Teaching languages - a guide to the importance of grammar and conversation classes
LikeModern language learning techniques used in private language lessons and in schools have created a divide between conversation classes and grammar classes. Assuming that traditional grammar classes lack the tools to teach conversation, language methods these days have often catapulted to the opposite extreme: conversational skills without conscious teaching of grammar.
Can you learn a language exclusively through regular conversation?
The answer depends upon the criteria of ‘learning a language’. Often people mean being able to converse fluently on a range of daily topics. It is possible to gain that conversational level through regular conversation.
However, if the criteria of learning a language is being fluent in speaking, reading, and writing, then the exclusively conversational method has several flaws. Many languages have differences between written and spoken forms. Furthermore, foreign language speakers in their target country need to read and write. They may have to fill out job applications, visa applications, read street signs, and so on. These skills must be consciously learned in addition to conversation to ensure maximum comfort in the language.
How much importance should we give to grammar?
Grammar is essential to accurate oral and written communication in the same way that playing scales is essential to accurate performance. Foreign language speakers can open themselves to impatience and even hostility from native speakers when abroad if their speech is full of grammatical mistakes. This does not mean that foreign language speakers should never make any mistakes, as this is not possible even for native speakers. But it does show that learning accurate speech will improve cultural experiences with native speakers.
It has been argued that grammar can be picked up alongside conversation. This is not necessarily true. Foreign language speakers whose knowledge of their own native language grammar is poor can hardly be expected to understand grammar in a foreign language unless it is consciously taught. And even conscious teaching will be difficult if they cannot understand how the foreign language grammar differs from their native language.
Many foreign language speakers in English-speaking countries struggle to understand the meaning of simple grammatical terms like ‘verb’, direct object’, and ‘preposition’. This is a handicap to approaching languages such as German, and the Slavic languages, many of which use cases.
Observation and even research have shown that foreign language speakers can spend years making the same fundamental errors, even if they live in a foreign country for years. Early understanding of accurate speech therefore saves foreign language speakers time wasted in correcting errors later on. It’s far more difficult to reverse an ingrained wrong habit, especially with older students. Even though many argue that children learn grammar through listening, this doesn’t account for the language quality they’re exposed to at home, the frequency of correction, and the quality of their formal education.
Speaking with a high degree of accuracy doesn’t just save time; it is also associated with a higher socioeconomic status. Advanced foreign language speakers may find better employment opportunities or simply just find it easier striking up friendships with native speakers.
Downplaying this vital aspect to learning a foreign language is therefore counterproductive and costly in the long run.
What’s the best route to take to learn a foreign language?
The most effective way to learn a foreign language is to combine necessary conversation with conscious teaching of grammar. Lengthy explanations and charts should be cut out entirely, and all teaching led by examples written in the student’s native language first. This forces the student to translate into the foreign language, rather than translating from the foreign language into his native one.
The student should be exposed to a series of prompts which build on from each other sequentially, not a series of sentences that have no connection to each other. For example, learn Hello, how are you? Hello, how is he?, rather than Hello? What’s your name? How old are you?
Using sequential conversation, rather than purely learning different conversational phrases, consciously teaches the student grammar, especially sentence structure. In the above example, the student will see that a verb changes form according to different pronouns when asking this simple question. The student will learn the order of a sentence in a foreign language and will see how this compares to his native language.
Notes on grammar should be added underneath the example. These should be as succinct as possible. This means that many language books on the market today could be far shorter, with more text devoted to essential sentences, rather than lengthy explanations in English and discouraging charts without any context.
This method teaches a student to speak accurately when saying the most fundamental and useful things in a foreign language. As they will quickly understand the sentence structure, the student will quickly invent his own sentences, find it easier to read, and take less time to understand the spoken language at natural speed. Some students may find that they can pick up additional languages quicker.
Conclusion
Neither an exclusive focus on conversation or an exclusive focus on grammar in private language lessons will help students become fluent in a foreign language. A method based on fundamental conversation with conscious teaching of grammar introduces key sentences according to a logical sequence. By using native language prompts first, the student is forced to use educated guesses and recall, which ensures better retention from the beginning. As a result of this method, the student’s ability to speak, read, and write develops holistically, and with it, the most important ingredient to successful speaking: confidence.