Your Mother Tongue Vs the English language 26/10/2017

Your Mother Tongue  Vs the English language  26/10/2017

        Foochow, my mother tongue, is a dialect.  It is a sound-meaning version of under-developed language.  In other words, the dialect is based on sounds that associate with meanings.  Compared with the English language, it is like ABC letters to the whole version of spoken and written English.  I guess that all the dialects in this world are like Foochow.  It is your mother tongue that you stay connected round-clock to it even in your sleep if you still use it.  It has limited range of vocabulary and patterns.  You do not even know the forms nor sounds and symbols if you are illiterate to learn it.  You learn it through a lot of repetition and rehearsal of it. 

        It is idiotic to think that you do not need to learn the grammar of the English language if you learn it as a second language and you have to use the language in writing especially.  The written form of English means that you have to show it in black and white.  Grammatical errors will mar your writing even though you have many and really brilliant ideas to share. 

        Grammar is the framework of language.  A full grasp of the grammar does not guarantee you to be able to speak and write at will if you have no idea or not well-informed of the subject matter.  For example, a native English who has no idea about the story of “Magic Monkey”, can he or she speak or write about it? Does it have anything to do with his/er English proficiency?

       Similarly, not being able to speak the English language after years of learning the grammar of English in the classroom has nothing to do with the knowledge of grammar.  It is concerned with the knowledge of the specific information.  For example, I was quite at a loss about what to ask when I wanted to know how to apply for a credit card at a bank when I saw the advertisement encouraging the customers.  It was my first time asking for this specific information. 

Yes, I had the grammar framework but I did not know the right word to use though I had the word at my disposal.  Hence, I asked one of the officer there, “What are the qualifications to apply for a credit card?”  She corrected me saying, “Oh, you mean what the criteria are to apply for a credit card.”  See, I learnt the word ‘criterion / criteria’ years ago but I had never applied in a real-life situation.  I forgot about the words.  Hence, it was not impressive enough for me to retrieve it in time of need.  I was familiar with the words ‘quality, qualify, qualified and qualification’.  In the case like this, the best choice of word, of course, is ‘criteria’ not ‘qualifications’in this context.

        The right choice of words really has nothing to do with Grammar which is about the general rules of forms and functions.  The right choice of words only has something to do with language experiences knowing the right word and its meaning for any specific situation. 

        So, can I say that you are not wasting your time to learn all those grammatical rules to be reinforced with a lot of texts reading?  If learners are not familiar with the forms and functions, I really find it necessary to drill them item by item in isolation and in context.  And  is it advisable for language teachers to create such awareness of how language works in texts?  I really find it necessary to pinpoint out the Subject Verb agreement, tenses used and other word classes in phrases or clauses in a sentence for learners.  These analyses will no doubt help them understand the passage better in one way or another. 

        You may say that reading passages are meant for the understanding of the content or the subject matter.  Yes, first time reading for main ideas, second time reading for specific information and the third time is to connect main points and the details to the title.  You may perhaps analyse the sentences in the third time reading.  If you can understand the meaning and structures of the passage, what more can’t you do? 

        If you have a full grasp of English grammar, a rich stock of vocabulary and you have the ideas or well-informed of the subject matter, are you still tongue-tied or hand-tied to express yourself in English?

Is Grammar Important? 23-25/10/2017

Is Grammar Important?    23-25/10/2017

        Well……no, if you only need to learn limited stock of vocabulary, language structures or patterns to fulfil your daily needs.  And you have the unlimited chances to hear the repetition and rehearsal of these words and structures all the time.  You also engage in the language use in speaking.  That is your mother tongue which people say that you are “connected to it 24 hours”.  That means that you use the language even in your dream.  Well, learning grammar is absolutely unnecessary.

        No, I did not learn any grammar for my first version of language, Foochow, a dialect which I see a less than half-developed language.  I learnt this dialect by hearing and listening.  I used this language to express my feelings, ideas, opinions and thoughts when I was small.  Hence, Foochow has a place in my faculty of speech.  I have more or less a full record of speech in Foochow.  I do not have any problem to express myself in Foochow.

        I learnt the standard Chinese language when I went to a Chinese Primary School.  I learnt the language through a lot of input in Chinese as all the subjects were in the Chinese language.  We did not learn Grammar at all for Chinese.  Besides, the Chinese language also corresponds well with my Foochow dialect in terms of structures.  This is perhaps the reason why I could learn Chinese easily with little pressure.   I do not need to know the Chinese grammar to speak Chinese fluently.  I can speak and write Chinese well enough because of having constant input in texts reading and listening in Chinese. 

