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Rethinking Grammar Handout
Rethinking Grammar Handout
Structure of Presentation
LubnaAlsagoff
NationalInstituteofEducation
Nanyang TechnologicalUniversity,Singapore
lubna.alsagoff@nie.edu.sg
www.nie.edu.sg
1
WorkonthisprojectisfundedbytheNIEEducation
ResearchFundProgramme(OER47/12LA)
Background
onthe
Corpus
Project
Preliminary
Findings&
Implications
forTeaching
Rethinking
Grammar
Concluding
Remarks
All handwritten texts have been transcribed to text and loaded into
the corpus system
Data
Laravel
Web
framework
MySQL DB
CQP(CorpusQuery
Processor)
Metadata(XMLheader)
Rawdata(UTF8)
Lucene
searchengine
Errorannotation(UAM)
Pos data(CLAWS&Stanford)
R,Weka,Python
Statisticalanalysis
Park,K.,&Alsagoff,L.(2013)
CompilingaCorpusofSingaporean
LearnersofEnglish.Paperpresented
atLearnerCorpusResearch,Bergen,
Norway.)
Search Interfaces
Visualization of Information
Errorsovertime
Top10errors
Browsingbyerrortypes
9
10
Coding Scheme
Coding Scheme
Socio-linguistically grounded
Developed to investigate Singapore English grammar
Pedagogically oriented
11
adjective
adverb
conjunction
determiner
noun
preposition
pronoun
verb
sentence/clause
12
13
15
Errortypes
Examples
NFQ.1
Incorrectpluralmarkingofirregular
plurals
*childs,oxes,floweres,citys
NFQ.2
Incorrectmarkingofsingular/plural
eitherabsenceofpluralmorpheme
*Sheboughtthreebook.
forpluralcountnouns,oruseof
*Sheboughtabooks.
pluralmorphemewithsingular
countnouns
Incorrectuseofmass/noncount
nounascountnouns:e.g.useof
pluralswithnoncountnouns
*furnitures/*oneluggage
NGQ.2
Incorrectuseofcountnounas
mass/noncountnoun:e.g.lackof
determinerorpluralmarking.
*Elephant isamammal.(The
elephantis/Elephantsare)
*LaterIbuyticket themovie.
(aticket/tickets)
NEQ.1
*Hesmokestensticksof
cigarettesaday.(ten
Incorrectuseofcollectivephrase
constructionsforcountnounswhen cigarettes)
*Hesoldtenunitsof
noneneedtobeused.
apartments.(tenapartments)
Countability:
NGQ.1
Countvs
NonCount
(NQ)
Noun
Grammatical
Code
subcategory
14
Preliminary Findings
Preliminary Findings
Grammatical
Category
16
564
215
201
192
186
147
141
Tenmostfrequent
errorcategories
Ofthe3919errors
coded(March17),
2,282(58.23%)fall
intothese10error
types
397
Misspelling
Oftheerrortypes,onlyoneisclearly
atwordlevel() :Misspelling.The
othererrorsthatappeartobeword
levelarentactuallywordlevel(?).
Incorrectuseofcapitalletters
131
108
18
VDT.2 Inconsistent
/incorrectmarkingof
tenseatthetextlevel
VDT.1 Incorrectmarking
oftenseinsubordinate
clauses
VFT.1 Incorrectmarking
oftheverbstringfor
aspect
Verb Errors
Lubna Alsagoff 2014, NIE
17
Incorrectmarkingofsingular/pluralforcountnouns
19
20
TPU.1 Incorrectuseof
capitalletters
TSU.1 Misspelling
TSU.1 Misspelling
Her brother was coveling (covering) his head.
As we reach to our bloke (block)
21
22
SEZ.3 Incorrectstructure
ofcompound/complex
sentences
NFQ.2 Incorrectmarking
ofsingular/pluralfor
countnouns
LLU.2 Nonconventional
collocation
23
24
NFQ.2:incorrectmarkingof
singular/plural
Typically,thisissimplytaught,
andkidscanactuallyformthe
plural:place places;school
schools;exercise exercises...
Typically,thisissimplytaught,
andkidscanactuallyformthe
plural:place places;school
schools;exercise exercises...
Ifwelookattheerrorsofthis
pluralinwriting,weseethatthis
shouldinfactnotbetaughtata
wordlevel.
Ifwelookattheerrorsofthis
pluralinwriting,weseethatthis
shouldinfactnotbetaughtata
wordlevel.
Oneofthecluesarethe
premodification constructions:
Alotofschool
Differentschool
Alloftheexercise
NFQ.2:incorrectmarkingof
singular/plural
26
NFQ.2:incorrectmarkingof
singular/plural
NFQ.2:incorrectmarkingof
singular/plural
Typically,thisissimplytaught,
andkidscanactuallyformthe
plural:place places;school
schools;exercise exercises...
Typically,thisissimplytaught,
andkidscanactuallyformthe
plural:place places;school
schools;exercise exercises...
Ifwelookattheerrorsofthis
typeinwriting,weseethatit
shouldinfactnotjustbetaught
atawordlevel.
