How important is grammar for you?

Joe | May 11, 2026May 11, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

• engage in discussing English grammar and grammatical approaches;
• practise verbs for debating language norms;
• watch a video on grammar standards and natural speech.

In this lesson, students share their experiences of learning grammar and watch part of a video (to 04:23) about strict grammar rules and the reality of how we speak. They reflect on the advantages of different grammatical approaches, discuss grammar authority and talk about the evolution of English. Students explore useful vocabulary for debating languages (e.g. deviate from, undermine, stigmatize), express their opinions and examine non-standard grammar in context. 

WARM-UP AND VIDEO

This lesson starts with a warm-up where students engage in discussing English grammar and their experiences. After that, they watch a video about grammar. First, students read a summary of grammatical approaches and find two things that they think are not true. They then watch the first part of the video and check. Moving on, students read statements related to the shift in language standards and guess what the missing words could be. Afterwards, they watch the second part of the video and verify their answers. Following that, students think about two advantages of a descriptivist and prescriptivist approach to grammar. Next, they watch the third part of the video and compare their answers. Then, students discuss perspectives on grammar standards and learning methods.

VOCABULARY AND DISCUSSION

In this part of the lesson, students read sentences about attitudes toward grammar standards and linguistic diversity. They match verbs for discussing English grammar (e.g. impede, enhance, legitimize) to their definitions. After that, students look at the statements from the previous task again and choose two of them they agree with and two they disagree with. They explain why. Moving on, students examine different sentences. In each of them, they find a non-standard grammar form and explain what exactly is non-standard about it. Finally, students use the target vocabulary to complete the gaps in questions about the social and practical effects of non-standard English. They then discuss the questions.

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This lesson also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students review vocabulary for discussing English grammar by examining verbs in a text and swapping those in the wrong positions with the correct ones. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

WORKSHEETS

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