Perera is not only a linguist, she is also an educator; her
recommendations are eminently good ones. Some of the implications
(to be defensive :-|, they are also explicit in SFG based and
SFG influenced curricula) are that students need to learn to
build up noun phrases, need to think about the way they order
information in their sentences, and, for academic writing,
at the level of discourse, how to thematize texts.

These should surely be among the requisite language objectives
at least from the middle grades on.

Judy





SNIP
>The second part of the paper identifies "mature" structures that are
>more frequent in writing than in speech.  Citing Loban (1976), O'Donnell
>et al. (1967), and Yerrill (1977) Perera notes a number of structures
>that are infrequent in speech but begin to become more frequent in
>writing.  These include a noun modified by a prepositional phrase, noun
>modified by a nonfinite clause, an increase use of subordinate clauses.
>Here is an interesting sentence in Perera in her summary of O'Donnell et
>al.
>
>        A high level of main clause co-ordination was regarded as a sign of
>linguistic immaturity; at the age of 8 their subjects were already using
>only a third as many of these co-ordinations in their writing as they
>were in their speech.
>
>
>The final part of the paper deals with structures typical of writing
>that don't occur in writing.  These include:
>
>Complex subject noun phrases
>Relative clauses in the subject
>The use of whose and whom is found only in children writing (Perera
>cites a study of Hanscombe (1967) in Yorkshire which has two 12 year
>olds using whose and whom).
>Fronting the preposition before the relative pronoun in a relative
>clause
>Preposing of structures that are not in their canonical position. An
>example,
>
>Aberhaben beach is very long.  There are only very few pebbles, but many
>shells.  Behind the beach is a curved sea wall. (9 year old)
>        The preposed structure is "behind the beach."
>
>Certain nonfinite and verbless adverbial clauses
>        Having done that I was soon able to iron out my fault (12 year old)
>        They folded up during the daytime when not in use (12 year old)
>
>There are some implications for teaching grammar to students, but this
>post is already too long.
>
>Perera, K (1986).  The acquisition in writing.  In P. Fletcher and M.
>Garman (ed.) Language acquisition (pp 494-4518).  New York: Cambridge
>University Press.
>
>
>Bob Yates, Central Missouri State University
>


Judith Diamondstone  (732) 932-7496  Ext. 352
Graduate School of Education
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
10 Seminary Place
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1183

Eternity is in love with the productions of time - Wm Blake