Beyond the Emoticon: Semicolon Style

In the January 2003 issue of The English Journal, Angela Petit confesses to be a "grammar addict." Having read her article, I see no reason to prescribe her to a twelve-step plan. Quite the contrary, I would describe her condition with respect to what is missing.
What Ms Petit lacks is found in overabundance in the general population: grammar anxiety. Her state of linguistic nirvana has been achieved by an awareness shift undergone by others as well. Cook portrays an active view of grammar as "purposeful rhetoric moves." Richards professes that "words work." Burke, describes language as "the Scramble, the Wrangle of the Market Place, the flurries and flare-ups of the Human Barnyard." These images run counter to the "drill and kill" of standardized testing or the dour teacher from grammar school days...well, at least my grammar school days. Think Aunt Bea with Barney Fife's sense of authority.
We may learn a few things from dissecting a dead phrase, but we could learn much more by watching a living, thriving thing. Petit would have it that we could learn even more still by having a hand at "editing" works of others.
Petit develops her brand of pedagogy while exploring the grammatical subcategory of punctuation further divided to the level of semicolon. Mostly, this works for her because as she asserts, semicolons are "not necessary." English language is not inexorably hinged upon the muscle of meaning they provide.
Does that mean they are not important? Do they have no rules? Why am I reading this anyway? With a wink and a smile [I knew you knew they were good for something. ;)], we can explore a bit of their style potential.
For official usage rules, "Andrea Lunsford's Everyday Writer presents the semicolon as weaker than a period but stronger than a comma and lists the following guidelines for using this punctuation mark:

• Use semicolons to link closely related independent clauses.
• Use semicolons to link independent clauses joined by conjunctive adverbs or transitional phrases.
• Use semicolons to separate items in a series containing other punctuation. (326-27)"

Got that? Well, I do hope that wasn't too painful. It gets better from here; I promise. There! That was my first semicolon in this writing. Which category does it belong to? Now if you were to take Petit's method another step, look back over what I've written and see if you can add more. Hey, that even gives you something to blog about.
Semicolons are all about choice. In making choices, a writer develops a voice and a style. If writing is an art as well as a craft, semicolons punctuate the overlap. I may not have the rhetorical genius of King as witnessed in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, but my writing is also a series of choices; perhaps, some are more successful than others. I look forward to seeing you take it on as a makeover of sorts.

Pun and Games, William J. Vande Kopple

One of the wonderful things about my elementary education is that in grades 6-8, my teachers believed in “Hands-on” methods. If we did math, there were always counting cubes around. If we were studying science, we would measure out certain formulas and make things with our own hands. The beauty of learning like that really shows around quiz time. It’s much easier for a child to remember what he/she learned that day when they held the matter of what their being tested on, in there own hands. Mr. Kopple is writing about much of the same thing. He says that he uses reading games in the beginning of each of his classes. Instead of opening their books to chapter seven, the class is involved in a brainteaser about word puns. This is an excellent way to get the creative juices flowing.
Kopple says that the only downside to playing the games is that the real transition from game time to learning time is horrible.
He can hear the hissing and booing when his little games are over and it’s time to learn from the book.
I’m surprised that he didn’t find some way to incorporate those reading and word games into an entire class time. My teachers in my younger years were able to do it. Then he wouldn’t have to have ‘fun’ time and ‘learning’ time. The two could work together. He could find a way to influence group discussion with his games. Make a whole lesson out of it. I understand however, why he chooses to use the games in small doses. It’s very difficult to create a whole lesson plan out of a small brainteaser game. So Kopple believes that they can have a bit of fun learning everyday, instead of just some of the time.
Either way, I fully agree that brain teasers and word games area an excellent way, especially in High School (Because 80% of those students don’t really want to be there any way) is a great way to draw the students in. School should be fun; it doesn’t have to be the teeth pulling event that most say it is.

The Straw Man Meets His Match: Six Arguments for Studying Humor in English Classes

Firstly, I apologize for the late post, technical difficulties.

