Please remember that just because we are not meeting face to face, meeting online takes the place of our class together. So, if you are not posting on time, it is as if you are absent from the class. Pay very close attention to the due dates and times. And as always, email or call me if you are having difficulties.
Chapter 9 English Syntax
EQ: What are some basic aspects of English syntax? How do insights from syntax apply to teaching reading and teahing a second language?
Key Points:
- For many linguists, grammar is regarded as the study of syntactic structure. Grammar and syntax are synonymous.
- Linguists continually revise their theories of how language is structured and developed.
- Grammar can refer to the internal rules native speakers contstruct as well as the descriptions of syntactic structure that linguists develop.
- Although traditional approaches to teaching grammar have not been effective in improving students's speech or writng, targeted minilessons based on students' writing are useful.
- If only using exercises and drills with little focus on meaning to teach grammar, students learn to imitate the patterns but fail to construct the underlying rules that are needed to comprehend and produce the language.
- One of the most widely used methods of teaching a second or foreign language has been the audiolingual method (ALM) which is based on behaviorist psychology and structural linguistics.
- Current methods of teaching ELs are based on an acquistion model of language development. They organize curriculum around themes and teach language through content.
- Teachers with an understanding of syntax scaffold instruction to make academic language comprehensible.
Assignment for Tuesday, 1/22/13
1. Answer 3 questions of your choice due by 8:00 pm tonight.
2. Respond to 1 post writted by colleague by next Tuesday, Jan 29 4:30.
3. Finish Task 2. Due next Tuesday, Jan 29 4:30.
a. Describe your experience learning grammar in your early years of schooling. What techniques or strategies do you remember your teachers using? Were you successful in grammar? Why or why not?
b. According to Macauley's study in Scotland, students wo received intensive training in traditional grammar showed that sutdents have a great deal of difficulty eaven learning basic parts of speech. In your opinion and using Chapter 9, why are students consisitenly showing weakness in the study of grammar?
c. Despite the research consensus, teachers continue to each traditional prescriptive grammar. On page 218, Weaver (1996) lists several reasons why. Can you relate to any of these points? Please explain your expereince as a teacher and whether you agree/disagree with any of the reasons suggested.
d. How can an understanding of syntax inform teachers as they teach reading? Remember, we are ALL reading teachers whether we teach reading in math, science, social studies, language arts or connections.
e. How will you change the way you teach grammar know that you know that the exercises and drills we currently teach are proven to not work as effectively as teaching grammar through content. How will you use your understanding of syntax to scaffold instruction to make academic language comprehensible in your classroom?
Describe your experience learning grammar in your early years of schooling. What techniques or strategies do you remember your teachers using? Were you successful in grammar? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI had the great advantage of growing up in a home in which grammatically correct English was spoken. During elementary and middle school, my language ability matured as a result of my home and school environments. On the other hand, I believe that, for the most part, I used proper sentence structure and pronunciation because that is what I heard in my home. However, when I went to school, I needed to learn grammar. I — like probably most of my classmates — did not learn to speak because I studied grammar. I learn grammar by doing mechanical drills in which students substitute pronouns for nouns or alternate the person, number, or tense of verbs can help students memorize irregular forms and challenging structures. These grammar drills were given daily in class and for homework. The next day some of the homework drills were reviewed. Finally, students were assessed on their knowledge. “Teachers believed that if students learned about grammar, they could apply this knowledge to both writing and speaking. However, research consistently shows that students have trouble learning traditional grammar and applying grammar rules when they write or speak” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 217). Although I was successful in grammar, the main lesson that I learn from doing these drills was boring because the teacher didn’t know any other way to explain grammar. A good teacher will explain the same grammar point in many different ways, some of which have simpler language. If you don't understand the grammar words your teacher is using and then the teacher uses more grammar words when they explain another way, you could try asking the school for a translation of all the grammar words you will hear in class or just ask your teacher "Can you explain that another way?".
How can an understanding of syntax inform teachers as they teach reading? Remember, we are ALL reading teachers whether we teach reading in math, science, social studies, language arts or connections.
Children should be taught to guess words on the basis of meaning and syntax. Teachers who come from a word recognition background do not place the amount of importance on syntax as those who follow a sociopsycholinguistic view. “Syntax is one of the three cueing systems. Readers use acquired knowledge of syntactic patterns to predict the morphological categories of upcoming words. Proficient readers make substitutions that maintain the sentence syntax. For instance, they substitute nouns for nouns or determiners for determiners” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 242). The teacher's role has shifted from the dominant participant to the monitor who interacts with his/her students a lot, asking them questions about familiar topics and trying to use the grammatical structure of the day in the conversation. Accuracy is sought and errors are corrected. This method is the pioneer to enhance speaking activities, though not in a natural way but rather previously planned by the teacher. But it still focuses on grammar.
