In response to Juan's and Tiffani's messages, I think we need to make
something clear: No doubt everyone agrees that a learner of English will
be best served by learning (at least in reading and writing) a national
standard dialect of English, e.g. formal American standard or formal
British standard (which differ only slightly).
 
The main debate in English as a Second Language (ESL) circles is not
whether we should teach standard grammar, but how: what are the best
methods for rapidly cultivating proficiency in reading, speaking, and
writing formal English? There is a long tradition of research in ESL on
the topic of whether or not _explicit_ grammar instruction
(prototypically, memorizing of grammatical rules, learning from rule to
example, and applying grammar rules in drill-type exercises as well as in
editing one's own written work) is effective. Some studies say no, some
say yes, and some say a little is OK, but don't overdo it. Effective
teaching of language in general seems to call for a lot of in-context and
hands-on work: whatever kind of approach to grammar a teacher takes, it
should definitely be embedded in student work that involves them in real
communication about things that matter to them, to whatever extent
possible.
 
We should also not go overboard in valuing so-called 'proper' grammar. ESL
students need to learn to vary their style according to context, just as
native speakers do. This is generally only applicable at the intermediate
and advanced levels, but ESL students should have as an aim proficieny
not only in formal written English, but also in a more-casual register for
communicating with peers and strangers in less formal settings. Such
things as contracted forms, fragmentary answers, colloquialisms, and
idioms are very useful, as well as lessons on vowel reduction in
unstressed syllables and informal ways of addressing people and asking
questions. Familiarity with the typical ways grammar gets abbreviated in
informal style (such as omission of auxiliaries and subject pronouns in
questions such as 'Coming with me?') also go a long way towards helping
with comprehension of the spoken language.
 
In general, it would be fun to incorporate into (perhaps advanced) grammar
teaching a unit on formal/informal and speech/writing differences. Lots of
projects analyzing actual speech and text could be done -- and fun!
 
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Johanna Rubba   Assistant Professor, Linguistics              ~
English Department, California Polytechnic State University   ~
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407                                     ~
Tel. (805)-756-2184  E-mail: [log in to unmask]      ~
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