This post was written by 起点传媒members听Darren Crovitz and Michelle Devereaux, authors of听, a co-publication of Routledge and 起点传媒.听
Mention grammar to students, and you鈥檒l likely get a response somewhere between fear and loathing.听Beyond the rare fans of sentence diagramming, teachers usually react with similar unease or frustration.
Grammar is a thorny thing. In our work with preservice English teachers, we鈥檝e spent a lot of time trying to figure out how best to help our candidates navigate some realities of grammar and usage:
- controlling the surface features of their own communication to meet professional expectations,
- building a comfortable working knowledge of common grammatical concepts, and
- putting strategies into practice for teaching grammar effectively with their future students.
There are no easy solutions here. Each of these objectives is an ongoing, incremental project that requires consistent metacognitive attention from teachers and teacher candidates. This is work that, realistically, takes years.
Most of us know what the research indicates: that teaching grammar in isolation isn鈥檛 effective. The alternative is usually teaching 鈥済rammar in context,鈥� which often translates to students considering the moves that writers make in classroom texts. Meanwhile, using 蝉迟耻诲别苍迟蝉鈥� own communication as the basis for constructive language study may sound like a fruitful possibility, but it鈥檚 also a daunting prospect for teachers with a hundred or more students. There are few models for having such conversations in the classroom.
Every day, young people use language in unique and sophisticated ways to get what they want and need. Can we leverage these moments to help them take up and practice specific grammar moves intentionally? Can we help them bring their subconscious language knowledge to their conscious language use? Can we show them how grammatical fluency can help them achieve real, immediate goals in the world? For example, consider the following:
- You just had a fender-bender driving Grandpa鈥檚 vintage car. In your phone call to him, use passive voice to de-emphasize your responsibility.
- At your school鈥檚 homecoming pep rally, you鈥檒l have a few moments on the microphone to motivate the crowd to support the football team in tonight鈥檚 big game. Use compound sentence structure and parallelism to create a classic rallying cry.
- What鈥檚 the best way to end a relationship? Your friend Yulia was just going to send a text to her soon-to-be-ex Casey, but after talking it over with you, she鈥檚 decided that a face-to-face conversation is more respectful. It won鈥檛 be easy, but Yulia is determined to make a clean break. Help your friend prepare for her heart-to-heart with Casey by planning out what she鈥檚 going to say. Try to use some simple sentences intentionally鈥攂e direct and clear鈥攚ithout being cruel.
As English teachers, we have a responsibility to include discussions of power, society, and identity when we teach language. Ultimately, language is a form of power: shaping reality, changing minds, getting things done. Grammar instruction, then, should include conversations about using language purposely but also ethically. This is grammar at work in our lives, and鈥攑erhaps鈥攚hat grammar and language study should be in the classroom.
Darren Crovitz听is professor of English Education at Kennesaw State University. He is co-author of听. Darren and Michelle will be presenting at the 起点传媒Annual Convention Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.听I.45 Grammar to Get Things Done, Room B405.
Michelle Devereaux听is assistant professor of听English Education at Kennesaw State University. She is听the author of听 and the winner of the