Pedagogical Grammar for EFL Teachers

1.Grammar, Language Pedagogy, and TESL/TEFL
2.The English Language and ELT
3.The English Sentence
4.Verbs
5.Auxiliary Verbs
6.Voice
7.Infinitives, Participles, and Gerunds
8.Nouns
9.Determiners
10.Pronouns
11.Adjectives
12.Adverbs
13.Prepositions
14.The Simple Sentence and Basic Grammatical Processes
15.Conjunctions and Longer Sentences
16.Basic Communicative Functions and Grammatical Structures
17.Direct and Indirect Speech
18.Some Morphological Structures of English Words
19.Punctuation
20.Conclusion

PREFACE

　　In the realm of language pedagogy, the controversy on whether grammar instruction is needed in language teaching in general and in TESLTEFL in particular has been an ongoing issue for a very long time. Language teachers and educators of different theoretical persuasions have put different degrees of emphasis on grammar instruction. Although the extent to which explicit grammar instruction is considered significant to English language teaching may vary, most EFL teachers think that they have to teach their students at least the basic facts and rules of English grammar. This view has remained unchanged through the years.

　　This book grows out of the materials designed for a course of English pedagogical grammar for prospective English teachers. The way in which the issues and issues and discussions in this book are structured is also the result of my experience in teaching such a course. The past six years have seen some positive results out of the course. Many of my students, prospective EFL teachers, have improved their competence in English grammar. It is my, as well as a lot of other people's, assumption that grammar has to be taught, particularly in an EFL setting such as Taiwan. And, naturally, it is also my wish that this book may help EFL teachers and/or prospective EFL teachers of different language backgrounds to improve their grammar competence.

　　To design materials for a university course is one thing. To put such materials into the form of a book is quite another. The gap between the two can be great and it took me over a year to finish the writing of this book out of the course materials I have been using for the past six years. For the eventual completion of this book, I have to express my thankfulness to my students who have been the major source of impetus that pushes me through this project of writing. To my colleagues who provide me with valuable opinions on grammatical analysis, I am also grateful. Finally, I have to thank my wife, without whose encouragement this book would have never been a reality.