Integrated Approach
to Grammar Teaching
Introduction
The Integrated Approach to
Grammar Teaching is a way of teaching grammar in which grammatical
structures are not taught as isolated rules or separate exercises. In this
approach, grammar is taught in meaningful contexts and connected with the
four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Learners
encounter a target grammatical structure while listening to or reading a
meaningful text, notice how the structure is used, practice it through
speaking, and finally use it in writing. Thus, grammar becomes a tool for meaningful
communication rather than merely a set of rules to memorize.
For example, while teaching the simple
past tense through a story, the teacher may first ask students to listen to
the story, identify past-tense verbs while reading it, discuss the story using
the target forms, and then write a short paragraph about a past event. In this
way, grammar is integrated naturally with language use.
The integrated approach to grammar
teaching has several potentialities:
- Develops communicative competence: Learners use grammar for meaningful communication
rather than only completing mechanical exercises.
- Integrates the four skills: It provides opportunities to practise listening,
speaking, reading, and writing together.
- Provides meaningful context: Grammar is learned through authentic or semi-authentic
texts, situations, stories, and conversations.
- Promotes active learning: Learners discover and practise grammatical patterns
through participation and interaction.
- Improves retention:
Grammar learned through repeated use in different contexts is more likely
to be remembered.
- Connects form and meaning: Students understand not only how a grammatical
structure is formed but also why and when it is used.
- Enhances fluency and accuracy: Learners get opportunities to develop both grammatical
accuracy and communicative fluency.
- Increases learner motivation: Stories and communicative activities make grammar
lessons more engaging than rule-based instruction alone.
- Supports learner-centred teaching: The teacher acts as a facilitator while students
actively participate in individual, pair, and group activities.
- Encourages contextualized assessment: Teachers can assess students' grammar through their actual use of language in speaking and writing.
A Sample Lesson
Plan Using Integrated Approach to Language Teaching
|
Particulars |
Description |
|
Subject |
English |
|
Grade |
8 |
|
Unit |
5 |
|
Lesson |
The Old Woman and the Lime Tree |
|
Grammar Focus |
Reported Speech (Imperatives) |
|
Duration |
50 minutes |
|
Teaching Approach |
Integrated Approach to Grammar
Teaching |
|
Language Skills |
Listening, Speaking, Reading and
Writing |
|
Teaching Materials |
Grade 8 English Textbook (CDC),
flashcards, whiteboard, marker, worksheet |
By the end of the lesson, students
will be able to:
- comprehend the main events of the story through
listening and reading.
- identify imperative sentences spoken by different
characters.
- convert imperative sentences into reported speech
correctly.
- use reported speech while discussing the story.
- write short dialogues and report them correctly.
Students already know:
- simple commands
- direct speech
- basic storytelling
|
Time |
Stage |
Teacher
Activities |
Students'
Activities |
Skills |
|
5 min |
Warm-up |
Shows a picture of an old woman,
an old man and a tree. Asks: What do you think this story is about? Have
you ever heard a tree speaking? |
Predict the story and share ideas. |
Speaking |
|
7 min |
Listening |
Reads the first part of the story
with proper pronunciation and intonation. Students listen without opening
books. Teacher asks: Why did the old man go to the forest? What did
the lime tree say? |
Listen carefully and answer
orally. |
Listening |
|
10 min |
Reading |
Students read the story silently
in pairs. Teacher asks them to underline all commands spoken by different
characters. Example: "Don't chop me down." "Go back at
once." "Go home now." |
Read and underline imperative
sentences. |
Reading |
|
8 min |
Grammar Discovery |
Teacher writes direct speech from
the story on the board. "Please, old man, don't chop me down."
"Go home now." Students observe the changes. Teacher
elicits: How do we report commands? Introduces reporting verbs (told,
requested, advised, warned). |
Discover grammar patterns and
answer questions. |
Reading + Grammar |
|
7 min |
Speaking Practice |
Students work in pairs. One
student reads a direct command from the story. The other changes it into
reported speech. Example: A: "Go home now." B:
"The lime tree told the old man to go home." Teacher monitors and
gives feedback. |
Speak in pairs using reported
speech. |
Speaking |
|
8 min |
Writing Practice |
Students write five reported
sentences from the story using commands. Teacher provides support where necessary. |
Write individually. |
Writing |
|
5 min |
Assessment & Closure |
Teacher asks volunteers to read
one reported sentence. Reviews the moral: Greed leads to loss. Assigns
homework. |
Share answers and reflect. |
Speaking & Writing |
Extra bit
## Grammar Presentation
# Step 1: Notice
Teacher writes examples from the
story.
Direct Speech
- "Please, old man, don't chop me down."
- "Go home now."
- "Go back at once."
- "Give us a horse and a cart."
Teacher asks:
- Who is speaking?
- Is it a command or request?
# Step 2: Discover
Students change them.
|
Direct
Speech |
Reported
Speech |
|
"Go home now." |
The lime tree told the old
man to go home. |
|
"Please don't chop me
down." |
The lime tree requested the
old man not to chop it down. |
|
"Go back at once." |
The old woman told her
husband to go back at once. |
|
"Give us a horse and a
cart." |
The old woman told the old
man to ask for a horse and a cart. |
Students formulate the rule.
Commands
Subject + told + object + to
+ verb
Requests
Subject + requested + object
+ to + verb
Negative Commands
Subject + warned/requested +
object + not to + verb
## Integrated
Activities
* Listening
Teacher reads:
"Please, old man, don't chop me
down."
Students identify
- Speaker
- Listener
- Type of sentence
* Reading
Students find five imperative
sentences in the story.
* Speaking
Role Play
Old Woman ↔ Old Man
Students first act out the dialogue
and then report it.
Example
Old Woman:
"Go and ask the lime tree for a
new house."
Student reports:
The old woman told the old man to
ask the lime tree for a new house.
* Writing
Students write
Task
Write five reported sentences from
the story.
Example
- The lime tree requested the old man not to chop it
down.
- The old woman told her husband to ask for a horse and a
cart.
- The lime tree told the old man to go home.
- The old woman told him to ask for a new house.
- The lime tree told him to return home.
## Assessment
Observation Checklist
|
Indicators |
Excellent |
Good |
Needs
Support |
|
Participates in discussion |
✓ |
||
|
Identifies imperative sentences |
✓ |
||
|
Changes direct to reported speech
correctly |
✓ |
||
|
Speaks confidently |
✓ |
||
|
Writes grammatically correct
reported sentences |
✓ |
## Homework
- Find five imperative sentences from your home or
classroom environment and change them into reported speech.
- Write eight sentences explaining the moral
lesson of The Old Woman and the Lime Tree using at least three
reported commands.
Learning Resources
- Textbook:
English Grade 8, Curriculum Development Centre (CDC), Government of
Nepal, Unit 5: The Old Woman and the Lime Tree.
- Teacher's Guide:
Grade 8 English Teacher's Guide, CDC/CEHRD (Objectives for Unit 5
emphasize understanding the story and integrating the grammar of reported
speech with communicative language activities).
This lesson reflects the Integrated
Approach to Grammar Teaching because students first listen to the story,
then read it to identify authentic examples of imperative sentences, discover
the grammar rule inductively, practise it through speaking activities,
and finally apply it in meaningful writing. Grammar is therefore learned
as a tool for communication rather than as isolated rules.
