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red · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 17

Hello. How are you all today?

My name is red and I am currently immersed in a little pre-CELTA study - you know, in order to be as prepared as possible etc. etc. In doing so, I am discovering precisely how pitiful my grasp of English grammar is. As the majority of native speakers, I suspect, I instinctively KNOW what is correct and what is incorrect, but I haven't the faintest clue WHY. I am vaguely worried by this discovery.

For example. My dictionary has just kindly pointed out that the word 'embarrassing' (within the context of the sentence I am dissecting) is:

"a participle acting as an adjective."
Great! But....er... what is a participle, exactly? No problem - I'll just check the dictionary again. Hmm. Oh, right! So, a participle is:

"a form of a verb that can be used in compound tenses of the verb. There are two participles in English: past (-ed) and present (-ing)". Great! But....er.....what is a compound tense, exactly? No problem - I'll just check the dictionary. Again. Hmm. No specific listing for "compound tense". Is "compound sentence" the same thing? I'll read it anyway - you never know, it might help. Oh, ok! So a compound sentence is:

"a sentence that is made up of 2 or more clauses".
Great! So, er...what exactly is a clause....? And so on and so forth.

I suppose the point I am trying to make is (if in indeed there is a point - I don't know about you but I'm beginning to wonder, actually) I need to do a hell of a lot more revision if I'm going to be as prepared for the CELTA as I would like to be. On a more optimistic note, I am pleased that I have established this fact now as opposed to in 2 weeks time, when the course begins.

I wonder though - how many people on this forum (experienced teachers as well as newbies) have made (at some point) a similar discovery? Naturally, I do not expect to know everything about everything to do with the English language straight away (if I did, I wouldn't need to do a course in the first place, right?), but I did, until today, believe that I understood my own language better than many. Not so.

A humbling lesson, and the first of many, I don't doubt. Shocked

Later.

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

I take it you haven't taught ESL before. You're just going through something all native speakers-turned-EFL-teachers have gone through before. Don't sweat it too much. The CELTA instructors don't expect you to have it all down before the course starts. Just wait till the end of the course. Very Happy

shmooj · Joined: 11 Sep 2003 Posts: 1758 Location: Seoul, ROK

Yeah... you'll pick it up as you go along in this profession. Once you've taught it a few times it'll click.

On CELTA though it would be good to be pretty sure of the particular point you are trying to teach and pitfalls associated with it so....

BUY THESE BOOKS **NOW** IF YOU INTEND TO BE IN EFL MORE THAN TWO WEEKS AFTER YOUR CELTA
Discover English by Bolitho and Thompson (not sure of publisher)
Practical English Usage by Swan (not sure of publisher poss Longman)

dduck · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 422 Location: In the middle

Red, if it's any consolation I think your experiences are the norm. I bought myself "Teach Yourself English Grammar". I recommend this type of book because, at the start, you can easily become overwhelmed with the complexities of English Grammar. Better to ease yourself in gradually.

I started learning grammar when I started Gaelic night classes - a long time ago now - and I picked up much more studying Spanish and German, in particular. However, I still found myself struggling at times with English grammar. I found myself analyizing "I would have had to have waited..." on the bus this morning, trying to think of the Spanish translation. The things I do for fun!

Iain

dyak · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 630

Guest · Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2003 4:04 pm Post subject:

If you weren't confused enough about which grammar book to buy here's what I think:

The Swan book already mentioned is the best in terms of being thorough. Like Dyak said, it's good for reference. If you find the whole concept of grammar a bit bewildering though, I'd recommend Grammar for English language teachers by Martin Parrott. It's far more accessible and gives you plenty of examples, which sounds like what you need.

red · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 17

Thank you all for your responses! You are all very nice and I do feel reassured.

I already have the Swan book, along with a couple of others. However, on the strength of your advice I am seriously considering buying myself an even more basic grammar book - something along the lines of "English Grammar for Complete Morons". That should do it, eh?!

Seriously though, thanks for the suggestions. I have some ideas now. I know that I have a lot to learn and I also know that a lot of this learning will take place during - and after - the course (as opposed to me trying to cram it all in beforehand). But it is good to be as prepared as possible. Particularly for a sieve-head like myself.

Any more advice/recommendations most welcome.

red

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

Dear Red,
my sympathies to a freshman, a total newbie who is honest about his predicament! I am sure you are going to be an asset to your students.
I do not think you can learn "gradually" as some suggested; of course, you can, but in the interest of your students you have to have more than a gradual grasp of grammar!

Why don't you study grammar the way some foreign students are studying it with the help of their textbooks? Oh, you do not understand a foreign language? If you did, your theoretical grasp of grammar would be a lot better. You would understand the functions of different grammar structures because in comparisons you would find out different languages have different ways of processing information.

I can suggest a rather old-fashioned series of textbooks. It is called NEW CONCEPT ENGLISH, and it comes in 5 levels. You would only need level 2 (PRACTICE AND PROGRESS). It has most relevant grammar elements incorporated in suitable texts, so it is not pedantic or didactic, rather it uses certain structural elements repeatedly and in various forms so as to drive home the notions, say, of "simple past tense" or "modal verbs".
Of course, you also would need a good reference book, say a dictionary. Find out what OXFORD have to offer.
Studying that PRACTICE & PROGRESS would also give you some practical training for your classes. Mind you, this series was conceived way back in the 1960's! But it is still a bestseller in China!

shmooj · Joined: 11 Sep 2003 Posts: 1758 Location: Seoul, ROK

By "picking it up gradually" I don't for a minute think any of us are advocating taking a laid back attitude that implies that you will just somehow absorb it.

You will have to work hard on improving your knowledge of English but there is no sense in cramming as if all you know is going to be of use in the first class you teach.

Rather, learn what you need, from the refs mentioned above, when you need to teach it. Prepare your lessons as far in advance as you can to allow you time to do this and to get a handle on the grammar.

After about a year of doing this full time, you will have covered a lot of bases this way. There is nothing worse than trying to learn grammar out of context by attempting to read an unreadable grammar book.