Sentences and syntax
School grammar textbooks tend to be dogmatic on the question of what makes a sentence – linguists over the years have not been so prescriptive…Henry Fowler (1858–1933), defined a sentence as…
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VIP Feature Articles
Expand your knowledge of literacy education theory and techniques. This in-depth series of articles covers a range of teaching topics including grammar, punctuation, spelling and writing.
Texts and purpose
The word text originally referred to “words woven to make meaning?. Meaningful text usually consists of written works that achieve a purpose in communication…
Which grammar?
Using textbooks to teach rigid rules of English grammar dates back to 1762. This article draws a distinction between old and new understandings about how to make grammar make sense to students…
Lifelong learner
In this article, we explore some teaching strategies that can be used to promote an interest in words and their spelling. Familiarity with words to the point of writing them down and exploring their uses requires…
Word building
Most English words have a variety of related forms. Nouns have number (singular and plural) and occasionally gender (masculine and feminine) forms. The building blocks for English words are root words and affixes…
The Writing Vocabulary
The list of words we use is our active vocabulary, whereas the words we know but do not employ are our passive vocabulary. An important part of teaching and learning is to encourage students to increase their active vocabulary…
Sounds of Silence
Silent letters in English words present English-language learners with a perplexing and often frustrating challenge. In this article we examine the range of occurrence of silent letters in English and look at some strategies for teaching/learning…
Students and strategies
Individual students vary greatly in regard to ease with which they learn to spell. In the context of learning to write, some students indeed move by leaps, but others find that their confidence in writing is severely constricted by…
Spelling rules rule - or do they?
Spelling has been a challenge for young learners ever since the loss of the regularity of Old English spelling following the Norman invasion of England. Since that time, the English language has also been invaded by words from…
The Alphabet - Sounds and Letters
The arrival at the current English alphabet and its written form was a slow process. Often, the sounds associated with particular letters have changed. One method of scoping the English system of letters and sounds is…