Shifting Perspectives about Grammar: Changing What and How
We Teach, written by Deborah Dean explores her pedagogy on how to teach grammar.
Her earlier thoughts on grammar were by institutional standards. “I was comfortable with that perspective
because that was the idea of grammar I had been taught: grammar as terminology unrelated to writing;
grammar as right and wrong”. This way of thinking is harmful for students
because it highlights their language as being incorrect. English Language
Learners or students who struggle with in Standard American English. My practice was the classic example of right
and wrong: language as answers in the
textbook, totally removed from what my students wrote and spoke. To shy
away from this way of thinking Dean first used technology to make learning
grammar more appealing to her students. Although this was a great start to introduce
students in the effectiveness of writing grammatical correct (I say that
loosely) studies conducted by Richard Braddock, Richard Lloyd-Jones, and Loweel
Schoer found that teaching grammar did not improve writing. Which make sense
since people change the way they talk depending on who their audience is. You
would not talk to your boss the way you talk to your siblings or friends. Leaving
behind the textbook Deborah started coming up with different scenarios for her
students to write about. Such as, letting the write compound sentences about
what they would take if they were stranded on an island. When I think about my
own pedagogy to teach grammar I want students to be accepting of all languages
and learn from each other, in the sense that each language is important. Students
would learn grammar by learning about the cultures and geography of their
peers. My style of teaching would focus a lot on Goal A and C from the Alive!
book. Goal A focuses on students’ background and helping them feel like they
can communicate comfortably within their own language and that, of, Standard
English (when appropriate). Goal C explains the importance of appreciating language and its natural variations that
happens within time, social situations, and social groups.
