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AnIMPRESSIVEEnglishlesson1.IfIamtheonlyparentwhostillcorrectshischild’sEnglish,thenperhapsmysonisright.Tohim,Iamatediousoddity:afatherheisobligedtolistentoandamanabsorbedintherulesofgrammar,whichmysonseemsallergicto.2.IthinkIgotseriousaboutthisonlyrecentlywhenIranintooneofmyformerstudents,freshfromanexcursiontoEurope.“Howwasit”Iasked,fullofearnestanticipation.3.Shenoddedthreeorfourtimessearchedtheheavensfortherightwords,andthenexclaimed,itwaslike,whoa!4.Andthatwasit.ThecivilizationofGreeceandthegloryofRomanarchitecturewerecapturedincondensednon-statement.Mystudent“whoa”wasexceededonlybymyhead-shakingdistress.5.TherearemanydifferentstoriesaboutthedownturnintheproperuseofEnglish.Surelystudentsshouldbeabletodistinguishbetweentheir/there/they'reonthedistinctivedifferencebetweencomplimentaryandcomplementary.Theyunfairlybearthebulkofthecriticismfortheseknowledgedeficitsbecausethereisasensethattheyshouldknowbetter.6.Studentsarenotdump,buttheyarebeingmisledeverywheretheylookandlisten.Forexample,signsingrocerystorespointthemtothestationary,eventhoughtheactualstationeryitems-pads,albumsandnotebooks-arenotnaileddown.Friendsandlovedonesoftenproclaimthey'vejustatewhen,infact,they'vejusteaten.Therefore,itdoesn'tmakeanysensetocriticizeourstudents7.Blameforthescandalofthislanguagedeficitshouldbethrustuponourschools,whichshouldbesettinghighstandardsofEnglishlanguageproficiency.Insteadtheyonlyteachalittlegrammarandevenlessadvancedvocabulary.Moreover,theyoungerteachersthemselvesevidentlyhavelittleknowledgeofthesevitalstructuresoflanguagebecausetheyalsowentwithoutexposuretothem.Schoolsfailtoadequatelyteachtheessentialframeworkoflanguage,accurategrammarandpropervocabulary,whiletheyshouldtaketheresponsibilityofpushingtheyoungontothepathofcompetentcommunication.8.SincegrammarisboringtomostoftheyoungstudentsIthinkthatitmustbehandleddelicately,stepbystep.ThechancecamewhenonedayIwasdrivingwithmyson.Aswesetoutonourtrip,henoticedabirdinjerkyflightandsaid,“It'sflyingsounsteady.Icarefullyasked,myson,howisthebirdflying?“What’swrong?DidIsayanythingincorrectly?”Hegotlost.“Great!Yousaidincorrectlyinsteadofincorrect.Weuseadverbstodescribeverbs.Therefore,it'sflyingsounsteadilybutnotsounsteady.”9.Curiousaboutmycorrection,heaskedmewhatanadverbwas.Slowly,Isaid,“it'sawordthattellsyousomethingaboutaverb.”Itledtohisaskingmewhataverbwas.Iexplained,“Verbsareactionwords;forexample,Daddrivesthetruck.Driveistheverbbecauseit'sthethingDadisdoing.”10.Hebecameattractedtotheideaofactionwords,sowelistedafewmore:fly,swim,dive,run.Then,outofhisowncuriosity,heaskedmeifotherwordshadnamesfortheiruseandfunctions.Thisleditadiscussionofnouns,adjectives,andarticle.Withinthespanofa10-minutedrive,hehadlearnedfromscratchtothemajorpartsofspeechinasentence.Itwaspainlesslearningandgreatfun!11.Perhaps,languageshouldbelookeduponasaroadmapandavaluablepossession:oftenstudytheroadmap(checkgrammar)andtuneupthecarengine(adjustvocabulary).Learninggrammarandagoodvocabularyisjustlikedrivingwitharoadmapinawell-conditionedcar.12.Theroadmapprovidestheframeworkandguidanceyouneedforyourtrip,butitwon’ttellyouexactlywhattreesorflowersyouwillsee,whatkindofpeopleyouwillencounter,orwhattypesoffeelingsyouwillbeexperiencingonyourjourney.Here,thevocabularymakesthejourneytruecolorscomealive!Agoodvocabularyenableyoutoenjoywhateveryouseeasyoudrivealong.Equippedwithgrammarandagoodvocabulary,youhaveflexibilityandexcellentcontrol.Whiletheroadmapguidesyourjourneytoyourdestination,anexcellentvehiclehelpsyoutofullyenjoyallofthesights,soundsandexperiencesalongtheway.13.Effective,preciseandbeneficialcommunicationdependsupongrammarandagoodvocabularythetwoessentialassetsforstudents,buttheyarenotbeingtaughtinschools.14.Justthismorning,mysonandIwereeatingbreakfastwhenIattemptedtoaddmilktomytea.“Dad,”hesaid,“IfIwereyou,Iwouldn’tdothat.It’ssour.”15.“Ohmy!”Isaid,swellingwithpridetowardmyson,“that’sagrammaticallyperfectsentence.Youusedwereinsteadofwas.”16.“Iknow,Iknow,“hesaidwithalongagreeablesigh.“It'sthesubjunctivemood.”17.Iwaslike,whoa!