Punctuation, Prepositions, and Plurals- oh My!
As an AmeriCorps tutor, I’ve had the chance to use many different textbook series supplied by the Literacy Center. I've come to know that because each learner has different proficiencies and goals, it’s essential to have a textbook that is appropriate and engaging.
Today I’m going to discuss one series that I’ve found particularly useful: Grammar Wise.
Over the course of my time as a tutor, I’ve found grammar to be one of the more challenging aspects of English language learning. If you’re anything like me, you’ve seen yourself faced with a puzzling grammatical question (Why do you live in an apartment and not at an apartment?). The Grammar Wise series tackles these issues and helps explain complex grammatical rules through concentrated chapters that build on each other. You’ll find chapters focusing on prepositions, future tense, past tense, and almost in between.
Each chapter starts with an explanation, followed by nine different exercises written to help each learner feel comfortable utilizing the grammatical rule. These exercises include picking the correct word or word form, finding and fixing grammatical mistakes, and forming original sentences. As you and your learner work through the book, you’ll notice that previously learned rules continue to present themselves in the following chapters which helps solidify what you’ve learned; This allows room for substantial grammar learning.
I’ve found this series to be most useful with intermediate to high level learners. Once your learner has a solid vocabulary and can communicate effectively, then you may want to start working on the small yet important grammar aspects of the English language.
If you think you and your learner would benefit from this series, it can be found in the Tutor Library at the Literacy Center.
