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Date: | Mon, 30 Jun 1997 23:06:03 +0100 |
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I'd like to insist on the relationship between grammar competence and
the production of a relatively correct text by a begginer student of
English as a second language.
First of all I've found that there is a big amount of grammar rules to
master in order to produce a simple text. However a student doesn't
need to use them all. It is possible to write a 100 word text, giving
information about yourself and only use a part of the grammar you have
learned. So one can conclude that the use of English and the knowledge
of grammar donīt go neccessarily together.
That is frustating for a teacher to find out, because you can have
your students write a text for you to assess whether they have studied
and successfully learned the set of grammar rules you have taught,
and see how they can write a good text without the grammar you were
waiting for.
Consequently I try to ask for compositions that will make them use
their grammar. For example if I ask for a composition on the topic "My
last weekend" you can be sure the students have to use the past simple
tense.However it is difficult to find a composition topic that will
make them use the Present Perfect tense. On the other hand there are
times when a students uses a tense that he or she wasn't supposed to.
However his/her text asked for it.
It is amazing how live a language is! Probably too alive for a teacher
to fully control it.
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