Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Verb Strings And Other Weavings: An Exploration Of Grammatical Structures, Visual Arts, And Language Teaching, Mae Bash

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In language education, visual arts are sometimes used as a tool to inspire communication and convey cultural concepts. However, limited research has looked into the application of visual arts in the classroom for the exploration of linguistic patterns. Both languages and weavings are complex systems governed by distinct sets of rules, yet they still permit infinite unique productions. This project explores this relationship by presenting five bandweavings, each of which is designed based on the rules and structures of different languages. These weavings show that it is possible to connect art and language through practical, structural methods, not only abstract …

Elementary New Testament Greek, Owen Ewald

Faculty Open Access Books

This open-access textbook helps students learn to read New Testament Greek at the elementary level. It includes clear, concise explanations of grammar and syntax, helpful examples, and essential vocabulary, with no assumption of previous language study, and it does not require accents for most forms. At the end of each of its twenty chapters, students will find short Greek-language episodes from the life of a fictional early Christian family of Jewish ancestry, short readings from the Greek New Testament and Septuagint, and review/homework exercises that can help reinforce new concepts and vocabulary. This book can help students prepare to read …

Student Attitudes Towards English Grammar, Evalyn H. Bassett

Honors Theses

The literature on English grammar is mostly on its history, standardization, educational implementations, how ideologies shape its frequency of usage, and how it is perceived by students learning English as a second language. This study seeks to address a gap in the literature that reviews the attitudes of college students towards English grammar as their first language and how these attitudes correlate with any past experience with English grammar up to this point. To gain a better understanding of student’s attitudes towards English grammar, an online mixed-methods survey was distributed to graduate and undergraduate students in all departments of the …

Predicting Language Performance From Narrative Language Samples, Kimberly A. Murphy, Alisha P. Springle, Mollee J. Sultani, Autumn Mcilraith, Language And Reading Research Consortium (Larrc)

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: Analysis of narrative language samples is a recommended clinical practice in the assessment of children’s language skills, but we know little about how results from such analyses relate to overall oral language ability across the early school years. We examined the relations between language sample metrics from a short narrative retell, collected in kindergarten, and an oral language factor in grades kindergarten through 3. Our specific questions were to determine the extent to which metrics from narrative language sample analysis are concurrently related to language in kindergarten and predict language through Grade 3. Method: Participants were a sample …

Silent Film: A Visual Narrative For Developing Linguistic Competence, Patricia George

Open Educational Resources

Visual narratives in silent films are an effective method for developing linguistic competence in English language education and are equally constructive in developing critical thinking skills across disciplines. “Silent film, more than any other film property, capitalizes on ESL students’ visual literacy, using it as both a foundation and a catalyst for honing the verbal language skills that are key to acquiring and articulating complex knowledge in English” (Kasper and Singer, 2001). Silent films rely on the power of vivid, interactive visual imagery to depict personal struggles, character interactions, and plot development. This medium grabs the attention of ESL students …

The Importance Of Grammar For English Learners And English Teachers In The Coming Decade, Brian White

New Jersey English Journal

The teaching of traditional grammar in traditional ways is out of favor, and for very good reason. Still, in the coming decade, teachers of English will need to "know their grammar" and be able to explain it to a burgeoning number of English Language Learners (ELLs).

Preparing Tomorrow’S Leaders For Yesterday: Ai And Standardized Grammar Assessment, Jason C. Toncic

New Jersey English Journal

Following breakthroughs in machine learning over the past decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has been integrated into major aspects of schooling. One such subject matter is grammar, which has seen the advent of AI-based grammar checking. Through a critical lens, AI-grammar checking reveals inequitable prescriptivist grammar practices reified by standardized assessment.

Beyond The Red Pen: A Functional Grammar Approach To Evaluating The Written Language Of Deaf Students, Jennifer Kilpatrick, Kimberly A. Wolbers

Theory and Practice in Teacher Education Publications and Other Works

Deaf students often differ from their hearing peers in written language development. Providing developmentally appropriate instruction is ideal, yet current methods of writing assessment do not provide teachers with sufficient information regarding the written language (i.e., syntactic) development of deaf students. In this research, we use a Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) approach to language analysis to provide teachers with a new way to evaluate deaf students’ writing. This project consisted of two studies. The first study focused on determining whether SFG analysis could be helpful for teachers of the deaf. The second study focused on mapping a trajectory of the …

Fun With Grammar, Beena Anil

Teacher India

Activity-based learning can help students to learn grammar. Dr Beena Anil shares practical tips.

