Celce-Murcia, M. (1991). Grammar pedagogy in second and foreign language teaching. TESOL QUARTERLY, 25(3), 459-479.
Celcia-Murcia starts with a brief overview of the position of grammar in teaching in the past 25 years. This is followed by a discussion of the existing research on grammar teaching in the classroom which suggest that "some focus on form may well be necessary for many learners to achieve accuracy as well as fluency in their acquisition of a second or foreign language" (p.462). She continues that grammar instruction should be part of second language instruction since there is no convincing evidence that not to do so would be beneficial for the language learners.
In order to assist teachers in deciding the appropriate degree of grammar that should be dealt with in the classroom, the author offers a pedagogical strategy in which learner and instructional variables are taken into account. The learner variables refer to age, proficiency level, and educational background of the student; the instructional variables refer to skill, register and need/use. A grid is provided as a visual aid.
In the next section, she suggests that the teaching of grammar should always refer to meaning, social factors, discourse, or a combination of these factors.
Then she devotes a whole section on feedback and error correction in which Error Gravity, Stages for Error Correction, Teaching Exceptions to Rules, Holistic Correction Techniques, Correction in Written Work, Intervention Techniques and answering questions are discussed successively, followed by some suggestions as to how grammar instruction can be integrated into a communicative curriculum.
Her conclusions included the following:
At the date of publication, Celce-Murcia was Professor of TESL and Applied Linguistics at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Especially the section on Teaching Grammar as Discourse is interesting for students working on project nr.3 (p.468)
Two sources of interest to ESL/EFL teachers from the listed references are::
"During the past 25 years we have seen grammar move from a position of central importance in language teaching, to pariah status, and back to a position of renewed importance, but with some diminution when compared with the primacy it enjoyed 25 years ago and had enjoyed for so long before then. Grammar is now viewed as but one component in a model of communicative competence (Canale & Swain, 1980; Hymes, 1972), and thus it can no longer be viewed as a central, autonomous system to be taught and learned independent of meaning, social function, and discourse structure."(p.466)
I liked this quotation because it describes the position of grammar over the years in language teaching in a few sentences.
Canale, M. & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1-47.
1. Teaching ESL-students that grammar won't "simply emerge on its own" (p.477) but must be taught and learned in reference to meaning, social function and discourse.
2. Interpretation of students’ errors -- which errors don’t require correction and which errors demand immediate intervention?
3. ESL-teachers can use Celce-Murcia’s suggestions when developing a curriculum.
E-mail: K1Asakura@aol.com Http://www.gsu.edu/~eslhpb/grammar/index4.htm
Allison, D. (1995). Assertions and alternatives: Helping ESL undergraduates extend their choices in academic writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 4(1), 1-15.
This study investigates the problems of undergraduate ESL students to produce academic writing in English that is in compliance with the expectations of academic readers in a discourse community. The author focuses in particular on the tendency of ESL students "to make assertions in their writing that experienced academic readers judge to be unwarranted or unnecessary, or to qualify their assertions in ways that appear inappropriate to subject lecturers and ESL teachers".(p.1) He argues that focusing on lexicogrammatical choices and their textual consequences, and on alternatives that are available, may raise ESL learners’ awareness of implications that such choices of wording carry for the strength of their argument, and for their relationship with the academic discourse community.
The author presents five extracts of essays of undergraduate ESL students in Hong Kong, followed by a short commentary relating to assertions and alternative choices. The extracts were drawn from a set of 27 essays in the author’s two classes. The alternative choices suggested in the commentaries included: nominalization, replacement of "there" by a definite noun phrase, reformulation of "naïve" assertions and qualification of strong, categorical commitments.
Finally, the author emphasizes that focusing on assertions and alternative wordings through feedback and discussion is not the only possible approach to make students aware of the complex issues governing academic writing.
At the time of publication, Allison taught ESL at the university of Hong Kong.
An extensive bibliography of which the following reference may be particularly interesting is included:
Swales, J.(1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
"Among the recurring problems that have been identified or perceived in these and similar examples of ESL students’ academic writing in this context are the following:
I like this quotation because it captures the problems students have with writing assertions.
