[etni] Re: grammar again

From: Cecile Hadassah Nadav <hadassahn@xxxxxxxxx>
To: etni <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 12:18:28 +0200
Hi Jenifer
I haven't been following this thread so I hope i won't be repeating what's
already been said. I've asked myself the same questions. I don't have the
answers but there are some things I've noticed. I think that students do
need formal grammar. Many years ago in the US "whole language" was all the
rage and what resulted was a generation of people who couldn't spell and
didn't understand grammar (lucky for them it wasn't long until MSWord came
along with spellcheck and grammarcheck.) So even native speakers need some
formal instruction in these things. It seems like a balance is the best
approach. Students need to know the rules and when to apply them, but
endless drilling isn't going to produce true understanding and successful
usage. I think you're right that first we  have to give students an overall
understanding of what language is and how it is constructed so they
can understand what they are supposed to be learning and why. I usually
start with the goal of recognition and tell them that all those added
letters are like signposts that add meaning to the words and give us
information to understand the message a sentence is communicating. For
example, recognizing the difference between a noun and verb, and then the
difference in the meaning of the "s" that's added to a verb in present
simple and at the end of a plural noun; "ed" means past, "will" means
future, "est" means the most, etc. These things can be learned in context
as part of guided reading. It's all the spelling changes and irregularities
that have to be practiced. But I don't go for production until they've got
recognition down. I agree that writing is the best form of production, and
your method sounds great. My colleague introduced me to the idea that some
structures are better learned as a unit that's memorized like a vocabulary
item rather than grammatically constructed ("I'd like a_____, please") So I
don't think you should give up on grammar completely, or you students will
end up more confused. And like you said, there are always going to be
students who get one part of language but struggle with others-- I think
only students with a true talent for language can both read AND speak well,
and have a broad vocabulary AND correct grammar. It just depends on how
your brain is wired. But if we use both the formal and contextual
approaches--not just with grammar-- we have a better chance of reaching
everyone. I also have to say that becasue of the way the bagrut is
structured, with so little emphasis on speaking, that we as teachers tend
not to spend much time on conversation. And then we wonder why students
can't successfully produce grammar. We're actually shooting ourselved in
the foot by depriving their brains of this essential component of language
aquisition (not to mention the ability to communicate in English).
Hadassah Nadav
[etni] Re: grammar again

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