For many years, it may be up to now, grammar has been taught very traditionally to the English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. However, the way of grammar teaching, whether it should be taught explicitly or implicitly, is still a controversial issue that has been debated at least in the last ten years (Nassaji & Fotos, 2004. p 126). Karshen states that learning grammar explicitly, develops only the declarative knowledge of grammar not the ability of using grammar (Karshen, 1981 in Nassaji & Fotos, 2004. pp. 24 – 25) while Garau argues that teaching grammar explicitly, with a formal instruction, gives benefit for the lower linguistic scores learners to develop their language performance and it also improves learners’ lexico – grammatical competence ( Garau, Arranz, & Noguera, 2007. p.8). There is still unclear whether the best way to teach grammar is giving formal instruction about grammar or teaching it implicitly and let the learners have grammar acquisition.
Learning grammar explicitly may give some advantages, such as developing learners’ grammatical knowledge that will support their next learning process, take for example when they learn phonetic, they are also learning about lexicon, a research shown that grammatical knowledge of learners support their learning process in understanding lexicon in phonetic. However, the most important thing in EFL is communication aspect or language performance. Take another example, a research found that learning grammar explicitly is an ineffective learning process, it is proved by the result of students’ writing (Andrew, 2006. p.39).
It is still controversial issue that grammar should be taught explicitly or implicitly, each method has its own strength and flaws. However, Ellis explains that
‘the learners must have at least some productive metalanguage and the ability to provide clear explanations of abstract phenomena, while learners’ explicit knowledge exists independently of both the metalanguage they know and their ability to explain rules’ (Ellis, 2005 in Fei & Tian, 2008. p.56).
It shows that declarative grammar knowledge is different from learners’ language performance. In other word, language performance is more than just grammar knowledge, but it doesn’t mean taking grammar classes is useless. Taking grammar classes still gives advantages, because it supports the teaching learning process as Wang claims that it is also hard for the learners to speak English without knowing English grammar (Wang, 2010. p.78). It just does not give so many advantages when the learners take grammar classes. As Wang restates Hymes explanation that the concept of “communicative competence” should include “linguistic competence” and “linguistic performance” (Hymes, 1972 in Wang, 2010. p.80), it shows that learning grammar is still needed, but the learners need not to learn grammar too much. The EFL learners still need to take grammar class, but they don’t have to take it over and over again in the other terms.
There are some reasons why the EFL learners need not to take grammar classes over and over again, first, learning grammar in formal instruction of a special grammar class does not develop EFL learners’ language performance significantly. It has been researched for the last three decades, when the learners take a grammar class they may be good at understanding the form or pattern of English, but it doesn’t mean they will have a significant development in their language performance. Take for example the learners who have good knowledge about grammar, even advanced grammar, and may do a lot of mistake in their writing and speaking. It is possible for them to forget the pattern of grammar they have known or they are not be able to apply the knowledge they got in grammar class (Soon, 2010. p. 64). Take another example, in speaking class, Chomsky declares that ‘ideal speaker – listener, in a completely homogeneous speech society, who knows its language perfectly and is unaffected by such grammatically irrelevant condition’ (Chomsky, 1965 in Eisenchlas, 2010. p.14). It is clear that the development of declarative grammar knowledge doesn’t guaranty the progress of EFL learners’ language performance, especially in speaking; they still make grammatically mistakes while they are speaking. Another important aspect language performance is communication, but most of EFL learners learn English grammatically, tough ‘grammar is still seen but form – sterile, abstract, and meaningless’ (Garrett, 1986 in Cohen, 2009). It means that grammar is just a concept, when the learners have mastered the grammar it doesn’t mean they can apply this into the language for communication. In other words, taking grammar classes and passing them well do not always improve the learners’ language performance.
