28/9/2017 When I used to hate grammar...

I used to hate grammar a lot when I was studying in secondary school because grammar was so mechanical and robotic to me. I learnt grammar by listening to teachers' explanations on grammar rules and doing A LOT of grammar exercises (form-focused exercises). And I disliked grammar so much, especially in junior forms, because I always scored low and I barely distinguished some slight differences between similar grammar items.

Moving to senior secondary, I started to like grammar more because there wasn't grammar tests and exercises anymore! All I had was using grammar in reading and writing. At that stage, I came to realise that I actually know grammar and know how to use them. Of course I am not an expert in grammar but at least I can manipulate different grammar items to express myself articulately.

Reflecting on how I teach grammar, I am quite frustrated indeed. I haven't figured out an effective and interesting way to engage students in learning grammar. The so-called method I am using now is to explain to them the grammar rules (based on the explanations on their grammar books), check their understanding with a pile of grammar exercises (from form-based exercises to contextualised exercises), but I'm pretty sure my students dislike grammar too.