Lessons learned from 1st Graders

So, after years of teaching middle and high school students, I now find myself working with first and second grade ELL (English Language Learner) students. I never pictured myself as an elementary teacher, and the truth is that there are days when I adore my students and days when I want to tear my hair out.

Regardless of the particular lessons of the day, however, I find that I am learning a great deal from my students. Many of these lessons are about socialization and how young children view the world, but others are more directly related to my lessons on grammar, vocabulary, and reading skills. Since I have little-to-no training in how to actually teach reading and writing to kids who don't even know how to read in their native language, I have been learning on the fly, and my students are helping me.


One recent lesson was an important one, and it pertains to all writing, whether you are 7, 17, or 70. Whenever my students are asked to proofread their writing, they are told to ask themselves three questions about words or sentences that don't seem right in some way:

1. Does it look right?
2. Does it sound right?
3. Does it make sense?

They are told that these questions will help them to self correct, and it's true - whether you're an elementary student or an adult. Those three simple questions will help fix most errors in our writing. This is especially true for adults, with our much greater mastery of words and sounds. Each question has its own function as a proofreading aid.

Does it look right?

Words that are misspelled are probably the most common error in writing, but since the majority of writing (even rough drafts) is done on a computer these days, spell check can usually help with this problem. However, there are still plenty of times when the appearance of a word can tip us off that something isn't quite right.

One example if this is doubled words - when we reread our own work, we can look for times when we have accidentally doubled a word. This often happens with connectors such as "and," and is often due to getting distracted in the middle of sentence. With practice, a good writer can learn to scan quickly through their work for instances where a doubled word causes a sentence or phrase to look wrong, and fix it.

Another issue of misspelling that won't be caught by spell check is homonyms, such as "too," "to," and "two." Especially in the case of "to" and "too," it is very easy to hit the "o" key twice and not notice, spell check won't fix it because the resulting error is a valid word. Therefore it's up to our own human proofreading to see that the word doesn't look right, and correct it.

Does it sound right?

As I've said before, reading your writing out loud can be an invaluable tool for finding errors. Some people go so far as to record themselves reading their work, although many find it just as valuable to simply read it quietly to themselves. This reading technique is where the question, "Does it sound right?" comes in to play.

Let's take an example from the books my students read. Here is a sentence from one of them:

"My wings are getting stronger -- a lot stronger!"

Now, some of my students incorrectly copied this sentence to read "My wings are getting stronger -- a let stronger!" This is an easy mistake to make, especially for young readers and writers, but for adults as well. There is only one letter difference, and this is an error that spell check wouldn't catch. However, if we use the reading technique to ask ourselves, "Does it sound right?" we can find this error immediately. This is an error type that is easy to make, but also easily corrected, if we just take the time to read to ourselves.

Does it make sense?

Oh, boy - I could go on and on about the errors created when we don't bother to proofread and ask ourselves this question. They drive me crazy, and are an almost sure sign that no proofreading was done on a piece of writing. Most often, these take the form of a sentence that starts off to say one thing, the writer gets distracted in the middle, and the sentence finishes as something else. Take this sentence:

"Each morning you should try walking is a great form of exercise, even for people who aren't in good shape."

Clearly, this sentence started off to be something like, "Each morning you should try walking for thirty minutes." However, the writer became distracted or got ahead of themselves, and continued on with a different thought about walking as a form of exercise. If they spell-checked this sentence, it would pass without any problems - and yet it makes very little sense. Reading this out loud or asking others to proofread it will immediately turn up the problem, allowing the writer to rewrite this sentence as two new sentences, each of which make sense.

Another error of this type that comes up a lot is repeating phrases at both the beginning and end of a sentence. Here are two examples:

1. Mom said, "Please take out the garbage," Mom said.

2. A few days ago, we played a great game of soccer on Tuesday.

In the first example, the exact phrase is repeated. Its placement would make sense in either location, but certainly not in both. In the second, the phrase is not repeated, but the sentiment is. The reader needs to choose between the two time indicators rather than using both. These errors are often the result of initial proofreading - a writer goes back and decides to change a sentence, and forgets to delete the original statement. They can be easily fixed in a final proofreading. This is a good reason to do multiple rounds of proofreading. Not only is it possible to miss errors the first time around, but you may have created new ones which will then need to be corrected!

