Freeman 9/Finegan 5 Read & Retell

Both chapters basically dealt with English syntax, the rules governing the formation of sentences in a language. It's a complex topic, and both chapters reinforced the idea that this was simply an introduction. Linguists try to describe syntax by formulating rules, the goal being to formulate the fewest amount of rules to generate an infinite number of sentences in a language.

Native speakers acquire a language's syntax. They know the rules subconsciously and use them correctly for their setting/demographic. The information in these chapters explained how linguists study what is natural to a native speaker and posit theories as to how the language functions when spoken and written in sentences. Linguists use the term grammar, which can have several meanings (the internal rules of native speakers, the descriptions of syntactic structure and most commonly the traditional rules most people are taught).

The rules of syntax have to deal with both the deep structure and the surface structure of a sentence. Both chapters used tree diagraming as a graphic organizer to show this structure and grammar. I have never done this type of diagraming but look forward to practicing it.

As usual, Finegan proved a more technical read with many terms. Freeman focused on highlights and provided information on using syntax in teaching reading and second language instruction. Syntax tends to be of little use to the word recognition camp because of the focus on individual words. The sociopsychololingistic view finds syntax useful, one of three cueing systems. Cloze activities are a good example of this application. Having learned and taught much traditional grammar, it's hard to read that traditional grammar instruction leads to little learning in regards to reading and writing. I'm glad the texts did mention mini-lessons in a writing workshop setting; these mini-lessons can focus on certain syntactical aspects that can improve writing. It makes sense to do this in context rather than in drill and practice format.