In addition, teachers need to model correct sentence structures so that children can learn to anticipate these structures when reading print. Opportunities should be provided for children to become familiar with and use the specific terminology for basic parts of speech (e.g., noun, verb, adjective, adverb) to facilitate instruction. Teachers also need to familiarize children with a variety of language structures and encourage their use of longer, more complex sentences.
Simone,
DeleteYou brought up an interesting point about the role that the language we hear at home plays in our adoption of grammatical structures in our everyday speech. I remember learning in my teaching program about other "non-standard" ways of speaking English that follow patterns consistently but do not sound like "proper" or academic English that is the standard in schools. When students consistently make the same kinds of errors, it may be that they are simply following a different pattern, one that they hear all around them in their home environments. I think we should both value students' home cultures by affirming the ways that the do speak and point out when they need to "code-switch" for "school English" so that they can be successful in an academic and professional environment.
I agee. I can recall being taught spanish and english at the same time. there were times when I mixed up the words in the different languages. It made learning one language very difficult. there were times where I was just silent. Commuunication with my childhood friends were sometimes limited when i was speaking to an English speaking person and I crossed the words. I experienced the ame when I spoke with my Spanish speaking friencds. I d not think that my father was prepared to explain the difference to me in a way that I would understand. My Englished became better when I moved out of my Spanish neighborhood. i went to school with students that only spoke English. My grammar skills also improved when I was taught spelling, reading and writing.
DeleteHow will you change the way you teach grammar now that you know that the exercises and drills we currently teach are proven to not work as effectively as teaching grammar through content. How will you use your understanding of syntax to scaffold instruction to make academic language comprehensible in your classroom?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Freeman and Freeman (2004), teachers use a variety of techniques to make the linguistic input comprehensible. They organize curriculum around themes and teach language through content” (p. 246). In classrooms today, teachers don’t do as much drills as the early years. Grammar lessons now involve a great deal of thinking, problem solving, and decision making by both the teacher and the student. Comprehensive reading instruction teaches the child to use a variety of skills to decode, read fluently, and understand the text. No single strategy is sufficient on its own, and as a teacher, I must be careful not to overemphasize one skill at the expense of others. It is important to understand the nature of the skills being taught, and that competent readers incorporate all sources of information as they engage in reading meaningful texts.
I would incorporate syntax to scaffold reading by providing my students with planned activities for before, during, and after reading. I would also provide continuous role modeling, coaching, guiding, and feedback, and always building on my student's prior knowledge and experiences. Finally, I would ensure that students are focused and engaged in the reading process, and monitors their time on task. Examples of activities would be:
•Before beginning to read, I would establish the purpose for reading with my students. Together we would consider what they already know about the topic or genre and use the title, headings, table of contents or index, and new, unfamiliar vocabulary to enhance their predictions.
•During reading, the students would respond to the text by searching for meaning, identifying the main ideas, predicting and verifying predictions, and building a coherent interpretation of the text. Students bring their experiences of the world and literature into the reading activity. I would scaffold by directing the attention of students to subtleties in the text, points out challenging words and ideas, and identifies problems and encourages the students to predict solutions.
•After reading, the students would reflect on their learning as they apply the knowledge acquired during reading, or transfer that knowledge to other contexts (e.g., by retelling, summarizing, creating graphic organizers, or putting pictures in sequential order).
I love that you would help student identify challenging words BEFORE reading. Often, in math, I find that students are confused about what the story problem is about or what the question is asking AFTER they have tried to figure it out and became frustrated. By avoiding this and helping students tackle the challenging words BEFORE becoming frustrated, we should be better able to help our students gain a deeper understanding of the material as well as lower their affective filter! : )
DeleteI agree about math problems. Students should take the time to read and reread word problems before trying to answer the question. Too often students go straight to the last sentence of a word problem before reading the problem. They miss so much necessary information for solving the problem. Students often say "I don't understand what the question is asking." I in turn ask if they read the entire problem, and the answer is always, "No. Did I need to?"
Deletea. Describe your experience learning grammar in your early years of schooling.