This third question is also a good one to ask about an entire writing piece. I cannot even begin to count the number of essays, stories, and articles that I've read which start on one topic and then slowly diverge onto another. I'm guilty of this myself. I sometimes reach the end of a blog and realize that what I've been writing about for the last hour has little or nothing to do with my title - meaning I need to either re-title the blog and rewrite the beginning, or split it in two and write each on the appropriate topics.

The best and easiest way to see if this is true for a piece that you're writing (or have written) is to read the title and first paragraph, and then the last paragraph. Do they make sense together? Are they truly on the same topic? If the answer is "no," or even "not really," you need to rework your piece.

Use them early, use them often.

Many of us who use computers for the majority of our writing have heard the phrase, "Save early, save often" when it comes to computer documents, thanks to the tendency for programs to crash just as you type your final words. Saving early and saving often prevents you from needing to go through the tedious process of retyping your entire piece.

I use a similar mindset when it comes to the use of these three questions - if you check each paragraph as you finish and ask the questions, you will find that your piece requires a lot fewer corrections when you finish. If you wait until the end, it can be harder to spot errors, and may require more time and effort on your part.

Never the less, you should never consider a piece completed and ready to hand in or publish without proofreading it at least twice in its entirety. Good writers check and recheck!

Proofreading Responses

Dear Internet Users -

When you don't proofread your responses, replies, and comments, it  makes me want to cry. When you use words you don't understand, it makes you sound like an idiot.

Case in point:

Did you find the problem here?

Anyone else catch the problem here? She's talking about weight, but uses the word "emancipated," meaning freed from slavery. I believe she meant "emaciated," meaning thin to the point of starvation. Of course, she could also use some help with "It's" vs "Its" and comma usage.

Please, please, please - when you leave a response for someone, know what you're talking about and proofread your response before you click the little "post" button.

Sincerely,

FGSP

5 Errors Spellcheck Won't Catch

"But, I ran spellcheck!" My students tell me, as they look in dismay at the red marks covering their papers. "How can there be so many mistakes?"

I hate to tell you this, boys and girls, but there is much more to proofreading your work than just letting Word give it a once-over. And yes, I know that since the advent of grammarcheck there are more errors being caught automatically. However, there are two excellent reasons to do a "manual" spellcheck. The first is that there are simply some errors that spellcheck and even grammarcheck don't catch. The other is that sometimes (more frequently than you may realize), both of these functions actually correct "errors" that were not really errors. If you use the automatic proofreaders and don't go over your writing afterwords, you could end up saying something you really didn't intend.

There are many ways to proofread, and many types of errors to look for, but there are five categories of frequently made errors that won't be caught by spellcheck, and will often escape grammarcheck as well. If you make sure to check for these varieties of error, your writing will sound more professional and intelligent, and be much easier to read and understand.

#1: Doubled Words

Oftentimes this mistake comes up when a writer was in the middle of a sentence and was interrupted or distracted. Doubled words are most often seen with small connector words, such as "and and" "the the" or "with with." Unfortunately, spellcheck won't catch these because the words are spelled correctly - just typed too many times. This error can be a prime signal to your reader that you didn't take the time to double check your writing. The easiest way to find doubled words is to read through your writing out loud. For some reason, although our brains are adept at skipping over our errors while reading silently, the added component of verbalizing the words allows us to catch more mistakes.

#2: Spaces, Capitalization, and Punctuation

This is an area where spellcheck often misses mistakes, and careful manual proofreading can save your writing piece from the dangers of being not only difficult to understand but downright embarrassing. Imagine this sentence, used for an advertisement, "Our pen is great for arthritis. It is easy on your hands and won't leak on you." Now remove the space between "pen" and "is." Pretty embarrassing when sent to your copy editor, right? And because the resulting word isn't misspelled, spellcheck won't find it. This example is somewhat childish, but this type of error happens often. The most common occurrence is with the word "she," when the word immediately before it can be pluralized by adding "s." Because the pluralized word is spelled correctly, and "he" is also a word, spellcheck and even grammarcheck will miss it.  It is even difficult for many people to catch by eye, because it is an error of only one letter, and people often read what they expect to see. To find these problems, try the above mentioned trick of reading out loud, or have someone else read through your writing. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes will find errors that you couldn't see.

