tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post8036013174806777974..comments2024-03-27T08:11:29.257-06:00Comments on PeerCentered: Teaching Language to an ESL StudentClint Gardnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671508034667904543noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-84266422674034215522013-11-03T12:25:08.679-07:002013-11-03T12:25:08.679-07:00Good example! I agree that showing is ultimately m...Good example! I agree that showing is ultimately more effective than any form of telling (with rare exceptions, of course).<br /><br />It's nice to know grammatical concepts, but they fall flat when it comes time to discuss them with the student. The reason for this stems from a lack of foundation; it's difficult to explain roofing instructions when floor plans haven't been covered. But there are times where we can talk about the types of tools to use. For example:<br /><br />"The king his ball."<br /><br />We know what is wrong here, so we tell them the proper sentence should read:<br /><br />"The king's ball."<br /><br />So the student asks why, and you explain that apostrophes indicate something is omitted (because that's what you yourself have been taught). But then they persist by saying, "well, I put that omitted 'something' back in by using 'his'. Isn't 'his' the thing that's being omitted?"<br /><br />You scratch your head, knowing that possessive "s" indicates "his," and yet you can't figure out why the student can't have it their way. Well, that's because this rule is a huge misconception (one that my third-grade teacher taught me). It turns out that possessive "s" is a dead form of an inflected possession, so back in Chaucer's time they'd say:<br /><br />"The kinges ball."<br /><br />But somewhere along the line we started omitting the "e," probably when we began to have plurals like "foxes," and so "'s" became the new way of showing possession.<br /><br />Anyway! Grammar can, sometimes, help students understand why we do things the way we do. But yeah. Showing > telling.wiramu.wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04968671177777886998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-89306531552765689162013-10-28T13:56:19.986-06:002013-10-28T13:56:19.986-06:00Woops, I hit return too soon. Some times, because...Woops, I hit return too soon. Some times, because we deal so much with words, we forget that there are other ways to communicate ideas. Clint Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-25608300610009227372013-10-28T13:54:44.676-06:002013-10-28T13:54:44.676-06:00This is indeed a fine example of taking advantage ...This is indeed a fine example of taking advantage of the unexpected! Clint Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534333959460032669noreply@blogger.com