Re grammar in context:
Members of this list might be interested in an effort I made to create
opportunities for classroom discussion of grammar and its effect on the
meanings of texts. Geoff Layton published in the ATEG journal and also gave
permission for me to place it on the web: <
http://cmich.academia.edu/PeterHFries/Papers/1085107/Grammatical_choices_and_text_meaning_The_case_of_the_passive_voice
>
I used earlier variants of this example in my college class on grammar for
prospective teachers, but it may be of use to others.
Peter
On Mon, Dec 26, 2011 at 2:40 PM, STAHLKE, HERBERT F <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> Jack,
>
> You raise important questions or pedagogy and of content, questions we
> have discussed at length on this forum without reaching consensus. Should
> grammar be taught as content? Should it be taught as an adjunct to the
> teaching of writing? What you suggest is that a significant amount of
> grammar, grammar that is useful to writers, can be taught in the process of
> meeting the needs of developing writers. And this leads me to wonder
> whether a grammar in context approach might not be a way to introduce
> grammatical knowledge that we all think is useful and presenting it in a
> way that makes its relevance obvious. This suggests a much more
> thorough-going grammar in context model than we usually see in writing
> classrooms, rather, an approach that starts in early grades and
> incorporates grammar into language arts activities across the board.
>
> Not being a K12 teacher, I may be describing what some teachers are
> already doing.
>
> Herb
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dixon, Jack
> Sent: Sunday, December 25, 2011 6:59 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Spoken vs. formal written English
>
> Terre:
>
> Thank you for your detailed response. I do want to check out Kate
> Kinsella's work in using academic vocabulary and sentence frames. (Any
> titles in particular where I should start?) I am familiar with "They Say,
> I Say" and agree that it can be useful for helping students understand
> those deeper cognitive structures that academic writers use - actually used
> by more than just academics.
>
> I would like a copy of your rubric if you are willing to share. Are the
> two essays you use pieces that you have collected or written yourself, or
> are they published somewhere so that I could access them?
>
> What I like about your strategies for teaching academic vocabulary and
> using sentence frames is that you are teaching students how to communicate
> without putting the focus on error. So many objectives that involve
> developing language proficiency involve error avoidance or correction.
> While correcting errors is important, teaching students how to accomplish
> larger rhetorical goals seems more productive to me. In my classes over
> the last few years (developmental writing and freshman English at an
> open-admissions community college), I have worked with sentence imitation,
> tied with comprehension. I take sentences with some level of structural
> complexity that I can be fairly sure my students will understand when we
> read and discuss them. I then model imitating the structure, not the
> content; we do a few together; then, I have them write a few original
> sentences which we read around the room. At the end of that session, the
> students feel they have done something important.
>
> My underlying goal is to show them that, in fact, they know more grammar
> than they think they do and that we are going to build on what they know.
> As we discuss how any given structure works, I begin to introduce them to
> the concepts of phrases, clauses, punctuation - all tied to the ways the
> meaning gets conveyed.
>
> Jack
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Teresa Lintner [
> [log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2011 10:55 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Spoken vs. formal written English
>
> Hi Jack,
>
> Several people have contacted me individually about this exercise. I'm
> happy to share my rubric with you (and anyone else), if you'd like. I'm an
> editor by day, but at night I teach an intermediate level ESL grammar and
> academic writing class at a community college. Every semester I've gotten a
> few Gen 1.5ers and they're usually quite frustrated because they don't see
> themselves as ESL students - and they're not the typical student in my
> class. Because of learning English by 'ear', their level of proficiency is
> hard to pinpoint - they use passive constructions but leave out verb
> inflections and auxiliaries and have lots of SPEWD.The exercise has been a
> way for me to address the issue of spoken vs. written English right from
> the start in a way that makes my Gen 1.5ers feel a sense of accomplishment
> that they've "mastered" a register in English. It also helps them
> understand what they need to focus on in writing. The rest of the class
> understands why they can't understand what English speakers are saying
> around them even though they have some knowledge of the grammatical rules.
>
> The challenge is figuring out ways of teaching that help them learn this
> register in speaking and writing. I've been very influenced by Kate
> Kinsella's work in using academic vocabulary and sentence frames in spoken
> tasks to help students become familiar with this language. If the students
> have learned the language by 'ear' then it seems likely that if they are
> given opportunities to use academic language to express ideas, then this
> language will seep into their writing more naturally. That's my thinking
> and that's what I'm exploring more and more in my teaching. I'm also
> reading "They Say, I Say", which, I think, takes a similar approach in
> terms of sentence frames.
>
> I'm happy to hear from others on this topic.
>
> Terre
>
>
> Teresa Lintner
> Senior Development Editor
> Cambridge University Press
> 32 Avenue of the Americas
> New York, New York 10013-2473
> Telephone: 212 337-5070
> Fax: 212 645-5960
> Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> From: "Dixon, Jack" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: 12/21/2011 09:26 PM
> Subject: Re: Spoken vs. formal written English
> Sent by: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>
> This strategy sounds excellent.
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Teresa Lintner [
> [log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 10:09 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Spoken vs. formal written English
>
> Hi Steve,
>
> The Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English would be a good resource.
> One thing I do with my ESL students at the beginning of the semester is to
> present them with two short essays on the same topic, one written in SPEWD
> (I love that acronym!) and the other in academic English. Then I ask them
> to analyze the two essays using a rubric that helps them recognize the
> differences between the two registers. A revelation for my Gen 1.5ers is
> realizing that "gonna" is actually "going to."
>
> Terre
>
>
> Teresa Lintner
> Senior Development Editor
> Cambridge University Press
> 32 Avenue of the Americas
> New York, New York 10013-2473
> Telephone: 212 337-5070
> Fax: 212 645-5960
> Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> From: Stephen King <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: 12/20/2011 06:57 PM
> Subject: Spoken vs. formal written English
> Sent by: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>
> Can anyone direct me to a text that focuses, at length, on the differences
> between spoken and written versions of language? It seems to me that a
> great many of my community college students, especially those who have been
> out of school for some time, use a version of English that could be
> characterized as "Spoken English Written Down." (A colleague suggested the
> acronym "SPEWD.") I have my own list of those differences, but am looking
> for other resources. Many thanks in advance!
>
> Steve King
>
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--
Peter H. Fries
Until December 12, 2011
Box 310
Mount Pleasant MI 48804
Phone: 989-644-3384
Cell: 989-400-3764
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web page: <http://cmich.edu/chsbs/x23516.xml<http://cmich.edu/chsbs/x23516.xml>>
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