Capitalization is also an issue that spellcheck can't help with. And although grammarcheck will catch it at the beginning of a sentence, it may miss it in other places. Whenever you use proper nouns (especially if they are also regular nouns, like "Smith"), make sure to double check that you have capitalized them. In addition, this is an important feature to check after running the Word checkers - did they correct something that was not, in fact, an error?

Punctuation falls under the category of "problems not caught by spellcheck or grammarcheck" for obvious reasons. The algorithms on which spellcheck and grammarcheck are based have no way of knowing what you intended to say for the majority of punctuation. Perhaps you put in a period when you meant to put in a question mark. This could make the sentence completely unintelligible. Reading out loud is an excellent fix for this problem, as English uses different inflection for sentences and questions.

#3: Too Many Commas

"Too many commas" was often the phrase scratched in red on the top of my papers when I got them back throughout my high school and college years. When I was initially taught the "correct" use of commas, I was told that you should, "put one in whenever you would naturally pause in speech." This phrase is all well and good if you are someone who speaks with few pauses. Apparently, however, the true "correct" use of commas is to put one in whenever you would pause and when the sentence does not make sense or takes on a different meaning without it. Again, the best way to check this is to read your work out loud, or to have a friend read it out loud to you. If their pauses seem unnatural or too frequent, revise your comma usage.

Here's an example of a sentence that can be simplified by removing a comma:

When she sang her favorite song, for everyone in the church, it was beautiful.
When she sang her favorite song for everyone in the church, it was beautiful.

The sentence still has flow and the meaning is preserved without breaking the rhythm.


#4: Overuse of (Parentheses)

Parentheses have many uses. Within normal writing, they are used to put in personal comments, afterthoughts, or for clarification. However, when used too often, parentheses can make your writing confusing, broken-up, and unprofessional. What can be done about this problem of overuse?

One way to avoid too many parenthetical statements is to exchange parentheses for commas. This is only possible in some cases, so be careful. Always reread the statement after you have swapped out the parentheses. Here is an example where the swap works:

Suzy Smith (a high school English teacher) is in her tenth year of teaching.

Suzy Smith, a high school English teacher, is in her tenth year of teaching.

And one where it does not:

Some people feel that low-fat versions taste the same (I disagree).

Some people feel that low-fat versions taste the same, I disagree.

For the second example, the swap out reduces flow and makes the sentence hard to read. To correct this, "but" or "however" can be added after the second comma, or the portion in parentheses can become a new sentence.

Another method for avoiding overuse of parentheses is to simply remove the parenthetical statement. This is almost always the best option when writing scientific or academic pieces. A professor once told me, on the subject of lab reports in a psychology class, "If you had to put it in parentheses, then you didn't need it to begin with!" This is generally true for this type of work. Always try reading your sentences without the part in parentheses to determine if it really adds to the work, or just makes it longer.

For more information on how and when to use parentheses, click here.

#5: Incorrect Use of Words

Lastly, the most common grammatical error in the English language can be summed up in one big word: homophones. Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently, as opposed to homonyms which are spelled exactly the same but have different pronunciations. The often used (and misused) homophones are extremely common words. They include "they're/their/there," "your/you're" and "it's/its." Less commonly, there are word pairs like "patience/patients." There is one very good reason to proofread for these words: the misuse of these words will almost inevitably lower the opinion of your reader, not only of your writing skill but also of your overall intelligence. It is a sad but true fact. Here are a few little tips to help in remembering which of these words to use:

1)Think about what the words actually mean. This is especially useful in the case of contractions, such as "they're" and "you're." For example, you might write the error of "I really liked you're new shoes," but you wouldn't write "I really liked you are new shoes." If you think about what the contraction actually stands for, you will be far less likely to misuse it.

