Johanna Rubba wrote:
>
> Are thematic roles of any use in grammar teaching? It's clear that passive
> sentences are defined by having patient-subjects; if the agent appears, it
> appears as an adverbial PP with 'by'. What do you think? Could you see an
> application for thematic roles in grammar teaching -- perhaps a short list
> for earlier levels, a fuller list for more-advanced levels?

It depends on who we are teaching.  I know of no non-standard dialects
of English which are stigmatized because the wrong thematic role is
associated with a grammatical position.  I also don't see an application
even if one has to think about how information is structured in a text.

On the other hand, thematic roles are a problem for non-native
speakers.  They appear to have problems associating the appropriate
thematic role with with appropriate grammatical structure.  This problem
shows up with the psych-verbs (please, fascinate, bore, interest, etc.).
Thus, you see such sentences as

1) I'm interesting in new fashion.
2) I'm boring in English.
3) I'm fascinating this problem.

You also find non-native speakers with the following constructions which
also show incomplete knowledge of the relationship between thematic
roles and grammatical case.

4) It was happened very sudden.
5) Inflation was increased the last year.

Bob Yates, Central Missouri State University