1. Teaching students that in English academic writing assertions are supported by actual, consistent, relevant evidence.
2. ESL teachers must take into account the selection of the topics. Some cultures have stronger opinions about certain topics than others.
E-mail: K1Asakura@aol.com Http://www.gsu.edu/~eslhpb/grammar/index4.htm
Tarantino, M. (1991). English for science and technology: A quest for legitimacy. English for Specific Purposes, Vol. 10, pp. 47-60.
In this study Tarantino argues that there is a recognizable Scientific
English or English for Science and Technology ("EST") variety
despite many linguists' claims that everyday language is used in scientific
environments.
She summarizes several standards which define and describe the EST variety
of English but concludes that none of these standards fully takes into
account qualitative factors such as community-based knowledge or factual
experience. She points out that proponents of an EST variety have never
claimed that EST uses different phonology, orthography or grammar nor that
it uses exclusive structures, speeches or rhetorical acts. "If one
is familiar with the biophysical aspect of language does that mean that
one masters the biosocial aspects of the language?" She answers this
question with the following example: "cold fusion" (which is
short for "electrochemically induced nuclear fusion of deuterium")
equals "the fusion is cold"? Although this sentence is grammatically
correct, the meaning is absurd. Only specialists are able to appreciate
its meaning in full.
Her argument concluding that there is an EST variety is based on the following:
"The communicative potential of scientific discourse is located in
the shared conceptual networks, methods, procedures, and goals which underlie
and generate scientific activities and which charge language structures
with informative values". (p. 56)
This idea is clarified as follows:
Regardless of their social and cultural influences, science student's training
is based on the same principles. As a result, scientists share "knowledge
of rules for the conduct and interpretation of speech" … (Hymes, 1973,
p. 51) "which may have little in common with their national affiliation
and their competence in applying the rules of their native language grammar
system". (p. 58).
"[T]he way English is used in science and in other specialist subjects,…
may be more satisfactorily described not as formally defined varieties
of English, but as realizations of universal sets of concepts and methods
or procedures which define disciplines or areas of enquiry independently
of any particular language." (Widdowson, 1979, p. 24)
An interesting source for ESL/EFL teachers is:
Trimble, L. (1985). English for science and technology: A discourse
approach. London: Cambridge University Press.
Quotation of Particular Value:
"I am convinced that knowledge of how the language system
works is very important and that grammar analysis should be part of every
stage of language study."
I picked this quotation simply because I agree with it.
Return to 3.
Hymes, D. (1973). Foundations in sociolinguistics. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Widdowson, H. G. (1979). Explorations in applied linguistics. London: Oxford University Press.
Teaching Applications:
1. "EST courses should be shaped to complement not only the linguistic capabilities of the participants, but also their cognitive characteristics, their interests, and expectations." (p.58)
2. EST courses can help students to perform as valuable members of a scientific community.
E-mail: K1Asakura@aol.com Http://www.gsu.edu/~eslhpb/grammar/index4.htmDudley-Evans, T. (1992). Genre analysis: an approach to text analysis for ESP. In M. Coulthard (Ed.) Advances in written Text Analysis. (pp. 219-228). London: Routledge.
What governs choice at the grammatical and lexical levels is the communicative
purpose of the writer and is as such the defining feature to distinguish
a genre.
"The assumption is that a genre is a means of achieving a communicative
goal that has evolved in response to particular rhetorical needs and that
a genre will change and evolve in response to changes in those needs."
(p.219)
The author presents, after having explained what a genre is, an example
of a genre analysis, analyzing the various moves used in a section
of a dissertation. He concludes that: (i) there is a overarching three-part
framework (introduction-evaluation-conclusion), and, (ii) the main part
of the dissertation can be analyzed into a series of 'move cycles' combining
two or more of nine moves he distinguished in the text. Some examples of
a move are: information move, statement of result, claim, limitation, recommendation.
The writer points out two major issues related to this type of analysis:
(a) how to make decisions about the classification of moves and, (b) how
to be confident of the validity of those moves and move cycles ? He claims
that in most cases it is possible to classify the moves on the basis of
linguistic evidence or on the basis of one's understanding of the text.
