Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BananaBan]

I am not 100% perfect with grammar (commas especially), so are there any books to help me out with this?

Also, any books you found useful that have made you a better and effective teacher?

I will probably be teaching students in the 8-15 age range.

I plan to check the books out at a library, assuming they have them

[Sister Ray]

Raymond Murphy's "English Grammar in Use" series.

Native English teachers frequently exhibit appalling grammar. Glad you are motivated to try and improve in this area.

[Sister Ray]

Double post. Sorry.

[Allthechildrenareinsane]

If you're looking to improve your own personal knowledge of grammar, this is the best introductory text on modern Standard English grammar I know of:

A Student's Introduction to English Grammar, by Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum (Cambridge: 2005)

Google Books link: http://books.google.com/books?id=qlxDqB4ldx4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false[/b]

[LAD]

I am partial to "The Grammar Book" by Marianne Celce-Murcia and Dianne Larsen-Freeman. It suggests that ESL/EFL teachers need to be familiar with the history of prescriptive presentations of grammar, even if the answer to grammar questions must ultimately be statistical. This book debunks prescientific notions of grammar while also leaving teachers with answers that they can give.

"The Oxford English Grammar" by Sidney Greenbaum is rather fun in that it goes straight to the corpus. The way people actually use grammar subconsciously to communicate shades of meaning can be really interesting. But this book assumes that the reader has a lot of vocabulary about grammar. It can be hard to read.

I'm not too sure that either book will help in any direct way with teaching kids. I like these books because they are complicated enough to provide some account of what I do on a subconscious level.

Does anyone know of a grammar book that effectively distinguishes between spoken and written grammar?

[BananaBan]

i have gone through a few pages of many of the books listed and damm i, as a native english speaker born in Canada do not understand alot of what the book is writing about

i feel sorry for students trying to learn english!

[jinks]

Try Lynne Truss' book Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eats,_Shoots_%26_Leaves

It is all about puntuation and it is meant to be quite funny.

[The Cosmic Hum]

Hey BananaBan,

Here are some grammaring books that may be useful to you.
At first they may seem a bit formal...but can be quite useful as you ease yourself into the the grammar ring.

As a quick guide:
(these would be in my essential group)

The Teacher�s Grammar of English - Ron Cowan
The Grammar Book - Celce-Murcia, Larsen-Freeman
Practical English Usage - New edition - Michael Swan
Grammar for English Language Teachers - Martin Parrott

As an introductory set:
(good books�I have them�but don�t ever use them�though I lot of people do like them.)

Essential Grammar in Use � Raymond Murohy
Basic Grammar in Use - Raymond Murphy
Advanced Grammar in Use - Martin Hewings

Best of luck with your grammaring adventures...the joys of grammar.

[Discombobulated]

It's not a book, but this website is very helpful:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/