{"id":2612,"date":"2014-08-18T18:11:23","date_gmt":"2014-08-18T18:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traductionquebec.com\/non-classifiee\/grammar-lessons-renamed-understanding-language\/"},"modified":"2014-08-18T18:11:23","modified_gmt":"2014-08-18T18:11:23","slug":"grammar-lessons-renamed-understanding-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traductionquebec.com\/en\/english-grammar-en\/grammar-lessons-renamed-understanding-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Grammar lessons renamed \u2018understanding language\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Should grammar lessons be renamed “Understanding Language”?<\/h2>\n

Some of the country\u2019s most eminent linguists came together for English Grammar Day, presented by UCL and Oxford University in association with the British Library, last week. With talks from grammarians including David Crystal and Dick Hudson, the event served as a crash course in the history, prevalence and importance of grammar. The main focus, however, was on the problems with how grammar is taught in schools. Should grammar lessons be renamed “Understanding Language” after all?<\/strong><\/p>\n

How things have to improve was made clear: we need to embrace grammar, teach it in context and uphold its importance within the education system. One answer is to call it something else. Lindsey Thomas, school improvement consultant at Buckinghamshire Learning Trust, suggested that teachers replace the word \u201cgrammar\u201d with \u201cunderstanding language\u201d.<\/p>\n

Using the word \u201cgrammar\u201d, she said, can conjure off-putting images of an old-fashioned classroom. It makes it sound like a secret you\u2019re not let in on, and has associations of \u201cright\u201d or \u201cwrong\u201d. On the other hand, \u201cunderstanding\u201d or \u201cknowledge about language\u201d make it sound more positive.<\/p>\n

Crystal said: \u201cYou have to put the notion of grammar in the background. It\u2019s about meaning and clarity. Clarity unites us. I\u2019m not afraid to use the word grammar, but I can see why people would be.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just grammar\u2019s name that\u2019s the problem. In addition to its unshakeable, unhelpful reputation, there are deeper issues. The government\u2019s Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) tests were repeatedly mentioned as the main barrier to children\u2019s learning, and Crystal was probably the most vehement in his criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrammar needs context,\u201d he said. \u201cWith the new SPaG tests children get marks for underlining a noun. It seems like all the fresh thinking has gone and the clocks have been turned back. There\u2019s no room for creativity with the SPaG tests because they\u2019re about identifying, not understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crystal said the work being done in classrooms across the UK to tackle such problems, and the people behind it, had shaped his own outlook and approach towards teaching grammar. He says it\u2019s all about involving children in enjoyable grammar exercises, showing them, and asking them \u201cwhy\u201d and \u201cwhat if?\u201d<\/p>\n

He has been working with Thomas on the Buckinghamshire Grammar Project. \u201cI don\u2019t understand why this sort of thing isn\u2019t happening in more schools,\u201d he said. His sentence trailed off with the word \u201cexpensive\u201d.<\/p>\n

There may be a glimmer of hope in the curriculum. Hudson, who is the government\u2019s adviser on…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Read more | theguardian.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo credit | Murdo Macleod<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Should grammar lessons be renamed “Understanding Language”? Some of the country\u2019s most eminent linguists came together for English Grammar Day, presented by UCL and Oxford University in association with the British Library, last week. With talks from grammarians including David Crystal and Dick Hudson, the event served as a crash course in the history, prevalence…<\/p>\n

Read More →<\/a><\/p>\n

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