1.
Sommers mentions the importance student writers
place on avoiding lexical repetition while being blind to conceptual
repetition. What are some ways that we, as teachers, can make our students
aware of conceptual repetition as a compositional flaw? How can we go beyond
simply identifying conceptual repetition in our students’ writing and communicate
just how conceptual repetition weakens a piece of writing?
2.
I for one have been perpetually frustrated with
the lack of grammar instruction I’ve been given since the age of 12. My teachers
and professors have continually claimed that it was the duty of my previous
teachers to have taught me. That said, what are your thoughts on the pro-grammar
and anti-grammar instruction arguments? Should increased focus be given to teaching
grammar in our classes, or are there more valuable things we can be doing with
our time?
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI think my educational experience in English grammar as an international student is in the opposite direction with other classmates in that it was highly focused on grammar. But I think I can compare it with my experience in Korean grammar which I remember learning for one or two years during the middle school. Because it is the language we have used since we can't remember, people tend to neglect how much we don't know about the linguistic feature of the language. And I think people tend to overlook grammar more and more with the decrease of book reading (instead of internet posting). The writing class should not be a grammar class, but I think instructors can allow one or two hours to discuss grammar with students after collecting the most common errors that the students commit in their writing.