9 teaching grammar methods for ESL teacher

Grammar is the very foundation of a language — it’s impossible to do without it. 

But let's be honest: how many students are excited about rules and tables? 

And do teachers always get the expected effect when they explain the topic in the traditional way — through rules, exercises and a textbook?

Instead of boring rote learning, you can make lessons interesting, interactive and even practical.

In this article, we'll look at how to teach grammar to different age groups so that students not only know the rules but also use them easily.

Grammar through TPR

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a method that combines language with movement to help students learn grammatical structures naturally, as if they were learning their own language. 

The idea is that learners do not just listen to explanations or repeat rules, but perform actions in response to commands. 

Once all the phrases are put together, the class discusses why they are structured that way and repeats the correct versions aloud. 

Alternatively, this activity can be adapted into a text-based game. For example, students receive a short story or song where they need to identify specific grammatical structures (such as all verbs in the Past Simple or all prepositions of place). 

The student who finds the most examples wins! This method is an engaging and effective way of teaching grammar while keeping the class interactive and fun.

Interactive songs

Children easily remember melodies, so combining grammar with songs is an effective grammar teaching method.

For example, if you are teaching the Present Continuous, you can use the song “What are you doing?”

Students sing along and perform the actions described in the song. For a more challenging activity, encourage students to create their own verses. 

For instance, in a song “There is / There are” they could sing about classroom objects (e.g. There is a book. There is a pencil. There are two pens). 

These songs not only strengthen grammar skills but also enhance pronunciation and improve the natural rhythm of speech.

Learning grammar through drawing

The teacher describes a situation, and the students draw it based on the given instructions. 

For example: "Draw a boy running. Now draw a girl reading a book." 

Afterward, the students present their drawings and describe them, repeating the sentences they heard while drawing. 

This helps reinforce the grammatical structures even further.

In the first panel, they draw a character engaged in an ongoing action ("I was reading.") In the second panel, they depict a sudden event that interrupted the action ("when the phone rang!") 

The teacher provides guidance throughout the activity.

Role-playing games

It goes without saying that grammar rules are better remembered when they are used in context. 

Roleplay is one of the easiest and most effective ways to do this. 

It would be great to use a role-play activity on the topic of "Interviewing Your Future Self," where students practice Future Tenses. 

Alternatively, you could propose a different topic related to problem-solving situations, where students use Conditionals. 

For example, one student asks, "What would you do if you got stranded on a deserted island?", the other answers, and then they continue asking interesting questions in a circle.

Of course, you can also use popular scenarios, such as "At a restaurant" or "A conflict in a store." 

However, the key is to give students a task that requires them to use a specific grammatical structure or tense that they have learned.

Task-based learning approach 

The Task-Based Learning (TBL) method is one of the most effective ways of teaching grammar to teenagers because it allows them to apply the rules in practice rather than simply memorise them. 

Instead of the traditional approach, where grammatical structures are explained first and then reinforced with exercises, TBL focuses on completing a communicative task, during which students themselves notice and learn to use the necessary grammatical structures. 

Read more about this method in our article Task-based learning vs Project-based learning.

Implicit grammar teaching

Implicit grammar teaching is a learning method in which students acquire grammatical structures without explicit rule explanations. 

Instead of studying grammar through tables and analytical breakdowns, students engage with the language in a natural context — through listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

Imagine you need to teach students how to use the Past Continuous tense. 

Instead of explaining the rule, students listen to a short story or watch an animated clip where events unfold in the past ("Yesterday at 5 pm, I was walking in the park when I saw a cute squirrel. It was playing with a ball..."). 

After this, you ask them questions like "What was happening in the park when the speaker saw the squirrel?" or "What were you doing yesterday at 5 pm?".

Students then discuss their answers in pairs.

At the end of the lesson, students draw their own conclusions about the use of the Past Continuous tense, while you refine their explanations and provide additional clarification if necessary.

Explicit grammar teaching

Explicit grammar teaching is an approach where students are first given a clear explanation of grammatical rules, which they then apply in practice. 

This method is traditional in language teaching and is often used in academic programmes where accuracy in grammar is essential, such as in exam preparation or academic writing.

Initially, these may include controlled activities, such as gap-filling or word substitution, followed by more open-ended tasks, such as writing sentences or short texts.

Context-based learning

Adult learners don't want to just memorise rules — they need to understand how grammar works in real life. 

That's why context-based learning is one of the most effective grammar teaching methods.

Here, we give less mechanical exercises and more situations, role-playing games and interactive exercises in which grammar arises naturally.

The PPP method

The PPP method (Presentation, Practice, Production) is a classic approach to teaching grammar that consists of three key stages: Presentation, Practice, and Production. 

At the Presentation stage, the new grammatical structure is introduced, typically in context, so that students can understand how it is used. 

During the Practice stage, students complete controlled exercises to reinforce the new structure. 

These may include gap-filling tasks, sentence transformation exercises, or other activities that help students practice using the structure correctly. 

Finally, in the Production stage, teaching grammar becomes more communicative as students are given more open-ended tasks, such as role-plays, discussions, or writing assignments, which allow them to apply their new knowledge in real-world situations.

Don't think that adults don't like to play games, quite the opposite. 

Games and interactive activities can greatly enrich adult grammar learning. 

Not only do they make learning more fun, but they also enhance learning by allowing you to apply grammatical constructions in different contexts.

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The courses are delivered online, which allows you to study anywhere and at any time convenient for you. 

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Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate that will be an important addition to your CV.

In conclusion, it is important to emphasise that teaching grammar methods play a crucial role in language learning. 

The integration of interactive strategies, such as role-playing and game-based approaches, significantly enhances engagement and the effectiveness of learning for both teenagers and adults. 

These methods make the process of teaching grammar both engaging and practical, contributing to better retention of the material and the development of communicative skills. 

Therefore, it is recommended to actively incorporate these approaches into the learning process, taking into account the needs and interests of students, in order to create a productive educational environment.