Reflections on Grammar and Functions as Presented in Insights Into English

Reflections on Grammar and Functions as Presented in Insights into English By Aziz Lahrim & Elhassan Rouijel Part I 1.1 Preliminaries Teaching grammar and functions communicatively in an EFL setting is no easy matter. Teaching them is, in fact, tricky and challenging. EFL practitioners know quite well that knowledge of grammatical structures and communicative functions is one thing, and that using them successfully, effortlessly, and creatively in specific contexts is quite another thing. They are also aware that successful teaching of language points does not mean successful and effective learning of them. The present paper is an attempt to evaluate how some grammatical structures and communicative functions (social as well as rhetorical ones) are presented and practiced in the textbook, Insights into English. We will then try to give our own evaluation of the methodological techniques, practice exercises, communicative tasks and specific procedures employed in this textbook to meet the standards related to grammar and functions. As a matter of fact, and in order to be constructively critical, we will suggest some changes when a major deficiency is found. Before giving our evaluation, we would like to provide a word on textbooks. 1.2 Some advantages and drawbacks of textbooks. For a number of practical, pedagogical, and ideological reasons, textbooks play a crucial role in any EFL institutionalized formal setting. Indeed, they reflect assumptions and tenets about the nature of language teaching and learning, and mirror aims and standards that are to be attained in the classroom. They also provide a sense of “security” and “accountability” for all the stakeholders involved in the educational process. According to Hutchinson and Torres (1994:327), “education is a complex and messy matter. What the textbook does is to create a certain degree of order within potential chaos. It is a visible and workable framework around which the many forces and demands of the teaching-learning process can cohere to provide the basis of security and accountability that is necessary for purposeful action in the classroom”. Nevertheless, teachers shouldn’t rely exclusively on the textbook and follow the specific procedures steadily and blindly. It is incumbent upon them to make some methodological choices and design some learning activities that are relevant to their Ss’ specific needs and interests. Hutchinson and Torres warned against the hazards of the total dependence on “ready-made” textbooks: “The danger with ready-made textbooks is that they can seem to absolve teachers of responsibility. Instead of participating in the day-to-day decisions that have to be made about what to teach and how to teach it, it is easy to sit back and operate the system, secure in the belief that the wise and virtuous people who produced the textbook knew what was good for us. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case.” (op. cited: 46) Part II 2.1 Introduction Insights into English is an attempt to apply a “standards-based” approach of the type suggested in the official documents. So, a number of specific content, performance, and proficiency standards should be met. This textbook includes all the grammatical structures and functions that are cited in the English Language Teaching Guidelines for Second Year Baccalaureate (See appendix F, English Language Teaching Guidelines for Second Year Baccalaureate [Level Four], October, 2006). We will provide first an evaluation of some grammatical structures. Only then shall we focus on some functions. We hope that our evaluation can give some insights into this textbook as a whole and show some of its advantages as well as some of its shortcomings. Broadly speaking, the book adopts mainly an inductive learning to present new structures and functions. Correspondingly, there is a wide use of “noticing” tasks to help Ss to attend to the form, meaning and use of the target language items. There are five “Review & evaluation” sections and a grammar reference at the end of the book. 2.2 An evaluation of the grammatical component The grammatical section devoted to grammar is called “Brush up your grammar”. The latter appellation implies that the learners have already had some knowledge of the grammatical points and that all they need is just to be 1 brushed up as if the audience is first year university students. The focus of the grammatical component of the first unit is the presentation and practice of the past perfect contrasted with the past perfect continuous. The order of presentation and practice is shown in Table 1 below. 1. Noticing of the eight sentences containing the two perfect tenses. 2. Noticing the use the past perfect in two short exchanges (A & B as speakers) 3. Questions about the form and use of the tenses. 4. Sentence completion exercise. 