        Besides, the Chinese language does not have different tenses and forms, subject-verb agreement and so on compared with the English language.  We are not bothered by the subject-verb agreement in the Chinese language, either.  It is so much simpler for me to learn it at ease.  The English language was taught as a single subject when I was in Primary Three and it proved to be so difficult for me to follow from spelling to structures.  I still can remember how often our English teacher gave us the spelling test and how often I was caned for not passing the tests.  It was a hard time for me.  I even resorted to cheating.  The language was too alien for me to learn then.    

        When I was in secondary school, all the subjects were in English except the Chinese subject.  I was more or less lost in this language.  I can’t remember how many times I could pass the English subject.  Other subjects like Geography, History, Science and the like, I could memorise the key points to pass them.  

        I had so much listening and texts reading input in English in my secondary schooling.  I have no idea if we were taught the English grammar or not.   I used the language quite fluently but not so accurately because I had no idea how the language works.  I used the language quite spontaneously but I was blurred about the language forms and often hesitated about the usage.   

        I just managed to get “E” for the English language and also “E” for my Literature in English for my School Certificate.  I did not pass my General Paper in Higher School Certificate though I still got the full certificate because I could pass 3 other principal subjects and 1 subsidiary subject.  These were my past struggles to learn the language.  I guess that I was a slow learner.  I am also not so fast now. 

        When I enrolled to study an English course at a university in Taiwan, only then I realised that the importance of English grammar and pronunciation to become competent in the language.  I found how well my coursemates performed in the written tests as they made no or few grammatical mistakes.  The whole English learning scenarios/arena there and then emphasised a lot on the accuracy use of the English language.   They did not get enough texts reading and listening input, hence their English lacked fluency.  Unlike me, I had better fluency (partially fluent) but lacked accuracy. 

But the parents there and then believed in the myth that oversea Chinese students had better command of English.  So, it was never difficult for me to find students to give tuition.

        When I gave tuition there in my sophomore year, I found the need to study grammar seriously in order to deal with the questions posed by my secondary school students.   In Taiwan then, a teacher had to explain why for the choice of the answer.  I still can remember how I failed to answer the question posed by one of my tuition students. 

He asked me why the word after ‘ devoted to’ is present participle not ‘to-infinitive’.  I was not able to answer him with a clear explanation but could only tell him to remember it that way.  I knew that it was not a professional way of dealing with the question.  I did not feel good to fail my tuition student this way.  Hence I decided to look around for a more suitable and better grammar book to brush up my English grammar.  Though I had the coursebooks on grammar, they did not touch me enough to enlighten me. 

        Luckily, I found a very good grammar series written by Li Ming Ho.  Through studying and doing the exercises of these books, paying attention to forms and the structures in texts reading, investigation on tenses both in the active and passive voice and their relationship with forms of the verb,  and studying different grammatical items, my understanding of this language was getting better and better. 

Finally, I understood why ‘devoted to’ is followed present participle not to infinitive.  It is because the word ‘to’ is used as a preposition here.  Based on the rule,  the preposition is followed by noun/pronoun/present participle.  This is an enlightenment to me.  That is why 'I am looking forwards to hearing (not to hear) from you.' This understanding enabled to gain better insight on the general underlying rules governing the language structures.

I really find that knowing the grammatical forms and their functions is really important in language use in speaking and writing especially.  Being able to analyse the sentences also helps a person in texts reading and listening activities.   

        English is learnt as a second language here in Sarawak and elsewhere in the Federation of Malaysia.  Like a blueprint to build a house or a road map or the Global Positioning System to help a person to go to any desired destination, the mind-map of grammar of the English language serves as a guide to a learner to explore the unfamiliar terrain. 

        If a learner has a good knowledge of English grammar, he can edit his own work.  If he does a lot of texts reading and listening in the input and he also engages himself actively in language use in speaking and writing,  he will command the language in the course of time as he has the grammatical rules to refer to all the time.  Remember being competent/proficient means that a learner is able to use the language correctly in speaking and writing.

        Bear in mind that English is learnt as a second language.  Thus learners are not connected to it 24 hours.  No doubt, some deliberate effort is needed to set up the speech patterns in their heads.  They must have enough recorded speeches or language experiences or exposure to use the language freely and creatively. 

        As I have said before, an English word may have different forms.   I am not sure if a native English speaker can differentiate the following forms of the word ‘die’ in the following sentences.

die   dying  died  died

dead  / deadly

death

1.   Tina's pet cat ___________ a few days ago.

2.   Tina cried so sadly over the _________ of her pet cat.   

3.   The cat was _________ when she came home from school that day.

4.   She guessed that it could be due to the _________ bite of a poisonous snake.

For learners of English as a second language, if you have the
knowledge, for sure, you know what is the right word for each blank.

