Blog 2

Coming into an Applied Grammar class, I didn’t know exactly what to expect or had formed a real idea of what it meant to teach grammar. After reading Chapter 1 & 2 of “Grammar Alive!” and Christiansen's article, I was able to gain a better understanding of the fundamentals and key factors in teaching grammar in school. It had come to my attention already that each student should have a basic understanding of standard english despite their heritage or background. It is a commonly known goal for teachers to not allow their children to be left behind, and make sure they have equal opportunity to learn and grow. However it hadn’t much come to my attention the fact that we have to make sure students are not becoming too comfortable in their only known grammar, as they need to challenge themselves. After reading Christensen's article, I began to accept this new truth about grammar, as it has come to my attention that accuracy does not mean complete understanding.

In the chapters in “Grammar Alive”, the author addresses three goals as a means for teaching grammar[;] These goals ensure that every student gains an equal understanding of english through school, be able to apply correct grammar, and be able to use standard english at their cultural discretion while still remaining within the lines of standard english. (I thought the use of a semicolon here was appropriate, as it replaced a period and made the sentence naturally listical) Personally, I come from a family of immigrants and a multicultural background that allowed me to grow up speaking two languages. Therefore, the goal of allowing every student from every background to have the same opportunity to learn and practice standard english is one I am very much aware of and hold close to my heart. As a teacher, I want each of my students to be given a full chance at learning and understanding standard english and grammar. This section of the book confirmed my notion on what it means to teach grammar and bettered my understanding of the importance of such cause.

The goal that challenged my view on teaching grammar, however, was the concept of Goal C. The essence of Goal C is to allow students to have their freedom and discretion with standard English according to their ethnic and cultural background. While I do not oppose this, I have a hard time understanding from a teaching point of view how to identify the line between acceptable and unacceptable as pertains to this goal. Goal C highlights that while students can express themselves linguistically, they must still “as well as an understanding of language-based prejudice” (Haussamen). Combining these two ideas, while a great concept, can leave a blurred line that makes me question if I would be able to identify right from wrong.

Referring to the article from Christensen, one part that particularly drew my attention was the scenario with Fred's writing and his resistence to step outside of his comfort zone. As a student, Fred would shy away from making grammatical trial and error. He would not want to challenge his grammatical skills, instead only repeating use of skills he had already mastered. Christensen pointed out that this is more scary to see as a teacher than seeing a student continuously trying and failing. I hadn’t very much realized this reality as a teacher, and it opened my eyes to a new side of teaching grammar I hadn’t yet explored. It revealed to me the importance of making mistakes, and how as a teacher you must guide your students to be afraid of not trying instead of being scared to fail.

In comparing the chapters from “Grammar Alive” and “Teaching Standard English”, my thoughts and views on teaching grammar have both been confirmed and challenged. Both readings stress the importance of student learning, as they should be continually challenged and given equal chance to make error and correction.