Teachers Cognition of English Grammar Teaching - Essay Example

Teacher’s Cognition of English Grammar Teaching: Inductive and Deductive Approaches Introduction There are different ways in which adopt with lessons in school. Some students have preferred approaches in learning while some could adjust in most kinds of learning environment (Marwaha, 2009). It is this reason that teachers must be able to use the right learning method that fits the students’ preference in learning. Since educational institutions are concerned with the learning of their students, it is with great importance that universities and colleges seek effective teaching approaches to meet the society’s demands and to better increase the knowledge of the students. That is why schools spend a lot of money for research regarding the efficient techniques in teaching for different kinds of students. This is especially important in the fast changing world because a lot of people are already learning foreign languages. Developing methods of learning will surely increase the institution’s chances of meeting its academic goals (Trochim, 2006). The Process of Cognition All concepts of knowledge are based on some foundation of learning from academic institutions. Both teachers and students are involved in the very process of the proliferation of information. Most of the time, the teachers are the ones who give the lessons and the students process the pieces information which in turn, they use to answer teachers’ inquiries. Also, there are more interactive teaching processes between students and teachers. This happens when both the students and the teachers share and receive knowledge in the learning environment. This situation is prevalent in higher academic institutions where students already have basic information regarding the academic discipline which they are taking up. A positive process of cognition is crucial because most desirable behaviors could only be achieved if students and teachers will be able to reach their comfort zones especially in learning the English grammar. Although students could prefer specific learning techniques, it is essential that teachers employ the basic inductive and deductive approaches first before trying other ways (Wilson, Robeek, & Michael, 1969, p. 83). In his studies on human subjects, Razran (1939) used different stimuli to increase the learning behaviors of people. According to the study, there are a lot of ways in which humans could adopt knowledge; hence, different approaches could be used. However, it must be taken note that all the learning approaches are from the two major teaching techniques – the inductive and the deductive approaches in learning. Piaget (1930) concluded children’s conception of the world change according to what kind of learning they are exposed to. Since children are very sensitive when it comes to their leaning processes, it is therefore necessary for instructors of the English grammar to know the preferred learning environment of children. Deductive and Inductive Learning Most scholars claim that deductive and inductive learning approaches are the mother of all the educational techniques and the rest of the learning approaches known to mankind today are simply revisions of these two. English grammar is one of the most difficult languages to learn on earth; even most Americans cannot perfect this language. The reason behind this could be that the English language in itself has different accents, pronunciation and even sentence structure that make it so confusing for teachers and students to master the language. Because of these hurdles, it is of great necessity to adjust the kind of learning environment that teachers of English grammar give their students. It must always be kept in mind that English grammar could be subjective depending on which country the person is and which dictionary the person is using. Deductive approach means that the instructor is using the general body of knowledge to describe specific subsets of a set. This basically implies that the characteristics of the general concept are the same characteristics of the subsets or the smaller details of the whole. In the English grammar teaching, teachers could use the deductive approach in explaining how the specific grammatical details are governed by general grammatical rules. This simply means that the teacher does not need to reiterate details and specific instructions anymore because students just need to refer to the general concept and apply it to specific situations (Leblanc, 1966). The major advantage of this approach in teaching the English grammar is that students could apply concepts and grammatical rules easily without the fear of being mistaken because of a case to case basis mistakes. Most students think that rules vary in every grammatical dilemma they face, but because of the deductive teaching, it would not be so hard for students to inquire regarding general rules on the English grammar. Moreover, deductive approach makes it easier for teachers to present the lessons to students. The teachers do not need to discuss detailed explanation of rules on grammar because details are covered by specific general concepts. On the other hand, inductive learning could also be a very effective English grammar teaching tool. Generally speaking, the inductive learning approach means that the specific details could represent the general characteristics of a concept or a rule. Applied to grammar, this means that specific situational rules in teaching English grammar could be the same rules that a student could apply all in most situations. The first and the major advantage of this approach is that it understands that there are specific rules for specific grammatical details. Meaning to say, the general concept could not always be applied in every situation. Remember, the English language has subsets which cannot be governed by a general rule book. Grammar, pronunciation and even accent change from one English speaking country to another. Moreover, the inductive approach shows the students the different ways to solve grammatical dilemmas without depending much on general concepts. Also, the inductive teaching method keeps teachers alert regarding the sensitivity of English language, which could be comprised through application of general rules. It is a must for English instructors to first gauge the capability, skills and interest of their students with regard to English before choosing the right cognitive approach necessary for students. There will always be students who would prefer or who could learn better using one of the two major approaches, therefore it is an important fact that teachers must be able to adjust to the needs of the students accordingly. There are special situations in which teachers need to have a combination of both deductive and inductive approaches in teaching the English grammar. In this kind of situation, instructors must take a very close attention to the harms and benefits of both learning techniques (Lewis, 1960). Conclusion English grammar is one of the richest languages in the world. English has survived for hundreds of years already and it is still being use nowadays since the advent of global interconnectedness. The knowledge of English grammar is taught in a lot of schools worldwide because of its importance both to students and to society. To increase the learning and interactions of students and their teachers, it is a must to use the best kind of teaching approach necessary for the learning process to be effective. Both approaches discussed above, the deductive and inductive approaches in teaching English grammar could be both effective depending on the level of the intellectual engagement that the teachers and students have. Also, the effectiveness of a learning approach is contingent on the capability and approach preference of students (Rothstein, 1968). References Leblanc, H. (1966). Techniques of Deductive inference. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Lewis, C. I. (1960). A survey of symbolic logic. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. Marwaha, P. (2009). Inductive and Deductive Methods of teaching. Retrieved from http://www.articlesbase.com/writing-articles/inductive-and-deductive-methods-of-teaching-1059831.html Piaget, J. (1930). The child’s conception of physical casuality. London: Routledge. Razran, G. H. S. (1939). A simple technique for controlling subjective attitudes in salivary conditioning of adult human subjects. Science, 89 (2303), 160-161. Rothstein, R. L. (1968). Alliances and small powers. New York and London: Columbia University Press. Trochim, W. (2006). Induction and Deduction. Retrieved from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.php Wilson, J. A., Robeck, M. C., & William, M. B. (1969). Psychological foundations of learning and teaching. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. Read More