5. Description of two pictures to use the tenses. Table 1: past perfect vs. past perfect continuous (SB p.24) At the presentation stage, we see that Ss are asked to notice the two target tenses which are contained in some sentences. One can’t but appreciate the use of the “noticing” tasks to “raise Ss’ awareness of the form and meaning of certain language structures in input” (Teacher’s Book p. 14). However, noticing can be more insightful and effective if the target structures are used in coherent texts or coherent conversations. The communicative context is so crucially important that it can “make structures which are embedded in the natural environment (discourse) potentially “processible” and “comprehensible” (Teacher Guidelines, op. cited: 40). We suggest that the same sentences, and with extra information, can be used in a conversation: John: How long had you been studying cultural anthropology before you had graduated? Coady: I had been studying it for four years before I graduated. I’ m fond of cultural anthropology. John: What did you do as soon as you had graduated? Coady: Well … as soon as I had earned my degree, I went on a tour of the world… Travelling helps me to get insights into other cultures. At the practice level, the students are asked to provide the appropriate verbs and put them in the correct form simultaneously. (Table 1-4). We believe it’s far better to focus on one thing at a time and not to give Ss two difficulties at the same time, especially at this stage. Nonetheless, we find the use of the visual aids (two pictures) to guess what had happened very effective and meaningful, (Table 1-5). In this section, one can easily notice that there is no free production stage. We can suggest, for instance, use of personalized role-play whereby each student asks his/her peer about what s/he had been doing at the junior school before s/he moved onto high school or just about what s/he had done before s/he went to school yesterday. In unit 2, like the previous unit, the grammatical section is at the end of the unit. It is better to incorporate grammar within the unit and to relate it to other skills so as not to downplay its crucial role in language. The order of presentation and practice is displayed in Table 2 below: 1. Noticing of eight sentences with verbs in the future perfect and future perfect continuous. 2. Matching exercises to identify the uses of the future perfect. 3. Gap-filling exercise. 4. Pair work to ask and answer questions. Table 2: Future perfect vs. future perfect continuous (S.B. P.40) We see clearly that in this section Ss are also asked to notice eight sentences that are not embedded in a coherent spoken or written piece of discourse. In fact, Ss should be provided with “data” which includes instances of discourse that look somehow “authentic” and which help them to know what people can do with these structures to communicate intelligently and intelligibly in specific contexts. Furthermore, Ss should be helped to work out the rule for themselves. The kind of matching exercise (Table 2. 2) used to help Ss to identify the uses of the future perfect and the future perfect continuous can’t be very helpful. We believe that such conceptual formulations of meaning rules are likely to confuse Ss. Meaning rules about future perfect tenses can be indirectly expressed by, for example, time markers, and therefore, we can avoid that metalinguistic terminology about uses, especially at the presentation stage. 2 I will have handed it present Thursday We suggest this email to be used at the presentation stage. Ss are required to read the text and extract all the verbs in the future perfect before to select the time expressions used with this tense. This activity is taken from Gateway to English 2 (S.B p.68) Table 3 : Gateway to English 2 (S.B p.68) In “ A letter to the student”, the textbook-designers say that the grammar sections will help Ss to discover for themselves “How grammar is used and for what purposes” (SB p.2). We’re sorry to say that the “input” provided is not that helpful to achieve the latter goal. As for the pair-work, we find the second task too controlled (Table 2-4) to fit into a “free-production” stage. The latter “entails the accurate and appropriate use of the rules both orally and in writing. It further upgrades the learners’ interpersonal, interpretive and presentational modes of communication” (Teaching guidelines, op. cited: 41). So, Ss can be asked, for example, to write an e-mail to talk about what they will have been doing before the end of the school year. The grammar section in unit 4 is concerned with reporting of statements. The steps suggested in the textbook are summarized below: 3 Noticing how a statement is reported (use of a visual aid with a ballon). Pair-practice: asking for and giving opinions about some suggested topics before reporting them. Noticing of a list of reporting verbs. Reporting the sentence after finding the right reporting verb. Noticing of five indirect speech sentences and finding the actual questions. Pair practice: asking questions and reporting the answers to the class. Table 4: Reporting statements (P. 71-73) In the noticing task (Table 3- 1) Ss are asked to notice how one statement is reported in the present. We find the use of the visual aid very helpful and useful to give a communicative meaning to the activity. Nonetheless, Ss need more contextualized “in-put” at the presentation stage to help them not only to conceptualize the new target structure but also to get insights into some communicative functions that reporting can fulfill in some particular contexts. We can ask Ss first to notice the paragraph and underline the reported statements. Only then can we ask them the following