The authors discuss their six arguments for bringing humor into the classroom, calling them "straw men" but hoping that readers realize the reasons for keeping humor out are the "straw men," not the other way round. 1) But Kids Already Get Enough Humor Outside of School - by bringing humor in, however, teachers are able to bridge the gap between "real life" and academics, making students see real life applications of school. Also, teachers should educate their students on the subtlety of humor and what makes things humorous, helping them to gain a higher appreciation of humor. 2) But Teaching Humor Will Take Away from the Time I Need to Teach Grammar, Composition, Literature, and Public Speaking - as we have often discussed, looking at what is "wrong" is more interesting and just as effective of a teaching method as looking at what is "right," which is also what this suggests doing. Looking at humorous mistakes allows students to have fun while seeing the effects these errors can have, and making them realize the different circumstances under which formal and informal grammar should be used. Also, by involving something the students find to be fun, they are less uneasy about public speaking and learn to analyze literature, hopefully leading to other forms. 3) But I'm Supposed to Be Preparing Kids to Earn a Living - the business world has a growing need for people to work directly with humor, script writers, comedians, actors, and authors to name a few. Also, in almost every job there is a need for humor, whether just between colleagues or as a release of stress. 4) If I Bring Humor into My Class, I'll Have Censorship Problems - "We [teachers] need to help students ponder the relationship of censorship to such terms as good taste, appropriateness, tolerance, kindness, respect, sensitivity, and the ubiquitous political correctness (38). 5) Humor Hurts People's Feelings - the authors admit that this does happen, but that humor is equally used to build relationships, just as any communication tool does. 6) But I Can't Teach about Humor When I Can't Even Tell a Joke or Write a Funny Letter Home - teachers sometimes need to let their students lead, but they offer some activities to help, including having students bring in news clippings, research and write about humor, and writing parodies and pattern jokes.

Teaching Grammar in the Context of Writing Response

“Teaching Grammar in the Context of Writing” by Constance Weaver was not as affective an article in my opinion. I do agree that it is easier to teach grammar in the context of writing, but I am not sure if Weaver gave the best examples of how to do so. Weaver had a long article considering the amount of useful content of her article. Do not misunderstand me though, I do not think it was a bad article, but I did not find it as affective as some of the other assigned. Weaver did state that “teaching grammar in context of writing is more effective then isolating grammar as its own subject.” This I can certainly believe. The idea of knowing grammar is that you may produce more effective writing. What better way is there to learn grammar than incorporating it with what it will be later used for. “Teach minimum of grammar for maximum benefits.” This I also agree with because as stated in Fraser and Hudson’s article, we want to teach students to control their language. What I found to be the best part of Weaver’s article was the listed goal for teachers: “Have students use grammar more effectively and conventionally in their writing.” This is why we teach grammar is it not!!!

21 Kicks at the Grammar Horse Response

There were quite a few points that I came to an agreement with in “21 Kicks at the Grammar Horse” article. The article did throw question a few issues that many prefer not to address that deal the fact of why students to do not retain the grammar rules and information taught to them well (not verbatim): Are the students mentally ready for what we present in class, are they cognitively able to comprehend grammar at the level presented to them, have they had all necessary teaching before hand to be at a level to understand what is going on? These were good things to consider. The article also mentioned that grammar is not a separate subject, but that “grammar should =draw from and feed into writing, reading, listening, and speaking programs.” I also agree that modern methods are required for modern grammar in order to reach these modern students of ours. The article also touched on inductive teaching and the inductive approach, and it did give the reader a good idea of what the inductive approach was about. I do want to read on the inductive approach a bit more as a result of getting a taste of what it is about from Fraser and Hudson’s article. Fraser and Hudson also mentioned that it is necessary to distinguish between grammar and linguistics. It is necessary to clarify dialects for students as well as standard English. The question came up, how should a teacher teach grammar and “teach as little as possible” was the given answer. I do agree with that especially because as teachers we should remember “in grammar just teach students to control language.” The grammar process Fraser and Hudson listed at the end of the article was incubation, generalization, shaping, polishing, and editing. I found this to be an affective article.

What;s a (White) Teacher To Do About Black English

I appreciate this article and it defining Black English, giving a little history behind Black English, and showing respect toward the language. No one ever speaks well of AAE but I do not think most know the truth behind AAE. This article definitely explained its developments as well as point out that it is something to be proud of. The article pointed out that most people who speak AAE do not even respect it themselves and look at is as something to be ashamed of; “it should evoke pride in a speaker and admiration in a listener.” I could not agree more that so called “good English” has to do with politics and power rather than aesthetics or immutable rules. I did enjoy the article.

Watch Your Language: Teaching Standard Usage to Resistant and Reluctant learners

I completely agree with the ideas of this article. You do not want your students to feel as if “alright let me just do this for class” and never apply it or even get anything out of it. As Delpit said we should teach our student “to watch their language.” The article stated that maybe as teachers we should re-examine our convention ways of teaching especially since we can intensify a students’ resistance. I do not think most teachers realize that things they may not have preferred as a student and only teach out of requirement can also intensify a student’s resistance also. This is because the teacher still has an underlying resentment about the subject matter he/she has not dealt with themselves. Again agreeing with Delpit we must meet our student at their current linguistic level and work from there. And it is very important to recognize and not to condemn and immediately correct their current linguistic position; that’s like implying how their family, friends, and community communicate is incorrect. I admire the three steps to re-examine our teaching habits listed near the end of the article. This was a very informative and helpful article. It surely drew my attention to something that had never crossed my mind.

