TESL 0110: Unit 1 Reflection
TESL 0110 Unit 1
Reflection: Grammar - How much is enough?
The other day I came across something on Facebook that gave
me a good laugh. It was a post illustrating the importance of punctuation,
specifically the comma. Take a
look:
Aside from the joke, the reason I bring up this topic is
that grammar and punctuation play an important role in conveying a message. Like
the above picture, it can greatly change the interpretation of a sentence, as
this comma illustrates. However, in regard to ESL students, how much is enough?
In terms of grammar, I think it depends on each student and to what level of
proficiency they wish to achieve. For some students, simply reaching a level of
fluency where they can clearly and freely communicate is more than enough. For
others, they may wish to perfect their English and use it in situations where a
strong mastery of English grammar and punctuation are important.
While some may argue that all students should aim to perfect
their grammar, I find myself asking why? When you look at the average native
speaker of English, many of them makes mistakes all the time in their grammar
usage. For example, most people don’t distinguish the difference between fewer
and lesser, where “fewer” marks count nouns and “lesser” marks non-count nouns.
Others fail to use the Oxford comma when listing things in a sentence. And yet, these people are all able to
communicate effectively with those around them without any problems. I think
this is something that we as teachers need to keep in mind when instructing our
students in English grammar.
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