２０１７年７月１９日（水曜日）　ena シンガポール校

Does Grammar Matter?

Hi everyone,

Today, I would like to share with you a short video from TED that I came across recently.

For those of you who are not familiar with TED, TED is a media organization that posts talks online for free distribution. The material discussed in TED lectures is usually very thought-provoking and current. If you have the time, I would encourage you to listen to some TED lectures.

The one I am going to share talks about English grammar.

Please watch it here:

In case you are unclear what the video is trying to say, I’m going to explain it briefly.

There are two ways to understand grammar – prescriptivism or descriptivism.

Prescriptivism tells of how people need rules in a language in order to learn it. In Japan, we see this widely practiced in Japanese schools, where a single word can only be used in a fixed way with a fixed meaning. For example, the answer to “How are you?” will always be taught as “I’m fine, thank you. And you?”, though in real life answers differ.

Descriptivism tells of how people structure their views of the world and how this is being reflected in people’s use of grammar. This can be widely experienced when you lived abroad.

The video also talks about grammar being a set of linguistic habits used by language users in general. It will continue to change and evolve as the world changes.

For students who are or will be taking returnee exams, it is good to know that the learning of English is never limited to the English you are studying for your exams. Hence, what is important is that you continue to observe how English is used around you and learn necessary skills which you can apply in the future.

リム

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