English grammar instruction in Hong Kong secondary textbooks

English Grammar as Reveled by an English Textbook Used by the Pupils in Hong Kong

Globalization is the buzz word of the twenty first century and this can be simply explained through the numerous effects it has had upon the international community. Emerged from the economic context, the globalizing forces expanded to the cultural domain as well, leading to a better circulation of religious convictions, languages spoken or traditions practiced. As the United States is the largest national economy of the globe, the term globalization has often been assimilated with Americanization. This is mostly relevant in the high popularity of the English language throughout the globe. Some peoples find it difficult to comprehend the language, whereas others learn it as they go along.

The question that has been asked for some years now resides in whether the individuals in non-speaking English countries should also be taught the grammatical rules or simply some vocabulary so that they are able to engage in a conversation (Lee, 2005). The responses for this question are extremely variable, with some arguing that without grammar, there is no point in speaking the English language and others stating that it is sufficient for foreigners to simply understand and be able to express their ideas in basic English, without necessarily having to put the verb in its correct tense.

Starting from the two opposite standpoints, the academicians in languages have developed varying textbooks that teach foreign pupils English as a second language. While some focus on vocabulary and reading comprehension, others emphasize on grammar rules.

2. Analysis of an English Textbook relevant example of an English textbook worth analyzing is the one used by the children in Hong Kong. It has been edited by Longman and it is broken down in numerous units, according to the issues with which they deal. The following pages analyze three units of the textbook.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

The section on countable and uncountable nouns begins by making two suggestions for the teacher to clear in the classroom. They refer to the impossibility of using the undetermined articles a and an in front of uncountable nouns, such as juice, butter or jam. Also, they point out that the plural of nouns ending in o generally uses the suffix es, such as tomato -> tomatoes. Other than that however, the theoretical input is rather scarce.

The unit continues by helping pupils make a difference between the undermined articles to be used in front of nouns. The examples are a mushroom, an egg, some bananas, some tomatoes and some cheese. It points out that there is no s in the plural of cheese.

Whereas the grammatical correctness of the points made is not to be questioned, it would have been more useful for the textbook to also offer the reasoning behind the statements. In this order of ideas, it should have said that the undetermined article a is only to be used in front of nouns starting with a consonant, e.g. A dog. An is to be used in front of nouns starting with a vowel, such as an idea. Also, the textbook should have revealed the exceptions to this rule, such as the usage of an in front of nouns which start with a silent consonant, such as an hour (the English Club, 2008).

Pupils are then asked to fill in the gaps in a table and choose the correct article from a, an and some. They are offered both the spelling of the noun to be articulated, as well as a drawing of the respective nouns. This has the benefit of helping children relate the word to an image and better remembering it.

The unit then moves on to telling children how to make the accord between the singular or plural noun and the predicator. In this, they use the preposition there to suggest the existence of a thing (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 2000). The examples use include There is a pear and There are some bananas. It however fails to explain that the plural of nouns requires the usage of there are and the singular form requires the usage of there is. It offers an exception to this rule, that of there is some ham, with the uncountable noun ham, but it also fails to offer the reasoning for it.

The next exercise in the unit is formed from the requirement to fill in the gaps representing nouns and to correlate the chosen noun with a correct verb, from is or are. The nouns have to be written down by the pupils and chosen from a picture of an open fridge, revealing aliments such as cheese, juice or jam.

Finally, it has to be pointed put that the unit is consistent in using the same nouns, helping as such the pupils with repeating the words, understanding and remembering them.

Conversations Unit

The unit on conversation introduces limited new information. Its primary aim is to help the pupils better understand and learn the concepts they have been presented with so far. The exercises focus on the sedimentation of the learnt nouns (mostly aliments), the usage of the undetermined articles and the two forms of the verb to be.

The element of novelty the unit still manages to introduce refers not so much to grammar, but to logic and attractiveness of the learning process. In this instance, this third analyzed unit introduces the pupils to riddles in English. They are useful in that they repeat the so far learned nouns, such as bread or tomatoes, but also introduce new aspects of the learnt nouns.

The riddle for instance mentions white and yellow circles, which the pupils will find to be egg whites and egg yolks - two distinctive components of egg, an already familiar noun. The riddle also makes the learning process more fun and therefore increases its chances of success.

3. Round-Up Analysis

The need to conduct the analysis emerged from the yet unanswered question as to the relevance of teaching grammar. Otherwise put, scholars have for years debated on whether English as a second language should focus more on grammatical functions or vocabulary sufficient to engage in a conversation.

The analyzed textbook teaching English as a second language to the pupils in Hong Kong uses a task-based approach in the meaning that it divides the materials in numerous units, each dealing with a different issue. Then, after making some short theoretical points, it uses graphic representations to help students better relate to the topic discussed. Once this is achieved, the textbook also presents practical exercise for the pupils to test their newly acquired knowledge.

The theoretical input in the textbook is rather limited, with most units commencing with brief notes and suggestions for the teacher to clear in the classroom. This approach is useful as long as the teacher possesses wide theoretical knowledge and is able to fill in the gaps and offer additional explanations. If however the teacher is less experienced in the field of the English language, the efficiency of the textbook is relatively limited.

Also, the system of reduced theoretical input could work if the teacher has a complementary textbook, specially designed for the professor. This book would have to contain all theoretical information relevant to a respective unit, with examples and exceptions to the rules presented. Another alternative would be for the teacher and student to use the same textbook, with both practical and theoretical information. This would however pose the risk of being difficult to understand by the pupils. Ultimately then, the second solution seems to be the most viable one.

Another specification to be made in concluding the analytical findings is that the drawings presented in the textbook are highly useful for teaching children the English language. The best representative of this statement is the unit on countable and uncountable nouns. However this has some limitations, it has the advantage of presenting the children with a picture of the given noun. This makes it easier for them to correlate the new word with a picture of what it represents and ergo better remember the new learnt foreign word.

It must also be said that each unit ends with a revision part, most often organized into an exercise requiring the pupils to implement the knowledge they had gathered so far in the respective unit. This also has the benefit of repeating the learnt skills and supporting a more efficient learning process.

The units in the textbook are generally consistent in using the same vocabulary. By offering the same words as examples and within exercises, the pupils will not only learn the grammatical rules, but will also enrich their vocabulary. Repetition of the same words, be them nouns, verbs or other morphological categories, will ensure the sedimentation in the minds of the pupils and will increase the efficiency of the English learning process.

The exercises in the textbook are useful not only in a grammatical sense, but also in a logical one. The My Favorite Things unit presents the pupils with a problem and makes them find a solution to the issue. This is also the unit which introduces the pupils to the phonetics of pronouncing the English words.

What makes the textbook efficient is the easiness of using it. However it has been stated that it lacks in theoretical background, the six-year pupils are unlikely to directly feel this lack, as long as the teacher is able to fill in the gaps. Therefore, the textbook is effective even more so when it presents drawings and other elements which make the process more fun and easier for the children. A relevant example in this sense is the usage of little wings to draw the aliments in the My Favourite Things unit. In the same line of thoughts, the riddle in the third analyzed unit also serves the purpose of making the learning process more fun and increasing its chances of success.

In a nutshell, the analysis of the textbook used to teach the pupils in Hong Kong English as a second language does not offer a response relative to initially posed question. It does however offer some insight into the matters which are emphasized throughout the course of teaching English in non-English speaking countries.