Thepremodification sequences
areimportantmarkersoftheuse
ofthepluralmarking:
alot ofschool
()differentschool
almostalloftheexercise
Meaningisalsoimportant:
Crowdedplacelikeshopping
malls,cafandmanymore
Alotofschool
Differentschool
Alloftheexercise
Meaningisalsoimportant:
Crowdedplacelikeshopping
malls,cafandmanymore
Meaningisalsoimportant:
Crowdedplacelikeshopping
malls,cafandmanymore
25
Oneofthecluesarethe
premodification constructions:
28
Ifwelookattheerrorsofthis
typeinwriting,weseethatit
shouldinfactnotjustbetaught
atawordlevel.
Thepremodification sequences
areimportantmarkersoftheuse
ofthepluralmarking:
alot ofschool
()differentschool
almostalloftheexercise
Meaningisalsoimportant:
Crowdedplace likeshopping
malls,cafandmanymore
At present
The plural form is taught primarily at word level
as spelling or morphological alternations, i.e.
Implications
The plural should not be taught simply as a
morphological alternation or spelling variant but
also as in relation to noun phrase structure.
Teachers should explore the co-occurrence of
many determiners and to develop an awareness of
a wider range of complex structures and meanings
which require plurals
place places
school schools
city cities
29
Interference Errors
Lubna Alsagoff 2014, NIE
30
Preliminary Findings
31
32
TSU.1 Misspelling
Her brother was coveling (covering) his head.
As we reach to our bloke (block)
Some of the misspelling may be due to Singapore English
pronunciation.
Singlish Grammar
Lubna Alsagoff 2014, NIE
NGQ.2:incorrectuseof
countnounsas
noncount nouns
33
34
35
36
At present
The contrast between count and noncount
(mass) nouns taught in terms of lists of mass
nouns which dont take the plural:
rice *rices
water *waters
happiness *happinesses
37
Formulaic Phrases
Lubna Alsagoff 2014, NIE
38
Preliminary Findings
39
Implications
40
41
42
43
44
P4: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The Earth
was bathed with the warm glow of the rising sun. It peeked out
from behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P5: One blistering and blazing hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fleecy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun was
like a huge fireball in the sky. It peeked out from behind the
clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could almost see them
as rippling waves.
P6: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun peeked out
from behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P4: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The Earth was
bathed with the warm glow of the rising sun. It peeked out from
behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P5: One blistering and blazing hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fleecy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun was
like a huge fireball in the sky. It peeked out from behind the
clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could almost see them
as rippling waves.
P6: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun peeked out
from behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P4: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The Earth was
bathed with the warm glow of the rising sun. It peeked out from
behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P5: One blistering and blazing hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fleecy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun was
like a huge fireball in the sky. It peeked out from behind the
clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could almost see them
as rippling waves.
P6: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun peeked out
from behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
45
47
46
P4: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The Earth was
bathed with the warm glow of the rising sun. It peeked out from
behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P5: One blistering and blazing hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fleecy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun was
like a huge fireball in the sky. It peeked out from behind the
clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could almost see them
as rippling waves.
P6: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun peeked out
from behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P4: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The Earth was
bathed with the warm glow of the rising sun. It peeked out from
behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P5: One blistering and blazing hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fleecy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun was
like a huge fireball in the sky. It peeked out from behind the
clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could almost see them
as rippling waves.
P6: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun peeked out
from behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
48
P4: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The Earth was
bathed with the warm glow of the rising sun. It peeked out from
behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P5: One blistering and blazing hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fleecy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun was
like a huge fireball in the sky. It peeked out from behind the
clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could almost see them
as rippling waves.
P6: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun peeked out
from behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P4: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The Earth was
bathed with the warm glow of the rising sun. It peeked out from
behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
P5: One blistering and blazing hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fleecy magnolia white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun was
like a huge fireball in the sky. It peeked out from behind the
clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could almost see them
as rippling waves.
P6: One blazing and blistering hot day, the sky was azure blue and
fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. The sun peeked out
from behind the clouds sending down rays of sunlight. We could
almost see them as rippling weaves.
49
50
51
At present
One of the critical components in assessing
writing involves the use of vocabulary.
Teachers award marks simply for the inclusion
of vocabulary items that are deemed to be
indicators of better standard of English, e.g.
azure blue rather than blue; purchase rather
than buy.
However, there is little assessment in terms of
appropriacy or grammatical fit.
52
Implications
Teachers need to see that lexis is related to
grammar.
Words do not only have denotational meanings, i.e.
meanings out of context, but they have other
meanings, to do with context, register, tone, etc.
Words also have a grammar collocational and
colligational patterns need to also be taught and
taken into consideration in assessment.
Manipulating
structure to
conform to rules
Manipulating structure
to express meanings
Grammar as
atheoretical sets
of rules
Grammar as
theoretically grounded
Hierarchical:
Words to phrases to
clauses to sentences to
text
Non-hierarchical:
Words to sentences
Unidimensional
Multidimensional
53
55
Lubna Alsagoff
National Institute of Education
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
lubna.alsagoff@nie.edu.sg
Rethinking Grammar
CONNECTINGGRAMMAR
TOWRITING,TOREADING,
TOSPEAKING,TO
LANGUAGELEARNING