While at the same time there is an argument that a language cannot be learned without ‘some degree of consciousness has been found theoretically problematic’ (1980s hypothesis in Nasaji & Fotos, 2004. p. 127). This hypothesis shows that without consciousness, means understanding the declarative knowledge of language – grammar in this context, we cannot learn a language, so learning grammar explicitly gives a big support in language performance. However, Nassaji and Fotos argue that the process of understanding grammar knowledge and the improving of language performance cannot take a place at the same times (p. 128). In other word, improving language performance takes a longer process than noticing the form of language or grammar. When the learners try to master grammar, they just try to acquire the form of English and at the same time they are not improving their language proficiency. The process of improving language performance happens in other times, whether before or after the learners take grammar class.
The second reason why EFL learners should not take grammar classes over and over is that it is banding their creativity. Teaching grammar explicitly, means that the teacher being a prescriptive grammarian who correct the pattern of learners’ sentences into standard English (Yarrow, 2007.pp. 176 – 177), is likely banding students creativity. A research done by Yarrow proves that traditional grammar teaching makes most of the learners afraid in making grammar mistake while they are writing or speaking (p.176). Whether we realize or not, when the learners’ minds are set to think that they must write or speak correctly, as the lesson they learn in grammar class, they will pay more attention on their grammar than to their writing or speaking. In fact, we have to pay more attention to the idea, either when we are writing or speaking, to produce a good writing and communicative speaking. Feeling afraid of making grammar mistake leads to a not optimal development of language performance, because it decreases learners’ confidence in learning language.
At the same time, Yue states that, especially, in writing the learners have to attend to both stating their ideas and grammatical structure (Yue, 2010. p.23). No matter how good an idea is, writing without correct grammatical form will make it not good, not communicative to the readers. It can be accepted, that it is so hard for everyone to get the idea of an essay or even a paragraph which is written in awful grammar, but still in this argumentation that grammar is not the only thing makes a writing hard to be understood, there are many other factors, like the idea itself, the structure of paragraph or essay, the way the writer narrowing the idea and any others. It is of course true that awful grammar in language performance, especially in speaking and writing, makes the addressee hard to understand the informant idea, but it doesn’t mean the learners have to attend too many grammar classes.
Meanwhile just like sound and lexicon, grammar is also part of the language aspect (Wang, 2010. p.78). However, there is a question comes up and becomes a debate for years; why the EFL learners have to take grammar classes which is even more than any classes that carry out the aspect of sound and lexicon? Some colleges even open some grammar classes that have to be taken by the students who learn EFL. However, even when the EFL learners cope a good result in the test after taking grammar classes (Jurkovič, 2010. p.20) and it seems like their language performance improved, they still make grammatical mistakes especially in writing (Shin, 2007. p.361). The condition when EFL learners still make grammatical mistakes even after taking some grammar classes and achieving good results in grammars test lead to a conclusion that it is hard to prove that taking grammar classes gives beneficial effect in learners’ language performance, either in speaking or writing, like Andrew, Torgerson, Beverton, Freeman, Locke, Low, Robinson & Zhu restate Asker’s argument that ‘training in formal grammar class does not improve pupil’s composition’ (Asker, 1923 in Andrew, Torgerson, Beverton, Freeman, Locke, Low, Robinson & Zhu, 2005. p. 40). In other words, taking grammar classes have an aim to improve EFL learners’ language performance, but actually it is hard to prove that the aim can be reached.
In some way there is a point of view that taking some grammar classes is a good thing, it will improve EFL learners’ ability in speaking and writing by gaining learners’ understanding of the formula of English sentences. Farrell’s observation proves that some teachers and learners’ have declared that they need to have some grammar classes to improve their English performance; they think that English, especially its sentence structure, is a puzzle. So, it is easier to the EFL learners’ for learning English by knowing the grammar and then they just need to arrange the grammar’s formula into a phrase or sentence when they are speaking or writing (Farrell, 2005. pp.7 – 8). Another statement comes from Hu, that grammar is like a frame of a house, ‘without this framework, good materials and building blocks can not constitute a solid house’ (Hu, 2001). It is true that grammar is one of the important aspects of a language, included English, but it’s not the most important factor that leads the learners to improve their language performance. The EFL learners still need to take a grammar class, but it doesn’t mean they have to take some grammar classes over and over again in every semester of their years in colleges or school, because grammar is just a framework of language. Let’s back to the main purpose of learning grammar; to help learners gaining with their language performance, so it is pretty clear that the learners are not going to be an expert of grammar, they learn grammar as one of the tools in learning a language.
