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International Journal of English
Literature and Culture
Vol. 1(3), pp. 56–58,
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
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.
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