question: What do you think were the actual words spoken by the Australian in this passage? “I met a really interesting guy last night. He was an Australian, and he told me he’d travelled to Britain for only 50 £. He’d worked his passage on a few boats, and then he’d hitchhiked through Europe. He said that since he’d arrived in London he’d been earning a living painting people’s portraits in Trafalgar Square. He told me he was going to leave for America the following weekend.” The task used in the pair-work (Table 3-2) is communicative, especially if Ss are asked to write their opinion in pieces of paper before to exchange them and report the information. The next task of noticing the list of reporting verbs (Table3- 3) seems a bit challenging as many of the reporting verbs are unfamiliar to Ss. So, Ss need to notice how these reporting verbs are used as lexical items before being asked to use them “productively”. Furthermore, there is no clear indication of the tense of the reporting verbs in this task. In the next exercise, Ss should find the questions after studying the five decontextualized indirect speech sentences. We believe that such practice at the sentence-level is not very insightful and communicative. We can suggest the following coherent paragraph. At the outset, Ss should notice and underline the reported questions. The following activity can be more cost-effective if Ss work in small groups. “The first man was quite friendly. He wanted to know whether I’d visited Britain before, and how much money I had with me. He asked me how long I was going to stay, and where they could find me if they wanted to get in touch with me. Then another man came in and started asking me the most extraordinary questions: whether I belonged to any terrorist organisations, whether I’d ever taken drugs, what my political views were, why I was coming to Britain in January…” The task: what were the actual questions asked by: 1. The first man? 2. The second man? The task suggested for the pair-work (Table 3-6) can be more helpful to practice the target structure if some whquestions are added to the suggested questions. The section devoted to grammar in unit 5 focuses on linking words. At the presentation stage, Ss are given a matching exercise. They should match the eight linking words with their meaning before completing the eight sentences with the appropriate linking words. We firmly believe that linking words can’t be well conceptualized and internalized unless they are used in coherent texts at the presentation level. We also believe that linking words can’t be wellpracticed unless they are used in cohesive stretches of discourse at the practice level. We can suggest the following activity taken from Gateway to English II.p 18 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 4 Table 5: Gateway to English II.p 18 Before this activity, teachers can choose any reading text and ask Ss to “notice” how linking words are used so that they can get an idea about the use of linking words in real contexts. 2.3 An evaluation of the functional component This section of our report purports to present an attempt of a critical reading of the way functions are presented in Insights into English; namely, the section named “Use English Communicatively”. In this part of our report, we shall analyze three lessons: two lessons of social functions and one lesson of rhetorical functions. 2.3.1 Social functions a. Expressing wishes and regrets. The procedure is suggested as follows: 1) Noticing task: Ss notice how wishes are expressed in isolated sentences. 2) Noticing task: Ss underline the verb forms that follow “wish” and “if only”. 3) Ss complete the rules given. 4) Gap-filling and multiple-choice task: Ss put the verbs in the right form after having chosen the right verb from the list given. 5) Pair work: Ss read facts about smoking and give their opinions about them. 6) Practice: Ss re-read the facts and complete the sentences expressing wishes. 7) Free practice: Ss write five sentences expressing their wishes about the past, the present and the future. 8) Pair-practice: Ss ask and answer questions about their wishes. Table 1: Expressing wishes and regrets (S.B PP 29-30) 5 At the presentation stage, Ss are exposed to noticing tasks, which are supposed to be essential to raise Ss’ awareness of how to use the target functions. Normally, noticing tasks provide Ss with insights into the morphosyntactic dimension (form), the semantic dimension (meaning), and pragmatic dimension (use) of the target exponents. As a matter of fact, teaching communicative functions in EFL-classes, where English is not used outside the classroom is not an easy task. Therefore, sensitizing Ss to the various dimensions of the communicative functions can be a first step towards mastering them, but in a quite long process. The ability to use language effectively is, as M. Lewis puts it, “a potentially a life-long skill” (1993: 188). However, the textbook, at this stage, suggests that Ss notice the functional exponents in isolated sentences. Instead of being exposed to meaningful mini-dialogues or meaningful texts, they are given a set of sentences out of a meaningful context, an activity which not only disregards the ministerial guidelines, but also hinders the lesson from attaining its objectives altogether (see table 2). The ministerial guidelines explicitly advocate that: “it is advisable to adopt a text-based approach to the teaching/learning of language functions; that is, deal with them as they occur naturally in various types of text” (op. cited: 36). Worst of all, adopting a sentence-based approach to the presentation of this very communicative function deprives Ss from seeing its pragmatic dimension. For instance, Ss read: “I wish the situation were going to change”, but they are not given any clue that shows that “the situation is actually not going to change”, which means that Ss will not learn that expressing wishes is contradictory to the reality. As a result, Ss will not be able to grasp the pragmatic and the semantic dimensions of the target function unless the teacher is vigilant enough to intervene and make up for this inadequacy. Table 2: Noticing task. SB. P.29 In the second noticing task, Ss underline the verbs that follow “wish” or “if only” (Table 1-2). Then, they complete the rules provided (Table 1-3). If we follow these steps, we will be preoccupied with the grammatical forms of the exponents rather than with their functional uses. The decontextualized sentences Ss are invited to notice do not present any concrete differences between wishes in the present, the past and the future apart from the difference in tenses. The noticing tasks focus on the grammatical forms of wish-expressions, they fail to provide Ss with enough contextual clues to help them grasp the use of the target functions. According to R. Scott, “from a communicative point of view, using language well is not a simple question of grammaticality, but one of overall appropriacy and acceptability” (1981: 77). Hence, the irony is that the input in the section “Use English communicatively” is not presented communicatively. Then, at the practice stage, Ss are going to choose the right verbs from the list given (Table 1-4) and then put them in the right tense. This task poses two difficulties at the same time in front of Ss; they are checked in their vocabulary mastery, and in their grasp of the form, which is inadvisable, because exposing Ss to two difficulties at the same time is likely to drive their attention and concentration away from the target function. Another deficiency in this 6 task (Table 1-4) is that some of the isolated sentences Ss should complete do not contain any time markers. Consequently, Ss cannot decide whether to express wish about the present, the past, or the future. They have just to guess, and sometimes more than one guess can be a possible answer. For example, the sentence “I wish the major powers of the world (work)….. together instead of against each other” can bear two interpretations as long as there is no time marker. It is possible to say: “… worked ….”, expressing the wish in the present; or “….. would work …..”, expressing the wish in the future. The teacher’s book suggests “would work”. The teacher has therefore to ask Ss for their justifications after they have given their answers. We suggest that the target function be presented contextualized in an authentic exchange. The contextualized presentation of the target functions does not only make the lesson more communicative, but it also enables Ss to see the pragmatic and semantic dimensions of the target function, because out of its context, the functional exponents tend to lose their meaning, “contextualisation is the means by which the meaning of a language item is made clear” (op. cited: 75). Therefore, the presentation of the target exponent can for example come as follows: 1. Knowledge-building task (1): Ss read the conversation and answer these questions: Ali: I invited you to my party last Saturday but you Ahmed: If only you didn’t have these meetings this didn’t come. Why didn’t you come? week. I am very tired of work and I badly need to have Ahmed: Oh yes, I’m sorry for not coming. I had an some joyous recreation. appointment with my dentist. That’s why I couldn’t Ali: What about a party next weekend? come. Ahmed: Next weekend I will travel, I can’t attend it Ali: If only you hadn’t had that appointment. You again. missed a lovely party. We had a lot of fun. Ali: I wish you wouldn’t travel. We will have some Ahmed: Why don’t we organize a party next week? remarkable guests. Ali: I’m sorry, we can’t. My colleagues and I have had some meetings this week. So, we are very busy. a) Did Ahmed attend last week’s party? Why/why not? b) Why can’t Ali organize a party this week? c) Why will Ahmed miss next week’s party? 2. Knowledge-building task (2): After filling the chart, Ss compare between the wishes and the reality. Wishes Reality  If only you hadn’t had that appointment.  Ali ……….  I wish you didn’t have these meetings.  Ahmed and his colleagues …….  I wish you wouldn’t travel.  Ahmed ………………………….. Wishes are imaginary, different from the reality 3. Knowledge-building task (3): Ss notice the exchange again and fill in the chart Wishes Example Form Past If only you hadn’t had that appointment. If only+ …………………….…...+ …………………………………………… Present I wish you didn’t have these meetings. I wish + ……………………………….…+ ……………………………………… Future I wish you wouldn’t travel. I wish + …………………………….