Which of the grammatical elements was easiest for you to learn as a student ?
It was easy for me to understand 受動態 , 現在完了, 関係代名詞 , 進行形 , 未来形 etc ...
There were two reasons why I felt easy .
Fitst , there are definite rules . If I could master the rules , I could solve any questions .
Second , there are only a few rules . I was poor at memorizing .
Which of the grammatical elements was most difficult for you to understand ?
I was poor at preposition . There were four reasons why I did not like preposotion .
First , there are many meaning .
ex) There is a book on the desk . [接触]
I went on foot . [支持]
I spend much money on books . [対照]
I bought this book on Christmas Eve . [時] etc...
Second , It is difficult for Japanese to tell .
ex) I stopped at Tokyo 0n my way to Sendai .
We lived in a small village in Scotland .
A lamp hung over the table .
Our plane was flying high above the clouds .
Third , it is hard foｒ me to remember group preposition(群前置詞) .
ex) thanks to ~ / instead of ~ / in front of ~ / in addition to ~
Finally , it is misleading .
ex) 彼女は動物について本を書いた。
She wrote a book about animals . 私たちはそのテーマについて論じる。
We discuss (× about) the subject .
私は彼女の家に到着する。
I arrive at her house .
I reach (× at) her house .
I was also poor at article . There are two reasons why I did not like article .
First , there are many meaning .
ex) There was not a cloud in the sky . [ひとつの]
A rose smells sweet . [種類全体]
This watch loses two minutes a day . [～につき]
Second , there are many idioms .
ex) after a while / by the way / on the way
Which of the grammar do you have confidence in teaching ?
I have confidence to teach 受動態 , 現在完了 , 関係代名詞 , 進行形 , 未来形 etc...
Because there are definite rules , so I thought it is easy for me to teach these grammatical elements . Maybe , I will be able to make questions and explain the grammar easily , and students also will be able to understand it and solve the questions easily . These grammatical elements are not confusing , and there are not many exceptions , so it is easy for students to memorize . What is more , teacher will be able to make chances to use these grammatical elememts , because these are often used in daily conversation .
Which grammar do you think will be difficult for you in teaching ?
① Oral phrase (会話表現)
ex) Here you are / Nice to meet you
Because I will not be able to explain the grammer with the grammers which students have already learned . If I said to students , "Please memorize this phrase." , students will memorize this . But maybe there are students who has question . I am teaching English at cram school , and one of my student said to me , "Please tell me the grammatical rules of 'Here you are'." I was perplexed the question . If he is high school student , I can explain the rule , but he is 7th grade , so he does not learn "Here is[are]~構文" and 倒置 . Then I thought that it is difficult for me to teach oral phrase .
② Preposition & Article (前置詞＆冠詞)
・ There are many meaning .
・ It is difficult for Japanese to tell .
・ It is hard for me to remember group preposition .
・ It is misleading .
③ Idiom
・ There are many same expression .
ex) show up = turn up = appear = come = arrive
put out A = turn off A = extinguish A
・ There are enormous idions .
・ There are not regular rules .
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2 comments:
Hello,Gami.Your blog is great!!I could learn lots of things from your blog! And I agree with you on some points. I think how to use preposition is very difficult,too!I am still confused with them....
Thank you.
Hi Gami,
Thanks for the grammar lesson! Yes, your blog reminded me of how difficult prepositions are! In fact they are almost as difficult as Japanese particles (ha, ga, ni, wo) etc. What's the difference between
1) watashi-ha kanojo-NI atta.
and
2) watashi-ha kanojo-TO atta.
?
Prepositions and articles are devilishly difficult little buggers that even very advanced learners struggle with them. I think that rules can explain most of their uses but not all of them.
"At" is usually used to express a point in time or a point in space:
"Meet you at the station"
"Let's meet at six"
(Also goal: 1) "I am aiming at getting a 600 on TOEFL, 2) Reaction: I was surpised AT his burping, 3) Standard: I am good AT tennis.. If you think of the above as SPECIFIC goals - a 600 on TOEFL, stimuli- burping, and standard - I am saying ONLY THAT I AM GOOD AT TENNIS then maybe the base meaning "point" makes sense.)
So,
"I arrived AT her house" makes sense. My image of the above sentence is someone going to a friend's house with the house being some sort of point of rendezvous.
On the other hand, I have also heard expressions like
"I arrived TO class late."
"To" is used to express direction. My image is of a student running into class after it has started and sitting down out of breath. To me "I arrived at class late" sounds a little strange but I am sure that some people would disagree with me. Furthermore, the usage is acceptable.
Although in base meaning prepositions can be different, in use their difference can be quite subtle.
So, I think we have to teach students the base meanings of prepositions and also combinations of words (collocations).
Why can we say "I arrive at Koizumi's house" but we can't say "I reached at Koizumi's house."?
The answer, I believe, lies in the core meanings of the words "reach" and "arrive". However, any kind of explanation might be too abstract and dull for a junior high school student.
My advice for teaching prepositions is teach the base meanings but also help students recognize collocations. There is a very good book that explains the meaning and usage of prepositions very simply and well. The name of the book is Natve Speakers' English Grammar 2 (ネイティブスピーカーの前置詞).
Articles are a completely different story. I will save this talk for another day.
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