ReplyDeleteI’m one of those odd birds that loves grammar. To me, it’s like a puzzle. You figure out the rules and patterns, follow them, and fit all the parts together. And the exceptions! While exceptions to grammatical patterns can be frustrating for many, I find them intriguing and beautiful. I think my love of grammar is really based in a love of patterns. Even when I was frustrated with unfamiliar words and sounds in learning a new language, I could always fall back on the skill of finding a pattern.
I remember my teachers explicitly teaching these patterns, and giving me time to practice using them. What I don’t remember is connecting that grammar to my real life, or learning about grammar in context of reading or writing. I think this would have helped me internalize grammar and not have to work so hard to remember the rules and systems of the English language.
What I always struggled with (and continue to struggle with) is the correct terminology for grammatical components. I never saw (and still don’t see) the point of memorizing terms, as long as I could write a beautiful and organized sentence.
c. Please explain your expereince as a teacher and whether you agree/disagree with any of the reasons suggested.
I can definitely relate to some of these reasons for teaching grammar. One of the students’ CRCT exams focuses solely on grammar, after all. Even the name of the class I teach, “Language Arts,” implies that some language or linguistic study will take place. So, to help students be successful, and in part to follow with tradition, we are required to teach grammar. However, we only teach grammar explicitly for about 10 to 15 minutes each day.
I think most of the drive to teach grammar in the classroom is based in current testing methods and content. We want to do what is best for our children, and if that means passing the Language Arts CRCT, then it also means teaching and practicing grammar. I also think teachers teach grammar because they aren’t aware of the research against traditional grammar instruction. Speaking for myself, I knew on some level that grammar was best taught in context, but I wasn’t aware of how much research supported that idea until reading this chapter.
e.How will you use your understanding of syntax to scaffold instruction to make academic language comprehensible in your classroom?
One way to help students understand syntax is through cloze reading. Through determining what words should fill in the blank of a reading passage, and through discussing their choices, students will develop an awareness of the function of various types of words. This can also reinforce students’ independent reading skills.
In addition to hands on projects and graphic organizers, another way to scaffold grammar instruction is through the audiolingual method (ALM). Students hear and speak certain language patterns repeatedly, thus practicing and internalizing those patterns through experience. This method is not, however, effective in learning a second language, since the focus is on the pattern of words and not the meaning of those words.
Grammar is like a puzzle to me, too! I always used patterns and context clues to help me find meaning in unfamiliar words. I also remember learning all the grammar rules out of context and feel that if we practiced grammar in conjunction with reading passages I would have had to spend less time memorizing all the rules. Similarly, exceptions to the rules would have been better internalized if I had seen consistent examples in writing.
DeleteConnecting grammar to real life is an important skill that we as teachers hope our students will adapt as they continue to learn grammar. The ability to self-correct is particularly desirable for students with job-related or educational goals. At work, students are often required to write notes, e-mail messages, and reports, so they need to be able to communicate accurately in writing. If students haven’t learned how to monitor themselves,
Deletethey could have problems with such tasks. An understanding of grammar is also important for ESL learners who plan to transition to vocational programs or college. These students need to understand the meaning of grammatical
structures as they listen to lectures and read textbooks, as well as to use the forms correctly when they make oral presentations and write papers. The ability to self-correct leads to self-sufficiency.
Nice point of mentioning the CRCT. Don't teach to the test, but pass the test! Don't teach in isolation, but pass the test! The conflicting messages about how and when to teach something has always been a source of frustration that we deal with each year. I've taught math and language arts both and I can safely say that getting a room full of language arts teachers to agree on how to teach the same concept with the same resources is never going to happen (I love them all). It's so much more abstract than math and the need for a level of comfort to effectively teach is more prevelant.
Deletea. Describe your experience learning grammar in your early years of schooling. What techniques or strategies do you remember your teachers using? Were you successful in grammar? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteDuring every year of my schooling, I was taught grammar rules through daily exercises like “Daily Oral Grammar” or DOL. During these exercises, we were given sentences with grammatical errors, and we had to identify and correct the errors. I also remember being asked to label the parts of speech of each word in the sentence. It was not until college that I diagrammed sentences. I was actually very good at grammar because it is much like math. Diagramming sentences was very systematic, much like an equation.
c. Despite the research consensus, teachers continue to each traditional prescriptive grammar. On page 218, Weaver (1996) lists several reasons why. Can you relate to any of these points? Please explain your expereince as a teacher and whether you agree/disagree with any of the reasons suggested.
