There was a story by Julia
Eccleshare in The Guardian recently, "Can
children learn grammar just from reading books? There's plenty
of evidence that the best children's books contain all the grammar
young readers need. They also make learning enjoyable – unlike
textbooks."I remember I used to hate English grammar in school. (This was in the sixties). I used to hate Malay grammar, too. (How's that for non-discriminatory hate!) Guess, the truth was, I hated memorising facts. But I read quite a bit. So, while I'd do badly in the grammar part of the paper, I'd get an 'A' for my karangan (and essay writing). Now, I'm editing books in English (some of which are good enough for international award short- and long- lists), but I dread anyone asking me what part of speech anything is in, or any other detail. If it sounds right, that's good enough for me. We have a proofreader in the UK who advises and corrects me, but, seriously, it does not happen that often.
Eccleshare says: "Why have schools been told that reading doesn't help you to learn grammar? My child is being prepared for the new Year 6 grammar test. Suddenly, a lot of literacy teaching time is focusing on that at the expense of time spent on "reading for pleasure". I can't help feeling that the children could learn the grammar better if they read more."
Have schools really been told that reading doesn't help grammar? Jeez. I have been out of school too long. Sure, we didn't have too many 'native' speakers teaching us English, but no one said that to us, though that didn't stop them from trying to drill rules of grammar into our heads (which I have duly forgotten after I left school).
She quotes S. Krahsen's The Power of Reading: "When children read for pleasure, when they get "hooked on books", they acquire, involuntarily and without conscious effort, nearly all of the so-called 'language skills' many people are so concerned about: they will become adequate readers, acquire a large vocabulary, develop the ability to understand and use complex grammatical constructions, develop a good writing style, and become good (but not necessarily perfect) spellers."
And, "Although free voluntary reading alone will not ensure attainment of the highest levels of literacy, it will at least ensure an acceptable level. Without it, I suspect that children simply do not have a chance."
And how high a level of literacy is that?
