The
Hartwell article pointed out that there is really very little or no correlation
between having a focus on grammar lessons in the classroom and students’
ability to write well. My first instinct
then is to throw grammar lessons out and focus class time on other issues, yet
there is undoubtedly going to be issues with grammar for some students. Plus I have my own issues with grammar—I’m
not the best at diagramming sentences and identifying the dangling modifiers
from the dangling participles. However, I
do feel that as an English teacher, grammar is an area that I should have a
better understanding of. This leaves me
with the question: if I don’t know all there is to know about grammar, what
areas of grammar are important, and how should I teach them?
The areas I
believe to be important are identified by Hartwell as the kind of grammar
associated with ‘usage’; I do not care so much if my students know all of the
rules of grammar, but I do care that they are able to put words together into
sentences that make sense. With that in
mind, I believe I will cover some of the basics of grammar like subject/verb
agreement and discuss some of the quirky verb conjugates like swim, swam, swum,
but for the most part I believe that I will let grammar teach itself by my
students living, breathing, and speaking in an English-speaking society.
As for my
worries about my own knowledge of grammar, I believe I will dig a little deeper
into the rule book to get a better understanding of the intricacies of the
English language. This is a selfish
endeavor, and one that is driven mostly by fear—the fear of a student, parent,
or colleague asking me to explain the rules to them, and me being an English
teacher and not knowing my own subject.
I think this is really interesting, because I am almost the exact opposite. I am a total grammar nerd (I am not a grammar "Nazi" most of the time, though). I love grammar, and I know it quite well. I do see the reasons for focusing more on issues than on rules, but I do feel there is a need for rules sometimes, too. One question I have: Do you think that the grammar students will learn as "living, breathing, and speaking in an English-speaking society" may be negatively impacted by things such as texting, social networking, instant messaging, etc.?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. Great question!—I definitely believe that texting and other social media are changing the way many people (if not all) approach language. Personally, the trend seems to be going towards shortening everything and with that grammar is in a compromised position. I read a book last year (I wish I could remember the name) that discussed how modern technology is pushing human beings to want instant gratification—think of google, cellphones, and as you mentioned instant messaging and texting. Compared to 25 years ago, things do seem to have sped up due to technology. All this making for a feeling of being plugged-in, and for some a great relief when they turn off their phone or computer, and un-plug. I find that my writing (grammar included) is often improved upon by setting it down, or walking away from it and then looking at it later to make revisions. As you allude to, the grammar humans are learning through culture is changing. As for the ‘negative impact,’ I tend to agree, but this class is teaching me to be more aware of using terms such as negative, proper, and the like. It certainly seems to be changing.
Delete