IMPORTANCE OF GRAMMAR IN LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Abstract

Languages are an inseparable part of verbal communication. They are the “codes” used in the communication process where a sender “encodes” the message and sends it to the receiver via a proper media and then the receiver “decodes” it to understand the meaning and send a feedback. This completes the communication process. In order to communicate effectively, one needs to not just use but also understand and determine the language that is required to be used. This leads to put focus on the learning of languages competently and effectively.Generally we as children start with our “native” or “mother” languages but we do not necessarily learn them. It is a process called language acquisition where we subconsciously acquire a specific language without any knowledge of its rules and regulations. Maybe at later stages of the education process, we actually get to learn the nuances but that doesn’t make us any less proficient in practicing communication in our native language. But when it comes to other languages, sometimes quite effectively and ironically termed as “foreign” languages, it is definitely the process of language learning that has to be undertaken. Language learning is completely different from acquisition. Here we are consciously plunged into the rules governing the basics that is the reading-writing and speaking of the particular language and are sometimes also made aware of its literary history.In the case of ESL students, the need to an in depth language learning is all the more important and thus comes the importance of learning the grammar of the language. “Grammar” can be broadly defined as a set of rules related to the structure and usage of the language. Hence one can neither write nor speak in any given language without learning its grammar.In order to achieve a perfect teaching learning scenario, the teachers need to facilitate a proper balance of learning both grammar and communication so that any ESL student can achieve complete efficiency in not just the “acquired” but also the “learned” language.