2)Think about what words those words are related to or come from. In the case of "there" vs. "they're" vs. "their" you can think of the related word "here." Everyone knows that "here" refers to a place. When trying to decide if "their," "they're" or "there" refers to a place, look for the word that contains its related word, "here" - "there." If you then apply the above rule for thinking about what contractions stand for, you know that "they're" means "they are," leaving only one other homophone in that group: "their."

3)"Its" and "it's" are often tricky because they appear to disobey a rule - the possessive apostrophe, as in "Mike's" or "Sally's." We know that "Mike's" means "belonging to Mike," so shouldn't "it's" mean "belonging to it"? No, and for a good reason. When we want to say "belonging to him" we don't says "him's," nor "her's" - we write "his" and "hers." Pronouns therefore do not follow the usual possessive apostrophe rule, and do not use apostrophes in their possessive form. So, "its" is absolutely normal, a possessive pronoun without an apostrophe. "It's," on the other hand, is another contraction like "they're" and "you're." It stands for "it is."

Run It, Then Check It Again

Please don't misunderstand me. There are certainly times when spellcheck is very useful. I will even grudgingly admit that there are rare occasions when grammarcheck is helpful, too. However, they are not the end-all be-all of proofreading, and should never be relied upon by themselves as adequate for this purpose.

My general recommendation, no matter what the purpose of your writing, is to run spellcheck and then read through your paper again. In fact, if you are someone who wants to get better at spelling, proofread your work manually first, run spellcheck, and then manually proofread again. Over time you will pick up your common mistakes before the program does, and start making those mistakes less frequently. Another good way to help yourself with this is to turn off autocorrect. This function simply serves to perpetuate your common misspellings, meaning that when you have to write by hand you are very likely to make them.

Overall, looking for and correcting these five types of errors will greatly improve your writing. If you are turning papers in for a grade, I guarantee that your grades will go up if you start correcting for these problems. If you are submitting articles for publication, these fixes will make your writing more professional and easy to read, thus making it more likely that your piece will be accepted. No matter what the purpose of your writing, manually proofreading will improve the quality of your work.

The "Where You At?" Disease

Casual behavior in formal situations has become an epidemic in our time. As an editor and educator, I run into this phenomenon everywhere, from the classroom to the boardroom and from term papers to letters of introduction. Listening to peoples' manner of speech in formal situations and reading their professional writing has become an exercise in not cringing. It has become apparent that for a large portion of the population, especially those under the age of thirty, differentiating between what is appropriate among friends and what is appropriate in a formal situation is an impossibility. That there might be reasons for different modes of behavior doesn't seem to even factor into the equation.

Which person would you rather hire, A or B?

Interviewer: Hello, I'm Mr. Z.
Person A: Hello, Mr. Z. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Person A.
Interviewer: Could you tell me a little about why you applied with us?
Person A.: Certainly. I have extensive experience in your field. I participated in (related projects) in college, and interned with (well known company). I've heard a lot of great things about your company, and am excited to hear about an opening.

Interviewer: Hello, I'm Mr. Z.
Person B: Yo, Mr. Z., I'm Person B. What's up?
Interviewer: Ahem. Well. Could you tell me about why you applied with us?
Person B.: Yup, no problem. I'm awesome at (several skills), and I'm a totally nice person and stuff. I really need a job, and I heard you had one, so I thought, "why not?".

Recognizing the Symptoms

What do I mean by modes of behavior? Think of it as one person playing different roles on the stage of life. Take for example a fictional person called Jane. Jane is a recent college graduate in her early 20's. She is unmarried, still frequently goes out with her friends, and is currently looking for a job. She has a definite need to fulfill different roles in her daily life.

For example, Jane would never think of drinking in the same way when meeting her boyfriend's parents for dinner as she does when she goes out to the clubs with her friends. In a similar way, she would not dress the same way when babysitting for her niece and nephew as she does when interviewing for a job. So why would she consider it appropriate to speak in the same way in a quick call to her best friend and a call to an HR office to enquire about openings? Why would she write a letter of introduction in the same way that she leaves love-notes for her boyfriend? Yet I see (and hear, and read) this crossing of roles more and more frequently. I can't say precisely why that is, but I do have some insight into three main causes.

