grammar & lexis (gle)

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In this branch of the "Losing one's mother tongue" discussion, a comment about Chomsky reignites the issue of pedagogy vs. linguistics as it relates to our studies and work. Just what is the point of studying Halliday's Systematic Functional Grammar (SFG) anyway?

Chomsky's Beef With Corpus Linguistics

Debate about Chomsky and his views about corpus linguistics (CL). Includes commentary from tutor Ramesh Krishnamurthy.

Chomsky vs. Halliday

A snippet from an interesting article called "Aphasia in bilinguals: how atypical is it?" (Paradis 1988) that has special relevance to the Chomsky vs. Halliday debate. In addition, links to two Guardian articles about innate grammar.

Concordances and Grammar Awareness

An account of using concordances to raise grammar awareness with college students in Japan. Links to concordance websites are also given.

FCE Exam Question

A discussion about an instance of word formation on the FCE exam. Why is the correct answer "survival" and not "surviving"?

Frames of Reference

What are "frames of reference?"

GE Assignments

Two CPs chat and offer feedback about their ideas for GE assignments.

GE Assignment Advice

A simple piece of advice for completing the GE* assignment. (*GE has now been incorporated into the GLE module)

GLE/AWD Questions

What is the best order in which to do these modules?

Grammar Analysis

An intensely technical discussion on various issues regarding grammar analysis. Topics covered include use of analytical tools, hypotaxis vs. rankshift, dependent/embedded clauses, and prepositions.

Grammar Research Interests

An intense, highly technical conversation about various grammar research interests, such as the development of a homegrown grammatical taxonomy of N1+of+N2 phrases. Includes links to several relevant books.

Halliday in the Classroom

Can the concepts learned in the GE module be applied to the classroom? Several CPs offer their experiences and thoughts about this subject.

Idioms Only: "dry" and "dried"

A detailed discussion and analysis of idiomatic phrases such as "cut and dry" vs. "cut and dried."

Is Grammar Innate?

Discussion on this topic and the controversial works of author Stephen Pinker.

Is or Are?

Shouldn't the verb agree with the original subject and not the subject of the defining relative clause? Includes a full SFPCA analysis of the target sentence by tutor Sue Garton.

LEX Assignment

Commentary on a LEX assignment (former "Lexical Studies" module) idea about the differences and similarities between the words "bias" & "prejudice," and the extent to which synonyms help students acquire words.

"Most of"

Discussion and analysis of this phrase.

Nouns as Premodifiers

It's ok to say "the education system," but not "the education purpose." Do speakers of non-romance languages often make this kind of mistake? A discussion about inappropriate use of nouns as premodifiers.

Ramesh's Metaphor Survey

Responses to a questionnaire by tutor Ramesh Krishnamurthy on the teaching and use of metaphors.

Referential vs. Systemic Words

Two CPs have a knock-down, drag 'em out GLE debate regarding their interpretations over referential & systemic words.

Relative & Post-Modifying Clauses

What is the difference between reduced relatives and post modifying clauses?

"She had her hair cut"

How can this sentence be analyzed using a process approach?

Sinclair's Idiom Principle

Discussion regarding Sinclair's "Corpus, Concordance, Collocation," including his "radically different" lexical classification and "Idiom Principle."

Tag Questions

Thoughts on why native speakers use one form of tag questions over another.

Teaching Lexical Phrases

While reading Michael Lewis' book, "Implementing the Lexical Approach," a CP relates a classroom incident that iluminates aspects of Lewis' writing.

Third Person Generic Prounouns

Comments from one CP about the presence and meaning of third person generic pronouns from a sample of corpus data.

Thoughts on LEX*

In this series of personal, off-DL messages, a CP gives her thoughts on a number of issues pertaining to the LEX module (*the previous name for the GLE module).

Unstable Lexis

What exactly is "unstable lexis," and what implications does its definition have for sample/sourcing criteria when compiling a corpus of 'general English'?

Use of Concordances Homework

In the process of completing reflective task #7 ("Revisiting a Discussion"), a CP follows up on the homework assignment featured in the "Concordance & Grammar Awareness" thread.

Vague Linguistic Terms

Definitions for vague linguistic terms such as anaphora, deixis, and indexicality.

grammar & lexis (gle)

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