Language Alive in the Classroom

A common lament of teachers in the English-speaking world is that students at all levels often show very little knowledge of grammar. As traditionally taught (if taught at all), grammar is a dry, prescriptive subject and one that students often dislike and therefore do not learn well. In this edited collection, distinguished teachers share the ways in which they make grammar and writing interesting and exciting to their students, and hence bring language alive in the classroom. Concrete, animated articles explain how students (elementary through college) can discover language structure in contemporary classrooms. Examples of imaginative learning techniques include doing fieldwork to explore the language of home, neighborhood, and workplace. Freed from scowling linguistic admonitions, students develop a careful eye in exploring the patterns of our living language in its myriad manifestations, from speaking, writing, reading literature, and finally, in our language reference works.