g. expressions) since learning the grammar of a language is considered necessary to acquire the capability of producing grammatically acceptable utterances" (122). In this statement, Widodo (2006) is connecting grammar to language learning not just from a written perspective, but also from an oral and literacy perspective as well. This essentially legitimizes the need for a well-developed plan for teaching grammar because it demonstrates the importance of grammar in learning and understanding all facets of language development. Essentially, Widodo (2006) presents a strong foundation for why his point-based plan is necessary in EFL and ESL learning, which makes a strong case for his later recommendations.

Additionally, Widioo (2006) also points out some of the flaws in current strategies as another way to strengthen his own plan and legitimize his assumptions. He explains that in EFL, "teaching grammar has traditionally been dominated by a grammar-translation method" that uses the mother tongue as a basis for a deductive style of learning (Widodo, 2006, p 123). Thus, grammar rules are taught separately than the actual vocabulary and speaking skills of the language itself. Yet, this can cause a disconnect between speaking and writing, as the grammatical conventions are often not taught in a way where they make sense in both contexts. This, according to Widodo (2006), can be improved through the introduction of new and alternative teaching methods, such as the ones he presents within the context of this paper. Again, Widodo (2006) shows strength in his reasoning because he pinpoints potential problems within teaching in the field and then uses these issues as a way to develop and introduce his own alternative methods.

Moreover, there is strength in the way Widodo (2006) presents each of his crucial steps within the context of his plan. For each method, practice, conscious raising, explicit and implicit learning, and inductive and deductive strategies, Widodo (2006) has an outline of five steps to help introduce grammar concepts to the adult EFL or ESL learner. These are in chronological order in regards to how the teacher would introduce the grammar being taught, allow the students to practice, and then methods for evaluation.

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There is also a great explanation of implicit and explicit learning, along with the differences between inductive and deductive approaches to teaching grammar and tenses to EFL and ESL students. Widodo (2006) clearly outlines the differences between the logical approaches. Essentially, he explains how it is crucial to teach students from an explicit approach, but also implicit approach. Explicit knowledge allows students to understand grammar from a practical usage perspective, where students can actually use the rules they are learning. This is also similar to deductive strategies, which are "rule-driven" and thus allow students to learn the rules of grammar first and then apply them to their own speaking and writing appropriately (Widodo, 2006, p 125). This is the more traditional route. Yet, Widodo (2006) does make a case for teaching strategies that heighten implicit knowledge as well, which "is unconscious, internalized knowledge of language that is easily accessed during spontaneous language tasks, written or spoken," (125). This comes as a result of mastering more explicit tasks and signals more complex language acquisition and usage. Widodo (2006) also mentions inductive approaches, where individual observations lead to a greater understanding of comprehensive rules of grammar. He does an excellent job of outlining the steps with these two methods of teaching, but also comparing advantages and weaknesses so that individual teachers can make decisions themselves about which style is more appropriate for their classrooms. This makes his work flexible and fluid enough to be practical in a real world context.

Still, there are some weaknesses. First and foremost, the steps are not necessarily what would traditionally be considered actual steps within an ordered procedure. They are more based on possible strategies that can be used together or independently at different stages of the language learning level. Thus, Widodo (2006) is a little deceiving in regards to labeling his alternative strategies because they do not always flow in logical order with one another in a way that can be directly translated into a lesson plan in a real class room. Rather, the five steps are within the context of each individual strategy, meaning each alternative method Widodo (2006) provides has an inclusion of five unique steps to that method that is until very late in the article. These steps are much clearer and outlined, but it is the general set up in the introduction that makes it seem like he was going to present five cohesive steps throughout the entire paper, rather than five steps for each potential method. This could have been better clarified within the abstract and introduction paragraphs so that the reader was clearer about what the steps entail earlier in the essay or at least with mentioning that this part was to come later.

Additionally, these steps within each individual strategy are quite cut and dry. There is very concise explanation of each step, without any real advice for how to handle students who do not necessarily work well with the steps in the process. The following dialogue after the introduction of the steps fails to provide strong advice for how to handle cases where students face difficulty grasping the grammar being taught to them. Instead, the steps are quickly outlined and then justified. It would have been much stronger and informative to not only provide justification for the steps, but also a plan of attack if they are not proving efficient in the unique context of the individual classroom, where learners often have very different styles for acquiring language and grammatical devices.

Also, some of the methods like implicit and explicit knowledge lack steps at all, which conflicts with the general structure of the rest of the essay. It would have strengthened Widodo's case if the author had placed more context describing potential problems learners may have through the process of each category and then proceed to give advice as how to handle such problems or what other alternative methods may work better to resolve any issues the students are having during the learning process. This leaves a good explanation for the ideas, but fails to explain how they can practically be applied within the context of a real world classroom. Ultimately, providing a more cohesive step-by-step plan for these two pieces of the puzzle would have made the article more informative to teachers looking to apply such strategies in the field and would have made the segments more cohesive with the structure of the rest.....

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