1. A cats are drinking milk.
2. They forgot to turn in their papers.
3. Last night she saw the film.
(docstoc.com 2011)
Take
one second to consider these sentences, are they grammatically correct?
What
you've just done is a judgement of grammaticality test.
In the process of Judgment of grammaticality, the examinee
is given grammaticality judgment tasks, which are given to non-native speakers
in grammar questionnaire, and he should decide if the sentences he is given, grammatically
correct. This way gives the linguistics the impression of how not native
speakers understand the language and what the most common grammar mistakes are.
(VanPatten & Alessandro G. Benati
2010)
Tests that are supposed to judge the
grammatical competence of a candidate are not without criticism. One of the most
common criticisms is that they are not reliable judgment of the examinee's
grammatical competence. This kind of task can also point at the connection
between the grammar learners are taught at school and the grammar as is. It
means they can point about what "sounds right" for non-native
speakers and how they see the language. As most of these tests are used to
judge oral English competence, they are often considered to be unreliable
because asking a learning verbally can give a cue to the answer (Sloan Berndt
1988). Consequently, linguists tested the relations between the cues, which are
given to the results in these tests.
The results showed that there is no connection
between to tone to learners heard when they were asked and their answers to the
ungrammatically sentences.
Grammaticality judgment tests help the linguists
to know what representation the grammatical knowledge has in people who learn
the language as a second language. These
kind of tests are often used in SLA research.
References:
1.
On the reliability of
grammaticality judgment tests in second language acquisition research / Paul B.
Mandell University of Wyoming
2.
Key Terms in Second
Language Acquisition/ Bill
VanPatten
Hi Avital
ReplyDeleteI think that your topic is a great one. Because a lot of the learners of English as a second language tend to focus on grammar, especially grown ups. I like grammar, and as far as I can remember myself I've always liked grammar. I think that learning grammar can help you to acquire the English language the best way. It is a difficult process to start speaking correctly. I think that we as second language learners tend to judge the the grammar of our peers a lot more than a native speaker. This is because we as people like to know when we are right. We feel great about ourselves when we correct someone and he acknowledges it.
Dear Avital,
ReplyDeleteGrammar has been always an issue for me. As a high school student, grammar was my biggest fear. Now I understand that the main problem was the way grammar has been taught. I think that if I was tested by the "Grammaticality judgment tests" back then, my English teachers could understand better where my grammar issues are coming from. Even though you mentioned that "Grammaticality judgment tests" are not so reliable, I think that this is a good way to understand how L2 learners grasp a language. Regardless of what you said, schools should change and improve their English program and emphasize grammar. Grammar is an extremely important milestone when acquiring a language.
Danielle
Hi Avital
ReplyDeleteIhave to say that this is the first time I have read about tests like the grammaticality judgment tests. I am interested in taking this test myself in order to learn about my own issues with grammar. Grammar is an important part of the English language and many people find it very difficult, especially when they are trying to apply it. I think this test would help those people with a very important part in acquiring a second language.