“But Teacher, Some People Talk Like That”
Students sometimes use examples of informal conversation to defend their grammar choices in academic writing. This doesn’t make conversation wrong, but students need to know what is appropriate for different situations. …
Doug Biber and Susan Conrad’s textbook, Real Grammar, teaches students that different grammar is needed for different contexts.
Why Real Grammar?
Grammar rules tend to be oversimplified in lower-level classrooms. This is pedagogically appropriate when students are just beginning to learn a language. The concepts are new, and students need to understand the basic ideas first. Later, though, students need to learn that many rules are applied differently in different contexts. For example, they need to understand that gonna is not appropriate in an academic paper, but that educated people use it in speech all the time.
How Does Real Grammar Work?
Biber and Conrad’s Real Grammar covers 50 grammar points that are often simplified in standard grammar textbooks. These short units can be taught in any order and usually focus on either conversation or academic writing. Students quickly learn key information about the grammar and analyze it in context.
Then, they use the grammar in controlled and free practice exercises.
For a look at the Real Grammar table of contents, go to our online store.
Contact your Pearson ELL Specialist to ask for a sample copy, or request one online.
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