Grammar – Is it an important skill to be taught?

One of the most integral parts of many English classes across schools is the teaching of grammar: the conduct of the structure of words in a sentence. This skill is taught for many reasons; the main one being to try to teach students to write grammatically correct sentences for successful communication across people. However, is it completely necessary for everyone to attain a high level of grammatical understanding as schools teach?

 

In order to understand the use of the teaching of grammar we must first evaluate exactly what its primary use is in the real world. Grammar, at its most basic level, is useful for many to be able to communicate using a common code of language. It is important for all to understand it in order to understand each other and communicate successfully.

 

However, if grammar is tied to communication, this makes its rules purely relative: they can be changed and adapted so long as they are able to be understood. Specific types of “grammar” such as slang is something understood by many, by this point, but not correct in the sense of what is expected in the type of grammar taught by schools. This point can even be stretched to the extent where entire novels can be written in slang, such as Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” which uses only vernacular tongue. Because of this, the importance of teaching grammar is minimized; teaching students high levels of vocabulary and forming complex sentences does not aid in successful communication to others. If anything, teaching a high level of grammar brings us away from universal communication if only a specific group has been taught; higher level speakers are more difficult to understand than those that speak at a basic level.

 

“Perfect grammar has nothing to do with great writing. Certainly, I will admit that people who are better at grammar often have more sensitivity for the nuance of language—and tend to be better writers—but for the most part, facility with grammar has nothing to do with storytelling talent,” said author dmatriccino from writersdigest.com.

 

However, this is not to say that the teaching of grammar is completely unimportant. Even generally understood forms of language that are not wholly grammatically correct like slang still adopt basic rules of sentence structure. In fact, the structure of a sentence at a basic level many times determines the message that is being conveyed. The meaning of each word in a sentence is completely reliant on how it is placed in a sentence and can change its meaning if it is affected by other parts of a sentence. This is most prevalent in writing where punctuation can separate different interpretations of a sentence’s meaning. A common example of necessary punctuation is in the two sentences “Let’s eat grandma,” and “Let’s eat, grandma,” where the word “grandma” changes sentence purpose from a direct object to a noun of direct address by a comma. Because of this, if one does not understand the relation and structure of words in a sentence, successful communication is near impossible.

 

Grammar is the coat hanger on which language can hang. It provides structure for sentences the way door lintels can prevent a house collapsing,” said columnist Quentin Letts from theguardian.com.

 

In conclusion, the usefulness of grammar is only present if taught at a basic level. Some aspects of grammar, such as the teaching of vocabulary or the identification of words in a sentence are unimportant, so long as one knows basic words to communicate with. Other aspects of grammar, however, are vital. One would need to understand how a sentence is structured and how words in a sentence relate in order to communicate successfully. In other words, the importance of grammar is overstated in schools; it is only necessary at a level where one can translate their ideas into a sentence for others to understand.