Improving Student Perception of Grammar Essay -- English Writing Teach

Its period to come clean, establishment the concomitants and admit the truth - students are scared of grammar. From the days of crayons and nap time straight through high school they always hope and solicit that a random fire drill, a.k.a. a gift from God, will stop the dreaded grammar lessons and exercises. As the semesters continue to pass by students become stimulate as grammar turns into nothing more than a minute beep on the radar screen that is the weekly lesson plan. However, nearly every student walks into side of meat class dealing with the fear that he will be called on to explain even the simplest rules of possession or number. So why do most students fear and loathe the perplexities of grammar? perhaps this trepidation has something to do with the fact that most teachers treat grammar like the redheaded step son of the incline curriculum hiding its study somewhere between spelling exercises and phraseology worksheets. While most teachers avoid discussing gramma r, or discuss it incorrectly, they still venture students with low marks if such mistakes rear their ugly little heads in class assignments. The way we, as scholars, view the discussion, acquisition and knowledge of grammar moldiness be modified to suit the realities of the modern classroom and world. Grammar should be shown through the lens of the entire writing process to make the students use of grammar count completely natural and easy.Although every coin has two sides, the research arguing against the formal teaching of grammar in the classroom appears stronger than that which supports the old regimes strict approach to grammar. However, logic dictates that this argument will not be settled merely by choosing sides. Perhaps some middle foundation can be found between the militantly form... ...rt with some creative planning. Perhaps a weekly prize contest can be held to see what student can pick out a grammar mistake in a newspaper or magazine. Then this mistake can be turn ed into a mini lesson without becoming boring or overbearing. Teachers alone need to remember that its ok to throw away the worksheets from 1975 and puke down the trusty textbook for a fresh approach to grammar.BibliographyHartwell, Patrick. Grammar, Grammars, and the education of Grammar. In Cross Talk in Comp Theory. Edited by maestro Villanueva. National Council of Teachers of English. Urbana 1997.Weaver, Constance. Teaching Grammar in Context. Boyton/Cook Publishers. Portsmouth 1996.Whorf, Benjamin Lee. The Relation of accustomed Thought and Behavior to Language. In Critical Theory Since 1965. Edited by Hazard Adams. Florida State University Press. Tallahassee 1986.