Targeting Recurring Grammar Errors in ESOL Students Writing David - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Targeting Recurring Grammar Errors in ESOL Students’ Writing

David A. Ross

Associate Chair, ESL/Intensive English Department Houston Community College

Qin Riley, PhD

ESOL Professor San Jacinto College

The Setting

S Advanced Integrated Reading & Writing for Non-Native English-

Speaking Students (HCC: ESOL 0360; SJC: ESOL 0373)

Prerequisites:

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HCC: Completion of Advanced Composition (ESOL 0354), or Appropriate score on ESL Placement Test (currently Compass-ESL)

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SJC: Completion of Intermediate Reading and Writing (ESOL 0372), or Appropriate score on ESL Placement Test (currently AccuPlacer-ESL)

The Problem

S The students in this class have a wide variance in their

grammatical skills, BUT…

S Our advanced reading and writing courses do not have a

grammar component. So, how to meet the grammar needs of the students in these classes?

Three Approaches

• 1. A Stand-Alone Comprehensive Grammar Syllabus
• 2. A Diagnostic Approach, Focusing on command of

Sentence Patterns (Qin Riley)

• 3. A Diagnostic Approach, Focusing on Grammar Maxims

(David Ross)

Common Sentence Structure Errors in ESOL Students’ Writing

8/8/2016 Qin Riley 5

S Some young people often find difficult to

communicate with their parents.

S Schools bear the responsibility to stop bullying.

Even though, parents should work together with their child’s school.

Common Sentence Structure Errors in ESOL Students’ Writing

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S It is very important to leaders of every country for

keeping in mind that they should form a strong relationship with other countries.

S What she wrote is very vivid, funny, and mythical

that people of all ages love to read.

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Overlapped but Not All Covered

Grammar Reading/Writing Listening/Speaking Vocabulary

Sentence Structure

Sentence structure can be a subject itself or can be taught as mini lessons to target recurring errors.

Sentence Structure Can Be Taught as Mini Lessons

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S Some young people often find difficult to communicate with

their parents.

it

8/8/2016 Qin Riley 9

S What she wrote is very vivid, funny, and mythical that

people of all ages love to read.

Sentence Structure Can Be Taught as Mini Lessons

so

Sentence Structure: Important Building Blocks for Writing

8/8/2016 Qin Riley 10

• A

Textbook for Adult English Learners

• Qin

Z. Riley, PhD

• San

Jacinto College

• 2016
• S Supplemental instruction

S 60 mini lessons with 60

sentence patterns

S For basic writing &

academic writing

S Can also be used as a self-

study resource

Maxim #1: Parallel Structure is elegant, attractive, and readers like it!

Category: Sentence Structure Level: Intermediate: Explanation: All elements in a coordinate series should be in the same grammatical form.

Maxim #1: Parallel Structure is elegant, attractive, and readers like it!

Example: Thailand and Laos are different in many ways such as daily lifestyle, transportation used in daily life, and clothing style is very different. Analysis: Thailand and Laos are different in many ways such as

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daily lifestyle, [NOUN PHRASE]

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transportation used in daily life, [NOUN PHRASE] and

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clothing style is very different. [CLAUSE]

Maxim #1: Parallel Structure is elegant, attractive, and readers like it!

Correction: Thailand and Laos are different in many ways such as

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daily lifestyle, [NOUN PHRASE]

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transportation used in daily life, [NOUN PHRASE] and

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Different clothing style. [NOUN PHRASE] Corrected Sentence: Thailand and Laos are different in many ways such as daily lifestyle, transportation used in daily life, and their different clothing style.

Maxim #2: “Almost People” Are So Sad!

Category: Phrase Structure Level: Intermediate: Example: Almost students want to study and graduate from university and find a good job. Analysis: “Almost students” is not English, unless by that it meant people who are not quite students.

Maxim #2: “Almost People” Are So Sad!

Correction: “Almost students” are sad beings… But “Almost” appears before quantifiers like “All.” Corrected Sentence: Almost all students want to study and graduate from university and find a good job.

Maxim #3: Extra Subjects are Unwelcome Guests!

Category: Sentence Structure Level: Intermediate: Example: The first cause of medical problems it is the water people drink. Analysis: There is room for only one subject in a simple sentence (we are not referring to compound subjects). But in oral English it is not unusual to front the subject as a topic, and then use the pronoun as the true subject. As common as this is in colloquial English, it needs to be corrected in standard written English.

Maxim #4: Extra Subjects are Unwelcome Guests!

Correction: In a sentence where a subject phrase is followed by a pronoun – get rid of the pronoun. Corrected Sentence: The first cause of medical problems is the water people drink.

Maxim #4: Partitives are your friends: Don’t abuse them!!

Category: Phrase Structure Level: Intermediate: Example: Most of Vietnamese people cannot speak and use English well. Analysis: Quantifiers like “Most” can appear before a countable noun, or before a definite partitive phrase

 Most Vietnamese people…  Most of the Vietnamese people who live in Houston…

But…



Most of Vietnamese people

Maxim #4: Partitives are your friends: Don’t abuse them!!

Corrected Sentence: Most Vietnamese people cannot speak and use English well.

Maxim #5: “According to…” Says It All

Category: Academic Writing Style Level: Advanced: Example: According to Gelenter, he says that we are not in an information age.. Analysis: “According to…” expresses the views of the person referred to in the following phrase. “…He said…” does the same thing. So you don’t need both.

Maxim #5: “According to…” Says It All

Corrected Sentence: According to Gelenter, we are not in an information age.

• r

Gelenter says (claims / asserts / maintains) that we are not in an information age.

Thank You!

Contact Info: David Ross david.ross@hccs.edu Qin Riley qin.riley@sjcd.edu