Grammar

Active Grammar

The Active Grammar books are published by Cambridge University Press and this is a review of the 2011 editions of Levels 2 and 3. The levels correspond with two levels of The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF). Level 2 corresponds to B1-B2, and Level 3 corresponds to C1-C2. According to the description of the text at the beginning of the books, the Active Grammar series takes a communicative and interactive approach to learning.

The units are divided into the following grammatical concepts: tenses, modals, questions/multi-word verbs/verb structures, determiners and prepositions, adjectives/adverbs/passive/conditional, and word formation and sentences. At the beginning of each chapter there is a different context in which the particular grammar concept can be found. The books also provide brief comprehension questions after the introductory activities. After that, there is an immediate explanation of the specific grammar concept. There are numbered explanations with up to three examples per explanation. In between explanations there are “tip” boxes, which provide helpful extra attention to questions that may be raised by students.
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Practical Grammar 3

Practical Grammar is a three-part series, the third of which is reviewed herein. The textbook is designed for students of British English, with the third level focusing on those who have an intermediate to high-intermediate level of English proficiency. As such, the book shifts its content from introducing new grammatical forms to improving accuracy of use with known grammatical rules.

The textbook itself is broken down into 100 units, with groups of four units focusing on different grammatical points and every fifth unit being a review of the preceding four. For example, units 71 through 74 cover reported speech; reported statements; reported questions, requests, instructions and orders; and reporting verbs respectively, and are followed by a review in unit 75.

A particularly refreshing feature of Practical Grammar is its use of real-life scenarios at the beginning of each unit. These texts and short conversations offer students a glimpse of each grammatical point being used in appropriate contexts. The inclusion of such material seems a ready answer to the ever-persistent push toward developing students’ communicative competence and should be a welcomed attribute to all those claiming their allegiance to communicative language teaching. Such dialogues are further exemplified by Practical Grammar’s inclusion of two audio CDs, with which students can listen to the language being spoken by native speakers.
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My Grammar and I

When it comes to grammar, as far as I can see, there are three types of English teachers. There are those who don’t speak English as first language. These people have battled their way through the language’s quirks, and rules that have so many exceptions that you wonder why they are rules in the first place, until they have reached a point where, while perhaps not being entirely fluent in the language, they have a level of competence whereby they can teach English. The chances are that having studied the language so much themselves, they are able to deal with most of the grammatical queries that come their way.

The second group are the native teachers of a certain age (I’m far too polite a person to suggest what that age could be…), who were educated at a time when grammar was seen as a cornerstone of L1 learning. Maybe they even attended a Grammar school, which suggests that the subject was so highly thought of they even named the whole school after it. This group has the best of both worlds when it comes to grammar teaching, native levels of proficiency matched with an in-depth knowledge of the mechanics of the language.
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Teaching English Grammar

When offered the chance to review a book by Jim Scrivener, I jumped at it. When I first started in this industry Learning Teaching was my roadmap – he seemed to be able to explain fairly complex concepts very clearly, giving me the confidence to go out and teach and, perhaps most importantly, experiment. I can see Teaching English Grammar helping new teachers in exactly the same way with what is (for native speaker teachers at least) the hardest part of EFL teaching.

The book starts with a brief introduction in which the author sets out his aim to “save you time, energy and stress and help you to feel more confident, well-informed and one step ahead of your students”. There is then a brief section on key terminology, including useful potted guides on the use of timelines and finger contractions. This is a brief section mostly aimed at new teachers, but even an old-timer like myself found a useful tip – that teachers spend too long worrying about making lessons fun, when the real aim should be to make them engaging.
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Grammar for English Language Teachers

Grammar for English Language Teachers is more than another reference grammar book for EFL teachers. It is a necessary tool for native and non-native, experienced or newly qualified teachers.

The book consists of four parts. Part A deals with the different parts of speech not as isolated grammatical items but as words that determine various aspects in the forming of sentences. In addition, the second edition includes an extra chapter on Combining Words. This chapter explores language from a ‘lexico-grammatical’ point of view, following the latest findings of research in Applied Linguistics. Part B includes chapters on verbs and related forms such as the tenses, modal verbs, infinitive and -ing forms of verbs, and many more. Part C analyses sentence constituents and word order. The first two chapters of this part analyze both the basic principles and major variants of sentence constituents. The other chapters deal with passive constructions, discourse markers and
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Authors: Debra Powell with Elaine Walker and Steve Elsworth
Publisher: Pearson Longman
Components: Student’s book + CD-rom. 4 levels: elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate
Summary: A pretty good series of grammar practice books that would be useful for students as a self-study tool or for teachers as an extra resource for grammar practice activities.

Grammar Practice (Third Edition) is a grammar practice book series of four levels for elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate and upper-intermediate students. Each book is divided into two main sections: grammar and vocabulary. The grammar section is further divided
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