The English Instruction Difference

By: Sean Savoie

I often hear of parents enrolling their children in schools that teach specifically for SAT instruction. This is really fine. Most people in the United States are judged by some sort of number; grades determine the GPA, SAT scores are a major factor in determining which school a student gets into, the monetary income that a person makes in America is part of the determination of what economic class a person falls into, etc... However, the ability to express and assert oneself in a language, especially in English, is a lifelong endeavor and long-term goal. Having the skill to clearly express meaning in English helps a person throughout his or her life; this skill opens doors and is not limited to the simple achievement of an SAT score.

Unfortunately, junior high school and high school students are not being taught the fundamentals of English grammar. Understanding these fundamentals requires diagramming sentences; that is, breaking down and analyzing the function of each word, phrase, and clause in a simple sentence, compound sentence, and complex sentence. The philosophy of teaching English grammar these days centers around the belief that students will naturally understand grammar by reading more. There are two problems with disbelief. First, young people are not reading more and more; on the contrary, they are reading much less than they did 20 years ago. Secondly, reading does not give students a strong understanding of grammar that can be used for crafting sentences when writing essays.

The Board of Education and the College Board changed the format of the SAT in 2005 with the hopes that teachers would focus more on grammar and writing skills. In theory this should be true, because instructors typically teach students in preparation for important tests. But this change has not yet occurred. Students, and even many English teachers, are sadly under-educated and unqualified in the areas of grammar and powerful writing skills. Upon entering a good college or university, students are often surprised by the reactions of professors, who are shocked that incoming students are so ill-prepared for college-level writing. It is very common for students to receive B's and C's for essays that they spend a great deal of time writing. These college students are often frustrated and feel that they did not receive an adequate grammatical education in high school. And they are right; the level of grammar and writing taught in even the highest level high schools is insufficient.

As can be seen in many of the previous articles in the New York Community Times, using grammar to develop sentences and paragraphs is an active skill that does not come by simply reading. To develop a firm understanding of the potential sentence structures that can be used when writing, a student must learn how grammar functions in sentences.

Acquiring excellent reading and writing skills requires the use of both inductive and deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is the ability to see large amounts of information and then reduce it in order to come to a specific conclusion. Inductive reasoning is the ability to understand a principle or basic concept and then expand it or elaborate on it in order to create many possible combinations from this basic principle. This is how young people, with their quick and agile minds, are able to expand upon the ideas that they learn and then write in a powerful fashion. In order to develop these skills, students must first break down the language until they understand how it functions and then, working from the tools or principles they understand, express meaning in a precise manner. This is really no different from math and science, in which fundamental principles are learned first and then applied to more complex systems and theories.

It is nearly impossible for an English teacher to teach writing efficiently to a group of 20 or more writing students in one classroom; a class should be somewhere between 5 and 10 students in total. For an English teacher to effectively develop writing skills, that teacher must have enough sensitivity and dedicate enough time to each individual student in order to meet his or her specific needs. In a larger group this is impossible. Even when teachers have pure and positive intentions when working with a large group of writing students, it is extremely difficult to give each individual student the careful attention that he or she needs. It is possible to teach a formula for getting a decent grade on the SAT essay section of the test, but this does not prepare a student for the many complex challenges that await that student in a highly competitive academic environment.

Parents in the Chinese-speaking community often spend a great deal of money on afterschool and summer vacation classes. It is possible for students to receive an excellent education in many different areas, such as math, science, literature, history, etc… However, for a young student to develop his or her writing skills to the highest level possible, a small and more intimate class is necessary. Parents should be very picky about who is teaching grammar and writing to their children. They should insist that a teacher use a very personal approach to monitoring their children's development. This is the English instruction difference.