Pre-Workshop Activity in English Grammar - Assignment Example

Pre-workshop activity journal in English Grammar a. In the journal, my pre-workshop activities that run from the second week to the seventh week are outlined in the order of sequence. This ensures that, I was able to get the clarified picture of the lesson to follow way before the workshop began. This improved my language understanding, and the ease of identifying the Nouns, and Noun phrases, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases on top of the verbs and verb phrases. This did as well contribute to comprehension of verb phrases of their tense, aspect, and mood. Before the workshop, my original work included: Week 1 and 2: Noticing and observing. I was involved in the noticing and realization of language usage by the process of observing the available language in my surroundings. I had to keenly move and position myself in varied areas to ensure that I was able to observe language application in different circumstances and come up with precepts of how it is used and applied. Such an undertaking assisted me to describe and explain the language formations in an easier way when the workshop began. Because grammar is a description and an explanation of the language structures, the simulation I undertook before getting into the workshop helped me to comprehend the labeling of the critical parts and explaining the relationship between structures. Week 3: The grammatical tourist: During this week, I was involved in the research of what really is a noun. I had to revisit the photos on “naming Canberra” and put down a noun phrase that was associated with each of those photos. Week 4: My pre-workshop activities were based on adjectives, Adverbs and the prepositional phrases. During this activity, I had to look for texts such as a “news report” that did contain the adjectives, adverbs as well as the prepositions and try to figure out what these texts had in terms of the adjectives and adverb as well as the prepositional phrases. For adverbs, I had to find out their classifications such as whether they represented time or manner, and I had to try to grade the adjectives prior to the workshop that was supposed to major on the prepositional phrases. Week 5: During the pre-workshop activities, I had to read the chapter 3 text by Berk and fill in the texts in the table that did follow. I had to try to make a distinction of the basic verb from; the infinitive form and the textual form prior to the workshop. This activity did cover the outlining of the text verbs tense. Week; 6. During this week, I was involved in the pre-workshop text reading and identification of the modals. In the undertaking of this task, I was compelled to take the notes of the tenses and aspects as well as the moods of the modals after which I made a text on personal instruction for an undertaking. This activity enabled me to use as many as possible of the modal auxiliaries and come up with a text that was linked to their usage in paragraphing. b. Basing on my observations about language and its usage, I have developed various perspectives regarding grammar and its relationship as a metalanguage and as a language. This means that the language aspect of grammar is based on that fact that grammar or language is referred to when it is being talked of or analyzed. Grammar is used to make statements relating to statements in other languages such as the so-called object language. From Huddleston & Pulum, (2002), Grammar as a various perspectives of it being a meta language such as being embedded, and ordered on top of being nested. Grammar as an embedded Meta language, it is formally, naturally, and firmly fixed in an objective language. This happens in cases where the adjectives and specific forms of adverbs in addition to the possessive pronouns, are used to constitute the embedded metalangauge. This is likely to be noted as well, where the nouns, verbs as well as adverbs and adjectives in some instances are used to constitute the so-called object language. Grammar as a Meta language can as well be ordered. This means that, it is analogous to the ordered logic. The nested metalangauge aspect of grammar is ordered metalangauge but which at different levels depicts the greater levels of concept. Justified by the above approaches, I understand that grammar or language is more indented on being a Meta language, as opposed to the basic aspect of being a language; a means through which people can communicate. It is a vital aspect as far as explanation of other languages features is concerned. Grammar or language does in literal terms, govern not only the way people interact and exchange information, but it ensures that the right adverbs, prepositional phrases and for instance the adjectives are well curved into a smooth sentence. Grammar as a language is too basic because, it justifies that language is what grammar is. This relationship of grammar and it as a language is shallow and holds little meaning of what grammar is really. I therefore perceive that, grammar in this case, is in a shallow way linked to language as opposed to metalangauge aspect, which is more propounded and widened usage of grammar and language. Language is used in many circumstances. This means that, it is used to as a mode of communication, to describe other perspectives of another language as well as the natural way of exchanging ideas. I have managed to realize that depending on the scope as well as the surrounding circumstances, language is very useful if well utilized. If one manages to use the right adverbs, and respective adjectives on top of the right adjectival phrases language becomes very exciting. This ensures that, the learners such as myself are able to attain proficiency in spoken language and grammar which is written. I have therefore, been influenced to understand that, grammar is related more to it as a meta language as opposed to how it is indented to being just a language. Grammar therefore, boosts the relationship between itself and other associations; as a metalangauge in a greater way than it is as a language in general. Reference Huddleston. R, & Pulum, G. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. NY: Cambridge University Press. Read More