What's wrong with the grammar syllabus?

A remake of a video (G is for Grammar) I made 10 years ago. I hope the quality is better!

[@nicoletasurdu7064]

Finally somebody's addressing one of the elephants in the room when it comes to the way foreign languages are still being taught. I'm glad it's a voice well known in the field. With all due respect, I was wondering, Mr. Thornbury, weather you're aware that an approach called the Silent Way has been delivering and continues to deliver all the desirable results you touched on in the video. I work with adult learners who had 10+ years of English in school, came out unable to speak, went to different language schools where they had similar school-like experiences and are still unable to use the language or know what English actually feels like. They come with high levels of anxiety around English because they've tried so many times, so many books, so many courses and failed. I'm not saying the Silent Way is a miracle recipe, there is no such thing, I'm just saying it has done away with all the shortcomings you're describing in this video. Thank you for your work!

[@darraghogrady3350]

"In-flight magazines with grammar notes"! Thank you so much for the belly laugh there. The problem for me at the moment is that this belief that "the verb is where it's at" has been internalized by many of my Mexican B2-level students. Awareness-raising activities are met with skepticism and I'm almost instructed by them (because I obviously don't know what I'm doing) to deliver a mix of light conversation, slow down, clear up my Irish accent , don't get too abstract, and revise all the grammar points that they've learned since B1 without any reference to Spanish (where the verb phrase is king, I think). They inform me that that is the best way to get to C1. That they say is the way I got to C2 in Spanish. A strong invalidation of what I believe and what I've done on various fronts.

[@ronmorrain2020]

I ask every teacher I work with to listen to this video at least two times - and take notes. We then break down what Scott said in a *step-by-step* manner through a dialogic approach to learning.

[@md.salimreza8982]

Rhetoric Explanation. I appreciate it and pray for you Sir. It is high time to eradicate the darkness of English Grammar teaching method. I want to work for this. I have been working for English language since my childhood. I found you in a library and fall in extrem love of your styles. I am really searching something like your works. I intend to commute my whole life to work for language teaching and this natural ways of learning.

[@dnescodino]

As a private tutor, it feels so good to have someone else put into words what my experience has been showing consistently

[@fallasleep2046]

Thank you, Scott, for a new thought-provoking video! 🙂 Greetings from Ukraine!

[@krismarupena6387]

Thank you, Teacher.

[@bazza777]

Legend!

[@lucias1276]

Ok..but how and what to teach😮

[@joepiekl]

The backwash effect is the biggest one for me. Texts full of shoehorned in grammar and vocabulary that no-one would ever say because you're more interested in getting plenty of 'hits' of the target structure.