Ed Vavra writes: > As the members of the ATEG list know, I propose burning their > grammar books. Well, not literally, but the things are useless. Obviously, > I want to invite the unknown guest to the KISS web site: > http://curie.pct.edu/courses/evavra/KISS.htm She can tell her district > Language consultant that she has found an approach to teaching grammar, > based on theory and research, that does not require the purchase of any > books. Ed Vavra As I argued in a little conference paper, grammar books today are more like reference works or technical dictionaries, and less like actual teaching textbooks. The difference is that textbooks build the subject concept by concept, and teach the reader. Reference books, on the other hand, simply compile the information in an arbitrary and fragmented way. For example, alphabetical order is not the best choice for organizing an subject that you intend to teach (whereas it might be a good order for a reference work intended for informed users). Almost all of the grammar books that I get in the mail are actually reference books. They are potentially useful for me but not for my students. In a _textbook,_ on the other hand, students ccould start with no knowledge and have the whole subject explained to them in an incremental way. It seems to me that the last great grammar textbook (in the true sense of the word) was written by Martha Kolln: Understanding English Grammar. Ed Vavra also presents grammar in a textbook form on the KISS web site. Here is the link to my conference paper: http://www.artsci.gmcc.ab.ca/people/einarssonb/elac.html ----------------------------------------------------- Sincerely, Robert Einarsson please visit me at http://www.artsci.gmcc.ab.ca/people/einarssonb To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/