"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 Ways of teaching grammar efficiently are extremely outdated.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.