Grammar in Context

Elbaum, Sandra. 2001. Grammar in Context 3rd ed. Boston Heinle & Heinle Publishers. Grammar in Context by Sandra N. Elbaum is an interesting approach to teaching grammar. Elbaum encases grammar in a much more reclaimable mantle by victimization accepted life examples of U. S. culture and history. Grammar is an alpha part of language, but it is technical, abstract, and boring. In order for a text to engage a student it must be interesting and pertinent to their lives. I think Grammar in Context could be effective because it does this by integrating grammar into the real world.I thought the foreword by the author was rattling touching. She starts murder by giving an example from her protest life showing how all-important(prenominal) it is to include real life contexts into language learning. She tells of being a kid and having not only having to explain the language to her Polish born parents but also the culture. This is a suitable start to a language text because what is a language without culture. They are intrinsically linked. The text starts off with a review. I think this is important because ESL students are not invariably at the same property in every category of language learning.Placement tests do their best to place students in an allot level, but learning a language is not like other subjects. For example, if you miss the lesson on the Korean War in history class you would still be able to understand a lesson on the Vietnam War. Language is much more integrated. If you dont have a strong foundation it is very difficult to progress. Having a review section in the beginning allows teachers to quickly find weaknesses in whatever fundamental areas, and address these problems in the beginning of the course.I liked that lesson one began with creating a resume and obscure letter. A resume is a very technical but also very necessary fundamental law for many ESL students. So a good deal the people who emigrate to the U. S. are well educated pr ofessionals who are prevented from rebellion to their full potential because of a language barrier. The key to getting a good job is ordinarily a good resume and by learning this skill early on ESL students who want a successful job will have one less obstacle. The basic setup of each chapter is user friendly.I like how the chapters begin with a text and the grammar focus of each chapter is highlighted in each text. This gives students a chance to learn deductively, and see grammar in use in real life situations. After the spread text the grammar rules are given and exercises are provided for practice. At the end of each chapter the lessons are summarized to give a final quick look at the content of the chapter. The next section Editing Advice seems very right-hand to me. In this section examples are given of the grammar used incorrectly then corrected.I think correction is an important tool in learning. Knowing what you cant do, or what is incorrect in a language is often as important as knowing what you can do. The last part of the chapter has an important section called Outside Activities this section provides activities that prompt students to look for examples of their grammar lessons in authentic texts external of the classroom. Outside Activities is a vital section because one failing of all text books is the fact that they cannot stay current.Things are always changing so fast in life that it is impossible to include authentic texts that are up to date after the publishing process, the distribution process, and finally introduction into the classroom. By encouraging students to look outside the classroom the most recent and relevant examples of grammar in use are able to be structured into the educational process. The section on Internet Activities is similar but encourages students to use the computer to find grammar in context.This skill could be very useful for less tech savvy ESL students. Providing grammar in context is an important aspect of teaching because it takes a dull but necessary subject and makes it more relevant. ESL students are often very busy, and by combing lessons on grammar and U. S. culture kills to birds with one stone. It would be possible to teach grammar using irrelevant topics, but why would anyone want to do that when its so easy to incorporate real life contexts into everyday lessons. Word Count 723