How to Master English Grammar?
1. September 2024In 2024, the Institute of Modern Languages and Literatures is focusing on innovative research in the field of English grammar, which is being carried out at the Secondary School of Gastronomy and Business in Zlín.
The aim of the research is to compare the effectiveness of different methods of teaching verb tenses in English. The project team consists of Mgr. Dagmar Masár Machová, Ph.D., Prof. PaedDr. Zdena Kráfová, Ph.D., M.A., Svitlana Shurma, Ph.D., and M.A. Jana Inselseth.
“It is widely known that verb tenses in English pose a great challenge for both students and teachers. We are therefore trying to develop methods that will enable students to better master this subject,” said Dr. Dagmar Masár Machová, the project’s principal investigator.
This innovative teaching method is based on the latest newest findings in the field of theoretical grammar.
“Our brain works like a computer,” she says, and continues: “The process of acquiring the grammar of any language is logical and simple. Based on this, we can say that there are no 12 verb tenses in the brain of a native speaker as we know them from textbooks. Everything is much simpler, and that’s why we’re trying to develop and validate teaching methods that build on this knowledge. We believe that the system of all verb tenses can be explained in one lesson.”
The team tested the new method at the Secondary School of Gastronomy and Business in Zlín and compared whether students who were taught using this method showed better results than students who were taught in the traditional way. The research aims to improve the quality of English grammar teaching and also offers English language teachers more options in the choice of teaching methods.
Text: Dagmar Masár Machová