Grammar for Teachers - A Guide to American English for Native and Non-Native Speakers.pdf - english learning - rhea137

Grammar for Teachers

Andrea DeCapua

Grammar for Teachers

A Guide to American English for Native

and Non-Native Speakers

Author

Andrea DeCapua, Ed.D.

College of New Rochelle

New Rochelle, NY 10805

adecapua@cnr.edu

ISBN: 978-0-387-76331-6

e-ISBN: 978-0-387-76332-3

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007937636

2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York,

NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in

connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software,

or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden.

The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are

not identiﬁed as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to

proprietary rights.

Printed on acid-free paper

987654321

springer.com

Preface

Grammar for Teachers: A Guide to American English for Native and Non-Native

Speakers is a result of my frustrations over many years of teaching graduate-level

structure courses and not being able to ﬁnd an appropriate grammar text for the

pre- and in-service teachers enrolled in these classes. The students in these courses

have represented a variety of teaching backgrounds: ESL and EFL teachers, native

and non-native speakers of English, and mainstream content-area teachers with ESL

students in their classes, to name a few. Some of these students have had a strong

knowledge of English grammar, but often have difﬁculties in applying their knowl-

edge to real-life discourse. Other students’ exposure has been limited to lessons in

“correctness,” and are generally unaware of which language features are central to

teaching ESL/EFL learners. Some students are resistant to taking this course, but

are required to do so, whether to satisfy speciﬁc degree requirements, for state or

professional certiﬁcation, or for other reasons. A few students have had some lin-

guistics, many not. The challenge has been ﬁnding a way to convey the essentials of

American English grammar clearly, to engage students actively in their own learning

and understanding of grammar as applicable to ESL/EFL learners, and to motivate

them to undertake perceptive analyses of grammatical elements and structures, and

of ESL/EFL learner needs and difﬁculties.

The overall aim of Grammar for Teachers is to make grammar accessible and

comprehensible. The text assumes no prior knowledge and can be used with active

and prospective teachers who have little or no background in grammar, linguis-

tics, foreign languages, or other related ﬁelds. It is also intended for those users

whose exposure to English grammar has been primarily limited to prescriptive rules

of what speakers should say and write with little or no consideration of the con-

cerns and problems ESL/EFL learners face in learning and using English. The text

encourages users to develop a solid understanding of the use and function of the

grammatical structures in American English so that they may better appreciate the

language difﬁculties of ESL/EFL learners. The underlying premise is that teachers

of ESL/EFL learners need to understand how English works from a practical, every

day approach of “What does the learner need to know in order to produce X.” When

teachers understand the grammar of American English and the problems and needs

of ESL/EFL learner, they are in a better position to teach and explain elements of

grammar.

Grammar for Teachers - A Guide to American English for Native and Non-Native Speakers.pdf

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