Yes. ESL students need grammar to say what they mean clearly, in conversation as much as in writing. Grammar works best, though, when it is part of every lesson rather than a separate subject, and when it is tied to topics that the students care about.
Grammar is the code of a language. It is the backbone that governs how words are formed, how sentences are built, and how the parts of speech work together. In countries where English is the first language, grammar is a fixed part of the school curriculum. In classes of English as a second language (ESL), however, people still argue about it. How important is grammar for a second-language learner?
Should grammar be taught in ESL classes?
Absolutely. Grammar makes communication clear, from everyday conversation to business emails. Without it, your effort to get your ideas across can easily fail.
Take an ESL class that focuses on conversation skills. Without solid grammar, students can still communicate by stringing words together and guessing at patterns. They get by, but no ESL teacher wants their class to stop there.
Whether you want your students to hold their own in everyday conversation or to express themselves in writing, you need to give them good grammar skills.
Should grammar be taught separately?
No. When grammar is taught only as a separate course or class, students find it hard to put what they learned into practice.
Many ESL students also find grammar the most boring part of learning a language, because they have to memorize long lists of rules and exceptions. With that in mind, the best way to teach grammar to ESL students is to build it into everyday lessons and to make it fun, engaging, and relevant to their lives.
How to teach grammar effectively
Repetitive drills should not be the focus of grammar teaching. Instead, relate each grammar lesson to topics that interest your students.
For example, when the lesson is about expressing intentions with to + infinitive, ask your students about their plans for the coming year. They answer with sentences such as "I want to learn to drive" or "I plan to visit my cousins", and they connect the grammar rule with its use in natural conversation.
You can also pair students up. One student asks about the other's plans, and the other answers using the new structure. The students correct each other's grammar, and you, the teacher, step in when needed. Peer correction works for writing tasks too.
Videos and quizzes are other fun and engaging ways to teach grammar. If you don't have the time or the resources to make them yourself, you can find many free resources for ESL classes online.
Finally, you can point your students to a spelling and grammar checker such as the Spell Checker. It marks the mistakes in a text and explains each one, so students can find simple mistakes in their writing tasks without relying on you. Is there a wrong way to teach grammar? looks at the methods that work and the ones that don't.