For secondary English teachers concerned with the theoretical and practical problems of the traditional approaches to teaching grammar, this paper proposes that a realistic solution can be found in current linguistic investigation. This solution lies not in the product of linguistic inquiry, but in the process of inquiry itself. The paper first…

Geared to the grammar area of the English curriculum, this self-instructional package was designed to aid seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students in recognizing three types of adverbs ("how,""when," and "where"). The package defines the three types, lists examples, and provides exercises. It also contains a pretest and a posttest. (FL)

As an emotional topic, concern with acceptable usage of language has never been far from the public consciousness, but the public's willingness to abide by educators' views on the necessity of teaching usage rules has varied over the years. The situation we face is not a new one--the eighteenth century saw the initial widespread concern with…

Suggests that the discovery procedure of data gathering and hypothesizing could be more effective as a means of teaching language arts skills than traditional grammar and new English'' methods. (DS)

Critically analyzes Paul J. Schafer's advocacy (in Return to Normalcy," Elementary English," vol. 47, no. 5 (May 1970), p. 671--see TE 200 730) of a return to the teaching of traditional grammar. (SW)

Finds serious flaws in the research asserting the uselessness of teaching grammar to composition classes. Proposes that writing teachers acknowledge the presence and importance of grammar in the writing class. (RL)

Notes the problems associated with integrating grammar study in writing instruction. Provides strategies for such integration, including a syllabus for teaching the verb phrase. (RL)

The teaching of grammar has been in sad decline since medieval times, when it included the whole skill of creating in language. Our textbook community has moved through a series of ineffective fashions, from those of Fries to post-Chomsky. All have presumed to replace prescriptive rules with realistic explanations. But all have fallen, like the…

Uses personal experiences from "grammar" school to argue that the exercises used to develop practical skills, such as a knowledge of grammar, should be practical as well. Suggests that teachers need to convince students that what is being taught will be useful and important in later life. (RL)

A classification of students according to their written explanations as to why they enrolled in an English class on writing research reports. (RL)

Teachers should stop teaching traditional school-room grammar entirely. There is no reason to wound youngsters with something they will never learn and never need. Instead, teachers should treat usage and mechanics in gentle, encouraging, nontechnical, and innovative ways. A communication correctly understood by a native speaker is grammatical.…

A process-oriented freshman composition instructor who stresses invention, drafting, and revision can simultaneously integrate a form of grammatical instruction. Various methods and strategies, both from experience and research on grammar from the classical to the contemporary era, suggest such a creative integration. First, the teaching of…

A large body of research has been interpreted as showing that formal grammar instruction does not lead to better student writing. This literature review questions the conclusiveness of the evidence that is usually cited. The term "formal grammar instruction" has been one source of problems; most studies have failed to distinguish between a body of…