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Two views
• Grammar has nothing to do with education– Chomsky– Most Greek philosophers– Many modern educationalists
• Grammar is the servant of education– Halliday– the Dept for Education and Skills– Most Greek grammarians
A two-way relation
• Education needs (researched) grammar – children need grammar to improve:
• language skills: – writing, reading, speaking, listening
• thinking
– teachers need grammar • to improve teaching
• Grammar research needs education– to understand how it affects language
Grammar for writing
• Teaching students grammar can improve their writing.
• But it can also have no effect.
• Much research showed no effect:– Macauley 1947 ... Hillocks 1986
• So grammar teaching was abandoned
• But ...
The early research
Tested for an effect which is• global – i.e. unfocussed
– if they learn about word classes– do they use more subordinate clauses?
• delayed– if they learn grammar today– will their grammar be richer in six months?
• unpractised– if they classify words – will they use words better in writing?
The conclusion
• Who would expect this kind of effect ...?
• Even if the teachers themselves understood grammar?– but why should they understand it without
extra study at university?
• But even this research showed two important things:
Is grammar too hard?
• No.
• Elley (1975) taught transformation grammar to mixed-ability teenagers (14-16)– Who could draw correct trees– But who didn’t enjoy it.
• Moral: grammar can be taught.
• (Most other countries don’t doubt this!!!)
Is any grammar useful?
• Yes: ‘Sentence combining’– given: two simple sentences– task: combine them into one
• This had very clear positive effects on writing. (Hillocks 1986)
• Moral: grammar teaching can be effective if it’s– systematic – decontextualized, proactive– practised in writing
Later research
• Peter Bryant (2002):– Experiment with 8-10 year olds– Tested use of apostrophes before and after
experiment– Experiment: teach about apostrophes– Result: the experimental group got better.
• Moral: grammar teaching can be effective if it’s focussed.
More morphology
• Jane Hurry (2005):– experiment with primary children (age 8-10)– the teachers learned about morphology in
spelling – they taught children explicitly about
morphology– the children became better spellers
• Moral: grammar teaching can be effective if it’s explicit
Better still, ...
• Grammar is officially back in English
• and in Foreign Languages
• and FL grammar is officially based on English
• It’s required by the National Curriculum
• E.g. ...
Writing at KS2
“Language structure. Pupils should be taught:• word classes and the grammatical functions of
words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, …
• the features of different types of sentence, including statements, questions and commands, and how to use them (example, imperatives in commands)
• the grammar of complex sentences, including clauses, phrases and connectives”
Spelling at KS3 and 4
“Pupils should be taught to:
• increase their knowledge of regular patterns of spelling, word families, roots of words and derivations, including stem, prefix, suffix, inflection
• apply their knowledge of word formation”
Verbs for 8-year olds
“Pupils should be taught the function of verbs in sentences through:
• noticing that sentences cannot make sense without them;
• collecting and classifying examples of verbs from reading and own knowledge, e.g. run, chase, sprint; eat, consume, gobble; said, whispered, shrieked;
• experimenting with changing simple verbs in sentences and discussing their impact on meaning; ...”
Method
• Noticing patterns– to help them learn from reading
• Collecting and classifying examples– to help them generalize and understand
• Experimenting with new combinations– to help them apply findings in writing
• NB grammar could be fun!
Grammar for thinking
• Traditionally, Latin and Greek were said to be good for ‘mind training’ – Maybe because of the grammar?
• In Europe, schools compete in the Linguistics Olympiads– 4th International Olympiad in Estonia
• Grammar puzzles are like logic puzzles– e.g. ...
Lithuanian diminutivesarklys arklelis horse
degtukas degtukélis match
juosta ? ribbon
merga ? girl
obuolys obuolélis apple
+ 11 more
Task 1. Fill the gaps.Task 2. What can you say about the pronunciation of uo in Lithuanian? Explain.
Moreover
• Language is our main tool for complex thought.
• Grammar expresses the logic of thought.
• Sometimes grammar misleads, e.g. negative grammar, positive meaning:– I hardly touched it. – I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t rain.– No head-wound is too trivial to be ignored.
Grammar as tool
• You do any job better if you understand the tool.
• The tool for thinking is grammar.
• Therefore ?????
Grammar for teaching
• Teachers need to understand grammar in order to:– teach it to pupils– apply it to pupils’ work– integrate it into their planning and teaching– think more clearly.
• But: most teachers didn’t learn any grammar in school .....
Jobs for grammarians
• There is a serious shortage of teachers who understand grammar– and more generally, language
• Language-based graduates are welcome in primary PGCE courses
• They are also welcome in most secondary English courses – if they know a bit about literature ...
Education for grammar research
• What is the effect of education on grammar?• Can we use educated people (e.g. students and
colleagues) as ‘typical’ speakers?• E.g. Gleitman and Gleitman 1979: What does
eat house bird mean?– PhD: 'a house-bird who is very eat'
• respect syntax
– clerical: 'everybody is eating up their pet birds‘• ignore syntax
Thank you
• Some papers about these ideas:
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/papers.htm
• Some links to government policy and action:
www.phon.ucl.../home/dick/ec/lagb-las.htm
• A web-site about grammar in English teaching:
www.phon.ucl.../home/dick/kal/top.htm