A comprehensive reference text that examines how the three aspects of language (genre, text and grammar) can be used as resources in teaching and assessing writing. It provides an accessible account of current theories of language and language learning, together with practical ideas for teaching and assessing the genres and grammar of writing across the curriculum.
Weaver extends her philosophy by offering teachers a rationale and practical ideas for teaching grammar not in isolation but in the context of writing.
Grammar and Context: considers how grammatical choices influence and are influenced by the context in which communication takes place examines the interaction of a wide variety of contexts - including socio-cultural, situational and global influences includes a range of different types of grammar - functional, pedagogic, descriptive and prescriptive explores grammatical features in a lively variety of communicative contexts, such as advertising, dinner-table talk, email and political speeches gathers together influential readings from key names in the discipline, including: David Crystal, M.A.K. Halliday, Joanna Thornborrow, Ken Hyland and Stephen Levey. The accompanying website to this book can be found at http: //www.routledge.com/textbooks/0415310814/
Explores a number of themes of interest to those engaged in researching and teaching academic genres. This book is of interest to students on Master's programmes in Teaching English as a Second Langauge and Applied Linguistics, and to scholars researching issues of academic literacy.
Taking authentic texts from a variety of sources - the human body on CD-ROM, a fish recipe, 'L'Etranger' and many others - this book uses them as a starting point for the illustration and explanation of key areas of French grammar. It includes a range of exercises, many of them text-based.
Spanish Grammar in Context uses authentic text to illustrate and explain the key areas of Spanish grammar, and then offers a range of exercises for students to test their understanding and to produce effective language of their own. Aimed at intermediate and advanced learners, and with a key to the exercises provided, the book is suitable for independent and tutor-led study. Sourced from contemporary literature, newspaper and magazine articles from both Spain and Latin America, the texts are up-to-date and topical, and together with the exercises which have been expanded for the second edition, give students a comprehensive coverage of Spanish grammar.
Natural languages are riddled with context-sensitivity, yet how do we understand one another so effortlessly? Contrary to the dominant position, this book argues that meaning is determined entirely by discourse conventions, as we draw on a broad array of subtle linguistic conventions that determine the interpretation of context-sensitive items.
Some teachers love grammar and some hate it, but nearly all struggle to find ways of making the mechanics of English meaningful to kids. As a middle school teacher, Jeff Anderson also discovered that his students were not grasping the basics, and that it was preventing them from reaching their potential as writers. Jeff readily admits, “I am not a grammarian, nor am I punctilious about anything,” so he began researching and testing the ideas of scores of grammar experts in his classroom, gradually finding successful ways of integrating grammar instruction into writer's workshop. Mechanically Inclined is the culmination of years of experimentation that merges the best of writer's workshop elements with relevant theory about how and why skills should be taught. It connects theory about using grammar in context with practical instructional strategies, explains why kids often don't understand or apply grammar and mechanics correctly, focuses on attending to the “high payoff,” or most common errors in student writing, and shows how to carefully construct a workshop environment that can best support grammar and mechanics concepts. Jeff emphasizes four key elements in his teaching:short daily instruction in grammar and mechanics within writer's workshop;using high-quality mentor texts to teach grammar and mechanics in context;visual scaffolds, including wall charts, and visual cues that can be pasted into writer's notebooks;regular, short routines, like “express-lane edits,” that help students spot and correct errors automatically.Comprising an overview of the research-based context for grammar instruction, a series of over thirty detailed lessons, and an appendix of helpful forms and instructional tools, Mechanically Inclined is a boon to teachers regardless of their level of grammar-phobia. It shifts the negative, rule-plagued emphasis of much grammar instruction into one which celebrates the power and beauty these tools have in shaping all forms of writing.
This book explores what makes a book readable by bringing together the relevant literature and theories, and situating them within a unified account. It provides a single resource that offers a principled discussion of the issues and their applications.
