Grammar Explorer: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 22:32, 9 August 2024

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{{more citations needed|date=June 2023}}

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'''Grammar Explorer''' is a language learning resource that was co-founded by the [[European Commission]] as a part of its Lingua programme within the [[SOCRATES programme]]. The grammar is based on the requirements of the [[Common European Framework of Reference for Languages|The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages]].

==Background==

{{more citations needed|date=June 2023}}

The particularprimary objective of the Lingua 2 programme is "to help raise the standards in language teaching and learning by ensuring the availability of sufficient high quality language learning instruments and tools for assessing linguistic skills acquired. Lingua 2 will encourage both the development of new tools and a wider dissemination of existing tools whichthat represent best practice and provide European added value."<ref>[http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/static/en/overview/lingua_overview.htm Lingua overview<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The specific objectives of the Lingua 2 programme are:

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* to encourage the sharing of best practices;

* to provide a wider variety of language teaching materials to more clearly defined groups, by encouraging the production of language tools which are commercially under-represented or difficult to market on a large scale, notably because of the target group or the nature of the educational approach involved;

* to encourage the acquisition of sufficient knowledge of foreign languages to meet the requirements of particular situations and contexts, provided that these measures are not linked to a specific profession (thiswhich would fall more within the scope of the Leonardo da Vinci programme);

* to improve the distribution and availability of products.</blockquote>

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===The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages===

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Complementary to this programme and to support the objectives, the [[Council of Europe]] has produced a EuropeanEurope-wide [[curriculum]] entitled The [[Common European Framework of Reference for Languages]]. This document provides a detailed model for describing and scaling language use and the different kinds of knowledge and skills required.

==Evolution of the online grammar==

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===Print-based grammar and the Internet===

There are countless internetInternet sites that call themselves "grammars" of a certain language. Many of these online grammars are text-based reproductions of traditional descriptive print grammars which expect the student to sit in front of a computer screen and read as they would read a grammar book. These grammars view grammar as an independent system of rules that is not directly linked to or relevant to language usage, andnor to the language user and learner. Further evidence of this view and approach is found in the fact that these grammars do not include practice material that asks learners/users to test their understanding and command of language usage.

None of these online grammars are structured to take advantage of the many benefits of multimedia and of the internet while successfully avoiding the inherent pitfalls of that medium. Furthermore, none of them are structured with the Basic User (as defined in the Common European Framework of Reference) in mind.

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===Innovation in online language learning===

'''Grammar Explorer''' aims to seriously use a constructivist approach for developing web-based language learning material. It will, therefore, fill the gap created, on the one hand, throughby the influence of the neurosciences on language teaching methodology, and on the other hand, through the persistent adherence of all previously and currently published grammars to outdated concepts. There is no model for such a grammar.

==The structure of the grammar==

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Grammar Explorer is arranged in a modular way. The modules are arranged in alphabetical order rather than according to the structure of the grammar. In this respect Grammar Explorer is more like a dictionary. This is a clear indication that Grammar Explorer has adopted what the [[neurosciences]] have argued for some time, that our memory tends to store semantically, especially at the level of the Basic User.

Furthermore, the neurosciences clearly support [[Michael Lewis (applied linguistic)|Michael Lewis]]'s [[didactic]] approach to language acquisition/learning that has been in circulation for about two decades now: Language must be seen as 'grammaticalized lexis'. A learner must have sufficient semantic data at hand in order to be able to construct meaning. At firstInitially, this is exclusively semantic meaning, which is then transferred into higher level thinking once sufficient semantic data is available to enable the learner to infer the underlying structures. Learners move progressively from semantic meaning intoto more abstract syntactic and morphological meaning.

==References==

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[[Category:Grammar|Explorer]]

[[Category:Language learning software]]

[[Category:Information technology organizations based in Europe]]

[[Category:Language learning software]]

[[Category:Language policy of the European Union]]