"Twenty-one Kicks at the Grammar Horse" by Ian S. Franser and Lynda M. Hodson (summary by Bobbi Robison)

“Twenty-one Kicks at the Grammar Horse” basically describes exactly what it states. Ways of teaching grammar efficiently are extremely outdated. The article states that “even the word grammar as defined and used by early researchers has come to mean something very different today” (LSF, LMG pg.49).

In our day and time much of the traditional grammar teaching methods are no longer of any use to our society. Many teachers today, as well as in the past, specifically look at grammatical errors instead of the ideas that a student may produce in his or her paper. By doing so, the student gains no writing improvement and certainly does not get a good grasp of the grammatical features. Students sometimes use the excuse that they do not understand the concepts that a teaching is trying to get across and the article argues a good point; it states that maybe a student does not have the appropriate level of logical thinking necessary for learning the material or maybe they are simple not interested. In this case, teachers must acquire a new method of teaching that requires them to “learn as much as possible about the language itself, [and] the ways in which kids acquire it…” (ISF, LMG pg.50). This allows the teachers to become aware of why a child may struggle in an area and therefore be of better assistance in helping them overcome such struggles.

The article explains, in detail (too in depth to explain in a short summary as so), twenty-one suggestions on how teachers can improve their attitudes and focuses on dealing with grammar. One that I found interesting was suggestions nine. It states that “Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Just as in the science of medicine there are particular areas of specialization (radiology, psychiatry, neurology, etc.) so too in linguistics, the linguist may specialize in the study of: grammar, rhetoric, semantics, lexicography, or usage. Grammar, then, is only one of several specialized studies within the general science of linguistics” (ISF, LMG pg.51).

Grammar is not everything when it comes to language and the way we speak. There are several other areas that need to be taken into consideration. I agree that our society needs to develop a new and improved way of teaching grammar. We also need to understand that there is no set standard way for writing or speaking. Cultures and different areas produce different dialect, one no better and no worse than the other.

Watch your Language- First Summary

Grammatical errors, wrong verbs, punctuation, and many more problems arise when trying to write a paper. How many times has someone wondered in class if their teacher is not making this stuff up? Well, that question and many more questions have arised in the article, Watch Your Language: Teaching Standard Usage to Reistant and Reluctant Learners. The author, Mark Larson like many others had difficultly learning the basic rules and regulations of grammer when he was a student. Eventually, these struggles landed him into a remedial English class entitled "Hurdles"; here he was able to do countless hours of paper work which would remind him of the rules used in our everyday language. Now, a teacher himself, he has started to investigate the "rules" that have been dictated to not only himself but countless others.
In his search he questions why "Its a crime to end a sentence with a preposition?" Early on we read that these rules were forced upon us when England became the center of power. So language became a tool to lord over everyone. Bad grammar was a device to show someone's rank on the social scale. Using good grammar only enforced that, that person was well educated, distinguised and an upright citizen.
Later on in the article, we find that the reasons students are so inept to learn the "right way" to use grammar comes from an inability to cross a certain line. For some students, language is something that is cultural and passed down. Some students won't step up and try to speak correctly because its not "cool." Language is a social identity and to some students its a trap for being a social outcast. "Without a rational examination of what a standard language is, how it develops, and the ways in which it can be misapplied, we end up with the problem Jenny Cook-Gumperz and John Gumperz have identified: that "theories of educatability'- the basis for judgements about who can or should learn what-' are often built around small linguistic features." What Mr. Larson is trying to point out is, the inablity to learn language can come from something as small as our background. Language identifys our differences in society and culture.
However, he is not trying to say that anything goes, each of us should understand grammar and language in order to use our ablities to their very best. Once we can get students to "watch their language" this could open up doors for them to learn these skills without the humiliation of being in other classrooms trying to jump over "hurdles" that are long forgotten when they are older. The students ability to read articles and books while observing language and grammar patterns will only further their own ability to write and speak well.
There are a few tools that need to be used in the classroom that should help in understanding grammar. The first rule: Support the language each student brings to school. Students who bring their own slang and cultural language will only further help other students by explaning to them what they are saying. They know the rules already, why not help other students in understanding? This could create a class discussion and interest in the uses of grammar throughout any slang. Also, creating questions in the minds of the students; "Why do I make the choices I make when I speak, when I write?" These questions will lead to other significant changes in their writing and speaking styles. Because they will only change with the group of people they are around. Students will be able to modify their language in any situation that is presented.
The second rule: Provide them with input from an additional code. This means providing them with editorials, short fiction, or segments of books. This will only hlep them to see more examples of writing done well. Providing them with a basis of which to start their own writing process. The third and final rule: Give them opportunities to use the new code in a non-threatening way, real communicative context. This meaning, using their grammatical tools to be effective. Making correct chocies when speaking or writing for a varitey of audiences or people. Mr. Larson speaks of the Rodney King verdict; in his class many students used colorful language in which to express their feelings. However, once they realized that these letters would go to Corretta Scott King, each student was more than will to re-write a version of their paper in which it showed off their writing skills.
In conclusion, as teachers all we really want is a student to communicate to you what they want you to see. "Ultimately, writing is not about commas carefully placed or infinitives unsplit; rather, it is as Anne Lamott (1994) says, 'About our need to be visible, to be heard, our need to make senest of our lives, to wake up and grow and belong."