A poorly written letter of inquiry:

Dear Human Resources Director,

Hi. How are you? I'm great. My name is Jim James. I am looking for a job, and I was wondering if you have one. Do you have any jobs open right now?  

I just graduated from college with a business degree, so I'm pretty good with computers and people and stuff, and I understand marketing and sales things. I can also learn stuff really fast if I need to. 

I think I'd be great working for you, so I hope you'll give me a call. 

Thanks,
Jim James

 

A properly written letter of inquiry:

Director of Human Resources, Company XYZ:

My name is John Johnson, and I am writing to inquire about an opening within your company. I came across a posting for a sales manager position on (job posting site), and I believe that I would be a good candidate to fill this opening. 

I have a degree from ABC University in marketing. In addition, I have experience as an intern working for 123 Company for the past two summers. I have excellent computer skills, including training in (commonly used software programs). I believe that these skills and experience would allow me to adapt easily to any position requirements.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
John Johnson

Cause #1: Advertising and Media

Everyone in America is bombarded with advertisements all the time, even those who don't watch TV or listen to the radio. Many ad campaigns become so prolific that everyone eventually hears about them. And, sadly, these campaigns often use improper grammar as a gimic. This is problematic because the use of poor grammar for a professional advertisement reinforces that this is an acceptable practice. It encourages that particular misuse of words, phrases or entire parts of speech, to the point where people can no longer identify it as misuse.

My favorite (or most detested) example of this is the ubiquitous "Where you at?" ads for cell phones from Boost Mobile a few years ago. This question, while it does indeed convey the intended meaning of "Where are you?" (or even more properly, "Where are you located?"), it is utterly disgraceful from a grammar standpoint. It lacks a verb, one of only two requirements for a valid English sentence.

Why does it matter? Can't we say what we want to our friends? Yes, absolutely. However, when these ads are shown repeatedly to children or adolescents who can't distinguish between casual usage and formal usage, the poor grammar becomes embedded in their speech patterns and reappears in situations where it is unacceptable. The true issue arises with recognition of what is and is not "good" grammar. Many high school students, when asked to identify valid and invalid sentences, fail the task. The first time that I ranted about the Boost "Where you at?" ad to a classroom of high school seniors, many looked blank, and several asked why the grammar in the ad is wrong. The fact that they can't identify the problem is scary, because it is a symptom of the looming disease.

Cause #2: Adult Example

Many is the time I have spent in various teacher staff rooms, listening to teachers exclaim (in horrified voices), "I cannot believe what I heard a student say in my class!" The stories vary from just informal speech to outright swearing, but they inevitably involve a student saying something in a school environment that is utterly inappropriate for the situation.

Why are students doing this? Is it just a matter of "kids these days?" Or has something changed which causes the kids to speak in school the same way that they would speak to friends on the street? At least one cause is the behavior that the students witness in their role models, namely the adults in their world. This includes parents and neighbors, but most importantly teachers.

The school environment is the first formal, professional environment that children encounter in their lives. To some extent, it is the prototype on which they are expected to base their professional behavior later in life. Yet many schools now allow teachers to wear jeans, tee shirts, and hooded sweatshirts to school as "professional attire." While Casual Fridays are a great idea, to make a more fun and relaxed environment, when it becomes an everyday event it loses all meaning. This "dress code" may get big points from teachers at staff meetings, but what message does it portray to students? This casual mode of dress tells students that the school environment is no longer a formal place. This is also true for mode of speech. Many teachers pick up the slang of their students and use it freely in class to appear more friendly or approachable (as do many parents). When adults dress or speak in the same way as kids, it subconsciously gives permission for the kids to treat them the same way that they treat each other.

Cause #3: Lack of Explicit Behavioral Instruction

When I bring up the idea of explicit behavioral instruction, many people immediately think of the outmoded courses on manners taught at the turn of last century - which fork is used for the salad and which for the dessert, how to keep conversation running smoothly in the parlor after dinner, and other social situations that rarely (if ever) occur for most of us. However, while I agree that these old-fashioned etiquette courses are mainly irrelevant for modern American life, I feel that explicit instruction for formal situations is still a necessity.

