How To Make Learning Grammar Online Fun
by Yvonne Ho
Prof. Ho is a full-time Professor at the American Military
University who teaches English Composition, Literature and Foreign Language
Do you find learning online grammar tedious? Do students
find memorizing grammar rules overwhelming? Why not make online grammar teaching fun by
turning it into a game? I actually found
out about this game when I was teaching French online.
Example French Grammar Game
French Grammar Rule: In French, all French nouns are either
feminine (la femme) or masculine (le stylo). The
grammar rule being learned was that if a French noun ended in e, or ion the
French noun would be feminine, but if the French noun ended in anything else,
it would be masculine.
French student one: Is this French noun masculine or
feminine? Table
French student two: This French noun is feminine because
table ends in an e.
Students have fun guessing
the gender of the French noun. Having students give each other grammar question
posts is a fun way for students to learn this major grammar French gender rule.
So far, I have used a grammar game to teach students a grammar rule in a foreign
language.
What about teaching students English grammar? Can this
grammar game be used for English teachers teaching English grammar online? The
answer is Yes, you can. These grammar
games can be used to prepare students for online English grammar quizzes or for
online comma quizzes. Students hate
memorizing grammar, but they love playing grammar games to learn those same boring
rules.
Example English Grammar Game:
English Grammar Rule: In this grammar game, students are asked to
distinguish the difference between a simple sentence, a compound sentence, a
complex sentence and a compound complex sentence in English. Student 1 posts
the grammar question and then Student 2 guesses the answer and writes the corresponding
grammar rule.
Grammar Game 1
Student 1 posts: Is this sentence a simple, compound or
complex sentence?
John eats steak.
Student 2 posts: The sentence, “John eats steak” is a simple
sentence because Subject + Verb + Object (SVO) is a simple sentence.
Then Student 2 can post his own grammar question along the
same line and so on.
Grammar Game 2
Student 1 posts: Is this true or false?
A dependent clause is a complete sentence.
Student 2 posts: This is false because a dependent clause
expresses an incomplete thought.
By encouraging students to quiz each other, students have
fun learning grammar and egging each other on in trying to guess the right answer.
If a student guesses wrong, the original poster has fun giving hints to the
right answer or the student has fun explaining why he/she was wrong. This
concept of having students teach each other grammar and quizzing each other is
similar to the concept of flipping the classroom. In addition, the teacher can also play the
game and post incorrect grammar sentences for the students to correct;
therefore, the teacher becomes the participant, a guide by the side, in a
student focused online forum discussion. In the end, students learn grammar and
have fun at the same time by playing a grammar game rather than memorizing
grammar rules by rote.
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