IJELC

 International Journal of English Literature and Culture
 

Home
Journals
Search
About us
Contact us
Publication Ethics
IJELC
Submit paper
Author's guide
Editors
Current Issues
About IJELC
Join Review Board
Archive
 

International Journal of English Literature and Culture

Vol. 1(3), pp. 5658, December, 2013

ISSN: 2360-7831

DOI: 10.14662/IJELC2013.022

 

Short Communication

Significance of grammar in technical english

*M.Subasini and B.Kokilavani

*AP in English, Vanavarayar Institute of Agriculture, Pollachi.
Corresponding author E-mail: Subamohan@rocketmail.com,  9788815432.
AP in English, SreeSakthi Engineering College, Karamadai. E-mail: kogilavani@sreesakthi.edu.in,
8056792070.

Accepted 5 December, 2013
 

Abstract

 

English is overtly most common language all over the world. It is the Language of higher administration, superior judiciary, advanced education and diplomacy. More than that, it is a language of opportunity and success. When it comes to competitive examinations, competence in English becomes a passport to selection for, and entry into, the most coveted jobs and career in the country. Command over language is ultimately judged by the ability to carry out casual interactions in that language, especially through conversation. Communication is the heart and soul of the human experience. Usually people never concentrate on learning grammar, especially their mother tongue to use it for speaking, but people have to pay attention in learning Grammar to enrich the beauty of their own mother tongue. When we come to learning a new language like English language, grammar is more important and the importance of grammar cannot be neglected. Effective grammar instruction begins with what people already know about grammar, and it helps them use this knowledge as they write. By connecting their knowledge of oral language to written language, teachers can elucidate abstract grammatical lexicon so that students can write—and read—with greater competence and confidence.

Key words: Technical English, Language, Communication, Grammar.
 

 

INTRODUCTION

SIGNIFICANCE OF GRAMMAR IN TECHNICAL ENGLISH

English is overtly most common language all over the world. It is the Language of higher administration, superior judiciary, advanced education and diplomacy. More than that, it is a language of opportunity and success. When it comes to competitive examinations, competence in English becomes a passport to selection for, and entry into, the most coveted jobs and career in the country. Command over language is ultimately judged by the ability to carry out casual interactions in that language, especially through conversation. Communication is the heart and soul of the human experience. Usually people never concentrate on learning grammar, especially their mother tongue to use it for speaking, but people have to pay attention in learning Grammar to enrich the beauty of their own mother tongue. When we come to learning a new language like English language, grammar is more important and the importance of grammar cannot be neglected.


Grammar is the sound, structure, and meaning system of language. All languages have grammar, and each language has its own grammar. People who speak the same language are able to communicate because they intuitively know the grammar system of that language that is, the rules of making meaning. Grammar is important because it is the language that makes it possible for us to talk about the language. Grammar names the types of words and word groups that make up sentences not only in English but in any language. As human beings, we can put sentences together and do grammar even as children. Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. Students, who are native speakers of English already, know English grammar. They recognize the sounds of English words, the meanings of those words and the different ways of putting words together to make meaningful sentences (O'Hare, 1973).


Using the correct grammar is important to avoid misunderstandings and to help the listener to understand the speaker easily. Language with errors will slow down the communication and conversations. Moreover it finds harder to express the speakers ideas, thoughts clearly and concisely. Mostly communicator will not get a chance to rectify the mistake unless the speaker speaking with a native speaker of English. The Listener will correct the speaker’s vocabulary and choice of words than correcting the grammar. Mostly speaker use to get doubts when they are speaking like, which preposition to use? Which tense is better? Unsure about the right grammar can often slow down or make the speaker hesitant. Hillocks, G., Jr. & Smith, M. (1991)."Grammar and Usage." In J. Flood, J. M. Jensen, D. Lapp & J. R. Squire (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts. New York: Macmillan, 591Đ603.


Discussing about the teaching of grammar is by far the most challenging task for the teacher in everyday classroom. We believe that the classes should be learner-centered with meaningful and functional activities. But the students should be regarded as explorers, active learners who bring a great deal to the learning process and also can develop their environment with new understandings. Through grammar teaching, students will be able to get new information, different thoughts and opinions from various group activities due to the information gap. By finishing the task in a communicative way, students become more responsible and play a more positive role in their learning. It is a change that the students no longer just listen to the teachers but they also ask questions when they don't understand and make every effort to use the language. In this sense, varied activities, interactions and topics can all contribute to making language practice, and lessons in general, more enjoyable and effective for the students.


As a teacher at first, the way of grammar teaching requires more work on the teacher's side. However, students trying to use the language to communicate with one another and asking questions when they get stuck, which motivate the teacher to continue the activity. They also provide with scope to step out a didactic role in order to be a “human among humans”. Hence the language teacher can consider how to expand their space and opportunities for students learning.


