Grammar fo English Language Teachers - pdf

Grammar for English Language Teachers

An invaluable resource helping teachers at all levels of experience to develop their understanding of English grammar. Grammar for English Language Teachers is designed to help practising and trainee teachers to develop their knowledge of English grammar systems. It encourages teachers to appreciate factors that affect grammatical choices, and evaluates the 'rules of thumb' presented to learners in course materials. Consolidation exercises provide an opportunity for teachers to test these rules against real language use and to evaluate classroom and reference materials.

Product Details

Paperback: 479 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (January 29, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0521712041
ISBN-13: 978-0521712040

Book Description

Grammar for English Language Teachers is designed to help practising and trainee teachers to develop their knowledge of English grammar systems. It encourages teachers to appreciate factors that affect grammatical choices, and evaluates the 'rules of thumb' presented to learners in course materials. Consolidation exercises provide an opportunity for teachers to test these rules against real language use and to evaluate classroom and reference materials.

Reviews

Doubtless the single greatest asset of 'Grammar For English Language Teachers' is that it helps you, as a teacher and hence a facilitator of language's meaning and form, to navigate through the oft confusing waters of English Grammar. Rather than burdening ESL teachers with yet another 'authoritative' grammar book, Parrot offers a summary of what other authors have written about a wide variety of many common grammar points, such as verb tenses and adverb classes. Should you feel that your classes' prescribed course book treats a particular grammar point inadequately, turning to 'Grammar For English Language Teachers' will help you understand what the current consensus on the matter is. Additionally, many of the grammar points under discussion have an invaluable section in which Parrot presents various common mistakes that English language learners are likely to make while using the grammar point in question.. If you have ever wondered why your students seem to instinctively dislike the formulation 'Do you do...' (hence mistakes such as 'Do you much homework usually?') or why your students are prone to saying things such as 'I can to do it', Parrot's comments will prove particularly insightful. This particular aspect of Parrot's approach to English grammar will likley be of greatest benefit to newer language teachers who are still learning the basics of their trade.

However, this book can also be of benefit to more experienced teachers as well. More experienced teachers will appreciate Parrot's refreshing treatment of the 'rules of thumb' presented in so many of the course books used in today's language classrooms. Contrary to many other grammar books, which often prescribe a few simple rules for the use of complex grammatical concepts (perhaps most infamously the oft-misunderstood Present Perfect), Parrot is often critical of many widely circulated general rules. For example, following a brief discussion on the nature of the simple past and its ostensible dependance on its 'key words' (last year, at 9 PM, yesterday, etc.), Parrot astutely points out there can also be a subjective assessment that informs the speaker's choice to use this verb tense over another. Hence why we can say 'I saw Bob at the office today', even if we understand that 'today' is still, technically speaking, in progress. Such discussions will prove to be of more benefit to teachers who have considerable experience in the classroom (2 or more years) and who can thus fully appreciate the inherent limitations of teaching learners over-generalised grammar rules. While Parrot's discussion on the shortcomings of many 'rules of thumb' may also prove to be of benefit to less experienced teachers, I would urge those who have less than 2 years experience in the field to be cautious as to when and how they present such subtleties to their students.

As a "Pass A" student on the CELTA, I can say that this book is excellent. My CELTA center actually had it in their library and asked trainees to refer to it for assignments and lesson planning. If you are going to teach English, and teach it well, you should have access to a grammar resource that is exhaustive, and this is it. One of its strengths is that it explains common issues that ESL/EFL learners have with regards to particular aspects of grammar. So you can brush up on the past perfect continuous and then see what potential problems you may run into with your students.

For understanding English grammar, you can't find a better textbook. It's designed to help you teach non-native speakers English, but for me it was most helpful in naming and explaining speaking/writing rules that I follow innately as a native speaker but never understood. Really clearly written with very helpful examples.

This is a great item...and i appreciate the prompt service. The item was just as described and just as I had hoped it would be,