While I do not agree that teachers should just teach concepts because they think they are interesting or feel outside pressure, I do understand how some teachers may continue teaching traditional prescriptive grammar despite the research against it. First, if the AKS involves understanding of grammar, it is our responsibility to teach the concepts our students are required to know. Secondly, I can understand how some teachers may continue to teacher grammar even if it is only helpful to a few. In math, I show multiple ways of determining an answer even if I know all my students will not grasp a full understanding of every method. I do not shy away from higher level concepts just because I’m not sure that every student will understand. Instead of avoiding difficult concepts, I use scaffolding and differentiation to present the material in ways that help all students learn. While learning grammar was not helpful for some, I benefitted greatly from this instruction as it continues to shape the quality of the writings I produce now. Therefore, as an educator, I can understand teaching a concept without feeling 100% certain that every student will gain a deep understanding when you feel that some may benefit from the instruction.
d. How can an understanding of syntax inform teachers as they teach reading? Remember, we are ALL reading teachers whether we teach reading in math, science, social studies, language arts or connections.
In order to teach reading, we must have a concrete understanding of syntax. Without understanding the many ways in which we can form sentences and meaning, we cannot effectively create proficient readers and writers. If we, as educators, hold full command over the English language, we can better help our students do the same. How can we model correct usage if we do not have syntactic understanding ourselves?
I agree that we must have command of the english language, both written and oral. What I'm curious about is why do school districts hang on to the old way of teaching grammar in spite of all the research? We are bombarded each year with the "Research of the Month" promise. The next greatest thing to get the students over the hump is what we'll hear at the staff development. When researchers from across the different spectrums tell us something that is familiar and comfortable to us is useless, we just ignore it. This is what baffles me and I'm one of those doubters. Sometimes you have to admit defeat and change your ways.
DeleteWinolee,
DeleteI think encouraging students to see the connection between grammar and math can be helpful, especially for students who feel more comfortable with math than language arts. Sometimes kids have an "aha moment" when they hear grammatical concepts explained in mathematical terms. Using words like "adding" to explain how two independent clauses come together to form a compound sentence or showing students "formulas" for other types of sentences can help students see grammar through a new lens. And, relating grammar to math can lower the affective filter for those students for whom words are more intimidating than numbers.
a. Describe your experience learning grammar in your early years of schooling. What techniques or strategies do you remember your teachers using? Were you successful in grammar? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI just turned fifty so remembering that far back isn’t playing to my strengths. I do recall writing sentences, lots and lots of sentences. We also used movement acting out the verbs and pointing to nouns. I remember sitting down and doing work behind a desk starting in middle school. I didn’t take to it very well. The paper we wrote on in elementary school had the huge lines with the dashes going through the center. My mom kept some of my schoolwork and I was writing in cursive in third grade. I was obsessed as a kid wanting to write in cursive. I wanted a cool signature and I was determined to learn. I never write in cursive anymore; my writing has become more of a hybrid of cursive and print. The learning style that I embraced as a kid was rote memorization. The teachers gave us a task to do and I was the good soldier trying to make an “A”. I learned grammar and almost everything else as a kid trying to memorize what I learned and then try to tie it to something that I could remember and use later. I made excellent grades in elementary school and all the way through high school. Grades were important to my family and I was always under some sort of pressure to do well.
c. Despite the research consensus, teachers continue to each traditional prescriptive grammar. On page 218, Weaver (1996) lists several reasons why. Can you relate to any of these points? Please explain your experience as a teacher and whether you agree/disagree with any of the reasons suggested.
I can definitely relate to several points on the list. I’ve worked as a special education teacher for nine years and I’ve worked with some outstanding individuals during that time. I have been able to share the language arts classroom with a diverse group of teaching styles. Some did not believe the research and based on his/her own experiences felt the need to teach grammar traditionally because it’s what was always done. There was a comfort level and familiarity that the teacher felt was an integral part of how the students’ best learn. Teaching grammar is also a standard in many school districts and not having traditional grammar taught in some form is unheard of. Teaching it through reading and writing has been the focus of Gwinnett County Schools for a while now. Grammar isn’t a focal point of an entire day’s lesson anymore. It’s taught and reviewed in target time and incorporated in the current text that is being read. Grammar is also important to a lot of teachers for other reasons. Having excellent writing skills can be crucial to future employment success and the ability to differentiate oneself from another applicant going for the same job. I came from a business background before I got into the teaching profession. I always appreciated an applicant that had excellent written responses on an application. It showed a concern and seriousness in what they were submitting. Some research is hard to believe. Consider me skeptical.
e. How will you change the way you teach grammar now that you know that the exercises and drills we currently teach are proven to not work as effectively as teaching grammar through content? How will you use your understanding of syntax to scaffold instruction to make academic language comprehensible in your classroom?
