Jennifer LebedevIn Jennifer Lebedev’s post, she writes, “I realize that the title of my post can be read more than one way. I actually meant the title to follow the pattern of many of my other posts: title of activity + targeted language point. What resulted was an unintended proclamation that the world needs more grammar, specifically practice with embedded questions! Well, that’s not wholly inaccurate. Many people do indeed need more grammar practice.” Continue reading
Marjorie Fuchs and Irene Schoenberg
The Role of Corpus Linguistics in Focus on Grammar
The field of English language teaching has seen many trends come and go. Total Physical Response, The Silent Way, and The Natural Approach are just a few of the methods that have held the spotlight before disappearing or joining the supporting cast of strategies that experienced teachers use. Many have criticized our field for adopting the latest trends while dropping all that came before. However, the Focus on Grammar series has always taken a balanced approach, keeping what is tried and true while incorporating what is new and effective. To that end, Focus on Grammar has taken into account the findings of corpus linguistics, while never losing sight of what is pedagogically sound and useful.
Corpus linguistics is a field of linguistics which studies large samples of naturally occurring language in order to better understand how the language is used. Computers have made it possible to examine and analyze millions of language samples. We now have information about the frequency of use of vocabulary and structures, the words that typically occur with different structures, and the language of different genres. The results are interesting and important for anyone involved in language teaching. Continue reading
 Joyce Cain |
If students are going to be able to use the grammar they learn in real world contexts, their grammar textbook has to provide realistic practice. There are a number of features I look for in a grammar textbook (or in a supplemental grammar text for a writing class); I also examine the variety of ways the textbook can be used to improve students’ grammar and writing skills at the same time.
March 4th was National Grammar Day and we’re celebrating for the whole month. We’ve brought together a huge list of articles, videos, photocopiable worksheets, podcasts, blog posts, and more.
Classroom Resources
Grammar Day Articles
Podcasts
Video
Community
Blog Posts
Stacy Hagen |
One reason American English sounds fast is because native speakers sometimes drop or combine sounds at the beginning of sentences. In this video,
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