The amount of grammar is one of the fundamental differences in each method of teaching foreign languages. On one hand, school and university approach gives a major role to grammatical rules. On another hand, alternative methods aim to reproduce the conditions for initial learning of a first language by children. These new methods reduce the teaching of grammar rules and even eliminate them. As always, the most effective method lies in between those two extremes.
Indeed, overwhelming students with grammar right at the beginning of their learning can be discouraging and counterproductive. But radically eliminating the teaching of grammatical rules deprives students of this wonderful instrument to understand the structure and logic of a language. There is no denying that a child begins to speak a language before going to school. However, he draws his ability to speak effectively using the grammar rules without being able to describe them. It is this thinking that inspired the title of this article: "when and how to start studying grammar?".
I have, for my part, no solution, but I gathered in this text some answers. It is a matter of history and time available. Anyone tempted to venture into learning something vain should begin by asking two fundamental questions: For what purpose do I want to learn a language (for example Portuguese)? And how much time do I have to do this?
Before I begin, I ask myself these questions:
- Why learn Portuguese?
My goal is to get out of various situations during my vacation in communicating with people.
- How much time do I have?
I have less than 3 months and I can spend 15 minutes a day.
Obviously, given the time I have, it is unrealistic to master the grammar of the language. Also, my goal is to be able to quickly make myself understood. I know that my Portuguese is not perfect, but that does not matter: my mistakes will not harm either to the understanding of my contacts or my desire to make myself understood. After starting to express myself and having learned a lot of vocabulary and common phrases, I could, if I wish, improve by learning grammar.
Let's consider, on the contrary, the case of a student in language who wish to become a translator after a university course of 3 years. His goal, and available time have nothing to do with mine. Although I would advise him not to immediately throw on grammar, he will have to quickly devote much time and energy to these notions. To each his style, to each his method. There are those who like to organize what they learn. They set the tables, elaborate patterns and discover the rules. Others are more effective with improvisation and spontaneity.
For my part I think I fall in between. I like to let me go to the spontaneity early by immersing myself in the language by listening and memorizing words and phrases, then move to a consolidation phase during which I stick precise rules on the sounds that I learned. Each of us need to find the method that will be most useful. The obsession with perfection can be an obstacle to expression. Some people speak a foreign language without ever having opened a grammar book. Sometimes they speak more naturally compared to those who, after years of university, think about the rules many times in their head before opening their mouth.
Grammar can slow down expression, even if later it will prove useful. All this to say that if your goal is to quickly be able to speak, it is best at first to not worry about grammar: errors play a role in learning while the immediate search for perfection can make you speachless.
What about you, how have you been learning languages. With or without grammar?
January 2015