ReplyDeleteIsn’t it interesting that schools embrace new research like a kid does a birthday present? They are so excited to try it out for the first time and see just how awesome it’s going to be. This research is some of the more definitive sounding research in any of the chapters so far, yet it’s one that still has a lot of detractors. Grammar taught traditionally still has a place in our classroom and regardless of research that states otherwise, many teachers won’t be persuaded to give it up. I’m mindful that we are all a product of our own upbringing and biases regarding how we learn, but telling someone that believes in something so strongly that what you believe is worthless is going to get some resistance. I think that teaching grammar through content will help teach meaning more effectively. What does concern me is that grammar rules still have an important part to play in writing. Maybe not expository or persuasive writing as much as technical writing, but it does have an effect. As it relates to ELL’s, I do see that meaning is a more important aspect of learning than how the sentence is constructed as an independent entity. I would scaffold the vocabulary in the text and use the images related to the text to teach meaning. Teaching vocabulary, grammar, and other aspects of language arts to ELL’s through text is more advantageous than in isolation. The teacher has more opportunities for the student to use the text to derive meaning, syntax, and vocabulary simultaneously in a manner that the student can then transfer to new text. The student now becomes empowered to expand his/her skill level by using these strategies on new text. The increased frequency the student can analyze text is what will bring about the long-term learning that we are trying to achieve.
I definitely agree that it's going to be incredibly hard for teachers to let go of grammar, and I do feel it still has a place, but ultimately, I feel like it is going to get continually pushed back in favor of reading and writing. I think it's important to examine one's writing and speech and to learn how to correct errors, but I feel like it has to be done in a meaningful context, using material students can relate to. I really feel that you were dead on with teaching grammar through text, and maybe that's how it has always been, but I recall hours of analyzing sentences that held no meaning for me. Ultimately, I feel like grammar will never completely go away, but it's obvious that it doesn't hold as much weight in the classroom as it once did.
DeleteDescribe your experience learning grammar in your early years of schooling. What techniques or strategies do you remember your teachers using? Were you successful in grammar? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI started learning English in my homeland. The students were required to take a foreign language which is English, and it started in sixth grade.
Every week I had three hours of learning English by studying vocabulary words and grammar. The professors began teaching us subject pronouns, objective pronouns and reading simple passages. Before reading any passages, the professors introduced words appeared in the passage first, then the students read the passage. After reading the passage, I translated it to Vietnamese. To practice reading, we repeated after whatever the teacher said. I believed I was successful grasping whatever introduced. For conversational English, I only learned simple phrases and did not have opportunities to converse. For this, I had limited success in this type of learning, for to understand any language, it needs to be exposed and practiced.
How will you change the way you teach grammar know that you know that the exercises and drills we currently teach are proven to not work as effectively as teaching grammar through content. How will you use your understanding of syntax to scaffold instruction to make academic language comprehensible in your classroom?
To teach grammar, I believe I should set aside a certain amount of time to devote on this topic. I will choose a sentence from a book that I read to the students. It could be from a book, a story, or a passage. That will be a mentor sentence. Then I will ask the students to identify all parts of speech of the sentence, and I will do a sentence diagramming so that the students have another way to look at the sentence by identifying the grammar. Of course the sentence diagramming is quite easily to identify subject, verb, or direct object, for any words, phrases fall below the line will describe that part of speech. Afterwards, the students will write two sentences on their own, imitating the mentor sentence.
What are some basic aspects of English syntax? How do insights from syntax apply to teaching reading and teahing a second language?
A basic structure to write English begins with a noun or a pronoun and a verb. However, this is not enough to express complicate thoughts or descriptive events. So, to construct such sentences, the authors discuss of a formula to write such a sentence. For example, “Teachers can develop creative linguistics lessons.” as a declarative sentence. However, to change to interrogative sentence, the above question will move the second word to the front of the sentence that results. “Can teachers develop creative linguistics lessons?” To construct phrase rule, the formula can be constructed as followed:
( noun phrase) (auxiliary verb) (verb phrase)
Noun phrase:
(Determiner) (Quantifier ) (adjective phrase) (noun) (prepositional phrase)
The two hungry boys in the kitchen.
Verb phrase:
(verb) (nounphrase) (prepositional phrase) (adverb phrase)
English grammar is so complicated that it could take time to practice and develop.
a. Describe your experience learning grammar in your early years of schooling. What techniques or strategies do you remember your teachers using? Were you successful in grammar? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI have vivid memories of conjugating verbs in high school. Ms. Schwartz, my high school English teacher, would give us a verb to conjugate and we (the student) would have to stand up and give all conjugations of the given verb. I loved it because I was good at memorizing. It was a pretty easy task if one had memorized the conjugations which were located in the back of our grammar books. I had Ms. Schwartz for 4 years, 8th through 11th grade. We conjugated verbs in all grade levels.
