My Thoughts on Grammar

Grammar has always been a scary term for me.  As a returning student at thirty five years of age I remember one of my writing professors at City College saying, “If you have problems with grammar you better seek help elsewhere.”  Well, I did and now I am going for a master’s of arts in English: concentration in teaching English to speakers of other languages.  I guess you could say I am not quite so scared of grammar anymore, but I don’t think facing my fear was as difficult as it is for our current student population.  If students are not taught grammar in high school and remedial classes they will end up in college level English classes with grammar errors in their papers that will make their writing incomprehensible. There has to be a way that grade and high school teachers can scaffold grammar instruction for students so that when they get to college level courses they are prepared to write academically. And first year composition instructors should also be prepared to address their students’ grammar issues that have been missed.  Being a native born speaker of English I received a foundation in English grammar during my elementary school education. When I began taking writing classes again I was already familiar with parts of speech, verb tenses and subject verb agreement. This is not the case for nonnative and generation 1.5 student writers in our composition classes and it is evident in the papers they produce.

I wonder why grammar does not seem to be a concern for composition instructors. I understand we want our students to focus on the process and writing freely, but with our current student population I do not think writing students can continue to be sent elsewhere. This puts the burden of teaching underprepared students grammar they have missed or never been taught on tutors in university writing centers.  I do believe reading, writing and study skills tutors can help students with their grammar, but this responsibility should not be theirs alone. I think there is a place for English grammar in our composition classrooms. However, I do believe composition instructors should begin by focusing on global rather than local errors in students writing. That being said composition teachers can analyze their students’ common grammar errors and address them in their lectures as well as teach students the grammar they will need to write effectively throughout the course. I think if we as educators do not teach grammar to students at all stages of their writing development we do them a disservice.