I was hooked on linguistics before I ever got into the study of grammar proper (which happened when I was asked to take over an Advanced Grammar class mid-semester, unfortunately). The fascination with both stemmed from the realization that there were a number of operators "behind the curtain" that affected how people spoke. So, it was the basic motivation of every kid who takes apart his dad's Rolex so he can see what makes the little hands go around.
If I could speak to your explicit purpose for the query: our students might be more motivated if we teach grammar more inductively, more as a series of puzzles and riddles, so that their learning starts in curiosity and ends in the satisfaction of knowledge that they have recreated for themselves. This, at least, is what I attempt to do with my own grammar students, with some degree of success.
It's true that there will always be a few students who have been socialized enough into a certain philosophy of education that they resent being asked to look for patterns and build knowledge, and they don't like the fact that there are unknowns, but most students respond well.
J. Hill
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From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Kehe [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010 3:46 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: intrinsic motivation for studying grammar
I imagine that most of us on this listserv have an intrinsic interest in studying grammar. In other words, we study it just for the joy of it. But why? Is it in our DNA to find grammar so interesting? Did someone, for example, a former teacher, do something that instilled in us this interest?
I would be interested to hear from any of you why you like grammar so much and/or how you came to like it. It seems that if we could figure out what makes it so interesting to some, we might be able to come up with ways that we could help our students develop an intrinsic motivation for studying it too.
Thanks,
David Kehe
Bellingham, WA
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