Martin....GR8 2 C Ur reply

Kids cringe when the word 'grammar' is spoken by the teacher. I know I always did when I was a schoolkid

I totally respect what the Dr wrote and it is 100% important in the classroom IF we are teaching linguistics.....but most of us are not

'Correct' grammar is important in written English - not so much (these days) in spoken English - although if your grammar in spoken English is too bad, you are likely to appear uneducated.

The difficult question for all FT's is where to draw the line in the classroom. Sure, grammar is important, but language is constantly evolving and changing even though the 'grammar police' insist on certain 'rules' that should never change

We all have our own teaching styles and we all teach what we feel is important - but allow me to ask you a question.....

If you are a native English speaker, then you would have been educated in a native-speaking school, You would have learned about verbs and adjectives and nouns and pronouns etc etc etc

But 20 years after leaving school, if you were NOT a teacher, would you remember what an 'adverb' is? What about a 'preposition'?

Probably not - but does it matter? - How many native English speakers know what the little 'dot' above the lower-case 'i' and 'j' is called?

Most would say it's a 'dot', but like everything else in English, we must give it a name.....(for those that don't know, it's called a 'tittle')

These kids are trying their best to learn a second language and to become as fluent as possible. The Chinese teachers must teach them the 'why's-and-wherefore's' - do they need it from us as well?

Sometimes it's important to teach them WHY we use English the way we do, but most of the time I feel it's important to teach them more of the 'HOW we use it' as opposed to the reasons why - mostly because the 'why' is often not important

If they choose to use 'have' then use 'done it' - if they choose NOT to use 'have' then use 'did it'..........why? - who cares 'why'? (unless they ask)

English is a complex mess of Latin, French and Germanic with words that are spelled nothing like they should be - take words such as 'Quinoa' and 'Hyperbole' - or what about 'ballet, chalet and segue' ?

Great and meat and threat, etc etc etc............it's never-ending......by the time you have explained the 'why' we say it like that, then the lesson is over and they have learned 3 words instead of 20
Why does 'enamour' rhyme with 'hammer' and words spelled the same way like 'does' and 'toes' don't rhyme at all?

Because English is a total 'mess' and we have to do our best to straighten it out for ESL students

It's the same with 'phonetics' - a strange 'language' in itself so I prefer to teach them 'phonics' (which is not always accurate) - but it certainly helps them pronounce 'hyperbole' as 'high per bo lee' and 'quinoa' as 'keen wah' - and then there's 'grate and meet and thret'

OK, so it doesn't work with ALL words, but certainly it works with a great percentage and it's much easier for them to learn

Once they have a 'grip' on 'H8', 'GR8' and 'M8' then it's fun-in-the-classroom....WTF? OMG!.....can't W8 2 C U Tmrw......