a li'l update

My topic of interest is on grammar and writing / teaching of grammar in the context of writing. So far, I have found 12 bibs about the subject from ERIC, 6 from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 15 from Academic Search Premier, 5 NCTE Positions and Guidelines, and 1 CCCC Position Statement. I know this wealth of information is a bit overwhelming. Reading the abstracts (and some full texts!) as well as making sure they’re sorted out in a coherent fashion do take a lot of time. Apparently, I am in the process of distilling my main focus. From reading the abstracts, it seems that I could go into several directions. I could conduct a study (perhaps ethnographic) that establishes a link between the integration of rhetorical pedagogy and grammar instruction as I am fascinated with Bakhtin’s pedagogue on stylistics/ grammar (and other readings patterned after his theory)… OR I could focus on how teacher (or students?) feels about teaching grammar in the context of writing (via survey, ethnography, etc)…

I was able to sort out the sources I’ve gathered into several categories for ease of reference (the disadvantages of teaching grammar in writing; the benefits of teaching grammar in writing and some techniques/methods; ESL/EFL writing and grammar issues; the role of computers in language teaching; and on rhetoric and composition). Among these categories, surprisingly, I have MORE sources on the benefits of teaching grammar in the context of writing! So, this could serve as springboard for me to direct my area of study towards that trail... but then again, my topic could be an enigma :)

about me :)

hello,

for this research project, i am interested in the role of teaching grammar in the context of writing. i am interested in finding out whether teaching grammar points have any or no transfer value at all in student composition skills. and if they do, what grammar points reasonably transfer to writing proficiency. i know the issue of teaching grammar lessons in a writing class is a bit wishy-washy (?) among students, teachers and writing program administrators alike. any feedback from you cool people would really help the success of this enterprise! :)