…+ ………………………………………… As far as the practice stage is concerned, we find the activities suggested in the textbook pertinent on the whole. However, we observe that activity (table 1-5) might take Ss out of the lesson for a moment. Ss might lose their concentration on their work for a moment when they digress and put aside the lesson to discuss the effects of smoking and then come back to the lesson. Instead, this activity can be used as a post task when Ss have finished the practice stage and have showed some grasp of the target function. 7 To make the practice stage more interesting and meaningful, we suggest that Ss be introduced to a story and use the target exponent in a context, and be asked to put some verbs in the story in the correct form to express wishes correctly. This is John Smith. Before he went to prison, he had been working in a bank. He wanted to become a rich and important person very quickly. He decided to steal 3 million $ from the bank and leave the country. He has to spend 15 years in prison now. Now John bitterly regrets his crime. He wishes he (not think) of stealing the money from the bank. He is sorry also because he didn’t tell his best friend Jack who could have stopped him. If only he (tell) him. Now his friend Jack is married and has got three children, while John is spending the best years of his lifetime in prison. He wishes he (be) free. His life could have been brighter and more beautiful with a loving wife. If only if he (be) now married to his colleague Laura. He wishes (have) children. John is also worried about his future life, after he leaves the prison. Prisoners usually find it difficult to get integrated in the society even after they leave the prison. They find it difficult to find a good job and to find the right woman and establish a family. John wishes he (find) a good job and (marry) a good woman. He wishes he (have) many children and (teach) them to be good citizens so as not go to prison. Table 3 This story of a prisoner who regrets his criminal past, and who is worried about his future, can make the practice stage more meaningful and interesting at the same time. b. Making and responding to requests (S.B. P.P. 83-84) 1) Noticing task: Ss notice ways of making requests in isolated sentences. 2) Matching exercise: Ss match the requests with the degrees of formality: very polite, polite, familiar. 3) Noticing task: Ss notice the responses in short exchanges. 4) Response-to-situations tasks: Ss are given situations and asked what they should say. 5) Role play: Ss play the four scenarios of task (4). Table 4 At the presentation stage, the textbook suggests a noticing task. Ss are going to notice the target exponents in isolated sentences (see table 5), which once again negatively influences Ss’s grasp of the pragmatic dimension of the target functions; reading six sentences expressing requests, without knowing who make them, and to whom they are made, does not help secondary school Ss to decide about their formality and appropriacy. Therefore, we suggest that the exponents be at least inserted in mini scenarios, with enough contextual clues about the circumstances of the use of the functions presented. 8 Table 5: The noticing task. SB. 83 Then, Ss move to the matching exercise, which is intended to be a knowledge-building activity that will sensitize them to the register of the functional exponents. To our mind, the degrees of formality could have been ranked into formal vs. informal instead of very polite, polite and familiar. Ss, for example, can be asked to fill in this chart, after being exposed to meaningful exchanges containing the target exponents: Requests Responding to requests Formal Informal High school Ss might be not linguistically qualified enough to distinguish between “polite” and “very polite” expressions of requests. Task (Table 3-3) is a continuation of the presentation stage. It is intended to expose Ss to the second part of the functional exponents, which is “responding to requests”. At the practice stage, the textbook suggests two tasks. Task (Table 3-4) elicits expressions of how to make requests according to the situations given. And then the following task (Table 3-5) is a continuation of the previous task. It suggests role-play of the four previous scenarios. In pairs, Ss are going to make the requests and to respond to them according to the formality or the informality of the situation. However, we prefer the way “making and responding to functions” is suggested in Gateway to English 2. The procedure is suggested as follows: 1) Noticing and matching task: Ss read mini dialogues and match them with the speakers. 2) Noticing and consciousness raising task: Ss extract the expressions of making and responding to requests and fill in the chart. 3) In pairs, Ss add other expressions of making and responding to requests to the chart. 4) Role play task: Ss are given scenarios to role play. Table 6: Gateway to English 2 (S.B. P. 13-14) The presentation of the exponent here is more meaningful and comprehensible than the one suggested in Insights into English. The target exponents are not introduced in isolated sentences. Rather, they are inserted in minidialogues (see table 7). 9 Table 7: Noticing task, SB P.13 At the presentation stage, Ss are given the clues they need to match the exponents with their register, these clues are given through the context and through the identification of the speakers. In the practice stage, we suggest a role play similar to the one proposed in the textbook. 