2 Teaching Grammar
1Recognizing the Challenges
Grammar instruction is a significant part of the language arts curriculum at all
levels of public education. Because performance expectations are high, pro-
spective teachers face several challenges before they enter the classroom. They
must know English grammar exceptionally well. Meeting this basic require-
ment is hindered by the fact that nearly all language arts teachers receive a de-
gree in English, which inevitably focuses on literature, not grammar. Most
future teachers take one college-level grammar course before obtaining their
credentials, but these courses have been criticized as being mere introductions
to a complex subject that do not adequately prepare teachers for the task ahead.
In some instances, the content may not be current. In others, the course may fo-
cus on what is calledtraditional grammar(the subject of chapter 3) rather than
modern grammars, in which case the syllabus will slight or even ignore devel-
opments that have occurred since the early 1900s.^2
On this account, many new teachers feel underprepared to teach grammar
and resort to following the instructor’s manual for whatever textbook their
schools have adopted. Although following the textbook may seem like a rea-
sonable pedagogical approach, it usually isn’t. Such textbooks tend to give
17(^1) This chapter deals with teaching grammar to native speakers of English. Some observations and
principles do not apply to those for whom English is not the home language. 2
No criticism of these courses or their professors is intended here. From a practical perspective, the
decision to base a college-level grammar course on traditional grammar is understandable, for this is the
pedagogical orientation of most schools. My view, however, is that all language arts teachers need to
know as much about grammar as possible. For this reason alone, limiting instruction to traditional gram-
mar is problematic.