The Systematic Teaching of Grammar: A Critique
From the writer: "The Systematic Teaching of Grammar: A Critique" is a piece that was written for my Peer Writing Consultant class, WRT 331. The assignment was rather open, we were to relate our experiences as a writing consultant to an area interest. I was inspired to choose grammar as my subject area because I found that many students came to me asking directly for help with their grammar. This piece was more of an exploratory piece than anything else.
From the teacher: Cat's interest in the subject of this paper was sparked by her consulting clients repeated requests to have her "just go over the grammar" in their papers. She wondered what they meant by that. Why were they so concerned about grammar? As a result, she decided to investigate how students are instructed in grammar. This paper, her final presentation for the Peer Writing Consultant course, grew out of her research.
From the editors: Through a series of questions and answers, Ayoob simply yet thoroughly examines the subject of grammar. Taking a trip back to early childhood education and the origins of many misunderstandings of the mere definition of grammar, Ayoob's style offers concrete understandings of the life span of grammar. Writing from a point of view of a writing consultant lends her paper further credibilty.
Grammar this, grammar that. So much is heard about grammar, most of it negative. If you are a writing consultant, you will hear that word just about everyday:
"Can you help me with my grammar?"
" I hate grammar."
"My grammar sucks."
Where does this obsession and loathing of grammar come from? This question would probably take a whole dissertation to answer, and I do not have the knowledge to write that sort of paper. So, this essay will be more narrowly focused. In most cases this misunderstanding of grammar takes place early on in ones educational career. Most students have made their position with grammar clear before they enter high school. Many of these students who detest grammar were taught grammar systematically. It is this systematic teaching of grammar that creates such fear and hatred of grammar. In this short piece, systematically taught grammar will be analyzed and discussed. It is the intention of the author to provide a critique of this method of teaching and propose alternative teaching styles. Grammar taught systematically is ineffective and should be discarded.
When I was in grade school and high school I was taught grammar everyday no matter what the subject. That is not the case anymore. Grammar is not taught like it used to. Teachers are avoiding the fact that they are not teaching grammar. They want children to write more about what they feel then write about facts.
In the article “I won’t hire people who use poor grammar here’s why.” published in Harvard business review on managing yourself, Kyle Wiens argues that he have a zero approach which does not allow for any grammar mistake because it makes people stupid, and he believes that people who made mistake in grammar do not deserve to have a job. Further, he supports his thesis by stating that people who made an error in their writing will do error in their work and their life. In addition, he claims that language is constantly changing, but that does not ignore the importance of the grammar. Thus, this claim is supported by stating that good grammar is credibility. For example, programmers who
While there are noticeable by differences in social conduct between these two primates, I argue that they are extra of similar behaviors than most books have suggested. This book portrays several reasons that modern views of bonobo and chimpanzee cultures may not harmonize well with ground data. Bonobos are derived since their behavior has been defined lately than that of chimpanzees, and the likelihood that explanations of bonobo-chimpanzee differences are echoes of human male-female alterations.
In primates such as chimpanzees it is imperative to look at their culture to understand their intelligence. Culture in this circumstance means a specific set of behaviors obtained through learning in a population/species. Chimpanzee’s intelligence is quite unique how they interact with their environment and use it to their benefit just like humans. They have the ability to overcome the obstacles of everyday life through learning and the ability to use tools to create a better quality of life. The complexity of their intellect is different from any other animal ever seen. A significant part of chimpanzee intelligence that sets them apart from other primates and puts them closer to humans is the way they exhibit social learning within their culture and interactions within their environment.
