English Language Teaching in its Social Context

TEACHING GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT 195Example 2Study the following extracts. One is a piece of genuine conversation, the other is taken froma language teaching textbook. Which is which? What differences can you see between thetwo extracts? What language do you think the non-authentic conversation is trying to teach?What grammar would you need in order to take part in the authentic conversation?Text A‘A: Excuse me, please. Do you knowwhere the nearest bank is?B: Well, the City Bank isn’t far fromhere. Do you know where the mainpost office is?A: No, not really. I’m just passing through.B: Well, first go down this street to thetraffic light.A: OK.B: Then turn left and go west on SunsetBoulevard for about two blocks. Thebank is on your right, just past the postoffice.A: All right. Thanks!B: You’re welcome.Text B2A:B:A:B:A:B:A:B:A:B:A:How do I get to Kensington Road?Well you go down Fullarton Road , . .. . . what, down Old Belair, and around. . .. ?Yeah. And then you go straight . . .. . . past the hospital?Yeah, keep going straight, past theracecourse to the roundabout.Youknow the big roundabout?Yeah.And Kensington Road’s off to the right.What, off the roundabout?YeahRight.Teaching language in ways that make form /function relationships transparentThis principle can be activated by creating pedagogical tasks in which learners structureand restructure their own understanding of form/function relationships through inductiveand deductive tasks. Example 3, taken from Badalamenti and Henner-Stanchina (1 993:lOS), is useful for exploring a range of structures, including ‘there + be’, articles, yes/noquestions, and conjunctions.The teacher can determine which form/function relationshipsare focused on by giving the learners certain types of prompts, for example: Whoseapartment is this? How much can you tell about the person who lives here? Is the personpoor? Why is the person fit?Encouraging learners to become active explorers of languageBy exploiting this principle, teachers can encourage their students to take greaterresponsibility for their own learning. (A striking example of this principle, in an ESL setting,can be found in Heath (1 992).) Students can bring samples of language into class, and worktogether to formulate their own hypotheses about language structures and functions. Isometimes give my students a Polaroid camera, and get them to walk around the campustaking photographs, either of signs and public notices which they believe are ungrammatical,or of signs which they think are interesting, or puzzling, or which contain language theywould like to know more about. The photographs then become the raw material for ournext language lesson. In fact, the last time I did ths, the lesson culminated in the studentswriting a letter to the university estates office pointing out the errors and suggestingamendments.