HOW DOES GRAMMAR TEACHING IMPORTANT?

Research strongly suggests that the most beneficial way of helping students is to improve their command of grammar in writing. Researchers agree that it is more effective to teach punctuation, sentence variety and usage in the context of writing than to approach the topic Braddock, R., Lloyd-Jones, R., and Schoer, L. (1963). Research in Written Composition. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. As students revise and edit their writing teachers can provide grammar instruction that guides students in their attempts to identify and correct problems in sentence structure and usage. For example, a teacher who sees that many students are writing sentences containing misplaced modifiers. Writing is a complex and challenging activity for many students, teachers should focus on the grammatical concepts that are essential for the clear communication of meaning. The grammar instruction which is separate from writing instruction does not improve students writing competence. Grammatical concepts like Tense and Agreement between Subject and Verb may also encourage students to examine grammatical errors in writing.


A MINIMUM OF GRAMMAR FOR MAXIMUM BENEFITS

1. Teaching concepts on subject, verb, sentence, clause, phrase, and related concepts for
Editing
2. Teaching style though sentence combining and sentence generating.
3. Teaching sentence sense through the manipulation of syntactic elements.
4. Teaching both the power of dialects and the dialects of power.
5. Teaching punctuation and mechanics for convention, clarity and style.

Rather than strive to teach all grammatical concepts to all students, teachers should prioritize and provide instruction on the grammatical elements that most affect their students' ability to write effectively. Teachers should also be sensitive to individual students' readiness to learn and apply grammatical concepts. Sentence combining may also empower student’s language level like combining the strategy of short sentences into longer complex sentences. As students engage in sentence-combining activities, they learn how to vary sentence structure in order to change meaning and style. Hillocks, G., Jr. (1986). "Research on Written Composition: New  Directions for Teaching." Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills and the National Conference on Research in English.


Systematic practice in sentence combining activities can increase student’s knowledge of syntactic structures as well as improve the quality of their sentences. Sentence combining exercises can be written or oral else structured or unstructured. Structured sentence combining exercises give students more guidance in ways to create the new sentences whereas unstructured sentence combining exercises allow for more variation but still it require students to create logical, meaningful sentences and also writing maturity Mellon, J. C. (1969). "Transformational Sentence-Combining: A Method for Enhancing the Development of Syntactic Fluency in English Composition." NCTE Research Report No. 10. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. Teachers can help students edit from passive voice to active voice by presenting a short topics. In editing groups, students can exchange papers and look for verbs that often signal the passive voice such as “was and been”. When students find these verbs they read the sentence aloud to their groups and discuss whether the voice is passive. Which allows students to find which verb might strengthen the sentence. The student can then decide which voice is most effective and appropriate for the writing purpose. Students become better proofreaders through peer editing groups. Based on the writing abilities teachers can assign different proofreading tasks to specific individuals in each group. O'Hare, F. (1973). Sentence-Combining: Improving Student Writing Without Formal Grammar Instruction. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.


CONCLUSION

By closely observing student’s skills on their writing and speaking teachers can see which aspects of language structure are giving trouble and help them learn these concepts through direct instruction and practice. It is also important for students to discover that grammar, spelling, and punctuation are useful not only in the context of fixing problems or mistakes. Effective grammar instruction begins with what people already know about grammar, and it helps them use this knowledge as they write. By connecting their knowledge of oral language to written language, teachers can elucidate abstract grammatical lexicon so that students can write and speak with greater competence and confidence.


REFERENCES

Braddock R, Lloyd-Jones R, Schoer L (1963). Research in Written Composition. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.


Hillocks G Jr. (1986). "Research on Written Composition: New Directions for Teaching." Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills and the National Conference on Research in English.


Hillocks G Jr, Smith M (1991). "Grammar and Usage." In J. Flood, J. M. Jensen, D. Lapp & J. R. Squire (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts. New York: Macmillan, 591Đ603.


Mellon JC (1969). "Transformational Sentence-Combining: A Method for Enhancing the Development of Syntactic Fluency in English Composition." NCTE Research Report No. 10. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.


O'Hare F (1973). Sentence-Combining: Improving Student Writing Without Formal Grammar Instruction. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

 

Current Issue: December 2013

 

Submit Paper

 

Join Review Board

 

Inter. J. English Lit. Cult.

  Vol. 1 No. 3

  Viewing options:


  • Reprint (PDF) (159k)

  Search Pubmed for articles by:

 

 Subasini M

 Kokilavani B

    
  Other links:
  PubMed Citation
  Related articles in PubMed

 

Other Journals

International Journal of Economic and Business Management

 

International Journal  of Academic Research in Education and Review

 

Internation Journal of Academic Library and Information Science

 

 

 

International of Political Science and Development

© Academic Research Journals 2014/ Privacy Policy