Meaning Centered Grammar

Rather than narrowly dividing language between correct and incorrect, this book promotes a respect for the power and usefulness of language in all its forms. It draws from a number of linguistic grammars, traditional grammar, and contemporary composition theory, yet achieves a unified synthesis by seeing each of these as ways to understand the language itself and its natural, inherent, meaning-making grammatical system. The book draws heavily on real world writing, including authors like Annie Dillard, Richard Rodriguez, John McPhee, Alice Walker, Tim O'Brien, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cornel West. Though the book is primarily a linguistically based exploration, the final two chapters move into the practical world of real world application in writing (including punctuation) and reading (grammatical analysis.) It does not stop at the isolated sentence, but considers ways in which grammar works in longer passages and in harmony with rhetorical purposes. Its direct focus is on developing an understanding of language and not on directly changing language behavior. It should be of great interest to writing teachers or grammar teachers looking for alternatives to narrow prescriptive approaches or the disinterested descriptions of much contemporary linguistics.

Rather than narrowly dividing language between correct and incorrect, this book promotes a respect for the power and usefulness of language in all its forms. It draws from a number of linguistic grammars, traditional grammar, and contemporary composition theory, yet achieves a unified synthesis by seeing each of these as ways to understand the language itself and its natural, inherent, meaning-making grammatical system. The book draws heavily on real world writing, including authors like Annie Dillard, Richard Rodriguez, John McPhee, Alice Walker, Tim O'Brien, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cornel West. Though the book is primarily a linguistically based exploration, the final two chapters move into the practical world of real world application in writing (including punctuation) and reading (grammatical analysis.) It does not stop at the isolated sentence, but considers ways in which grammar works in longer passages and in harmony with rhetorical purposes. Its direct focus is on developing an understanding of language and not on directly changing language behavior. It should be of great interest to writing teachers or grammar teachers looking for alternatives to narrow prescriptive approaches or the disinterested descriptions of much contemporary linguistics.

Grammar, Meaning, and Concepts: A Discourse-Based Approach to English Grammar is a book for language teachers and learners that focuses on the meanings of grammatical constructions within discourse, rather than on language as structure governed by rigid rules. This text emphasizes the ways in which users of language construct meaning, express viewpoints, and depict imageries using the conceptual, meaning-filled categories that underlie all of grammar. Written by a team of authors with years of experience teaching grammar to future teachers of English, this book puts grammar in the context of real language and illustrates grammar in use through an abundance of authentic data examples. Each chapter also provides a variety of activities that focus on grammar, genre, discourse, and meaning, which can be used as they are or can be adapted for classroom practice. The activities are also designed to raise awareness about discourse, grammar, and meaning in all facets of everyday life, and can be used as springboards for upper high school, undergraduate, and graduate level research projects and inquiry-based grammatical analysis. Grammar, Meaning, and Concepts is an ideal textbook for those in the areas of teacher education, discourse analysis, applied linguistics, second language teaching, ESL, EFL, and communications who are looking to teach and learn grammar from a dynamic perspective.

An important contribution to the emerging body of research-based knowledge about English grammar, this volume presents empirical studies along with syntheses and overviews of previous and ongoing work on the teaching and learning of grammar for learners of English as a second/foreign language. It explores a variety of approaches, including form-focused instruction, content and language integration, corpus-based lexicogrammatical approaches, and social perspectives on grammar instruction. Nine chapter authors are Priority Research Grant or Doctoral Dissertation Grant awardees from The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF), and four overview chapters are written by well-known experts in English language education. Each research chapter addresses issues that motivated the research, the context of the research, data collection and analysis, findings and discussion, and implications for practice, policy, and future research. The TIRF-sponsored research was made possible by a generous gift from Betty Azar. This book honors her contributions to the field and recognizes her generosity in collaborating with TIRF to support research on English grammar. Teaching and Learning English Grammar is the second volume in the Global Research on Teaching and Learning English Series, co-published by Routledge and TIRF.

In a time of globally changing environments and economic challenges, many institutions of higher education are attempting to reform by promoting standardization approaches. Meaning-Centered Education explores the counter-tide for an alternative vision of education, where students and instructors engage in open meaning-making processes and self-organizing educational practices. In one contributed volume, Meaning-Centered Education provides a comprehensive introduction to current scholarship and pedagogical practice on meaning-centered education. International contributors explore how modern educational scholars and practitioners all around the world are implementing a comprehensive framework that supports meaning making in a classroom. This edited collection is a valuable resource for higher education faculty and scholars interested in renewing the deep purposes of higher education.

Teaching Grammar, Structure and Meaning introduces teachers to some basic ideas from the increasingly popular field of cognitive linguistics as a way of explaining and teaching key grammatical concepts. Particularly suitable for those teaching post-16 English Language, this book offers a methodology for teaching key aspects of linguistic form and an extensive set of learning activities. Written by an experienced linguist and teacher, this book contains: · an evaluation of current approaches to the teaching of grammar and linguistic form · a revised pedagogy based on principles from cognitive science and cognitive linguistics · a comprehensive set of activities and resources to support the teaching of key linguistic topics and text types · a detailed set of suggestions for further reading and a guide to available resources Arguing for the use of drama, role play, gesture, energy dynamics, and visual and spatial representations as ways of enabling students to understand grammatical features, this book explores and analyses language use in a range of text types, genres and contexts. This innovative approach to teaching aspects of grammar is aimed at English teachers, student teachers and teacher trainers.

What is grammar? Why is it so central to the teaching of English? How can we teach it with confidence in secondary schools? Essential Grammar will provide clarity, meaning and teacher expertise to this much debated area of the English curriculum. By exploring grammar as applied to literary analysis and using a range of examples from commonly-taught and popular texts, this highly accessible book provides an extensive overview of how to use grammar to enhance the teaching of academic and creative writing. Drawing on a range of resources, best-selling authors Webb and Giovanelli: discuss the context of grammar teaching in schools provide a clear overview of concepts and terminology for the teacher offer a wide range of examples of how grammar can be applied to the analysis of texts and the development of students’ writing debunk the unhelpful view of grammar as a list of prescriptive rules and limits outline grammatical concepts in a way which is clear and simple to understand provide a huge range of practical ways to ensure that teaching of grammatical concepts can be rigorous and successful for all. This resource, with its grounded and straightforward approach to grammar, will be immediately useable in the classroom with strategies that be used by teachers in their classroom today. For any training and practicing secondary English teachers, Essential Grammar will be a compulsory classroom companion.

Instill grammar fundamentals using lessons that stick! In this book, authors Amy Benjamin and Joan Berger share procedures for teaching grammar effectively and dynamically, in ways that appeal to students and teachers alike. Ideal for teachers just beginning their work in grammar instruction, this book includes day-by-day units and reproducibles to help them embed grammar lessons into writing instruction. Using visuals, wordplay, problem solving, and pattern-finding activities, teachers can forgo methods that fail to engage students in grammar. Through a series of activities designed to delve deeper into grammar learning, the authors share strategies that have proven successful during their extensive years of teaching and literacy consulting. Topics include: Using time wisely: Assess for cumulative understanding and development of writing style The "Verb Map": A visual metaphor of the verb system Teaching parts of speech for effective expression, not just memorization And more!