Remedial English Grammar for Foreign Students

Description

This book does not set out to be a complete grammar of the Englishlanguage. Its aim, as the title implies, is to concentrate on, and to attemptto correct, the most frequent grammatical mistakes made by foreign studentsof English. To some extent, of course, the difficulties experienced, and themistakes most frequently made, vary according to the nationality and themother tongue of the students concerned, but there are quite a large numberwhich are common to almost all, and it is with these that the present bookdeals. They have been suggested by those experienced in the teaching ofEnglish as a foreign language, and by foreign students themselves withwhom the writer has been in touch either personally or by correspondence.Thanks are also due to Mr Ronald Ridout, who read the entire typescriptand made a number of useful suggestions.A feature of the book is the provision of ample exercises to give thestudent practice on each point as it arises. The explanatory matter has beenmade as concise and simple as possible, and illustrative examples havebeen given of each point dealt with.The tendency of modern linguistic teaching is to avoid as far as possiblethe type of exercise which involves substitution or the mere filling in ofblank spaces within the framework of a given sentence; and in general thepresent writer is in full sympathy with this tendency. The inclusion in thepresent book of so many exercises of this kind can, however, be justifiedby the purpose they are intended to serve and the aim of the book as awholeâ??the correction of specific mistakes and the removal of particulardifficulties. If the student is given a free hand he is likely to avoid thedifficulties; if he is to master them by constant practice he must be kept tothe point all the time. It is to help him in this way that the exercises havebeen devised. If he wishes, of course, the teacher can supplement them byothers of his own to meet the needs of a particular group.