This is an article designed to assist those who are thinking of signing up for a TEFL course (or who have completed their TEFL) and who have a nervous, stomach twisting fear of the word "grammar." I have never and would never call myself a linguist but was able to get on quite well with grammar elements of my TEFL course and I have no problem introducing grammar to my current classes. If you are in any way scared or horrified of grammar, then do make sure that your TEFL course has grammar inputs. My TEFL course had pre-course grammar activities to complete which served me very well. From Day One you are introduced to grammar and you to learn to love it...ok, that might be an exaggeration but you certainly won't be scared of it. There are a few points that you should remember when tackling the grammatical elements of your TEFL or class preparation.

Terms and conditions apply

Always make sure that the TEFL course you apply to has grammar inputs. It doesn't matter if you can speak 1 or 5 languages, grammar terminology is never the same. You may think you know the difference between the present perfect and and past perfect but you may have to guess again! English grammar terminology may be different to what you're used to. The main point of a TEFL is learning how to teach. So remember, knowing grammar and knowing how to teach it is very different.

Get on it early

When I studied for my TEFL we were introduced to the importance of understanding grammar from the first day. I think it was within the first 2 hours! It's highly important to start tackling grammar as soon as you can. My TEFL course was intense and you don't want to get left behind. Do the homework and extra practice exercises. Another piece of advice and an absolute gem to have up your sleeve is Murphy's English Grammar in Use exercise book. This is great for simple grammatical explanations as well as providing a lot of practice exercises.

Practice makes perfect

A good TEFL course should have observed practice teaching sessions. Use these to your full advantage. I recommend that you introduce an aspect of grammar to your practice class, even just once. You'll get a real feel of how students react to new grammar, any problems that arise in presentation of it and an idea of the amount of time it might take to properly introduce some new grammar. Most TEFL courses offer free English classes to your guinea pigs so they know you are a teacher with 'L' plates. If you make a mistake with teaching grammar, or can't answer a question, this is the place to do it - not when you are being paid for it.

A question of levels

The level of your students will affect how you should introduce new grammar. For example to lower level students, grammar should be introduced subtly and naturally. Otherwise you run the risk of confusion, too much terminology and over compensating for what they don't know. Grammar should be introduced through conversation or questioning and then backed up with boardwork and further exercises to practice. New tenses are really tough to introduce. The 'present perfect', for example, is a tense you'll introduce to high elementaries and pre-intermediates and I think the best way is to introduce it is by talking about life experiences. Example:

Teacher: "Have you visited New York?"

Student: "Yes."

Teacher: "Lovely, how many times have you visited New York."

Student: "I gone four times."

Teacher: "You have been four times. You have been." (writes on the board) "So, how many times have you visited New York?"

Student: "I have been four times."

Thus, you'll gauge how quickly students can pick up different concepts - all through repetition, elicitation and visual aids.

Don't overwhelm

New grammar has to be introduced very clearly and effectively. It's advisable not to introduce too much at once, which you can be in danger of when you first start teaching. You can get put in some difficult situations. I was teaching a beginners class who were practising the present tense and they wanted to be able to say things in the future. I had to joke that we'd learn it the next week! But its best for your students that you don't overwhelm them with too much grammatical information.

And finally...

Always have some grammar games in your bag. This is really useful for moments when only practising will cement a student's understanding. Games also help students to remember things a different way. I always keep a bundle present tense and past tense verb cards in my bag. Beginners can match the tenses, intermediates could give you their past participle or create a story using them and upper intermediate students can put the verbs into different tenses. Simple yet effective grammar games really help students remember grammar rules, which helps you too!

Victoria Galloway just completed her TEFL in Madrid http://www.ttmadrid.com/, Spain. TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language and gives English speakers the ability to live abroad and work in a country even if they haven't mastered the language yet.

She did her TEFL at TtMadrid and now writes for them to ensure newcomers have the best experience possible when arriving in Madrid. You can visit their website here: http://www.ttmadrid.com.