To be confident of the validity, one can use a group of raters or one can
check the results with the writer or a specialist in his/her specific field
of study.
The writer hopes that his example demonstrates some of the advantages of
genre analysis and will provide input to courses in academic writing. He
is also convinced
"that this type of analysis may have a role in the demystification
of the epistemological conventions of certain disciplines." (p. 228)
"In ESP we are interested, often for pedagogical reasons, in exploring
established but not necessarily codified conventions in certain key genres
about style of presentation of content, the order of presentation of that
content and all the myriad rhetorical factors that affect the plausibility
for readers of the argument presented. We are also interested in the role
of the genre within the discourse community that regularly uses it. The
discourse community is that group of people within a discipline or area
of special interest that communicates with each other in part through the
genres which they 'possess' (Swales, 1990: 26), and which has expectations
of what is permissable within the genre or genre that it uses".
This quotation is a good summary of the goals of ESP.
Swales, J.M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
At the time of publication, Tony Dudley-Evans was a senior lecturer
and director of the English for Overseas Students Unit at the University
of Birmingham. He has written several books and is currently co-editor
of the journal ESP.
1.Genre analysis can provide input for teaching academic writing.
2.Genre analysis can be used in the development of materials "for those aspiring to be full members of the academic community." (p.228)
E-mail: K1Asakura@aol.com Http://www.gsu.edu/~eslhpb/grammar/index4.htmMaster, P. (1991). Active verbs with inanimate subjects in scientific
prose, English for Specific Purposes, 10, 15-33.
This study focuses on the problems many students have, especially those
who speak an Asian language, to use an active verb with an inanimate subject
in writing English because they consider this anthropomorphically unacceptable.
This results in sentences such as: "We make a measurement of the temperature
with the thermometer." in stead of "The thermometer measures
the temperature". (p.15) Since combining inanimate subjects with active
verbs is prevalent in English, but only when the verb is an inherent aspect
of that subject, ESL teachers should "help their students to overcome
their reluctance to use an active verb with an inanimate subject".(p.16)
The author argues that the "widespread notion that the passive voice
is somehow more appropriate in scientific writing" (p.16) won't help
those students in overcoming this indisposition. An analysis of 2,979 subject-verb
pairs demonstrates that the active voice is more prevalent than the passive
voice in scientific English, especially when the subject is abstract. The
author found that active verbs had two major functions: demonstrate causality
and explain. A table listing the most frequent verbs in the two environments
is included. In a final section the author discusses the pedagogical implications
of his analysis.
At the time of publication, Peter Master was Assistant Professor in
the Department of Linguistics at the California State University at Fresno.
A reference that could be of interest to anyone who wants to know more
about the problems of speakers of Asian languages with the structure discussed
above is:
Kojima, S. & Kojima, K. (1978). S (inanimate subject)+ V + O: A syntactical problem in EST writing for Japanese. In Trimble, Trimble, and Drobnic (Eds.), English for specific purposes: Science and technology. (pp.198-226). OR: Oregan State University Publishers.
"I ask students to underline all the active and passive main verbs
and then to choose an example, write it on the board, and then explain
to the class why this form of the verb was chosen in this case. This can
lead to a class discussion of the manner in which we can anthropomorphize
in English and gives students the chance to articulate the fact that such
a structure cannot occur in their native languages. Students can also be
asked to identify the environment in which an inanimate subject occurs
with an active verb so that they can learn when to use it." (p.29)
I liked this quotation because it is a very nice example of how to teach students which environments allow these inanimate subject - active verb structures.
1. Students should be made aware of the fact that the structure inanimate subject and active verb is frequently used in scientific English and should therefore be mastered by nonnative speakers who aspire to become members of a particular scientific community.
2. Students need to be aware of the antropomorphic bounds; therefore, vocabulary lessons explaining what inanimate subjects are and what they can do, can be useful.
E-mail: K1Asakura@aol.com Http://www.gsu.edu/~eslhpb/grammar/index4.htm