Grammar? I Hate Grammar!

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Here are the main reasons why people hate grammar:

• Grammar just slows me down - if I have to figure out the rules it will take me ten minutes to say five words.
• Children learn to speak a language before they can read a grammar book.
• As long as people understand me, that’s all that counts.
• Grammar is boring and doesn’t make any sense, anyway.

Let’s address these points one by one.

Grammar Slows Me Down

There’s some truth to this first objection. There are times that you don’t want any grammar. If you’re doing “hit and run” language learning—learning enough of a language to feel comfortable as a tourist, grammar will definitely slow you down. You want to use the “listen and repeat” method to learn those vital polite phrases. This method can bring you to a respectable conversational level as well. The folks at Berlitz have shown that, given time and enough exposure to a language, you can get some very impressive results.

Children Don’t Need Formal Grammar to Learn a Language

That’s correct. Children are the ultimate “listen-and-repeat” learners. However, you aren’t five years old any more. Learning a language as a child is very different from learning a second language after your first language has become “burned in.” At that stage in your life, grammar, if presented properly, becomes a terrific learning tool.

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I Hate Grammar (part 2)