Through Goodall’s research valuable information such as the chimpanzees eating larger mammals such as a bushpig were uncovered. Goodall made a valid argument when she mentioned that the behavior of these chimpanzees may have been comparable to that of our ancient hominin ancestors. Goodall went in to observe the chimpanzees with no previous bias opinion, and this I believe attributed to her successful study of the chimpanzees. Goodall is able to in time get close enough to the chimpanzees in order to gain the knowledge and material needed in order to properly study chimpanzee behavior. Noting the compelling nature of Goodall’s research, I believe that without Goodall’s research the lack of information on chimpanzees and their behavior would be distressing. It isn’t often that we learn of a species that is deemed most biologically equivalent to us, and then find in that study that they are much similar to us. The chimpanzees live in group setting much like humans and our society. Chimpanzees also demonstrated use of tools in order to hunt for food, such as using leaf stems to fish for termites. They also demonstrated predatory behaviors in hunting and killing other larger mammals such as bushpigs, baboons, and other monkeys. In short the chimpanzee is an intriguing species that can be closely compared to
I observed chimpanzees in the Kimberly-Clark Chimpanzee Forest exhibit at the Dallas zoo. These African apes, like humans, are hominoids and fall into the larger category of catarrhines. Their scientific classification is Pan troglodytes. There were about ten chimpanzees in that habitat. Most of them were grown adults, except two children. They were robust and had black fur. The average weight of the chimps was listed on a display to be about 115 pounds.
Protein have connection with amino acid to help in functions of: skin, muscle, hair and bones
Chimpanzees are a lot like humans in their behaviours. They are extremely smart since they are able to make and use tools and weapons. The female mothers are very affectionate and protective over the young and the rest of their family. The young chimps are also very dependant on their mother for necessities such as food, shelter and warmth.
When constructing a piece of writing, a student may sometimes find herself struggling to remember grammar rules or style principles. A handy reference guide would help her out immensely. William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White’s book, The Elements of Style, and Joseph Williams’ book, Style: Toward Clarity and Grace, assist writers improve their work in various ways. Strunk and Whites’ book took a simple approach, while Williams went more in-depth, with elaborate explanations and varying choices for each writing style.
maintain your muscles. The monomers of proteins are amino acids, 20 are found in proteins.
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman, and Nina Hyams. An Introduction to Language. 8th ed. Boston: Thomson, 2007.
A large part of an English teacher’s job deals with helping students find their own voices amidst the many teachings of their parents and peers. A student’s voice can be their values, their interests, and their perspectives of the world in which they live. Their voice can be their critical questioning of the many situations they face, whether in a text, the school cafeteria, or a park after school. It is the job of an English teacher to aid in finding this voice through their writing. It is by putting words and thoughts down on paper that a student can sometimes feel comfortable enough to take risks and find their true voices. Although traditional grammar instruction has long been thought to improve this skill, this is no longer the case. Instead, by providing a classroom environment in which students are immersed in classic literature from many genres including poetry, short stories, and novels, students will learn how to harness grammar for their own purposes of finding their voice in their writing.
Nassaji, H., & Fotos, S. (2011). The role of context in focus on grammar: Teaching Grammar in Second Language Classroom (pp.121-134). New York and London: Routhdge
It is not uncommon to say that grammar instruction plays an important role in language teaching. Regarding the status and importance of grammar teaching, a variety of opinions have been made. Batstone (1994) states that “language without grammar would be chaotic: countless words without the indispensable guidelines for how they can be ordered and modified” (p. 4). More vividly, Wang (2010) makes two similes. She compares grammar to the frame of a house, which is a decisive factor to ensure the solidness of it. Additionally, she regards grammar as a walking stick, whose function is to help and support students to learn English. Thus, the nature of grammar instruction manifests its own significance as it helps students enhance their overall language proficiency by integrating grammar into other aspects of learning, like listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Susan Adams and Kyle Weins have both written articles on the importance of using good grammar in the workplace. Each article gives numerous compelling reasons why this is a good practice. Susan Adams’ article first reason for doing so is in regards to how other people would view someone who uses bad grammar. She brings out that someone’s image can be damaged when they have improper speech habits; consequently their chances of advancing at work could be limited. Second, she shows how using poor grammar could cause a manager to view an employee as unorganized or unable to perform more advanced tasks. Finally, she brings out that someone who has poor speaking habits could be perceived as not having a firm grasp on the subject they are speaking about (Adams). Kyle Weins article also brings out some important points on bad grammar in the workplace. First, he shows that in today’s world people’s intelligence is judged based on what they say or what they type. The second point relates to how a manager could perceive someone with poor grammar. A manager could see an employee who uses poor grammar as someone who struggles to concentrate on tasks and doesn’t show attention to detail. Finally, he shows that peo...