230448 Grammar (S) (WiSe 2010/2011)

This course will provide you with an essential foundation for all of your other work in Language Practice. Without a good grasp of grammar, you cannot speak or write English effectively. Of course, you also need vocabulary, but adding new words to your stock can be a lifelong process. Getting basic grammar under control can (and should) happen in one semester.

You will learn how English sentences are constructed and how to apply the rules you already know from school with a deeper understanding, so that you become aware of the limitations of rules memorized without regard to communicative purpose and context. We will focus on those areas of grammar that are especially problematic for German learners and will also discuss grammar contrastively.

Regular exercises will help you to discover how good your grasp of grammar is now and where you still need to do more work to achieve mastery. You will be expected to assess your own deficits and work independently to repair them.

There will be several short quizzes and a final assessment of your progress.

Literaturangaben

Recommended resources:

Martin Hewings "Advanced Grammar in Use"

Raymond Murphy "English Grammar in Use"

Michael Swan "Practical English Usage"