Integrated Approach to Grammar Teaching : Brief Description and Lesson Planning

 

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.

 Potentialities of the Integrated Approach

The integrated approach to grammar teaching has several potentialities:

1. Develops communicative competence: Learners use grammar for meaningful communication rather than only completing mechanical exercises.
2. Integrates the four skills: It provides opportunities to practise listening, speaking, reading, and writing together.
3. Provides meaningful context: Grammar is learned through authentic or semi-authentic texts, situations, stories, and conversations.
4. Promotes active learning: Learners discover and practise grammatical patterns through participation and interaction.
5. Improves retention: Grammar learned through repeated use in different contexts is more likely to be remembered.
6. Connects form and meaning: Students understand not only how a grammatical structure is formed but also why and when it is used.
7. Enhances fluency and accuracy: Learners get opportunities to develop both grammatical accuracy and communicative fluency.
8. Increases learner motivation: Stories and communicative activities make grammar lessons more engaging than rule-based instruction alone.
9. Supports learner-centred teaching: The teacher acts as a facilitator while students actively participate in individual, pair, and group activities.
10. 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

 # General Information

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

 # Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. comprehend the main events of the story through listening and reading.
2. identify imperative sentences spoken by different characters.
3. convert imperative sentences into reported speech correctly.
4. use reported speech while discussing the story.
5. write short dialogues and report them correctly.

 # Prior Knowledge

Students already know:

• simple commands
• direct speech
• basic storytelling

 # Teaching Procedure (50 Minutes)

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.

 # Step 3: Rule

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

1. Find five imperative sentences from your home or classroom environment and change them into reported speech.
2. 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.