THE MOTHER TONGUE

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 79, 29 June 1928, Page 7

THE MOTHER TONGUE

-TEACHING IN SCHOOLS. THE NEW SYLLABUS. Mr N. R. McKenzie, Senior Inspector, Had something interesting to say regarding the teaching of the motmn tongue when ho gave an address at the School Committees Association’s conference yesterday. Mr McKenzie said, that in the old syllabus there was a great deal oil rubbish, which wa s neither nselul nor ornamental. This was especially so in arithmetic! and grammar. Grammar did not teach ns to speak. Wo spoke, as those about n» spoke, and not as a result of our knowledge of grammar. ft had been held previously that the teaching of grammar had an educational value, hut tliav had gone by the hoard. As a matter of fact there were very few things winch wove of educational value unless they wore useful. Many of the rules which those present, had learnt when at school were missing from the new svllabns, and few people, would shod tears over their loss. He believed other rnlo s could be dropped without any detriment to scholars. Once rules got into a syllabus it was hard to get them deleted, and that was the only reason why some grammar rules still remained in the sylla. Busi. They would] ga out in duo course. Very little grammar was provided for. It Was brought in in connection composition.

SIDE-LINE TO COMPOSITION. Ho thought a time-table could bo drawn up without showing grammar as ‘grammar —it could be brought m as a side-line in composition, m the very few cases where grammar could bo of use in composition. Literature was stressed in the new syllabus, *-o thought that of all subjects taught jn the schools the mother tongue was the most important. Every day everybody had to speak to somebody. On leaving school people did very little arithmetic, and very seldom, wrote essays. Very little literairj ability was needed for the writing people generally bad to do. Mot enough stress was laid on Hie importance of the study of the best in Literature. In Taranaki he had always stressed the necessity of children being taught to express themselves orally. Written English was becoming largely a, technical matter. The business man used set phrases in his letters- Newspaper men, no doubt, had to know the language, but their use of it was technical. Written English wn s a godo thing, hut it hc.-f, been overdone, and not enough stress bad been laid cu the spoken word. In a democratic country everybody should he able to get up and express himself fully. In the case of most pcoele there was no necessity for tllem to he able to write English.

*,Tr Avery risked if fhwo was prn~ vision for instruction in the derivation of -words It was one of the elements of the subject and not enough attention was given to it. DEL' TVATTON OF WOT?.DR. Mr McKenzie said that in any scheme of teaching there should ho provision for teaching the derivation of words in the upper eo:rv. "*f tins was not done some part of the teaching of the mother tongue was being neglected. Grammar was only a. statement of the manner of speech of educated people. It set no standard. The standard was sot by the speech of the moment. The newspapers coijld do much to improve, or to debase the language. Slang gradually became part of the speech ol educated! people. An American euT. tor hung no in Ids room a list of wonts described as slang, I lO USC of which in In's journal was forbidden. Remarkable t 0 state, however, the whole of the IdO words on that list had now been incorporated in the. English dictionary. The language we spoke to-day was a different one to that in which the revised version uf the, Bible was written, which was the common speech of -‘IOO odd years ago. Speech to-day was loss dignified, perhaps Because wo were a loss dignified people. Incidentally, might ho stated that English grammar was invented by an A moncan in 1700. Shakespeare and Milton knew! nothing, of] grammar, hut they wrote •well. The sentence of Sir alter Fcctt sometimes would not hear analysis, hut ho was nevertheless a good writer. 1 Mr said that in Ireland in his time it was eoinpidsorv to loam a no-tain amount of ictin am Greek roots. Tie had found tins knowledge very useful in after hie.