Good English and grammar inseparable

In letters to the press and at other forums it is hotly debated whether to teach grammar to Sri Lankan students who are trying to learn English. Many English scholars have expressed the view that students should be taught English conversation first and leave them to learn grammar at a later stage. The text books used in Government schools have been condemned as "uninteresting" because of their grammar based approach.

This anti-grammar approach has its own supporters at higher echelons. Joseph Williams, a professor of English and linguist at the University of Chicago once said, "Most of the grammar rules are already dead or dying." Those who subscribe to this view ask, "Why do we have to learn this grammar stuff?" According to them, grammar is an obstacle to the teaching of English. Proponents of this view have cited the examinations conducted by Cambridge University. For instance, no grammar questions are asked in these examinations but students are expected to answer the questions grammatically.

Grammar is a set of rules or conventions which can be mastered easily by any student of average intelligence. When students learn grammar they pay greater attention to the meanings of words and how to use them in the proper context. With a sound knowledge of grammar they will be able to manipulate a greater variety of structures in order to develop their ideas more effectively. If you want to have a greater command over English, you will have to know grammar.

Learning grammar does not mean memorizing some rules as we did in the good old days. It means acquiring an increasing consciousness of how language works. Most children and even adults need somebody or something to help them in focusing their attention on forms and structure of English. If the basic grammar is taught at the beginning, it is not a difficult task to pick up the language.

Those who think that English can be taught through conversation forget the fact that the student is unable to make a sentence without learning any set of rules. For that matter, some rules are necessary even to drive a vehicle on the road. If grammar is not taught, the student will speak or write a language others cannot understand. This does not mean that conversational English is not necessary. Conversation as well as composition is necessary to learn the language effectively.

The rules of modern English grammar have evolved over so many centuries from speakers of the language. Custom, usage, and logic have played a major part in the evolution of the language. There has been an unconscious human desire for orderliness when it comes to speech and writing. The English speaking world has become a well-organised entity and grammar is not only desirable but also necessary. Without a sound knowledge of grammar no speaker or writer could maintain consistency in what he does with the language.

Unlike certain aspects of the language such as pronunciation, the grammar of a language does not go through drastic changes. In other words, it is not very flexible.

This non-flexibility has helped students to learn grammar in a consistent manner. As one grammarian has put it, the fundamental rules now observed and to be respected, in fact, are the rules observed by the Elizabethan writers.

The study of grammar is no different from studying physics, music, or biotechnology. In all these subject areas there are layers of increasing complex concepts. We give them names which are known as technical terms. Without these technical terms, the whole subject becomes unmanageable. If you think you can learn English without grammar, you are on the wrong path. Those who promote the "common sense" or "plain English" approach will lead you astray. We can whole heartedly agree with J. E. Metcalfe and C. Astle who said, "Good English is English which is grammatical and is spelt correctly." Need we say more on the importance of grammar?