On #1, I think there is quite a bit of brain research that shows that children learn language much better/faster when they hear what I think is called reduced speech. We don't show a child a ball and say, "This is an orange and red ball with white stripes." We say,"ball." This is really direct instruction. I was also thinking this morning about how long it takes for children to get many sounds in the language right, even when they hear them over and over. (not unlike adults learning a new language) I have also noticed with my two granddaughters that they often do not say a word until they are sure they can say it, so they seem to have some self-monitoring going on.
Edith Wollin
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Craig Hancock
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 10:52 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: how heavy a lift is grammar
I will resist the temptation to jump in and try to do a good faith
summary of what I have so far from respondents. My apologies if I am
leaving something substantial out. Feel free to correct or comment.
I have received some posts that didn't go out to the list, and I'll try
to include those in a blanket response.
1) There seems a general consensus (all yes votes) to the notion that
people learn naturally the language they are exposed to as they are
growing up. Bill cautions us (I think rightly) that it may be wrong to
assume that it comes easily just because it looks that way from the
outside. It's also not clear what kind of modeling or interaction might
be part of it.
2) The general consensus seems to be that reaching high levels of
literacy is rare. There's not a clear consensus on how "direct
instruction" might influence that. A few people mention ability and
motivation as factors. Others mention lots of reading and engagement
with complex texts or 'being interactively read to." In those cases, it
would seem to me that literacy is an indirect result, but perhaps the
result of being in the right kind of language environment.
3) There seems a pretty good consensus on Standard English: that it
comes easily to those who hear it around them as they acquire language,
but not so easily to those who don't. Standard English is hard for those
students whose primary use of language is non-standard, and they seem to
require some attention and instruction.
4) High levels of reading competence often come without direct
instruction, though most seem to believe that extensive reading and
conversations about what we are reading are very helpful. One person off
list mentioned that he has developed much more effective strategies for
reading complex texts "later in life" and wishes he had been given them
earlier. I like John's observation, that readers are often "instructed
directly by the texts" they are reading. I'm not sure I agree, but it's
a thoughtful possibility. Perhaps it rubs off? We pick it up intuitively?
The lack of input from elementary school teachers may be worth noting.
It seems to me that we are taught reading early on, but then doing
reading takes over. By high school, English classes seem to focus on
literary texts. What's the current status of the phonics versus whole
language debate?
5) There seems a much stronger belief that writing requires direct
instruction, especially for those who don't do it well. One respondent
says it can happen without direct instruction, but usually doesn't.
Another says that students often overvalue their writing and need a
wake-up call. Another implies that interactive talk about what they are
writing would create an environment in which they might learn to write
without direct instruction. In general, though, the consensus is that
writing seems to require more direct teaching than reading does.
6) There were some differences in the way this statement was
interpreted. For those who interpreted "leaning about language" as
somewhat analytical, the consensus seems to be that direct instruction
is needed (though an individual can discover some of that on their own.)
There was some questioning of the value of learning about language
outside the context of reading and writing. Some aspects can be easy,
but much of it is hard.
Craig
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