2.3.2 Rhetorical functions: Unlike communicative functions, rhetorical functions are the ones Ss encounter in academic texts, and the ones Ss usually need in their writings. They can also be used in spoken English. Therefore, the textbook suggests them as parts of writing activities. Expressing cause and effect (S.B P.85) As mentioned before, this function, together with other rhetorical functions, does not come in the textbook, Insights into English, as an independent lesson, but as a part of a lesson of writing. This function comes as a prewriting activity. Hence, before writing a poster about brain drain, Ss are exposed to this diagram. Table 8 The diagram describes the cause-and-effect relationship between X and Y. The phrases which express cause and effect are classified into a group of cause-effect and a group of effect-cause. Surprisingly, Ss are asked to underline the phrases they will use in the writing task without even seeing them used in a meaningful context at the “seemingly” presentation stage. Apparently, the task presupposes that Ss master the phrases presented, and, therefore, need no 10 further explanation. If the case is so, the task devised seems to be redundant. Otherwise, if Ss don’t master the target functions, the way it is presented in the textbook will be of no help for them to understand them and use them in the writing task. Instead of this meaningless and pointless task, we suggest following activity. 1) Noticing task: Ss read a short cause-and-effect text, underline causes and effects, and circle the linking words. In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now about 50% of the Earth's population lives in urban areas. There are several reasons for this occurrence. First, the increasing industrialization of the nineteenth century resulted in the creation of many factory jobs, which tended to be located in cities. These jobs, with their promise of a better material life, have lead to many people’s immigration from rural areas. Second, ensuring a bright future for the workers’ children has caused a large number of schools to be built. Also, vast immigrations were due to the promise of a brighter life and a better education. Finally, as the cities grew, people established places of leisure, entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums, theaters, and museums. For many people, these facilities made city life appear more interesting than life on the farm, and therefore drew them away from rural communities. 2) Concept checking task: Ss fill in the chart with cause and effect sentences. Causes Effects 3) Noticing task: Ss read the text again and classify the linking words in this chart Cause Effect Effect Cause 4) Gap-filling task: Ss are given cause-and-effect sentences with gaps and asked to insert the right linking words. 5) Free practice: Ss write a cause and effect essay. Table 9 At the presentation stage, Ss will study how linking words are used in a meaningful text. Task 2 is devised to check their understanding of the concepts cause and effect. Then, in task 3 they will classify the phrases in terms of cause-effect and effect-cause. Task 4 checks to what extent Ss can use the phrases correctly in the gap-filling exercise, because Ss have to use the phrases accurately before being given the opportunity to use them fluently. The last step is the writing activity, which offers Ss with the opportunity to freely practice the target functions. Conclusion: By and large, we hope that we have succeeded in giving an overall tentative evaluation of the ways “Grammar” and “Functions” are dealt with in Insights into English. An examination of the units we focused on in this paper reveals that Ss are usually asked to notice either sentences or functional exponents at the presentational stage. We have demonstrated the shortcomings of this approach. We have suggested that Ss be given coherent and cohesive stretches of discourse to be processed. In fact, Insights into English has failed to give Ss insights into what people can do with grammatical structure and functions. Paradoxically enough, Ss are expected to use some language elements communicatively, which have been presented to them non-communicatively. So, we advise teachers who must use this textbook to supplement it with their own extra-materials. It seems that the methodology used to present in-put is not impacted by modern trends in discourse analysis and applied linguistics. Actually, many taken-for-granted assumptions about Moroccan learners should be called into questions before designing textbooks, facts which seem not to have been taken into consideration by the designers of Insights into English. Therefore, we hope that this textbook would be changed, or withdrawn from the Moroccan syllabus altogether. References  Lewis, M. 1993. The Lexical Approach: The State of ELT and a Way Forward. London: Language Teaching Publications.  Scott, R. 1981. “The Four Skills in Communicative Language Teaching”, in Communication in the Classroom, Johnsen, K. and Morrow, K (ed). Essex: Longman Group Ltd.  Rhiti. A. et.al. 1995. Our Profession in Caricature. Oujda: Edition Orientale.  MEN. 2006. English Language Teaching Guidelines for Second Year Baccalaureate (Level Four). 11 12