Abstract:

Teaching (and learning) grammar of a foreign language has always been challenging. A grammar class of the not too distant past looked like an endless grammar drill with similar-type exercises. No wonder students have rather negative stereotypes about learning grammar and often perceive it as ‘boring’. However, grammar remains an essential element of any language learning process and cannot be sacrificed for the sake of quick communicational results. Proper grammar singles out an efficient foreign language speaker in everyday situations, let alone its role for speaking and writing on formal occasions. Learning grammar in a context produces good results; traditional grammar tasks can look different for students if examples are taken from modern literature, films, songs, i.e. from what looks more like real-life communicational situations rather than exercises from grammar textbooks. This material must not be chosen randomly, but has to reflect students’ individual preferences. A study conducted among first year university students with English as a second language confirms that adding to classical grammar exercises non-conventional tasks based on the material chosen by the students themselves makes grammar itself more attractive and relevant in students’ eyes and helps to break negative stereotypes.

Keywords:

ELT, grammar, modern literature, reading