我就喜歡這樣的妳

For the spring semester, I choose a course called "How to teach grammar and linguistic". This main book is "Grammar to get things done" and we have other reading assignments like "Learning and Teaching English Grammar", (Birch,2005) . Here are the notes of Grammar to get things done

 Author:  Darren Crovitz is Professor of English/English Education at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA, where he works with preservice and in-service English teachers.

 table of contencts 

chapter 1 : Introduction 

chapter 2 : Grammar and Power

Chapter 3 : Teaching Grammar intentionally

Chapter 4 : Grammatical concepts 

1. snetence types

2. clauses

3. phrases

4. lexical categories 

5. Puntuation  

 Reference: amazon

 chapter one : Introduction 

Grammar is “a description of language structure” ,a map of the innate understandings of language forms that all native speakers. Grammar is really about understanding.

“Usage” invokes a set of rules that changes according to mainstream beliefs and practices, and that these beliefs and practices are often then (mis)labeled as “correct grammar” and put into books to be studied and applied.

“Mechanics” simply refers to the technicalities of writing: conventions such as spelling, capitalization, and basic punctuation.

History : 100 B.C.E. Greece, Dionysius of Thrace wrote the first grammar book based on written language. & Lowth’s book

“traditional school grammar” (TSG) is a set of assumptions about how grammar usage is best learned rather than a specific course of study.

Errors are a sign of learners experimenting with language and striving to make meaning with words. Teachers can provide contextual constructive assistance

Shaughnessy’s work coincided with fruitful movements in writing studies—expressivism, cognitive theory approaches, and stage-based processes of writing—that emphasized individual writers’ moves, thoughts, and intentions more so than whether or not they applied established or standardized language rules.

The grammar instruction referred to in Harris’s study is based on traditional “drill and kill” methods—a decontextualized, rote-memorization, worksheet-driven approach void of context or real-world application.

Prescriptive, descriptive, and rhetorical grammars

We can approach language prescriptively, through the authoritative lens of grammar books that dictate correct usage. (Standard American English (SAE),

We can look at language descriptively, examining how people actually use language in their lives. How speakers and writers actually use language in everyday ways.

rhetorical grammar emphasizes rhetoric, with the aim of “understanding both the grammatical choices available to you when you write and the rhetorical effects those choices will have on your reader” Rhetorical grammar opens the door for analyzing real language use and how that language use affects readers (and listeners).

A decontextualized approach to grammar concepts in the classroom might ask students to memorize a list of modals, identify modals in ten unrelated sentences, and then rewrite another set of sentences using modals.

Both approaches encourage students to be active participants in language learning, considering grammar moves in their own lives and in a variety of contexts.

 chapter 2  Grammar and Power

Broader about how unorthodox language use—dialects, slang, local idioms, lingo, along with common errors and other deviations from standard usage—is commonly viewed.

Language use is a practice that embodies our backgrounds, histories, communities, and identities; grammar is the structure, the framework, the backbone of that language use.

We do advocate that teachers and students learn the rules of Standard English, and we do believe that it is our job as educators to make sure all students have access to and are prepared for mainstream paths to success in America—which rely on facility with Standard English. The fact is, our students will be judged by their ability
to conform to Standard English expectations in many situations. If they don’t have facility or confidence with Standard English, or if they aren’t practiced with when and how to use it, they risk damaging their credibility and having their ideas dismissed.
 

What we also advocate for, though, is an awareness of what Standard English really is and how language works in the world—or really, worlds, since language expectations change drastically across contexts. Only through understanding the social constructions of language, power, society, and identity can we teach grammar ethically, without silencing our students—their thoughts, words, and worlds.

 Standard English 

Formal Standard English exists in grammar and usage books, and in formal writing.

There are regional standards which are recognized within the broad and informal notion of standard

American English.” It is a dialect of English—a variation of English—just like African American English, Chicano English, or Southern English. A socially preferred dialect of English.

moralizing language,

Grammar is the structure of language, and language is intricately tied to our home life and communities;

Standard English grammar instruction is embedded in questions of power, society, and identity.

power primarily as a top-down construction: entities with authority (government, law enforcement, media, churches, large companies, etc.) control how people live according to certain rules, parameters, and expectations that they establish or promote. power is sometimes more than a compulsive force; people actively subscribe and contribute to the maintenance of power dynamics, and at times, establish new ones.

We have to give our students a strong platform to develop and speak to their understanding of how the power of Standard English works in the world, as well as allowing them to assert, analyze, and detail the power that their own dialects have in their worlds.

language is often a representation of the societies to which we belong (including our homes and communities), we should remember that when we tell students that “Him and me went to the store” is wrong, we may be implicitly telling them that their homes and communities are wrong.

language is a crucial tool of identity, part of how we express ourselves to the world

gain critical perspectives on questions of power, society, identity, and equity surrounding Standard English use.

 chapter 3 teaching grammar intentionally 

The teaching of grammar apart from speaking and writing is among the most widely employed, yet least effective, practices in the English teacher’s repertoire. (Peter Smagorinsky, Teaching English by Design, p. 159)

In Teaching English by Design, Smagorinsky (2008) proposes some general principles aimed at a better experience with grammar concepts. These ideas include the following:

1. Don’t teach grammar out of context.

2. Approach grammar as a generative, useful tool rather than simply as a set of rules for correcting errors.

3. When the attention is on students’ written errors, focus on a few patterns and common issues.

4. Deal with a limited number of grammatical concepts.

Grammar as an Integrated Element of Broader Design

English Language Arts methodology, A methods class will usually deal with both the practical elements of teaching (the ins and outs of planning, facilitating, and assessing) and the theoretical principles that guide and inform these decisions.

“curricular conversations”

thematic (e.g., the American Dream and its various meanings; coming of age and the struggles involved; technology and its role in our lives; or the question of what counts as heroism and what doesn’t);

author- or movement-focused (Shakespeare, American Romanticism, the Harlem Renaissance, etc.);

genre-based (exploring the nature and expectations of certain texts with questions such as how are certain nonfiction texts such as newspaper articles, speeches, and television commercials constructed? and how do specific writers use story as a persuasive tactic?);

skills-focused (e.g., practicing the components of logical argument, such as drafting effective thesis statements and marshalling compelling evidence in writing argumentative essays)

Authority, control, punishment grammar

“essential questions” :  invite rich discussions;

specific grammar concept 

the passive voice

Passive voice de-emphasizes the “doer” of an action in a sentence.  

There are legitimate reasons to use passive voice for particular communication. News reports, for example, often employ passive voice in describing incidents.

a. A man was killed today in an officer-involved shooting.

b. A police officer shot and killed a man today

how is this language connected to power dynamics?

a. The decision was made to terminate your employment with our company.

b. Sara Smith, head of personnel, decided to terminate your employment with our company.

The kind of passive phrasing in sentence a. is extremely common in organizational communication. Why? The answer is about power and control of consequences

the active voice 

  honestly, we don’t know anyone who teaches because it is easy. We teach because we love language, and we love to share language, literature, and writing with students. When we own the fact that language—and language learning—is a messy process, complicated by everything from school standards to social media, the apparent chaos of language and language teaching can look a lot more like freedom and opportunity.