Language teaching methodology

3. Explanation of grammar points may or may not be necessary or helpful, depending on participants’ “learning styles.” It can come in various forms, the simplest of which is a “Grammar Box,” perhaps with Review, titles like “Statements with Third Person Singular Verbs,” labeled sentence elements, and aligned vocabulary as examples. This typical visual is from WL-E 3G: Chapter 4 / Work, Part One, p. 59. It uses parts of sentence examples from the preceding presentation, “identifying” their functions by their placement in a “chart.” Other kinds of explanation may be (printed) lecture, call-outs pointing to things they explain, aural speech evoked by clicks, references to articles. etc. users may or may not want to talk about the grammar; identify elements as “Subject,” “Verb,” “-(e)s Ending,” or the like; or repeat the “rules” in their own words. Even better, they may want to propose comparable sentences, preferably within the context of the subject matter. Most important is the “assimilation” of the grammatical pattern, along with a sense of being able to use it when it applies in appropriate situations. In their heads, learners can also “play with” the model sentences, substituting other vocabulary, making “transformations” from singular to plural, from affirmative to negative, from statements to questions, etc.

4. Practice is usually in the form of exercises, which proceed from simplistic or automatic (to build confidence) to more challenging. In the latter, exercise-doers must consider more factors in completing each item. Even so, if someone is actually acquiring a grammar pattern or point rather than guessing thoughtlessly, the answers should come quickly, with little effort, becoming more and more “natural.” At the same time, learners should always stay aware of the meaning of the language that they are producing. 
The Sample Exercises A, B, and C below are from WL-E 3G: Chapter 4 / Work, Part One, pp. 59-60. The first (A.) simply supplies base verbs for blanks in a meaningful paragraph, to which doers add –(e)s endings.
The second (B.) requires them to locate appropriate vocabulary in a simulated “Application” that follows, putting affirmative or negative third-person singular verbs in the blanks.
The third (C.) has users repeat the nine (9) statements of Exercise B and add “tag-questions” at their ends.
In all three, the “trick” is recognizing the considerations that lead to correct or appropriate answers; the “immediate motivation” is the puzzle-like format of the exercises, which are “in need of” solutions. In addition to or rather than checking their responses with an Answer Key, exercise-doers gain satisfaction by reading (aloud) the language of the completed sections to see if they “sound right” and make sense.
After completing exercises, learners ought to “go beyond” them and get more practice. They can use various techniques such as covering the answers and supplying them again, storing the “story” in short-term memory and then paraphrasing it, making up similar items of their own, making up substitution and transformation drills with the items, etc.