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For those who say that children don't learn grammar any more.....

(104 Posts)
Mamie Mon 25-Jan-16 06:41:01

Here is a short sample from the spelling and grammar test that eleven-year-olds will take this year.
www.sats2016.co.uk/think-youd-pass-your-sats-in-2016/
How did you do?

JackyB Wed 27-Jan-16 12:08:49

I got 7 out of 10, because I wasn't familiar with the terminology, although some of it could easily be worked out. (We learnt about modal verbs, but that was possibly in French or Italian.)

It was fun, but I always did enjoy grammar* and am eternally thankful to our English teacher who had us analysing sentences and was very fussy about it. That knowledge (especially concerning the dative and accusative) has been invaluable for learning new languages, which I have continued to do all my life. It's not too early for kids of that age to learn about those concepts - the earlier the better, if you ask me.

While changes in the language and evolution are inevitable, a certain standard should still be maintained for spelling and grammar or one day we will be inundated by misunderstandings as no one will know what is meant.

*Also I was only an average pupil but excelled at tests and loved exam time.

holcott48 Wed 27-Jan-16 12:12:33

I got 7/10, 70%, but through some guesswork because when I left education in 1966 most of those terms didn't exist - I had to use common sense to work out what on earth they were talking about!

JaxKerr Fri 29-Jan-16 22:14:46

I got 6 out of 10 in the English but mainly guessed. Kids of 11 will never use this information outside school. I have 2 degrees, A levels, O levels (GCSE's) and I was stabbing in the dark!
You do not need to know the description of the structure of the language in order to speak it. This could explain why the rest of the world speaks English and other languages well, while we in GB are very poor at learning foreign languages blush