The Case For Grammar: What Preservice Teachers Need To Know About Metalinguistic Awareness, Aimee Schoonmaker, Kerry L. Purmensky

Journal of English Learner Education

The present study focused on preservice teachers’ grammar knowledge and its importance for their future students’ understanding and use of language, particularly English Learners. This quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest study investigated the grammar knowledge of preservice teachers who were enrolled in an undergraduate applied linguistics course at an urban university in the southern United States. The results confirmed prior research which found that preservice teachers are not knowledgeable enough about English grammar when explaining sentence level errors. This study demonstrated that preservice teachers’ basic understanding of English grammar can be increased in a short time, particularly in the recognition of simple …

Sentence Construction: Supporting Elementary Students’ Editing Skills, Zoi A. Traga Philippakos

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

Syntactic control is a necessary skill for quality writing and a needed knowledge for all writers who communicate in a specific language system. However, syntactic control is challenging for developing writers and for second-language learners. Instructionally, usually at the editing stage, attention is given to the syntax and grammatical clarity of a paper prior to it getting published or shared. The purpose of this paper is to explain specific practices that can support sentence construction. Specifically, evidence-based practices that refer to sentence combining and sentence expansion are explained and specific examples are shared. Implications for classroom practice are further discussed.

Spotlight On Using Mentor Texts In Writing Instruction: Turning To Books For Ideas, Dana Sudhoff

Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Literacy

Researchers have found a connection between reading and writing instruction and the benefits the instruction has on students’ reading comprehension and writing expression. The purpose of this action research study was to explore the effectiveness of the use of mentor texts on the writing of 22 students in grade 3. Curricular methodology consisted of selected trade books used as mentor texts to represent the various genres and natural language structures inherent within children’s books so that students had consistent models of good writing as they attempted to emulate various authors’ styles of writing. Data collection consisted of a teacher-made questionnaire …

Experiential Teacher Education – Preparing Preservice Teachers To Teach English Grammar Through An Experiential Learning Project, Jackie F. K. Lee

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The paper explores and describes the kinds of learning attained by a group of Hong Kong preservice teachers who worked collaboratively to develop online grammar teaching resources for school teachers worldwide. Based on the quantitative and qualitative data collected during the ongoing collaboration, lesson tryouts, and post-project evaluation, the project results reflect the value of experiential learning in preservice teacher education. The themes that detail the student teachers’ experiences include textbook evaluation, professional knowledge, core competencies of teachers, and understanding of English language teaching outside the Hong Kong context.

Teaching Language Variation In The Classroom: Strategies And Models From Teachers And Linguists, Michelle D. Devereaux, Chris C. Palmer

Chris C. Palmer

Final Ma Portfolio, Lisa Foster

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This project fulfills my graduation requirement. It contains a research paper as well as three pedagogical papers.

Developing Students' Grammar Skills, Andrew P. Johnson

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

Learning about grammar doesn't have to be boring and meaningless. This paper starts by dispelling some myths, other wise known as silly grammar ideas. It ends by describing seven activities that can be used to develop students' ability to use conventional grammar.

Final Ma Portfolio, Jessica Goodman

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

A Final Portfolio submitted to the English Department of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of English with a specialization in English teaching. The first project is a syllabus for a course on American protest literature. The second project is a five-week major assignment plan focusing on identity and rhetorical writing choices. The third paper is a theory and practice synthesis of empowering literacy alongside a checklist for teachers who wish to include empowering literacy in their classrooms. Finally, the fourth item is a revision (re-vision) …

Student-Centered Approaches To Teaching Grammar And Writing, Lindsay J. Jeffers

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article questions the continued reliance on traditional approaches to the teaching of grammar, particularly the memorization of parts of speech and grammar rules. Years of studies show that grammar instruction out of the context of writing is detrimental to students. Despite much progress toward student-centered instruction, traditional methods of teaching grammar are still a cornerstone of writing instruction in many English classes. The article suggests more effective, student-centered approaches that focus on students developing as writers and readers. Through modeling and inquiry, students focus on writing as a craft and make choices as writers. It’s essential that research about …

A Theological Critique Of “Learner Autonomy”, Pierce T. Hibbs

International Journal of Christianity and English Language Teaching

Because words reflect the world of a person, Christian teachers of English are called to consider how the linguistic terminology they use intersects with their Christian values. In this article, I present theological issues with the phrase “learner autonomy” (LA). Drawing largely on the work of Kenneth L. Pike, I discuss an alternative to LA that I believe more clearly reflects a Christian teacher’s theological commitments.