I was never a really good writer, so I don’t think the verb conjugation led to any great accomplishments when it came to my written work. In a college literature class I took during my freshman year at Mercer University, a sentence of mine from a paper was critiqued in front of the entire class. The teacher had my sentence written on the black board, and he asked the class to revise the sentence. No one other than me and the teacher knew that the sentence was mine. It was one of the most humiliating events of my college career. Not sure if it was a good method of teaching grammar, but I always proof read after that.
c. Despite the research consensus, teachers continue to teach traditional prescriptive grammar. On page 218, Weaver (1996) lists several reasons why. Can you relate to any of these points? Please explain your experience as a teacher and whether you agree/disagree with any of the reasons suggested.
Sometimes it’s easier to continue teaching in a traditional format rather than changing with the times. Unless teachers are participating in professional development on a regular basis or reading teaching method materials, it is understandable why so many English teachers would not be aware of current changes in the teaching/delivery methods.
I am of the belief that grammar is very important. I listen to my students (and collegues) throughout the day, and sometimes their lack of grammar is unbearable. I want students to feel comfortable in all situations, and when given a solid background in the English language, a student’s confidence level can rise. Speaking grammatically correct should be a goal of everyone, and it is important that our students be provided with an opportunity to do this. If teachers are not modeling correct grammar, then how will our students learn correct grammar?
d. How can an understanding of syntax inform teachers as they teach reading? Remember, we are ALL reading teachers whether we teach reading in math, science, social studies, language arts or connections.
Syntax is the process by which sentences are structured. In math we teach verbal and algebraic models of equations and expressions. It is very important that students understand syntax so they can create algebraic models of mathematical sentences. For example “three from two” in algebra means “2 – 3,” but often students will write “3 – 2” because the three comes first in the written expression. Students must understand the meaning of words when changing to an algebraic sentence.
a. Grammar was a subject that I found very difficult when I was young. I was a fairly good communicator, but when it came to writing and comprehending reading, I struggled. In school, grammar was difficult for me because I was a tactile hands-on learner, and I felt like grammar was very formal, and required a lot of individual concentration and focus. I recall several lessons in which the teacher seemed to force us to diagram sentences and pick out sentences not structured properly and fix them. It was all very boring to me because I simply didn’t see the point at the time. As I got older my grammar improved because I began to really enjoy reading. I didn’t realize how powerful grammar and syntactic structure could be until I saw them mastered by the authors I loved to read. I still feel that to this day my grammar is always sharpest when I’m reading a lot, whether for pleasure or for class.
ReplyDeleteb. I feel that one of the drawbacks of intensive prescriptive grammar is that it is not natural the way that language is expressed. When we translate our thoughts onto paper we are often using self-talk to guide us along. Since grammar is not something we focus on in speech, it’s hard to make the transition from conversation and physical thinking (writing) to the formalized, very structured world of grammar where there is not much room for error. Freeman points out the difficulty with retaining grammar skills, and I feel that it’s difficult because we don’t use formal grammar from day to day in our conversations, and evidently, even in our writing. I think that students show these weaknesses because proper grammar can never replace the language and communication skills they have been developing since their early years, when the most language is learned.
c. Teaching prescriptive grammar is still popular among many teachers, even though research has shown it to be something we use very little in our speech and our writing. A lot of this has to do with tradition—teachers teach the way they were taught because that’s what worked for them. I also think it’s easy to fall back on and there are tons of resources that are readily available for teachers to use. When I heard that our Language Arts department at LMS didn’t emphasize grammar as much as they may have done 10 or 20 years ago, I was shocked. I didn’t realize the shift that has been made with the teaching of grammar. Honestly, I have to say that I like the idea that students are focusing more on how to express their ideas properly rather than spending entire classes tearing apart sentences that are about a dog running to get a ball. I feel that emphasizing reading and exposure to literature and writing that’s meaningful to the students does so much more to help improve language skills.
Eric, for some people grammar and writing comes so natural, but not for me. I am from Georgia and the way I was taught certain things are different from what I hear others talk about their experiences.
