Help teaching grammar

[firstyearteach]

Hello all,

This is my first posting on the lit network. I discovered the site by accident this morning by googling "teaching british literature to lower levels" (an endeavor that has proved the bain of my existence for the past four months) and found a very helpful discusssion on the subject. So, to inaugurate my presence here on this forum, I have a question (so many questions...) about teaching grammar. I am a first year teacher and inherited three "lower level" classes, consisting of juniors and seniors who are in desperate need of some basic writing skills. I thought I would begin with basic grammar (parts of speech) but the unit was unsuccessful. Is there an approach you would recommend for teaching writing basics that either does or does not incorporate grammar in a way students can understand? Do you think grammar is the starting point for improvement in basic writing skills or should I go another route?

Many thanks for any advice/experience shared.

[DickZ]

Welcome aboard, firstyear. It's good to have you in this forum - you write very well, and I'll look forward to seeing more of your material as time goes on. Congratulations on your newly-chosen profession - we certainly need lots more just like you.

I have to emphasize the fact that I am NOT a teacher, so you should take that into consideration when reading my suggestion.

I thought the most valuable exercise in learning grammar was the diagramming of sentences. Now it almost scares me to mention that this happened more than fifty years ago (it doesn't seem that long ago), so I don't even know if this practice continues today.

And while there are other forums for discussing the Boston Red Sox, I hope you are a fellow fan.

[V.Jayalakshmi]

Dear Member,

I am a qualified English teacher.When you have to teach young students,first find out the level at which the prescribed books for that class stand.You will know the level at which language skills are needed.Of course teaching grammar is a must.The method of English teaching requires that you follow the grammar as set ,in the lessons.

To illustrate,suppose the first lesson introduces,groups(Eg.Man-Men,Tree-trees),construct sentences to teach these.examples are 1) Jane saw a car.2)Jane saw two cars3) Jane saw cars.
Relate the singular number with the plural 2 and 'cars'.

I hope you got it.This will build grammatical knowledge as well as langauge skills.Plan a lesson always.

[firstyearteach]

Thanks to both of you. I have not been given any instruction (or specific books) for these classes, and am wrangling with questions like: does the teaching of grammar actually help students improve their writing? Can they really make a connection between their own writing and the vast and varied grammatical terms out there?

[bluelightstar]

I teach AP and Honors Senior English, so bear in mind that my students are already pretty proficient in grammar, usage, and mechanics. But I've found that they best learn the rules of English grammar when they are forced to keep writing. It's nice to give specific grammar assignments, but it seems to be most impressed on the students when they actually see their own corrected grammar mistakes in their writing.

I see more 'a-ha!' moments with that.

[SleepyWitch]

hi firstyear, I dunno if you're still around, but I'll post my two cents anyway:
try remedial grammar, i.e. look at their writing and make a list of the most common mistakes. Then discuss these with your students. This way you can be specific and focus on the things they have problems with rather than teaching grammar in an abstract way or talking about things that don't apply to your student's writing at all.
try to use as little terminology as possible. maybe you could ask your students what it is they are trying to say and then point out why what they wrote fails to convey what they wanted to say?

[tabannon]

I'm not sure if you're still on these forums. (I just signed on today.) If you are, I would advice that you NOT teach grammar as a unit. Instead, you should integrate grammar instruction into daily writing instruction. Studies have shown that traditional methods of teaching grammar as separate from the writing and reading process is ineffective at best (and usually damaging to those who struggle with grammar).

I would suggest buying a copy of Harry Noden's Image Grammar. It's a great starting place for rethinking how you teach grammar taught as an integral part of writing.

[bluelala]

Your English is better than me