Volume 02 Issue 05-2022
5
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2273)
VOLUME
02
I
SSUE
05
Pages:
05-08
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2022:
5.
445
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
METADATA
IF
–
5.963
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
ABSTRACT
In this article, deductive and inductive approaches and methods of teaching grammar in their context, as well as their
advantages and disadvantages are reflected.
KEYWORDS
Teaching English grammar, inductive approach, deductive approach, students’ preference.
INTRODUCTION
The term mother tongue refers to the language that is
acquired firstand, in pedagogical context, named as
the native, base, or sourcelanguage. A foreign
language is a language taught at school as a subject,
as well as the one that is not used either as a language
of teaching at school or the language of
communication in a certain community. In pedagogical
context, it is referred to as a foreign, goal or target
language. In linguistic literature it can be noticed
that different scholars have treated the distinction
between the terms “learning” and “acquiring” in
numerous ways. American linguist Krashen insists
that those are two completely different processes.
According to him, the acquisition is a process of
learning a mother tongue which is considered unique
by its own nature. Learning in a broader sense can be
Research Article
INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE TEACHING APPROACHES
Submission Date:
May 10, 2022,
Accepted Date:
May 20, 2022,
Published Date:
May 30, 2022
Crossref doi:
https://doi.org/10.37547/ajps/Volume02Issue05-02
Shovqieva Shohida Bobosher kizi
Uzbek State Institute of Arts and Culture, Uzbekistan
Journal
Website:
https://theusajournals.
com/index.php/ajps
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
Volume 02 Issue 05-2022
6
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2273)
VOLUME
02
I
SSUE
05
Pages:
05-08
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2022:
5.
445
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
METADATA
IF
–
5.963
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
defined as “acquiring or getting of knowledge of a
subject or a skill by study, experience and instruction.”
On the other hand, some linguists claim that there
exists no fundamental distinction between the two
terms . Further in the text, the term grammar
acquisition will be used, for the fact that in
pedagogical and psycholinguistic literature it is often
used in alternation with the term learning.
There are at least two approaches to acquisition of
grammar in teaching foreign languages: inductive and
deductive. When grammar is taught inductively, a
teacher allows students to, on the basis of
assumptions, induce and formulate a rule by
themselves. Namely, students produce rules
indirectly, applying a rule to exercises from a text.
The teacher’s task is to provide the appropriate
context where a certain rule is used, together with
the appropriate context for communication. The
main advantage of the inductive approach, according
to Hinkel and Fotos , is fostering the mental effort
and enabling development of students’ mental
capabilities, analysis and making connection between
the segments of speech, thus participating actively
in the teaching process. They also assert that the
knowledge acquired by unconscious process of
identification and acquisition of the presented
grammar rules can be stored for a longer period of
time and implemented in practice without the
conscious questioning of context which can be time-
consuming. Naturally, the efficiency of the method is
highly dependent on the teacher for it is highly
demanding to find examples relevant for the given
problem which will lead to the desirable conclusion.
Moreover, the method could be time-consuming,
wasting precious time that could otherwise be used
for the reproduction of the learnt material, especially
in the case when, for instance, the students are unable
to produce a certain rule. The second approach is the
deductive approach of acquiring grammar rules.
According to Thornbury’s three basic principles, a
teacher provides clear definitions and explanations
of a certain grammar point. The next step is to provide
examples of sentences where the grammar point is
usually used, as a means of presenting the students
with the most frequent usage of a rule in a certain
context. Then students practice the rule providing
their own examples at the end of a lesson .
The deductive method is easier to apply than the
inductive one, leaving little space for mistakes,
provided it is explained in a correct and precise way.
The deductive approach encourages students’
confidence through numerous examples, at the same
time stating clearly what students are expected to
learn. In addition, a teacher is not required to
prepare much when teaching in this manner. The main
task of a teacher is to provide students with
comprehensible explanation which could be easily
applied to the exercises that follow. However, one of
Volume 02 Issue 05-2022
7
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2273)
VOLUME
02
I
SSUE
05
Pages:
05-08
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2022:
5.
445
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
METADATA
IF
–
5.963
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
the main disadvantages of the deductive approach is
the lack of students’ participation in the teaching
process which leads to the lack of creativity and
degradation of the thinking process because
everything is clear, already given and there is no
opportunity for critical thinking. Teacher’s inability
to present a rule in a clear and unambiguous way, to
provide relevant examples and adjust them to the
capabilities of the students could be another
disadvantage of the approach. In that case, even the
simplest rule can seem difficult and confusing to the
students.
Deductive and inductive grammar learning. These two
approaches have been applied to grammar teaching
and learning. A deductive approach involves the
learners being given a general rule, which is then
applied to specific language examples and honed
through practice exercises. An inductive approach
involves the learners detecting, or noticing, patterns
and working out a ‘rule’ for themselves before they
practise the language.
Both approaches are commonplace in published
materials. Some course books may adhere to one
approach or the other as series style, whereas some
may be more flexible and employ both approaches
according to what the language being taught lends
itself to. Most inductive learning presented in course
books is guided or scaffolded. In other words,
exercises and questions guide the learner to work out
the grammar rule. The following course book extracts
illustrate the two different approaches. The
subsequent practice exercises are similar in both
course books.
First and foremost, it is perhaps the nature of the
language being taught that determines if an inductive
approach is possible. Inductive learning is an option for
language with salient features and consistency and
simplicity of use and form. The basic forms of
comparative adjectives, as shown above, is an example
of this. Conversely, teaching the finer points of the use
of articles (a/an, the) inductively, for example, would
most probably be problematic. The metalinguistic
tools that the learners will need to accomplish the task
is also a factor.
However, the learner-centered nature of inductive
teaching is often seen as advantageous as the learner
is more active in the learning process rather than being
a passive recipient. This increased engagement may
help the learner to develop deeper understanding and
help fix the language being learned. This could also
promote the strategy of ‘noticing’ in the student and
enhance learner autonomy and motivation.
On the other hand, inductive learning can be more
time- and energy-consuming and more demanding of
the teacher and the learner. It is also possible that
during the process, the learner may arrive at an
incorrect inference or produce an incorrect or
Volume 02 Issue 05-2022
8
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2273)
VOLUME
02
I
SSUE
05
Pages:
05-08
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2022:
5.
445
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
METADATA
IF
–
5.963
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
incomplete rule. Also, an inductive approach may
frustrate learners whose personal learning style and/or
past learning experience is more in line with being
taught via a more teacher-centred and deductive
approach.
REFERENCES
1.
Brown, H.D. (2007). Principles of language
learning and teaching. Pearson Longman.
2.
Haight, C., Herron, C., & Cole, S. (2007). The
effects of deductive and guided inductive
instructional approaches on the learning of
grammar in the elementary language college
classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 40, 288-
309.
3.
Thornbury, S. (1999). How to Teach Grammar.
Pearson.
