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GRAMMAR WORKSHOP by Alec Templeton (English Week/Altenberg 2018)

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GRAMMAR WORKSHOP

NB These notes are meant as a reminder for participants in Grammar Workshop English Week 2018

Procedure = Putting the horse before the cart (The recommended order of proceedings)

  1. Experiencing language (Hearing rhythms)
  2. Becoming aware of structures (=Feeling differences in meaning)
  3. Aha! (Gradual awakening to concepts / ideas)

(1)    Experience:

English words have long and short vowels (cf. send / sent, got / caught)

The English Verb has two shapes:  ING-Form; INFINITIVE (with/without TO)

(2)    Feel the difference in meaning:

  1. I  saw the man come / coming down the stairs; She felt someone touch / touching her.
  2. Where do you sit? / are you sitting? (Context main lesson / English lesson).
  3. George Best gets the ball, passes it to Bobby Charlton … (Football commentary); Oxford is rowing beautifully, Cambridge are four lengths behind. They are getting closer …
  4. The class teacher is not playing the violin, she is drinking coffee  (the violin is in its case). But she plays the violin (= she can)!
  5. Do you like sailing? (It is now winter). Would you like to sail? (There is a good wind, the boat is ready); Do you remember kissing on the park bench? Did you remember to kiss?
  6. (Situation: Airport lounge while and after flight was called) What was the lady doing when the flight was called? What did she do when the flight was called?
  7. While I was sitting in the bath, the doorbell rang  / was ringing .
  1. Discussion of differences people “felt”  led to some provisional ideas:
  • The idea of an action being completed or not (saw him come/coming)
  • The idea of now (or then), at this (that) moment (sitting)
  • The idea of a number of completed actions being one after the other (football)
  • The idea of describing an action while it is happening (rowing)
  • The idea of talking about an action (sailing) or actually doing it (to sail)
  • The idea of an action happening until a certain moment (was waiting)
  • The idea of what happened after a certain moment (got up, went to the gate)
  • The idea of something happening when a sudden action started to happen

Training Waldorf School English teachers