There were various people who has given their thoughts to the Inductive approach, this approach was originally raised by Seliger in 1979, and the latest version was raised by Erlem in 2003.

 

Erlem proposed that to learn a new type of grammar, neither the teachers nor the students should do research on the rules of the grammar. The student should try to test the rules and patterns by looking at examples. (Foriegn Language Teaching Methods-Grammar,2010)1

 

We have modified the approach to our context of teaching passive voice to Hong Kong primary school students , for example, teachers could divide students into small groups and give each of them some examples of passive voice sentences and their active voice formated versions without explaining the rules and their patterns beforehand, the students have to attempt to figure out the rules and patterns behind passive voice and share their theories to the rest of the class. The teachers could then explain the ‘real answer’ and compare it with the theories the students raised.

 

           Strengths                                           Weaknesses

• Allows students to discover                                   --> Requires more planning and

      the answers themselves                                                 efforts from teacher

• The knowledge would be                                       --> Time consuming

       deep-rooted inside students’                                --> might be too challenging

       mindsets since they ‘discovered’                                 for some students

       the answers themselves

• Might hold students’ interest

       since they are the ones who are to

       discover a ‘myth’

 

 

The major difference between the Inductive Approach and the Deductive Approach can be seen from the following aspects: "rule-discovery". Rules learners discover for themselves are more likely to fit their existing mental structures than rules they have been presented with. This in turn will make the rules more meaningful, memorable, and serviceable.

 

The mental effort involved ensures a greater degree of cognitive depth which, again, ensures greater memorability. Students are more actively involved in the learning process, rather than being simply passive recipients in Deductive Approach, they are therefore likely to be more attentive and more motivated.

 

 

3 Foreign Language Teaching Methods: Grammar. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from https://coerll.utexas.edu/methods/modules/grammar/03/