So much has been written on this topic and for very good reason!
To construct a building, we need a sturdy foundation which will support the walls and roof. The same goes for learning a language. We need a structure to build phrases. This structure is comprised of verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions. In linguistics this is known as metalanguage. The grammar of a language is its basic framework which allows you to combine a finite number of words in an infinite number of ways and still be understood immediately.
Let us look at the following sentence:
The tall man walks quickly and steadily
The adjective tall gives us more information about the noun man and the adverbs quickly and steadily describe how he is walking. The metalanguage used conveys a visual picture of the man and what he is doing.
There is no doubt that to use a foreign language proficiently we need to master its grammar. In so doing we can construct comprehensible sentences and understand the speakers of the other language. It is impossible to communicate properly without putting in the effort. Just like learning to drive, you need to put in hours of learning the theory before the instructor will allow you out on the motorway.
However, with a minimum amount of grammar, it is possible to reach the stage where you succeed in ordering the right drink in a restaurant, manage to tell people where you went on holiday, and get the gist of simple conversations or films. But let us not fool ourselves. You will never get your command of English to a point where you can take part in more complex conversations (or business negotiations) or understand sophisticated texts or documentaries. You will also not be taken as seriously if you make mistakes. You just need to look at people’s negative reaction to foreigners who speak ungrammatical or inaccurate English. If you are aiming for proficiency in the long term, you need to get into the habit of caring about the detail from the start.
It is recommendable to see how grammar works in context. But just as important is to learn the rules systematically by rote if you want to make fast progress. You cannot expect to learn to play football or tennis just by watching matches on television. You need to put in the effort to train.
Students ask me how learning English grammar can be simplified. I offer no magical formula, but I do suggest the following points:
- Read examples aloud so that they sink in aurally as well as visually
- Write fundamental rules out on index cards using coloured markers to highlight exceptions
- Use index cards to evaluate yourself by writing out examples of a rule on one side and the rule on the other
And the most important advice of all is Practice makes perfect!