Making Grammar Fun: How Do You Keep Students Engaged in Soft Skills Training?

I am working as a soft skills trainer where I am supposed to teach grammar to students. Grammar is an important yet challenging topic for students. I am unsure how to make the class interesting, especially when teaching grammar. Could anyone please share your ideas with me on how to achieve this?

Thank you.

I assume that your grammar class will be conducted in the English language. In this case, mastering grammar in a second language is not easy to grasp and, as you mentioned, it can be a vague topic. I recommend making the class fun and engaging by incorporating humor. One way to do this is by using words that sound the same but are spelled differently in a sentence to illustrate the distinction, such as the words 'their' and 'there'. Similarly, you can also demonstrate the variance in the usage of punctuation marks, for instance, 'it's' and 'its'.

Here's a humorous example to highlight the importance of punctuation: An English professor wrote the phrase "A woman without her man is nothing" on the board and asked the students to punctuate it correctly. The outcome was quite amusing - all the male students punctuated it as "A woman, without her man, is nothing," while all the female students punctuated it as "A woman: without her, man is nothing."

Therefore, incorporating such examples and exercises can make your class more enjoyable and educational. You can easily find a plethora of examples on the internet to support your teaching.

I hope the above suggestions are helpful.

Regards, Harsh

You can start with a small written exercise for your trainees. Find out what their expectations are. Ask them to give a title related to GRAMMAR. Give your instructions verbally. You will be surprised to find many faltering with even the spelling of GRAMMAR. Then there will be plenty of answers found wanting in spelling, tense, punctuation, etc. Of course, make sure that no one writes his/her name on the answer sheet.

Make sure you do not attack anyone while announcing the wrong answer, followed by the correct answers. In Cite HR columns, there are plenty of articles highlighting the English GRAMMATICAL howlers. They are funny and contributed by persons from all over the world. Often, they are simple and self-explanatory. Please browse and keep them ready for your class.

Advice for Teaching Grammar

My advice/suggestion is only one. Ask participants to write or speak simple sentences. Writing a simple sentence is like driving slowly when you learn to drive a two-wheeler or a four-wheeler. Once your balance is set and steady, you automatically pick up speed. Nobody teaches you to pick up speed. That is the clue.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan

Thank you for your valuable idea of encouraging them to write and speak. I searched for training activities on citehr; however, I could not find any, which led me to start this discussion.

It's very interesting to know you have the assignment of teaching English grammar. Well, I agree with Mr. N K Sundaram on the issue of training and teaching. I wish to suggest you go through the basics of English Grammar. There is a good old authoritative book on the subject by Wren & Martin. Of course, the method and content for the assignment should be planned properly considering other issues like the target group, time allotted, mother tongue of the target group, and their present roles/background, etc.

Wishing You Good Luck!

Regards,
A S Krishna Murthy
Soft Skills Trainer
Bangalore
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Here is one thought. Why is your company asking employees to learn grammar? Obviously, it's not for becoming great at literature. It's more a functional need, perhaps because they are expected to deal with outsiders. Plain grammar for the purpose of language skills is going to take too much time and will definitely be boring.

Steps to Enhance Grammar Skills

Therefore, as a first step, pick up a few scenarios that your colleagues get involved in during their day-to-day work. Ask each of them to create about 50 sentences and get them to correct them themselves. You can then fine-tune the grammar, style, and language. This exercise can be completed in about 10 days and will push up the general standard and help your company achieve the first part of the goal.

Once the people improve their skills, their enthusiasm too picks up momentum and "the train will go on on its own steam."

If you would like assistance with this program, shoot an email - [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons].

Regards

Being a soft skills trainer, management practitioner, and English trainer, I have conducted several programs for different groups with various backgrounds. One of the successful tools in language enhancement programs in English is writing, speaking, and reading on various topics given a specific objective. This is a strong platform on which you can build a structure of communication excellence at different levels.

Believe me, it worked consistently and produced results with active participation. Initially, you will find that progress may be slow, but gradually the momentum will pick up. Others have provided practical tips and insights. Kudos to them. Meaningful contributions are rarely seen on this site, often overshadowed by a string of minor criticisms. Let us accept it; however, it is slightly above the board.

Do well, and all the very best.

Regards,
V. Rangarajan (Chennai)