Fill in the blanks with different tenses of verb-to-be.

1.   Bill ________ sick a few days ago.

2.   He ________ still sick today.

3.   He ___________ sick since last Wednesday.

4.   He _______________ sick for a week by tomorrow.

5.   Bill's brother _________ sick if he plays in the rain so often.

6.   A few months ago, Bill _______ so sick that he was admitted to hospital.

7.   He __________ sick for nearly a month before he recovered.

Is grammar important if you learn English as a second language?

How important is grammar?

How important is grammar?

In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules which influences the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given language. It is the systematic study and description of a language, and it helps us to understand how words and their component parts combine to form sentences.

 Is Grammar important?

Today I want to say a few things about grammar in general. I know that some of you may wonder why we even need to learn grammar. And some of you may even think that grammar is boring and difficult to learn. You are right. Grammar can indeed be boring sometimes. It can be exhausting trying to learn grammar rules. And it can also be frustrating if you can’t figure something out. However, on the other hand, learning grammar can come in handy for you in almost every single situation.

Grammar is a vehicle for expressing meaning, so a poor knowledge of grammar can seriously hinder communication. As a student of any language, in this case, English, you need to know the difference between some grammatical structures.  You need to know that each grammatical structure conveys a different meaning.  For example, if you say The dog bit the postman, you need to know that this is not the same as The postman bit the dog, although these two sentences contain the same words. This is one of the many reasons why grammar is important.

Learning grammar doesn’t mean that you need to memorize every single grammar rule.  Knowing grammar means applying all those different rules in real-life situations.  If you are chatting with your friends, grammar is not that important.  No one will judge you if you make a few mistakes. But, imagine you are in a job interview and you need to speak in English. In this case, a knowledge of grammar and its rules is absolutely essential. In more formal situations, you need to apply all your previous knowledge of grammar when using the language.

---

Still confused?…. 

Grammar lays the groundwork for effective communication.  Grammatical errors can come in many different forms and all of them have an effect on the meaning of what is said. If you make a grammatical error, you can easily confuse the other person and he/she will not be able to figure out what you meant.  So, to avoid strange looks when you make a grammatical error, take some time and learn grammar. What is even more important, learn how to use grammar rules in real contexts.

Grammar is like a Rubik’s cube. Every single word has its place in a sentence, and it all fits together in logical ways.  Once you master the grammar rules, you can apply them in real contexts, and you can even choose to avoid them, just like native speakers sometimes do.  If you understand one grammar rule, it can often be helpful in understanding a different grammar rule, so the process of learning grammar can be seen as building on your previous knowledge of grammar.

---

Remember to practice! PPP (Perfect Practice makes Perfect)

If you do not practice using your English in a natural context, then you will loose your English.  It is one thing to be able to know all of these rules, structures and hearing these tips; though another to be using and applying your knowledge!

A common mistake that many English learners make (maybe EVEN YOU!)  is that they do not  practice!  The more you practice, the better you will get.  You have to be practicing on a consistent basis, applying your knowledge.  Only in this way WILL YOU IMPROVE YOUR SPOKEN ENGLISH.   

Speaking with friends, communicating in English on a consistent basis, making mistakes, working on fixing your mistakes and getting feedback on your spoken English will help you identify YOUR common mistakes, work on these mistakes so that you CAN improve your spoken English and communication skills! 

---

Final Suggestions:

Start Speaking in English TODAY!  

Enter your name and email below, to download your free Speaking guide and learn what you can do independently and with friends to improve your spoken English!

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

(https://englishteacheradriana.com/is-grammar-important/)

My comments:
The American English word 'practice' is used as a noun and verb.
For the British English, the noun form is 'practice' and the verb form is 'practise'.  The knowledge of this differentiation is important to write correctly.
We follow the British system of English, right?

Accurate use of the language is important

Yemi Sanni Newman, Writer, Public Speaker, Creative Designer

Answered May 12, 2015

My dear, it is!

Communication is primarily for mutual understanding, but beyond that, the beauty of language (spoken or written) is in speaking/writing it correctly in such a way that it wins admiration, gains respect and sells your idea.

As a public speaker, I know from experience that you can win people over by HOW you speak. A lot of people I know are easily put off when a speaker  cannot properly put his/her thoughts into words. If you are a learner, there's a level of tolerance, but even at that, everyone wants to see you get better at speaking well.

The bottom line is, if you want to speak a language, learn to speak it correctly, otherwise, you may appear incompetent to those you would be speaking to, especially in the workplace. So, put extra effort into studying grammar and learning how to use words in the right context. You'll never regret it!

Cheers!

1.7k Views · 2 Upvotes