Many people, before graduating from high school or even college, have never had to attend a formal interview or meeting, or go out on a business lunch. They may never have been required to write a piece of formal writing, such as a travel report or letter of inquiry. So why is it that we expect kids to just "pick it up"? We don't expect them to just "pick up" math or science. Students need to be guided in this facet of socialization, just as they need guidance from adults in their academic subjects.

Preventing the Spread of the Disease

The best way to prevent the spread of the disease is the same as for any pathogen: stop it before it starts. How do we adequately address and prevent the issue before it starts? Very simply: we teach it directly in school and in freshman college courses. Where we once could assume that students would pick up professional speech and behavior from their parents and teachers, this is clearly no longer the case. Instead, much like study habits, students can be taught to consciously recognize the correct role to play in a given situation. In particular, students can work on professional behavior by role playing certain formal situations, such as an interview. They can then have the instructor or their peers evaluate and critique their behavior. The same idea also functions for formal writing. Students can work in groups where each student writes a draft of a letter of inquiry or letter of introduction, and then students pass their letters around the group for suggestions. After a second draft, the teacher can collect and read through the letters, and then address major issues with the class as a whole.

Another solution is to use real advertisements or clips from TV and movies to illustrate and break down the different modes of behavior for diverse levels of formality. For example, students could be shown a clip and then asked, "What would you do differently in this situation?" Alternately, students could be asked to correct poor grammar seen in formal writing. Trust me, there is no shortage of examples for poorly written professional writing pieces.

The last solution is all too simple: revise the behavior of the adult role models. For teachers, this is relatively easy. Have a staff meeting, introduce new standards for teacher dress and speech, and discuss why they are necessary to prevent overly-casual behavior and speech in class. While some teachers might initially buck at this more strict view on their dress and behavior, the results will be worth it. In addition to fewer incidents of swearing or impolite speech towards teachers, making the school environment more professional increases student focus and study time, helping students to separate their home life from their school duties.

So, Where We At?

We are in a culture that is more in flux than at any other time in history. English is evolving more rapidly than any other language. We live in an utterly amazing time in which we can send text messages to friends across the country in a matter of seconds. Our language is so flexible that one can shorten "Where are you located?" to "Whr U @?" and still be understood. And yet, there are still times in which we must know how to behave to meet older, more formal standards. That is unlikely to change. Our students and children should be prepared, lest they be passed over for jobs or other opportunities. It is our responsibility to them to provide this preparation.

Things We Say Wrong

English is insane. Just ask anyone who has ever thought about it. Or anyone who hasn't - after about five seconds of contemplation, I can just about guarantee that they will agree with the sentiment. 

I have found throughout my time as an educator that English is probably the craziest language on the planet, with the possible exception of Chinese (in all its various dialects). English for Speakers of other Languages (ESL) students both abroad and in English-speaking countries consistenly struggle to make sense of grammar and pronunciation rules that, quite frankly, don't make sense. When asked why a word is used or spelled the way that it is, teachers are often forced to resort to that hated educational phrase, "It just is. Memorize it." This is due to many factors, the top one being that English can trace its roots to many languages rather than just one. For example, the "romance" languages can trace almost all of their words directly back to their latin roots. English comes from German, Latin, Greek, Gaelic, and Norse, just to name a few. 

With all of this craziness even in "proper," ie school-taught English, it comes as no surprise that our common everyday use of the language becomes even more skewed. And to complicate things more, the dialect and slang that I use with my "peeps" on my block of the "'hood" will almost certainly not be exactly the same as what you use. Even if we grew up and went to school together. Now factor into this equation that English is spoken all across America, one of the largest and most diverse nations on Earth, and you begin to see the scope for the potential perversion of "proper" English.

As a member of the grammar police, I often find myself sighing and shaking my head over English grammar usage. I sometimes find it necessary, before the desire to get up on my soapbox and preach overwhelms all sense, to take a step back and find the humor in all of the misuse that abounds in spoken and written English. Most recently, I have found a YouTube video that cracked me up to my cynical, grammar-loving core. It's aptly titled "Things We Say Wrong," and I give my heartfelt thanks to the creator. He has done other YouTube videos on the idiosyncracies of modern life, but this is my personal favorite. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Things We Say Wrong