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Inductive and deductive method of teaching grammar
i) Deductive method
In this method, the grammatical rules are explained before examples. In other words,
first, rules of grammar are presented and then examples are given on the basis of the
rules. For example, if simple present tense is going to be taught, the rules are
explained first. The first person( I, We), second person (You), third person
plural(They) and plural nouns always have the base form of the verb (plural form).
However, third person singular (He, she, it) and singular nouns uses singular verbs. It
means 's' or 'es' is added to the base form of the verb to make it singular. After such
explanation of the rules, some examples are presented on the basis of the rules as
following:
I go to school.
We go to school.
You go to school.
Ram eats a mango.
Sita eats a mango.
They eat some bananas.
The boys play football.
The girls play table tennis.
The sun rises in the east.
He always speaks English.
They like travelling
The students are asked to create their own sentences applying the rules they have just
learned. However, deductive method is called a teacher centred method, it is useful
for the beginners.
ii) Inductive method
In this method some sample sentences or examples are presented before the rules.
The rules of grammar are derived later with the help of the given examples.
Ram reads a book.
Gita draws a picture.
They play volleyball.
You sing a song.
A cow gives milk.
I go to school every day.
She likes music.
We play football.
In this method, the teacher can involve the students more than that of the deductive
method. That's why it is also called a student centred method. It is very helpful to
teach grammar in a communicative way. This method is very effective.
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