Ms. Dean, on page 20, says that grammar instruction "neglects meaning and meaning relationships." This is true, as students often have trouble transferring rules for decontextualized words and phrases into what they read in literature and non-fiction works. Students love to sit and do worksheets, both in class and for homework, but the love of grammar often ends there - in a blank space on a cloze exercise.
Many of my students are SIFE (students with interrupted formal education) and have had limited exposure to different genres of text. I appreciate the idea of educating students as to which types of grammar are appropriate for a certain genre and then having them transfer this knowledge out of class. The problem I run into is that my SIFE students struggle with even the most basic academic language - period. They have a limited view of what is academically appropriate, especially for something done on a computer or online (like Google or a blog). How can I provide them the structures they need, while still making the writing experience difference than it is with pen and paper?
I will try to teach the "common terms- subject, verb, clause, phrase, modifier, and completer." (24) Many times, the old-school way of teaching noun, verb, adjective, and adverb can be limiting. If I teach that "ing" indicates an action "happening now," then how do I explain "This show is exciting" when 'exciting' describes the show? I will try to teach these terms as parts of a sentence, to have the students view their language in a more holistic manner.
The theme of this article reminded me of Kylene Beers' talk about redefining our definition of non-fiction. It is no longer "something that is true," but rather, "something that enters our world and purports to tell a truth." (Beers, 2016). We must redefine how we teach grammar, or we will have a generation of worksheet doers, rather than students with a full appreciation of the English language.
Hi Rita, I appreciate the struggles you have wanting to be creative, yet recognizing that your students need some more traditional background with grammar, but that approach can be "limited." Your discussion of Kylene Beers talking about how nonfiction isn't really something that means is not true really brings home the idea that no matter what we are teaching--grammar, or literature, or writing, or whatever--it's all subjective and must be looked at in terms of context. So, as you point out, just because two words end in "ing" doesn't mean they are the same part of speech; rather, their usage depends on the situation in which and way that they are used. I think that for a high school students, they kind of need a lot of repetition of grammar fundamentals, because they forget it quickly, but that they also need more organic ways of looking at and applying these rule that enable them to take ownership of them rather than simply to memorize them.
ReplyDeleteHey Rita! I feel you girl. I thought about the same issues while I was reading the article too. Teaching grammar is one thing, teaching grammar to students who have little understanding of academic language is a whole other story. I've read articles where teachers teach grammar through having students edit their work, or as Ms.Dean says mixing grammar with content but as you pointed out even that has its difficulties. I think we have to remember grammar is how scholars broke down language. Students already use language, so they don't need to learn it necessarily but understand why they are using it. I'm not sure if that made sense because what you talk about is a conundrum and I hope one day you find the remedy!
ReplyDeleteI agree Rita. I have a lot of ELL students so any language is challenging for them as well. I think Dean knows this too. She says she is on a journey without many maps.
ReplyDeleteHi Rita, great post! Your line about redefining how we teach grammar so that we have students who can appreciate and use language to their advantage rather than correctly complete a worksheet really struck a chord with me. I feel like a lot of the test prep I do as a tutor is all worksheet derived lessons that teach a rule instead of teaching them a skill. Like Russel mentioned above, we also need more organic ways of getting them to understand all the constructs of the English language.
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