What is AAE?

My article basically answered the question “What is AAE (African American English)?” It opened explaining what AAE was in general, who speaks AAE—most think only African Americans do but that is not true—and how AAE is classified. Is AAE “Broken” English? The answer to that question is no definitely not. According to some linguist, “Linguist research has established that three rule-governed components identify a system of speech as a language: phonology, semantics, and syntax. As we have seen, however, so-called dialects like AAE also possess rules for pronunciation, meaning, and grammar.” (p12) The article goes on to discuss AAE and if it is slang, but again the answer is no. “Unquestionably AAE, like other varieties of English, encompasses a wealth of slang.” (p7) The article discusses AAE as a dialect and as a language. There are linguist that argue both cases. Both arguments offer valid evidence for each case.

As a reader it was a bit difficult for me to accept some of the research. I am sure my being Black had everything to do with that but some of the so-called facts about the rules of AAE were so far fetched to me. I feel as if some of the examples listed as things AAE speakers say were very extreme. There was no balance to me. Some of the examples were just ignorant and things I have never heard spoken before. I myself speak AAE, but there are just some things you do not say. I feel as if some oft eh examples in the research were just from places where AAE is spoken at its worst possibly. Do not misunderstand what I am saying though; there were many things that I did agree with in the article. The article was helpful in some instances, but some things it listed were foolish to me. I think the research/studies were not well rounded yet carefully conducted and documented.

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Sociolinguistics Basics

This article is talks about Sociolinguistics which is the study of how language serves and is shaped by the social nature of human beings. Sociolinguistics examines the interplay of language and society, with language as the starting point. Sociolinguists also study dialect any regional, social or ethnic variety of a language. By that definition, the English taught in school as correct and used in non-personal writing is only one dialect of contemporary American English.

Scholars are currently using a sociolinguistics perspective to answer some intriguing questions about language in the United States, here are some are as follows: Which speakers in urban areas of the North are changing the pronunciation of vowels in a systematic way? Which features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) grammar are used by middle-class white teen-agers who admire contemporary African-American music, entertainment and clothing?

Considerations other than grammatical correctness often govern speaker choices. Some social factors are attributes of the speaker for example, age, gender, socio-economic class, ethnicity and educational level. Constraints on subject matter vary from culture to culture.

Contact is an important concept in sociolinguistics social contact and language contact. Language change spreads through networks of people who talk with one another. Contact between languages brings about variation and change. Bilingualism is another response to language contact. Speakers may also develop a dialect of one language that is heavily influenced by features of the other language, such as the contemporary American dialect Chicano English.

Summary 3: "Codeswitching: Tools of Language and Culture Transform the Dialectally Diverse Classroom"

Summary 3: “Codeswitching: Tools of Language and Culture Transform the Dialectally Diverse Classroom” (by Rebecca S. Wheeler, and Rachel Swords)

The article points out the growing gaps between the dialect of a subculture (specifically urban) and the written language. The difference between the dialect of some subcultures and standard modern English is so great in some parts of the country that schools have been sued for malpractice because certain children could not understand a dialect that was not their own, therefore could not learn English. To ignore this difference between spoken and written language is viewed as a failure by educators. In order to compensate for the split, informal English writing has been coined. The style of the informal English is called a language variety. Language variety depends on geographic placement and cultural background of the general populous. The style in which a person speaks is dependant on the audience, their vernacular, and situation.

Acknowledging the difference between informal English and modern standard English gives a superior grasp of grammar as well as a better command of language. This focus on the differences between dialect and formal writing and speaking is called contrasting analysis. Educators across the country have made an effort to include contrasting analysis when they teach. The “pluralist” teachers have yielded positive results in the education of both black and white students.

(by Jason Valentine)