What is Standard English?

This is a very interesting question that I have actually been faced with quite a lot in my teaching experiences.

I was working with a business man from China when I first encountered this question. His Chinese accent was pretty strong, but his knowledge of English and his grammar were flawless. I quickly tried to think of a region that spoke "standard English". After contemplating this decision and asking my friends and family, I came to the conclusion that "standard English" is a personal opinion. About.com defines the phrase "standard English" by stating that what is considered standard English in one region may not be considered standard in another region. I agree that this "standard English" is a personal opinion.

What is Grammar? Descriptive? Prescriptive?

I like the quote from William Somerset Maugham the best when it comes to defining grammar: grammar is common speech formulated. I have read that we all know grammar or else we wouldn't be able to communicate. Descriptive and prescriptive grammar are two very different types of grammar. In my classroom, I would sometimes refer to descriptive grammar as "street grammar" and prescriptive grammar as "proper grammar". It seems to me that there are situations where prescriptive grammar is completely necessary or even demanded. Some examples could be an interview, certain jobs, public broadcasting, etc. For the most part, however, most people probably rely on descriptive grammar on a day to day basis. I have found that many students that have learned English abroad, or in their home countries, speak very formal English. This can cause problems sometimes when these students come to the United States and realize most people in the states speak "street English".

What is the value of studying English?

I'm sure there are few people that would not prefer to be "grammatically correct". According to about.com , grammar is important because it is the language that makes it possible for us to talk, I believe that there is a certain level of grammar knowledge necessary to communicate effectively. Obviously, the more grammar one knows, the better off they will be in many areas in life. It does seem, however, that not a lot of people have a perfect grasp on grammar. While teaching I would hear my students complain about the fact that most people in the US do not have perfect grammar and they do not see the value in studying grammar. I like to share with them that since they are studying English, they should study it correctly. Once they know and understand the rules of grammar, they may realize that there are certain times when most people in the US do not stick to the strict rules of grammar. It's one thing to not stick to the grammar rules one hundred percent of the time, but without a general understanding, they will not be able to effectively communicate in English.

Which English is best?

The article on about.com about which English is best, was very valid to my current thoughts on this topic. Language is very often related to social class. I have encountered this personally, with my own English. I was born in Michigan, but basically raised in the south. All of my family members have a strong northern accent. Myself, on the other hand, very quickly picked up the twang of the south. My family member would jokingly tease me about my southern accent. To them, it often made me sound very uneducated. This is a common stigma that comes with a southern accent. On the other hand, many people associate a northern accent with someone that is "snobish". There is a stigma with pretty much all accents.

I like to have my students listen to different accents and see if they can understand the different areas of English. It is difficult for them when they learn English in a certain area and then travel to find that they do not easily understand a different accent. Standard English and the "best English" go hand in hand in way, in that they are both based on personal opinion.

Teaching grammar in an ESL Classroom

In my experiences, there seems to be a "happy balance" between grammar and what I call "street English". While teaching adults, most of the students have had a great handle on their grammar. The students were more interested in learning things like slang, idioms, humor, etc. Grammar is like the back bone of learning English. Once a student has a good handle on grammar, I think it's important to branch out and focus on vocabulary, comprehension, and other forms of casual English.

Grammar is very necessary in the ESL classroom, but I think a good teacher can find ways to sneak in grammar while also including the other fun aspects of learning ESL.

Principled Eclecticism

The use of utilizing different teaching styles in the classroom seems to be something that more and more teachers are focusing on these days. Although it can often be challenging to cater to individual students, it is unproductive to teach in a way that does not reach out to students. I have had many students tell me about their learning experiences in their home countries. I have heard from many of them that they learned mostly by lecture and note taking. This type of learning may be successful for some students, but many students prefer to learn with hands on, and visual type activities.

I think a dedicated and motivated teacher will survey the ESL classroom to discover the different types of learning styles present in the class and try to cater the agenda accordingly.