Grammar Problems in Spoken English Language

 Shima Antony

Avila College of Education

Abstract

 

            Grammar plays a substantial role in governing the use and application of language. It gives the user the structure to build complete and meaningful sentences. Learning grammar is important for second language speakers since they didn’t have the opportunity to learn the language from their birth. In this project, I explore the grammar problems faced by student of class VIII in LMCC HS, Chatiath and analyze various solutions that can help the second language learners of English.

 

Introduction

 

Grammar is important because it is the language that makes it possible for us to talk about language. Grammar names the types of words and word groups that make up sentences not only in English but in any language. As human beings, we can put sentences together even as children—we can all do grammar. But to be able to talk about how sentences are built, about the types of words and word groups that make up sentences—that is knowing about grammar. And knowing about grammar offers a window into the human mind and into our amazingly complex mental capacity.

 

Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the way we and others use language. It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English.

 

Objectives of the Study

 

•   To identify the difficulties faced by second language speakers in schools in learning English grammar.
•   To identify common grammatical errors found in second language speakers while speaking or writing target language.
•   To introduce some language games for learning grammar topics.
•   To emphasize the importance of learning grammar to become fluent in English language.

 

Hypothesis of the Study

 

•   Language games make language learning interesting and fun. Many students often find English grammar a dull subject. Introducing language games and interactive activities will increase the motivation of students in leaning grammar.
•   Teachers should emphasize the importance of learning grammar for fluent speaking as well as writing skills. Demonstration of these skills and fluency in language will encourage the students to learn grammar to improve their skills.

  

Methodology

 

Action/Intervention

 

The first test conducted for this survey was action pre speaking test. The students of class VIII-a, LMCC, HSS was selected to participate in this study. In this speaking test, the students were asked to talk about a general topic given to them by the examiner. Topics used for self introduction and school life.

 The following criteria were used to analyze each student’s performance.

• Grammatical correctness
•  Usage of punctuation
•  Clarity
• Proper syntactical structure.

 

 

The second test was administered soon after the speaking test. Multiple choice question method , jumbled words and transformation type questions were presented to  analyze the basic grammar knowledge of the students. The knowledge of parts of speech in English grammar was tested through this test.

The criteria used to analyze this test are:

•   Knowledge of parts of speech in English grammar 
•   Punctuation
•    Syntactical structure

 

Result and Discussion

 

Speaking Test

Grammar	Punctuation	Clarity	Syntax
45%	37%	56%	40%

 

Writing Test

Jumbled Words	Multiple Choice Questions	Transformation Questions
45%	60%	45%

 

The results of the test after the implementation of interactive sessions and language games were significantly higher compared to the pre-test results. The students were motivated to learn more grammar concepts through activities and most of them participated and improved their language skills.

 

Findings

 

•   Teacher should give proper reinforcement to the children.
•   Teachers should introduce language games and teaching aids to make learning a fun process.
•  Students should be made aware about the importance of grammar in language learning process.
•   Various classroom interactive activities will motivate the students to learn different grammar concepts.
•   Teachers should encourage the usage of second language in classroom among the students to learn the grammar concepts.  

Conclusion

 

Students should be provided with interactive learning methods along with traditional teaching methods while learning grammar concepts. Through this study , it was found the student learn difficult grammatical concepts when they are taught with the help of language games and teaching aids along with detailed explanation by the teacher.  It helps the students to be motivated and encourage all the students to actively participate in the learning process. Active participation in such activities provides the students with opportunity to use their grammatical knowledge for communication in real life scenarios.

 

References

 

•   https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/parts-of-speech-quiz.htm
•   Language teaching methodology, a textbook for teachers.
•   The foundation of teaching English as a second language.
•   Glencoe language arts grammar and language book.