X-Word Grammar FLC Poster Presentation

The Context

Good Writing

GW=CI:

Good writing

is the

communication

of an idea!

...an observation

...a question

...an opinion

...a theory

...a feeling

...an explanation

...a suggestion

What about...

Bad Writing

...bad writing fails to

communicate an idea!

If we want to communicate in

written English...

...it is essential that

we have an idea worth sharing...

...and share it in a way that

makes sense to readers.

That is the problem!

The Problem

To communicate ideas clearly...

...written English needs to be expressed

in commonly recognized forms.

...is expressing their ideas

in written English.

Even when they have good ideas...

...because they are

unable to express them

in common forms.

...is a lack of appreciation for the grammatical patterns...

...used in the language

of wider communication.

In other words...

Even after years of English study...

...many of these students

are unable to communicate

their ideas clearly...

...because of an inability to

recognize and produce sentences using commonly accepted forms....

...wait a second...

X-word grammar is an attempt

to address this problem.

The Solution

Patterns vs. Rules

It is an alternative way

of looking at the grammatical

patterns used in the written English

of the wider community.

Through X-word grammar...

X-word

grammar

is NOT a

PRESCRIPTIVE

grammar...

It is a

DESCRIPTIVE

grammar...

X-word grammar tells a story about how educated native speakers of English use the written word.

Choices vs. Judgments

When we train students

in the use of X-word grammar...

We are asking them

to ask good questions

Who are your readers?

What are you trying to say?

How can you say it in a way that

communicates most effectively?

We are training them

to make choices about

what communicates effectively.

Student Response

X-word grammar has proven

especially helpful for ESL learners...

...as well as native speakers who use

alternative forms of English in daily life.

...so that they can produce sentences

that effectively communicate their ideas.

"Wow!"

"This works!"

"I get it!"

"I've been studying English for six years;

why didn't anybody ever teach me this before?"

So when you think of X-word grammar...

...who have difficulty

putting their ideas...

...into English sentences that others can understand.

The FLC

Past

We have been encouraging them

to see English with this new set of eyes...

...and to share this new perspective

with their students.

Flying in the face

of common wisdom...

Future

...so that they can

make better choices...

...about how to frame

their ideas in English.

If we are successful,

our students will be empowered

as writers...

Thanks for watching!

from the

X-word Grammar

Faculty Learning Community

Peter B. Hoffman

and

Akiko Ota

Co-facilitators

Let's go!!!

X-Word Grammar

...they often fail

to communicate them clearly...

"Readers want our pages to look very much like pages they have seen before." - Kurt Vonnegut

One of the greatest challenges

these students face...

So....if good writing

communicates an idea...

Everybody knows it....

One of the greatest barriers to clear writing...

...it's simple...

...or native speakers who use a

less common variety of English

in daily life.

....but few people understand it!

Atrocious Grammar!

"What we got here is

a failure to commuciate!"

GW=CI

Students who suffer from Atrocius Grammar

find themselves scorned and ostrachised

by the academic community.

Few people know it...

...but everyone can understand it!

But more and more students in

American universities are

non-native speakers of English...

vs.

...that's "ostracized"...

Individuals who want to be full

participants in that community...

...and

the ability

to use them

to their

advantage.

...must have a

familiarity with

these common

forms...

What can we do to

help these students?

That's right!

What has your

Faculty Learning

Community

been doing?

...we are not simply telling them,

"Your sentences are wrong!"

When

learners

discover x-word

grammar for

the first

time...

...students learn

to use

common patterns

of English ...

Rather than telling

students what to think...

X-word grammar is

a classroom application

of SECTOR ANALYSIS,

developed by linguist

Robert Allen.

"Now fix

them!"

X-grammar helps learners

to see English sentences

with a new set of eyes.

In the past year, our FLC has introduced

x-word grammar to a core group of teachers.

...the most common response

is pleasant surprise!

We are

asking them

to think!

...we are trying to teach

an old dog new tricks.

X-word grammar gives writers

the words and concepts they need

to critique their own writing...

...making rules about

what is right and wrong.

Our goal for the coming year is threefold...

Would you like to go

back to the beginning?

Again we are not training students

to make pronouncements

about what is right and wrong,,,

Progess can be slow but we are encouraged

to keep

exploring,

learning,

sharing

and growing

To become more familiar with these

common patterns ourselves...

...making observations

about the patterns of written English.

To produce materials at beginning,

intermediate and advanced levels...

...do not picture a reference book sitting on a desk.

Picture a useful tool

in the minds of those...

To become more adept at helping our students

see and appreciate these patterns...

...and enabled to participate more

fully in the great conversation.

Student Response.