Grammar Revolution by Ann Karoline

In this post I will talk about arguments for and against teaching grammar in schools, clear up some vocabulary and state my own opinion on grammar teaching.  

Descriptive grammar is a set of rules based on how a language is actually used. Linguists describes it as subconscious rules. It’s the systematic study and description of a language. 

Prescriptive grammar is a set of rules based on how most people thinks a language should be used. Most people follows prescribed rules of standard English and it is the prospective behind every day conversations about grammar

The movie has both arguments for and against teaching grammar in schools. The most common argument they used against teaching grammar seemed to be about the students feelings when it comes to grammar. Grammar confuses and frustrates the students and it brings low self-esteem to the students who cannot grasp the concept of grammar. 

The arguments for teaching grammar in schools were about being able to make themselves understood. Grammar empowers them to feel like they can be clear, articulate and communicate effectively. It gives the kids a conceptual vocabulary to talk about language and to know the grammatical structure of your language can help you be more articulate. 

One for the reasons one of the teachers in the movie had about why the grammar teaching has faded away in schools is the fear of taking down the students self-esteem by telling them their grammar is wrong. The schools have free writing, prewriting, everything that doesn’t help on their grammar because so many people thinks that it’s wrong to correct on the students grammar. 

In my personal opinion about teaching grammar in schools I think it’s important to do so for the students, not only while in school but also when they graduate and move into the work environment. I think it’s important to teach grammar for the reasons they stated in the movie about how grammar empowers the students to be clear, articulate and communicate effectively. For me who has English as a second language finds English grammar to be exciting and educational as I use English more for writing than speaking. My theory is that the language you speak and the grammar according to that language is harder to grasp because of different dialects used. When it comes to learning a new language, where you focus on grammar in the beginning, it’s easier to understand the language and learn the grammar.  

 

Grammar Revolution

In this blog entry I will discuss my viewpoints about the movie "Grammar Revolution”, and also explain the terms descriptive and prescriptive grammar that are discussed in the movie.

Descriptive grammar does not deal what is good or bad language use, but they are instead curious about how the language is used. Descriptivist are interested in the subconscious rules in grammar and its use. Prescriptive grammar refers to the language how it should be used. It follows a set of rules that determine if the language is “correct” or “incorrect”.

One of the arguments in the movie that are against teaching grammar is that grammar hurts the self-esteem of the students that practice it. In that way it makes the students feel self-conscious about their own grammar. Another viewpoint discussed in the movie is the fact that grammar can be discriminating against the people that does not follow the “correct” way of using the language. For example in the way some dialects can be perceived as a bad way of using the language. Explicit grammar instruction has faded away from the schools in the U.S. because educators fear it will hinder the self-expressions of the kids. Especially the “dreaded red pen” as described in the movie.

According to the movie one of the pros of teaching grammars is that it is helpful to have a normative standard that we all agree upon. This standard makes it so that when we write an email or a text message, we are universally understood.  Teaching grammar also gives kids a conceptual vocabulary to talk about the language itself. It empowers the students, and they express themselves better when they know the means to do so. The grammatical understanding gives students’ confidence in their own writing.

My own opinion about grammar teaching are divided, I feel that there is absolutely a chance that students will feel self-conscious about their grammar. This could lead to students feeling negative about the English language and their own writing. It becomes a problem if students are afraid of writing because they don’t want to make a grammatical mistake.  At the same time I think that we need some guidelines to define what the correct way of using a language is. These guidelines makes it easier to make our writing understood.  I don’t feel that I have to choose one or the other, but instead be aware of how I am teaching my students grammar. And try to be the guide on the side, and not the sage on the stage, as described in the movie.

Grammar in school

In this blog entry I will try to describe what descriptive and prescriptive grammar are, as well as explain pros and cons about teaching grammar in school according to the movie “Grammar Revolution”.

There may be many reasons why grammar teaching has faded in school, but one of the reasons might be that people believes they don’t need grammar in real life.  If a teacher believes that it’s not important for his or her students to learn grammar, they can choose not to teach it.

There are two different types of grammar, descriptive and prescriptive. Descriptive grammar is the type of grammar that writers and speakers use. It’s a systematic description of a language. Prescriptive grammar is how people think it should be used and how they focus on whether the language is correct or incorrect.  

According to the movie one of the cons for teaching grammar in school is that teachers can’t tell the children what’s wrong and what’s right about their grammar. In other words the teacher isn’t supposed to be authorities anymore. Some people believe that children should explore their way of using grammar on their own. They believe that children should have a chance to make new words and express themselves in any way they want.

Also the movie explains that a good reason for teaching grammar in school is that we write or read something every day. Compared to previous years, before we got technology, we now have more use of grammar and knowing a language correctly. Nowadays we write e-mails and text messages all the time, and then it is very important to have a precise language and to be understood correctly by others. Another good reason for teaching grammar is that it extends our vocabulary, and makes it easier for us to communicate with other people in other societies.    

In my opinion there is need of grammar in school. I believe that grammar is useful and necessary for everyone. If people, both adults and children, know their grammar, they’ll be able to get a better understanding and knowledge of their own language. This might help them communicate better with other people, in class, real life and with people from other societies. I also believe correct use of grammar can give people more self-confidence. This is why I will teach grammar to my pupils when I become a teacher. 

By Mariell Bergh Sæbø

Grammar Revolution

This blog entry discusses my reflections on the movie “grammar revolution». I will try to explain the concepts “descriptivism” and “prescriptivism” and look at the pros and cons of explicit grammar instruction. 

Descriptivism is about describing and analyzing how a language is spoken whereas prescriptivism is about standardized and formal “rules” of a language. The movie discusses grammar education in light of these concepts, presenting them as contradictions. If you look at grammar education with descriptive eyes, you tend to value the variety of spoken language and the child’s freedom of literary expression. Prescriptivists are more concerned with standardizing the child’s language towards the “correct written form” and values explicit grammar instruction.

The movie uses these contradictions to reflect on the pros and cons of explicit grammar instruction in schools, stating that this type of education has decreased. According to the movie, this has to do with the progressivist movement in schools which better coincides with descriptivism rather than prescriptivism. The progressive teacher works as a facilitator of learning, helping the children develop their knowledge and understanding of the world. He or she is not supposed to be an authority, and should not tell children that they are wrong. It is argued that to correct grammatical errors could threaten a child’s self-esteem, either by making them feel inadequate or by suggesting that their way of speaking is less valued than the standardized English language.

Other arguments presented in the movie concerns the necessity of explicit grammar instruction. Primarily, it addresses a misperception that the standardized language of today is some type of sacred language handed down from ancient times. This is not true; the language is constantly changing based on its usage. That means that the current generation will also be influencing the standardized language. Why can they not write as they please then? In my opinion, the objective of grammar instruction has to be to help children better communicate and better understand a language. Learning explicit and standardized grammar will help the children to view the language at a metalevel, and make them aware of the structures that creates meaning. It is also useful for communicating internationally. No matter what language we are discussing, having and knowing some set of literary rules will ease the communication process in a global society.

When I start teaching English as a second language in Norway, it will be important to me that the children feel safe to express themselves without feeling stupid. I will teach explicit grammar and I will correct student’s errors, but I want the children to understand that communication is in focus and credit what they are mastering. I actually consider myself a progressivist, but do not think that explicit grammar instruction collides with the values of this learning theory. To me it is not a question of teaching or not teaching grammar, it is a question of how to teach grammar.