This activity may be less visible than actual classroom teaching, but it is every bit as important, with that in mind, most of the following chapters contain sections headed 'Looking at pupils' writing', where linguistic knowledge is used to reflect on real examples of written work produced
by schoolchildren.Second, this book is not just concerned with the what of grammar, but also with the why and the how. This differentiates it from most popular grammar-guides, which generally stick to presenting the facts as concisely as possible. For some purposes, that brevity is doubtless a
virtue, but for the purposes of education it has certain limitations. In today's classrooms, it is generally accepted that there is more to learning
than simply memorizing facts and definitions: learners are encouraged to ask questions, and to consolidate their understanding by applying their
knowledge actively. If grammar is not to be an exception in this respect, teachers need to be able to explain the principles behind the facts, and
show pupils how to use those principles to reason things out for themselves. That is also what I will try to do here.Third, this book will acknowledge that grammar is a controversial subject, both in educational circles and in society more generally. Even as I write, a report has just been published by the Confederation of British Industry (and given blanket shock-horror coverage in the media), which calls for schools to pay more attention to grammar in order to stem what is presented as a rising tide of illiteracy in the nation's workplaces.’ Grammar is often talked about in these terms, as a miracle
cure for problems with reading, writing and spelling. This has done it no favours among teachers, whose experience tells them there are no
easy solutions. I agree: though I am interested in what grammatical knowledge can help teachers do, I am not going to suggest that grammar is the answer to every problem. Grammatical knowledge is a tool: like any tool it is useful for some things and unnecessary or unsuitable for others. When it is useful, and how it can best be used, are matters for teachers' professional judgement. But teachers can only make informed judgements if they have some grammatical knowledge in the first place.
