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Write 1st, grammar 2nd
And I grew up speaking the language!
I'll never forget my 11th grade English teacher. I got that far in school without ever paying attention to spelling and grammar. I read a lot and so may have managed to get by on that. But no one cared what I wrote about, only that there was a word spelled wrong. It always frustrated me. Mrs. Webb-Owen changed that by giving us 2 grades for every assignment, one for content, and one for the technical side of writing. The second grade could be improved by rewriting the assignment and correcting your mistakes. She would give us the average of the two technical grades. I did a lot of rewrites that year!!! (But I also finally learned to spell, and probably got a clue about where to put the comas and stuff too.)
posted by
DarrkeThoughts
on August 3, 2006 at 8:56 PM
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i went to a business college where most of the students were ESL. they
were not allowed to speak in their native tongue while at school. as students, they wrapped their heads around the grammar rules faster than the pronunciations but these were adults. kids are all about hearing and repeating (just where did johnny learn those swear words?) so i'd probably start with pronunciations.
posted by
fourcats
on July 23, 2006 at 8:46 AM
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BC
thanks! It will be interesting to meet them to see where I need to start. They have been attending public schools here.
posted by
Nanaroo
on July 23, 2006 at 6:57 AM
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I think I'd rather focus on the speaking part first.
Communicating and understanding what everyone is saying would be more important to me than "i before e except after c..."
posted by
-blackcat
on July 23, 2006 at 6:55 AM
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DM, Nickie, and all
thank you for these wonderful thoughts- they are so helpful!
posted by
Nanaroo
on July 23, 2006 at 6:52 AM
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Nanaroo,
I'm teaching Dutch to foreigners, and in my experience especially Asian people will want to know the grammar of the language they're learning. Most of them even strive to know it very well.
posted by
Nickie-Fleming
on July 23, 2006 at 2:10 AM
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It was only...
After diagramming sentences in French that the English version suddenly made sense! A lot of grammar rules are common sense and have thier origins in the mechanics of speech. For instance, to say "I ate a orange", is actually more difficult to say than the correct, "I ate an orange." The mouth and tongue flow from the n to the o, whereas from an a to an o is halting, not smooth. I would say some grammar basics are needed, but don't overload at first.
posted by
food4thought
on July 22, 2006 at 9:41 PM
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English was my second language, but I seriously don't remember
learning it...it happened in kindergarten...one day I could only speak French, and the next day or two or whatever, I was speaking English...the writing of it came later.
posted by
Ariala
on July 22, 2006 at 8:29 PM
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I Taught English...
to Korean kids and factory workers just outside of Seoul, South Korea. The kids wanted to watch cartoons while the adults wanted to speak English like Tom Cruise. In other words, the grown ups really weren't interested in grammar and writing, they just wanted to be able to get their point across by speaking "street" English.
There's a huge difference between what children want and what adults want. You'll do the kids a favor by teaching them proper English (complete with grammar) no matter how much they object. Asians have a tough time pronouncing Z and Th. Oh, and forget about asking them to say "rural."
I spent an entire night trying to explain the pronunciations of cough, bough, tough and dough. We spent 30 minutes one night just saying pizza over and over again because they had such a tough time with our Z sound. (Nothing like Z, Th, V or F in the Korean language.) I saw a menu on the wall of a Korean restaurant that advertised veberages rather than beverages. To the Koreans, V and B are the same letter.
Good luck teaching!
DM
posted by
Dennison..Mann
on July 22, 2006 at 8:27 PM
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I would have to say both..can you really split them???
posted by
Rumor
on July 22, 2006 at 7:07 PM
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lovelyladymonk
well, hello to you!
posted by
Nanaroo
on July 22, 2006 at 6:45 PM
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Hi Nanaroo....Interesting question!!...
posted by
lovelyladymonk
on July 22, 2006 at 6:36 PM
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Sunny
thanks to you too, for your vote!
posted by
Nanaroo
on July 22, 2006 at 6:05 PM
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Bel
thanks! I won't know what level they are at until I meet them and do some diagnostics. I do know that they have been going to public schools in San Diego but that their parents don't speak English at home so that has hampered their progress.
posted by
Nanaroo
on July 22, 2006 at 6:04 PM
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I think likely I would practice 2 while learning 1
posted by
Afzal_Sunny7
on July 22, 2006 at 5:55 PM
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Nana
How well do they speak and understand the language? If they have a decent grasp of it, try School House Rock? Do you remember that from Saturday morning TV?? I swear this is how I learned most of the grammar rules LOL
http://www.school-house-rock.com/
posted by
bel_1965
on July 22, 2006 at 5:55 PM
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I'd say both!!!!
I hope this is helpful instead of making it worse!
posted by
bel_1965
on July 22, 2006 at 5:51 PM
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Lucy
It's an interesting question-- I personally would choose number 2 because I don't care what the rule says-- I just want to write correctly. However, I think some people would rather know the rules so they can apply them. ...so many rules, though!
posted by
Nanaroo
on July 22, 2006 at 5:27 PM
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Nana
I think #1..but it could be both???
posted by
Offy
on July 22, 2006 at 5:24 PM
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