I had the privilege to be in an English class the other day, and boy oh boy, was it enlightening. I learnt so much! Predicates! Modifiers! Subjects! Objects! Nouns! Verbs! Things I'd never even heard of! How interesting! Not.
English is not a science.. And it's that way for a reason. It's a language, and above all, a means of communication. It is NOT a subject like Physics where you have laws which must be followed and mugged up. Sure, you have a few rules in English, but the operating word there is "few". People who have "learned" English would probably have noticed that almost every single rule in the English language has about a bazillion exceptions. You know why that is? Because the rules aren't meant to be there!
I'm a grammar Nazi, and I think being grammatically correct is extremely important, but for heaven's sake, not at the cost of the language! Tying down English to rules, binding it and making it into a science is NOT the way to teach it. OR learn it. Pretty much the best way to pick up any language is to speak it. If you're 5 years old, you obviously need to learn the basics, but I still don't know the different between past continuous and past perfect, I can hardly name more than a few 'parts of speech', and guess what? I still know English! Because I read it. Because I speak it. Because I hear it. And that is the way to learn a language. No language can be perfectly broken down into rules, they all have their little nuances and eccentricities that cannot be defined or understood, just accepted. Languages aren't maps, that can be broken down into grids and navigated, they're the actual land- free flowing and unrestricted. They're to be appreciated, not dissected. Understood, not learnt.
~Sam
English is not a science.. And it's that way for a reason. It's a language, and above all, a means of communication. It is NOT a subject like Physics where you have laws which must be followed and mugged up. Sure, you have a few rules in English, but the operating word there is "few". People who have "learned" English would probably have noticed that almost every single rule in the English language has about a bazillion exceptions. You know why that is? Because the rules aren't meant to be there!
I'm a grammar Nazi, and I think being grammatically correct is extremely important, but for heaven's sake, not at the cost of the language! Tying down English to rules, binding it and making it into a science is NOT the way to teach it. OR learn it. Pretty much the best way to pick up any language is to speak it. If you're 5 years old, you obviously need to learn the basics, but I still don't know the different between past continuous and past perfect, I can hardly name more than a few 'parts of speech', and guess what? I still know English! Because I read it. Because I speak it. Because I hear it. And that is the way to learn a language. No language can be perfectly broken down into rules, they all have their little nuances and eccentricities that cannot be defined or understood, just accepted. Languages aren't maps, that can be broken down into grids and navigated, they're the actual land- free flowing and unrestricted. They're to be appreciated, not dissected. Understood, not learnt.
~Sam
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