DeleteFor example, people tell me all the time that I speak country (how I pronouce certain words, etc.). I have always been a good speller, but when it comes to writing, I have struggled as well. It wasn't until my freshman year of college when I realized just how much I needed to write. I learned, but not to a level where I feel comfortable even to this day
My experience learning grammar was a lot different then they way students are taught now. I remember learning the alphabet and every sound that each of the letters make. When a new word was introduced, we would put the sounds together to pronunce the word. One name for this technique is "stretch and slide". I remebered this strategy very well because this is the way I taught my children to learn grammar. It was a must that we tried to sound out a word before being told what the word was.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Elbretta that the way we learned grammar was very different than the way the children are learning it now. In India, we learned grammar in a traditional way where we had to memorize a lot of rules and forms of grammar. Also, we didn't have as many resources to develop our grammar skills. The students of this generation have many learning strategies and resources to enhance their grammar skills.
DeleteYes, I think the memorization and drill, drill, drill can be very useful today. It will definitely help the students with retaining information. I need my students to know the information for more than just the day I teach it.
Deletea. Describe your experience learning grammar in your early years of schooling. What techniques or strategies do you remember your teachers using? Were you successful in grammar? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteIn elementary school my favorite subject was “English” as we called it back then. It was something that I was able to do without thinking critically. We had English texts books that had all grammar rules listed in it. I enjoyed underling and circling nouns and verbs. My teacher taught from the overhead and there were always sentences that had to be written and diagrammed. My grades in English were always above average due to my enthusiasm to write sentences in cursive and in a ink pen. However I never excelled in writing or putting my ideas in stories or content data. Today Language Arts is taught in a holistic approach that helps students understand grammar better. Teachers focus more on writing and expressing ideas and then implementing grammar. Even though I was successful in grammar with my assignments, I was not able to apply good grammar in speaking and writing.
b. Despite the research consensus, teachers continue to teach traditional prescriptive grammar. On page 218, Weaver (1996) lists several reasons why. Can you relate to any of these points? Please explain your experience as a teacher and whether you agree/disagree with any of the reasons suggested.
I am a Science teacher so I am not sure what strategies I would implement if I taught Language Arts. Looking over the research about why teachers teach traditional prescriptive grammar I can understand why the process is failing. I agree with teachers not being aware of the research. Most school systems provide staff development for their teachers to provide better instruction. I think if the statistics are presented to the teachers then they would change their strategies. Most teachers have a love for grammar and speaking correct English. They feel that students must know the basic functions of speaking a complete thought. I think that teachers try to do what is comfortable for them and find a way for their students to be successful.
e. How can an understanding of syntax inform teachers as they teach reading? Remember, we are ALL reading teachers whether we teach reading in math, science, social studies, language arts or connections.
Syntax is the set of rules for producing grammatical structures according to the syntax of a language. I plan to implement mini lessons on reading topics to improve grammar and writing. I plan to implement cloze activities to help my struggling readers while reading the textbook. I think if students can make a connection between science and grammar it will help them perform better in my class with understanding concepts. I think Target Lessons would be a great way to implement help with grammatical errors when it comes to reading and speaking.
When teaching reading, the understanding of syntax is a complex subject understanding is key. Students sometimes think they need to understand every word of a text, whereas in many cases they can complete the task requirements by simply scanning or skimming through the passage. Students must have a clear reading purpose to help them focus more efficiently on the information they need to know. Teachers must ensure that students have the prior background knowledge before being asked to read long texts or identify important details. This will provide the opportunity to teach essential vocabulary contained in the text beforehand. Students should be encouraged to read up about the topic beforehand, or discuss it at home with their parents, in their own language. When students can predict the information they will find out in the text is a way of understanding syntax. Students should be asked to write questions that they would like to have answered by the text. Introducing key vocabulary from the text and having students predict the vocabulary they will see in the text is very helpful. Students should be reminded of the importance of looking at headings, diagrams, and illustrations and their captions that will help the understanding of syntax. Students can note parts of the text that they understand.
ReplyDeletea. Describe your experience learning grammar in your early years of schooling. What techniques or strategies do you remember your teachers using? Were you successful in grammar? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in school, I learned the grammar in a traditional way. The teachers taught us the rules and forms of grammar and drilled us on them. We also applied those rules of grammar in writing prompts. We developed English grammar by extensive reading and practicing a lot to memorize the rules and forms of grammar. We produced the correct forms on the quizzes and tests but we made a lot of errors when we used them in contexts. Eventually, we started to apply the rules in contexts and succeeded in applying the correct grammar in contexts.
b. According to Macauley's study in Scotland, students wo received intensive training in traditional grammar showed that sutdents have a great deal of difficulty eaven learning basic parts of speech. In your opinion and using Chapter 9, why are students consisitenly showing weakness in the study of grammar?
