Thanks for your reply, Harry.

I tried to think of ways to formulate my characterization so as to be
fair to both approaches I mentioned. The people that I grouped under the
first rubric often talk about a 'minimalist' approach to grammar. That
seems to me, by definition, to exclude an extensive treatment, and
therefore understanding, of langauge structure. I don't see how a
minimal approach can really entrench an understanding of the
grammar-meaning-text relationship. But of course I can be wrong!! I
certainly have seen a great improvement in my students' understanding of
these relations at the end of a 10-week course. I just don't know how
much of it stays with them, and whether they can then go on to build on
that. And whether they can teach it to others, incorporate it into their
own lesson plans, etc. Maybe I'm just too skeptical, or too far inside
my subject.

It is also clear to me that some listers really are more interested in a
corrective approach -- focusing on typical writing problems, rather than
a global language curriculum.

I imagine there is a continuum rather than discrete categories. Once
again, I think pointing out the distinction is useful, because people
HAVE been talking past each other.

I think it is interesting in itself to think of the 'split' rather as a
continuum. I'm sure it's more accurate, and also gives people more room
within which to be flexible.

I don't think the 'minimalist' group is unconcerned or insufficiently
concerned about their students' success, and about their students'
abilities. In fact, I'm sure that's why they are so interested in the
minimalist approach -- they see it as having more chance of being
successful. And they might well be right!

Thanks for keeping up the discussion.

Johanna

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Johanna Rubba   Assistant Professor, Linguistics
English Department, California Polytechnic State University
One Grand Avenue  • San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Tel. (805)-756-2184  •  Fax: (805)-756-6374 • Dept. Phone.  756-259
• E-mail: [log in to unmask] •  Home page: http://www.calpoly.edu/~jrubba
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"Understanding is a lot like sex; it's got a practical purpose,
but that's not why people do it normally"  -            Frank  Oppenheimer
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