Written Language Performance Following Embedded Grammar Instruction, Ginger Collins, Jan Norris

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This study explored whether presenting grammar instruction within the context of reading and writing would improve writing skills. The participating schools were using a traditional grammar instruction in which grammar lessons were predominately taught using worksheets and were presented separately from other reading and writing activities. This was termed Discrete Grammar Instruction (DGI). The researchers introduced a contextualized grammar instruction approach, termed Embedded Grammar Instruction (EGI), which taught grammar within authentic contexts of reading and writing. Students in grades three through eight were assigned to either the EGI group (N = 164) or the DGI group (N = 156). Two …

Towards A Constructivist Grammar Curriculum For The United States, Tyler Crafts Jennings

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The author argues that educators must forge an alternative method to teaching grammar: the explicit, constructivist teaching of grammar within the meaningful context of a writing curriculum.

Expressing Future Time In Spoken Conversational English: A Corpus-Based Analysis Of The Sitcom Friends, Brandon Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Far from being simply will, a survey of English grammar textbooks revealed that a multitude of expressions exists in the English language to express the future time. These expressions include, but are not limited to, will, be going to, the simple present tense, modals, the future perfect tense, and the present progressive tense. With so many choices and with a lack of direct relationship between tense and time, a language learner may certainly have difficulties in choosing which expression to use when attempting to produce a future utterance. A corpus-based approach to analyzing real language has been demonstrated to be …

The Role Of Grammar Knowledge For Identifying Language Needs, Anne Toolan Rowley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The focus of the study was an interest in discerning the relationship between grammar knowledge and its application for evaluating grammar development at different academic and professional stages. A 3-part questionnaire was completed by first and last semester Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) graduate students, and practicing speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The first section gathered data related to educational background, perceptions related to grammar knowledge, and recall of undergraduate instruction on grammar topics. A Grammar Test (GT), which reviewed typically developing grammar elements and sentence structures, and a Language Sample Analysis (LSA) comprised the latter two sections. With this data, the …

Presenting Italian Comparative And Superlative Forms Of Adjectives To College L2 Beginners, Ilona Klein

Faculty Publications

This study treats the necessity to de-emphasize the focus on grammar teaching alone in L2, and to introduce methods which are not teacher-centered, so as to enable students to interact more among each other.

By using comparative and superlative forms of adjectives – but in reality using a sequence of teaching techniques that could be applied to other grammatical situations – this article presents the use of sea shells as a visual and tactile aid which allows students to shift their L2 efforts from an abstract notion to a concrete usage.

This study offers a tool to attempt a balance …

A Research And An Adaptation Of Methodologies To Develop Supplementary Materials And Activities For The Study Of Foreign Language, Melané Mildré

All Graduate Projects

The use of a typical textbook tor the instruction of the first year study of the Spanish language appears to be tedious as well as inadequate in its presentation of grammar drills, vocabulary selection, and its potential of allowing the student to develop fluency in the language. As a result, the writer researched a variety of methodologies currently being employed in the instruction of foreign language. Intending to improve upon the usage of a textbook as well as to add variety to the classroom procedure, the writer then developed or adapted supplementary materials to correlate to the textbook presently being …

Phonetics, Traditional Grammar, And Transformational Grammar, Lois Kirkpatrick

Honors Theses

As a Music Major, I chose to study for my honors project, three facets of grammar that would be helpful in teaching public school music. These areas are phonetics, which will aid in the correct pronunciation of words used in singing and speaking, traditional grammar, which is essential for both oral and written communications, and a study in the new tranformational grammar, to keep abreast with changing grammatical skills. Though somewhat related, these skills are best discussed separately.

A Descriptive Study Of Certain Characteristics In Which The Language Of A Class Of Third Grade Negro Children Differs From Standard English, Columbus Nelson Sanders

All Master's Theses

Children come to school speaking the language of their speech community. For some children, the language in their speech community is a variety of English that differs from standard English or what may be called "school English." These children may experience great difficulties in speaking standard English. This problem is one of social class dialect rather than regional language variation. The purpose of this study is to describe certain characteristics in which the language of a class of third grade Negro children differs from standard English.

An Analysis Of The Rules Describing The Use Of Subordination, Mildred Eastwood Mcbride

Graduate Student Research Papers

Subordination is not Mt. Everest, but neither is it a molehill which can be covered in one easy step, and this is what our textbooks try to do. Unfortunately, there is no single easy way to teach the use of subordination, and this paper cannot offer any positive remedy for the inadequacies of our college handbooks. It will, however, discuss the varieties of opinions about the subject, explore several possible approaches, and offer some suggestions for a changed method of teaching subordination to our students.

The Pros And Cons Of Teaching Formal Grammar In The Elementary School, James L. Moore

Graduate Student Research Papers

It was the purpose of this study (1) to discover and compare the arguments for and against the teaching of formal grammar in the elementary school and (2) to broaden the writer's own point of view on whether or not formal grammar should be a part of the study of English in his elementary school classroom.