Abstract
Mastering the grammar of a foreign language requires learning the rules as well as the contexts within which the structures are used. Formal grammar instruction should therefore be augmented by exposing learners to authentic language. According to the literature, watching television series in the target language improves listening comprehension and enhances vocabulary acquisition. No study to date, however, has investigated the recursive use of one series, in the classroom and over an entire course, to explicitly teach grammar. Presenting apt pedagogical arguments substantiated by the literature on grammar instruction and evidence from the classroom, this article maintains that a television series can be an invaluable source of authentic language and an excellent means to teach grammar in context. It recommends using the dialogues in the scenes to teach and illustrate grammatical structures, especially those that are very different or do not exist in the learners’ mother tongue. The article also proposes giving students pertinent writing tasks and adequate corrective feedback to help them internalize these structures. Consistent with recent studies indicating a strong connection between emotion and cognition, this method raises the students’ motivation and enhances grammar learning; as such, it can supplant or complement conventional practices of grammar instruction and thereby warrants empirical studies. Finally, the article delineates directions for future research to elucidate how television series contribute to the teaching and learning of grammar.
Highlights
Research has generally explored television with regard to incidental language learning
A comprehensive and insightful overview of the studies investigating the effects of films on language learning and critical accounts of their strengths and weaknesses can be found in Vanderplank (2010, 2016)
While previous studies have acknowledged the beneficial effects of television series on listening comprehension and vocabulary acquisition, their potential as a resource to explicitly teach grammar has been largely overlooked
Summary
Communicative language teaching (CLT) basically refers to language teaching practices that aim to foster a learner’s ability to communicate in the target language. Richards (2006), in his comprehensive review of CLT and its relevance today, writes that grammatical competence, i.e., the knowledge of grammar rules and structures that enable the learner to produce correct sentences in the target language, is an essential step in language learning, but not sufficient by itself for communicative competence, i.e., the ability to use language for meaningful communication. Communicative language teaching (CLT) basically refers to language teaching practices that aim to foster a learner’s ability to communicate in the target language. Richards (2006), in his comprehensive review of CLT and its relevance today, writes that grammatical competence, i.e., the knowledge of grammar rules and structures that enable the learner to produce correct sentences in the target language, is an essential step in language learning, but not sufficient by itself for communicative competence, i.e., the ability to use language for meaningful communication. Prominent researchers in the field agree that grammar instruction must be included in CLT programs (Cullen, 2012; Ellis, 2006; Richards, 2006; Richards & Reppen, 2014; Thornbury, 1999)
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