Ask the Grammar Maven
Anne Ediger

Anne Edigar

Beginnings

As an ESL teacher in California more than 25 years ago, I was often stumped by questions my students asked about grammar, or when my students wrote sentences that were not “native-like,” I didn’t know how to explain why.  About that time, I became a member of CATESOL, the affiliate organization in California similar to NYSTESOL, and I received that organization’s newsletter, in which there was a regular column called “Ask Robin.” This column happened to be written by the renowned linguist, Robin Lakoff.  One time after reading her column, it suddenly occurred to me, why couldn’t I send her the questions I had been struggling to explain? 

Life-Long Interest

So I began writing down my questions, and eventually put together quite a substantial list and sent it off to her.  I opened the next issue eagerly, and was thrilled to find one of my questions right there in her column, with an answer that began to help me understand what had bewildered me before.  In fact, and much to my delight, I found my questions addressed issue after issue—I think perhaps my questions ended up providing the fodder for that column for over a year.  I cut them all out, and still have them to this day.  Now, in hindsight, I think they started me on the road to a lifelong interest in grammar and its role in language teaching and learning. 

New Directions

Now, many years later, I hope this column can serve as a forum for ongoing explorations of English grammar and usage, and to that end, I ask you to send questions that you may have about English grammar.  In addition, I hope this column can also do more than that—certainly there are already other online sites where various explanations of grammar are provided.  In launching this column, I hope that we can discuss all sorts of questions from teachers and students of English about any of the following:

• How do we explain certain grammar structures and usage?
• Why do we sometimes hear people speak in ways that are different from what we teach or read in grammar books?
• What are some effective techniques for teaching grammar to English language learners?
• What issues should teachers consider as they determine whether and how to teach grammar?
• When should we not focus on grammar?
• Other grammar issues we face in the classroom

Send your questions about grammar to Anne Ediger at: dialogue@nystesol.org.

I look forward to your questions!

Anne Ediger (Ph.D., Applied Linguistics, UCLA) is currently Chair of the Dept. of Curriculum & Teaching and Professor in the TESOL MA Program at Hunter College. She has taught ESL/EFL to students ranging in age from 5 to 75, and trained teachers in Japan, Korea,
Mexico, and the US for over 30 years.