10 April 2009

English Roundtable to Examine Teaching Grammar Communicatively

April 14 webchat with Beijing’s English language officer, Damon Anderson

The pendulum regarding the teaching of grammar has swung from methods that say all teaching of English should be grammar based to methods that say grammar should not be taught at all. Where are we now on this topic? It seems that we are back in the middle, with our leaders saying that we should teach grammar, but do so communicatively. What does that mean? Some say it means to teach the rules, but not do the old-fashioned substitution and chain drills. We should give examples and activities from authentic communication.

Join us on April 14 at 2 a.m. EDT (14:00 Beijing/06:00 GMT) to discuss these questions and other issues regarding the teaching of grammar. We look forward to your comments, suggestions and best practices on teaching grammar communicatively. Our guest will be Damon Anderson, regional English language officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China.

If you would like to participate in this webchat, please go to http://statedept.connectsolutions.com/englishroundtable/. No registration is needed. Simply choose "Enter as a Guest," type in your preferred screen name and join the discussion. We accept questions and comments in advance of, and at any time during, the program.

The transcript of this webchat will be available on America.gov’s webchat page, where information about upcoming webchats is also available.