In tracing the development of language curriculum in public schools, one discovers that prior to the twentieth century grammar was the center of linguistic attention. Around the beginning of the century, psychologists and others were doing research on the supposed efficacious results of such study and were finding that such supposed results were…

THROUGH THEIR LOSS OF FAITH IN TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR, MEN HAVE "SINNED" AND CONTRIBUTED SLIGHTLY BUT IMPORTANTLY TO THE CREATION OF AN AMORAL AND RELATIVISTIC SOCIETY. PROMPTED BY THE SIN OF INTELLECTUAL PRIDE, SOME LINGUISTS SEEM TO ASSUME THAT GRAMMATICAL PROBLEMS CAN BE SOLVED BY RATIOCINATION ALONE. IGNORANCE OF THE PAST--ANOTHER SIN--AND…

This study proposed to analyze the teaching of grammar nationally in grades three through eight by a qualitative analysis of textbooks used and a questionnaire survey of actual teaching practices, policies, and procedures. The textbooks were analyzed for their approaches to sentences, parts of speech, and word usage; their page allotments to…

The recent history and present state of linguistics in the English classroom present a dismal prospect. The structural-grammar textbooks of the forties and fifties were inadequate, and the grammars of the sixties, although improved by the influence of Chomsky and his colleagues, are still not as good as they should be. Also of questionable value…

FROM EITHER A FEAR OF STUDENTS OR A FEAR OF LANGUAGE AS IT ACTUALLY EXISTS, MANY ENGLISH TEACHERS HAVE PERMITTED GRAMMATICAL ANALYSIS TO DOMINATE THE NEW ENGLISH CURRICULA AND CONSEQUENTLY HAVE MADE LINGUISTICS IRRELEVANT. THESE TEACHERS PREFER THE MANIPULATION OF GRAMMATICAL SYSTEMS AS AN END IN ITSELF RATHER THAN THE USE OF LINGUISTICS TO…

An overview of language concepts suggests applications of linguistics to the teaching of English at all levels of instruction. Traditional grammar, with its emphasis on syntax and written language, is discussed and then compared to generative grammar, with its emphasis on transformational theory. A discussion of usage summarizes the changes in…

Research on four troubleseome subjects encountered in English language instruction is examined in this volume. The first problem surveyed, the extent to which a study of Latin can help students master English, yields the conclusion that any benefit from the study of Latin transferable to English is likely to be meager and superficial. An analysis…

This study attempted to discover what difference was made in teaching practice by the introduction of a course in linguistics into the undergraduate English-education curriculum. Questionnaires were sent to 10 students who had graduated from Roosevelt University (Chicago) prior to January, 1966, with no linguistic training and to 14 graduating…