Date: Sat, 25 Mar 1995 16:25:46 -0800

From: Dan Alford dalford[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]S1.CSUHAYWARD.EDU

Subject: Re: Grammar Books



Last year I taught Modern English Grammar for the first time since 1971,

using Marilyn Silva's _Grammar in Many Voices_. [How? Using her last

draft before publication. Maybe I should add that I'm her husband! So

consider the source!]



Anyway, I found it to be an excellent book for teaching students to actually

DO grammar rather than just teaching them ABOUT it. The students in the top

half of the grades got extremely enthusiastic (even complaining about how it

had WRECKED their reading skills for other classes, since they were

unconsciously analyzing rather than reading for content the way they were

supposed to!) -- and the bottom half, well, I suppose their social life

was much more intriguing to them. I recommend it for its non-theoretical

and surface-structure approach. Plus, after only two months in publication

it is already the top seller for its publisher, the NTC Publishing Group,

for all its titles.

-- Moonhawk (%- )

"The fool on the hill sees the sun going down and

the eyes in his head see the world spinning round"

-- McCartney/Lennon