Sampson’s view that is restated by Hoffman (Sampson, 2001 in Hoffman, 2007. p.88) indicates that ‘grammar is not giving much up’, means taking grammar classes just helps EFL learners to learn English, but it’s not the basic way to improve learners’ language performance.
Another reason why the EFL learners do not have to take grammar classes is that making the EFL learners have to take grammar classes in every term of their study is not appropriate with their goal. Each learner must have their own purpose in learning something, included the EFL learners (Kato, 2009. p.177). The main goal of EFL learners in learning English is for communication purpose, not to be an expert at grammar, learning grammar explicitly in some grammar classes is not suitable with their aim. The discussion above has shown that learning grammar explicitly just develops the declarative knowledge of the EFL learners, while achieving the EFL learners’ goal, to have ‘the ability to function in a truly communicative setting’ or in other words we can say as communicative competence (Savignon, 1972 in Eisenchlas, 2010. p.15). Having grammatical competence is not only having a knowledge of grammar but also having an ability to apply the knowledge of grammar or structure into sentences which are appropriate to the context, setting, and the idea they want to deliver. While taking grammar classes does not guaranty their development in communicative competence, they may be good at understanding grammar and the structure of sentences they produce or the read but it is not automatically they can apply the knowledge they know. So taking grammar classes does not really support the EFL learners to reach their goal in learning a foreign language.
Considering that the EFL learners’ goal is to be able to communicate with English, therefore Wang argues that grammar classes are still needed. He explains that grammar is the most important aspect in a language system (Wang, 2010. p.78), therefore it is necessary for the EFL learners to take grammar classes over and over again. The most important part of language, grammar, is something essential that the learners have to understand as well as possible. By taking grammar classes the EFL learners are forced to learn grammar and it helps them to be able to communicate with English. Another reason why the EFL learners should take grammar classes is that without correct grammar the EFL learners cannot produce accurate sentences, whether written of spoken (Wang, 2010. p.80). However, the EFL learners have to pay at other factors that support them to reach their goal in learning English. Their main purpose is to be able to communicate with English and to have enough proficiency in English, they do not have to take grammar classes over and over again. As the explanation above, learning grammar explicitly just develops the declarative grammar knowledge. The EFL learners have to pay attention to the environment they live, whether it supports them to acquire the language or not (Wang, 2010. p.81). Grammar class is still needed, but it’s not the most important class the EFL learners have to take.
Whether grammar should be taught explicitly or implicitly is still a controversial issue. Some researchers state that it should be taught explicitly for some reasons. They argue that learning grammar in some classes really supports the EFL learners’ learning process, such as supports them to understand the pattern or structure of English sentences, so it is easier for them to make sentences in English, it is like they are mapping the pattern of English sentences (Batstone & Ellis, 2008. p.198). Another reason why the EFL learners have to take grammar classes is to help them making sentences either written or spoken in correct grammar, so they make accurate sentences.
However, there are many facts show that learning grammar explicitly in some classes do not really support the EFL learners’ learning process. As Kershen states that learning grammar explicitly just develops EFL learners’ declarative grammar knowledge, they may be good at understanding grammar, but they are not always be able to apply their declarative grammar knowledge (Nassaji & Fotos, 2004. pp.24 – 25). Most of the EFL learners keep making grammatical mistakes while they are writing or speaking, even though they have taken some grammar classes and past them well. It proves that taking grammar classes over and over again doesn’t guaranty the EFL learners’ language performance development (Yue, 2010. p.25). Taking so many grammar classes also does not fit with the EFL learners’ main goal. The EFL learners have a purpose in learning English that is to be able to communicate with English and to have enough proficiency in English, not to be an expert of grammar. All the facts that are described lead to a conclusion that grammar class is still needed to support the EFL learners’ learning process in learning English, but they do not have to take grammar classes over and over again in every term of their study.
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