Grammar and education

Dick Hudson

University of Middlesex

March 2006

Two views

• Grammar has nothing to do with education– Chomsky– Most Greek philosophers– Many modern educationalists

• Grammar is the servant of education– Halliday– the Dept for Education and Skills– Most Greek grammarians

A two-way relation

• Education needs (researched) grammar – children need grammar to improve:

• language skills: – writing, reading, speaking, listening

• thinking

– teachers need grammar • to improve teaching

• Grammar research needs education– to understand how it affects language

Grammar for writing

• Teaching students grammar can improve their writing.

• But it can also have no effect.

• Much research showed no effect:– Macauley 1947 ... Hillocks 1986

• So grammar teaching was abandoned

• But ...

The early research

Tested for an effect which is• global – i.e. unfocussed

– if they learn about word classes– do they use more subordinate clauses?

• delayed– if they learn grammar today– will their grammar be richer in six months?

• unpractised– if they classify words – will they use words better in writing?

The conclusion

• Who would expect this kind of effect ...?

• Even if the teachers themselves understood grammar?– but why should they understand it without

extra study at university?

• But even this research showed two important things:

Is grammar too hard?

• No.

• Elley (1975) taught transformation grammar to mixed-ability teenagers (14-16)– Who could draw correct trees– But who didn’t enjoy it.

• Moral: grammar can be taught.

• (Most other countries don’t doubt this!!!)

Is any grammar useful?

• Yes: ‘Sentence combining’– given: two simple sentences– task: combine them into one

• This had very clear positive effects on writing. (Hillocks 1986)

• Moral: grammar teaching can be effective if it’s– systematic – decontextualized, proactive– practised in writing

Later research

• Peter Bryant (2002):– Experiment with 8-10 year olds– Tested use of apostrophes before and after

experiment– Experiment: teach about apostrophes– Result: the experimental group got better.

• Moral: grammar teaching can be effective if it’s focussed.

More morphology

• Jane Hurry (2005):– experiment with primary children (age 8-10)– the teachers learned about morphology in

spelling – they taught children explicitly about

morphology– the children became better spellers

• Moral: grammar teaching can be effective if it’s explicit

Better still, ...

• Grammar is officially back in English

• and in Foreign Languages

• and FL grammar is officially based on English

• It’s required by the National Curriculum

• E.g. ...

Writing at KS2

“Language structure. Pupils should be taught:• word classes and the grammatical functions of

words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, …

• the features of different types of sentence, including statements, questions and commands, and how to use them (example, imperatives in commands)

• the grammar of complex sentences, including clauses, phrases and connectives”

Spelling at KS3 and 4

“Pupils should be taught to:

• increase their knowledge of regular patterns of spelling, word families, roots of words and derivations, including stem, prefix, suffix, inflection

• apply their knowledge of word formation”

E.g. Year 3, Term 1:

Verbs for 8-year olds

“Pupils should be taught the function of verbs in sentences through:

• noticing that sentences cannot make sense without them;

• collecting and classifying examples of verbs from reading and own knowledge, e.g. run, chase, sprint; eat, consume, gobble; said, whispered, shrieked;

• experimenting with changing simple verbs in sentences and discussing their impact on meaning; ...”

Method

• Noticing patterns– to help them learn from reading

• Collecting and classifying examples– to help them generalize and understand

• Experimenting with new combinations– to help them apply findings in writing

• NB grammar could be fun!

Grammar for thinking

• Traditionally, Latin and Greek were said to be good for ‘mind training’ – Maybe because of the grammar?

• In Europe, schools compete in the Linguistics Olympiads– 4th International Olympiad in Estonia

• Grammar puzzles are like logic puzzles– e.g. ...

Lithuanian diminutivesarklys arklelis horse

degtukas degtukélis match

juosta ? ribbon

merga ? girl

obuolys obuolélis apple

+ 11 more

Task 1. Fill the gaps.Task 2. What can you say about the pronunciation of uo in Lithuanian? Explain.

Moreover

• Language is our main tool for complex thought.

• Grammar expresses the logic of thought.

• Sometimes grammar misleads, e.g. negative grammar, positive meaning:– I hardly touched it. – I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t rain.– No head-wound is too trivial to be ignored.

Grammar as tool

• You do any job better if you understand the tool.

• The tool for thinking is grammar.

• Therefore ?????

Grammar for teaching

• Teachers need to understand grammar in order to:– teach it to pupils– apply it to pupils’ work– integrate it into their planning and teaching– think more clearly.

• But: most teachers didn’t learn any grammar in school .....

Jobs for grammarians

• There is a serious shortage of teachers who understand grammar– and more generally, language

• Language-based graduates are welcome in primary PGCE courses

• They are also welcome in most secondary English courses – if they know a bit about literature ...

Education for grammar research

• What is the effect of education on grammar?• Can we use educated people (e.g. students and

colleagues) as ‘typical’ speakers?• E.g. Gleitman and Gleitman 1979: What does

eat house bird mean?– PhD: 'a house-bird who is very eat'

• respect syntax

– clerical: 'everybody is eating up their pet birds‘• ignore syntax

Thank you

• Some papers about these ideas:

www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/papers.htm

• Some links to government policy and action:

www.phon.ucl.../home/dick/ec/lagb-las.htm

• A web-site about grammar in English teaching:

www.phon.ucl.../home/dick/kal/top.htm