ReplyDeleteI think teaching grammar in a traditional way does not help students to develop their grammar skills. The students learned basic parts of speech and they used them in sentences. According to the research, the students did not apply their grammar skills either in reading or writing. From my experience, if we wouldn’t apply the grammar rules in contexts, we could never develop our grammar. If the students could have done extensive reading or writing where they can actually apply their grammar skills, they could have succeeded in their test scores. Also, they should have gotten the opportunity to apply the grammar skills in contexts.
c. Despite the research consensus, teachers continue to each traditional prescriptive grammar. On page 218, Weaver (1996) lists several reasons why. Can you relate to any of these points? Please explain your expereince as a teacher and whether you agree/disagree with any of the reasons suggested.
ReplyDeleteE.Most of the teachers believe that students who are good readers and writers are also good at grammar. I completely disagree with this fact because from my experience I have a few students who read high level books but not good writers. They make a lot of grammatical mistakes in writing. Also, I have a student who is a very good writer and he writes a lot of nonfiction essays in my science class but he does a lot of mistakes with his grammar and spelling. He is good at writing the content but not well at applying the rules of grammar.
How will you change the way you teach grammar know that you know that the exercises and drills we currently teach are proven to not work as effectively as teaching grammar through content. How will you use your understanding of syntax to scaffold instruction to make academic language comprehensible in your classroom?
ReplyDeleteSince I teach math, teaching grammar is like building on to wht students may or maynot already know. I like to have students break down words so that they can learn the prefix and suffix meaning. I will incorporate how I learned grammar to a certain degree (stretch and slide). Making sure that students understand syntax is iumportant. I like to activate prior knowledge then build on from there. Hopefully students have used a lot of the math terms before but just in another context. Then students can make predictions about what information, draw pictures, explain and summarize what they learned and analyze. The performance indicator worksheet will definitely become a part of how I teach grammar in the future. It is an usful guide to ensure what is expected of our students to build their English langauge proficiency level when teaching grammar.
a. Describe your experience learning grammar in your early years of schooling. What techniques or strategies do you remember your teachers using? Were you successful in grammar? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI can recall learning grammar in elementary school. During that time, we had spelling, reading and writing. The subjects were taught in isolation. Today, they are grouped and we call it Language Arts. Lol....Anyway, i remember learning sightwords. The teacher would place a group of cards in my bookbag. I would go home and practice saying them when i saw the word. In first grade, I began spelling words that rhymed aqnd only the beginning letter changed. We would have a weekly spelling test. It was then tha I knew that I was a good speller.:-)Second grade, I was defining the words and using them in a sentence. Third grade, introduced different genres in reaqding, punctuationa and sentence structure. Every year their was a building block that added to my prior knoledge.
b. According to Macauley's study in Scotland, students wo received intensive training in traditional grammar showed that sutdents have a great deal of difficulty eaven learning basic parts of speech. In your opinion and using Chapter 9, why are students consisitenly showing weakness in the study of grammar?
ReplyDeleteStudents consistently have trouble with the study of grammar because when students make a mistake the teacher hastily corrects them. Many students do not work well iunder pressure. When I grew up, their were many educational programs that help made learning grammar fun. The Electric Company had playful songs that were a mnemonic device. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids that used pun on words to get their oint across. Seseme Street that used sentence structure with two people learning together. Now, students do not have those mnemonic devices. There are no educational programs to help reinforce grammar skills to make it fun. Many teachers are not quick to correct anymore. Many teachers are accepting the students poor use of grammar as well as parents and adults.
c. Despite the research consensus, teachers continue to each traditional prescriptive grammar. On page 218, Weaver (1996) lists several reasons why. Can you relate to any of these points? Please explain your expereince as a teacher and whether you agree/disagree with any of the reasons suggested.
ReplyDeleteWeaver's list of reasons why teachers continue to teach traditional prescriptive grammar is on point! I agree with him. Teachers must teach grammar. It appears to be the same format that I learned 30 years ago. The grammars rules and stractures are all the same. There are some new ways that Best Practices says that grammar whould be taught but they just change the name of grammar but the methodology is still the same. We as educators see it often. We are mandated to go to workshops to learn the quote unquote new way, only to find that it's just another fancy name. the concept does not change. We as eductaords must learn to teach a new way so that our students can listen and learn. We need our students to be successful with grammar punctuation, usage as well as wrtiten structure. Oour students need to master the skills of grammar.