The Richness of Grammar

When a ten-year-old told me in strong terms how much he disliked grammar, it made me question what I was teaching.

He disliked it because it was too difficult, and he did not see the use of it. That was a problem that I felt linguistics could solve – not simply by changing the lesson plan, but by reworking the explanation of grammar itself.

I also wanted to move him away from his negativity. Along with presenting clearer information about language, I wanted to pass on a positive appreciation of its richness and versatility. This was the view of language that I had, as a working linguist.

So it was originally for my own students that I went back to the linguistics drawing board to design a new way of explaining this subject, and began to teach it differently. This is the framework published in my book.