Learners must overcoming "fear" of English

Simon Marcus Gower, Executive Principal, High/Scope Indonesia School, Jakarta

It is a common, but in many ways irrational, fear that so many learners of English in Indonesia have that learning English is difficult because there is "just so much grammar that you have to learn". It could be said that Indonesian learners are not alone in holding this fear, as all over the world it seems learners dislike grammar.

But this is an unfortunate condition. This fear harbors the misconception that grammar is a nasty and difficult thing but the opposite should really be the case. Grammar should be seen as a good and helpful guideline to developing the learner's language ability.

So great has this misconceived fear of grammar been that people have entertained the notion that it either should not be directly thought of or, at least, it should be sugared rather like distasteful medicine so that the learner hardly thinks of it as grammar. The word "grammar", then, has become something of a buzzword for fear and hence we think of the "structure" of the language or consider the "forms" or "patterns" in the language rather than have to use, (and create fear from), the word "grammar".

Like it or not, however, when learning any language whether first or foreign some reference to the grammar of the language is, believe it or not, going to prove useful. In many ways it is up to teachers to lead learners to a better appreciation and use of grammar.

Wholesale shifts in teaching methods are not likely to prove successful. For example -- many teachers of English in Indonesia now would lay claim to teaching in the "communicative method" whilst a generation ago the teaching method was more formal and grammatical in nature. The sudden shift from one teaching method to another has proved difficult for many and it is likely that the most appropriate method lies somewhere in a combination of the two.

It is a consistent, and entirely inaccurate, statement made by learners of English that there is too much grammar to learn in English whereas, they say, there is "none in Bahasa Indonesian". Of course, there actually is grammar in all languages and it is sad that learners would perceive that there is "too much grammar in English". This is surely a perception, and symptom of an unreasonable fear, that teachers of English should attempt to address.

So how do teachers of English improve the image of grammar? Variation and use of alternative methods is likely to be beneficial. For example -- presentation of new grammatical points is a familiar part of looking at the language. Such presentation should be meaningful so that the learners can see what linguistic and semantic value and significance the point of grammar has to them.

Relevance, then, is important in showing why the language works as it does. Likewise mixing presentation with explanation creates variety and should reiterate relevance. Explanations of grammatical points should be clear and simple. Showing that the explanation is just a more workable simplification should allow the learners to grasp the point and appreciate its relevance to their learning.

The use of practice activities will, naturally, help to show the very much living (live) relevance and need for appreciation of the grammar. In such activities a recently studied form could be focused on in a controlled manner so that the learners begin to apply what they have studied, not merely allow it to be lost in a quagmire of theory.

Presentation of grammar can be intermingled with discovery techniques that encourage the learners to work out for themselves the significance of the form being looked at. In this way various contexts in which a grammatical form appear can be utilized to provide the opportunity to learn and discover through examples.

Such examples could be either "authentic/ original" sources or "textbook generated" examples. The use of authentic material rather than textbook examples can be useful in highlighting the everyday, normal use of the language.

In the same way -- providing a rich exposure to the language will help illustrate and advance the learning. Reading and listening to material that even goes beyond the structures that learners have learnt can be useful.

The complexity of tasks could be modified to make texts easier for comprehension purposes but subconsciously learners may start to appreciate the unfamiliar points of the language. Even where the complexity seems too great this may serve a useful purpose in making the learner more receptive as and when the structure is focused on again more directly.

Balancing the variety of conditions that the new grammar is introduced (whether through presentation, explanation, analysis, discovery, controlled practice et al) will be an important vehicle for improving the learners' grammatical knowledge. This all amounts to multiple exposures that should allow the learner to internalize and retain knowledge with a high degree of spontaneity.

Remembering the learners as human beings will also help in smoothing the path to grammatical knowledge. Allowing them to explore their full grammatical range can give them a sense of fulfillment as they autonomously apply aspects that they have learnt.

Utilizing their existing knowledge of grammar will also create a sense of involvement that shows them that they already know some of what is required and the rest can readily fall into place.

It is also very important that a learner feels a sense of security in that they are able to make an attempt -- the best that they can. Grammatical errors are an essential part of learning -- we all make them and so learners should be encouraged to have a go.

Yes, errors may be repeated but, with plenty of opportunity to use and explore the language and good focus on accuracy at appropriate points in the learning process errors will diminish and improvements will emerge over time.

Ultimately it is vitally important that all learners learn to overcome their fear, in particular, when looking at English, an unreasonable fear of grammar. As Franklin D. Roosevelt, (a truly great American President), said in a quite different context "there is nothing to fear but fear itself".

This maxim is true for learning. Fear will encumber learning by limiting willingness to "have a go", make an attempt and explore in the language. Making attempts and exploration should be key parts of learning and should not be constrained by unnecessary fears.

Learners often report that they find grammar either "too difficult" or else "too boring". Both are unfortunate attributions to be made for grammar. Those who are charged with the responsibility of guiding learners of English should work to alter these regrettable reports.

Some of the ideas discussed above may help but it is clear that much more "public relations" work is required to soften the image of grammar. It really is not all bad and really is not quite so daunting as many make out. Like it or not, grammar is important and ultimately it does help considerably in making one's language communicatively competent.

The opinions expressed above are personal.