These two people   in Louisiana would have lost in their quest without the Indian girl. Grammar helps students understand better what they are doing and why they are doing it. 

Duffley, Patrik J. The English Infinitive. New York: Longman, 1992. Print 

I chose this book for this week since I think it would be useful to ESL/EFL teachers teaching advanced level classes such as college composition. Many areas in the grammar of English such as tenses, prepositions, definiteness etc. have been explored. I am in favor of explicitly explaining grammar to ESL/EFL students as I am an ESL student myself. Subtle and not-often-seen-or-heard grammatical patterns are not widely known to ESL students who usually end up learning vocabulary words in isolation. Therefore it is important for ESL/EFL teachers to inform their students who are at a level where they need to know unfamiliar grammatical points in the English language.

This book at first glance seems to attract only linguists and grammarians who share the same interest. English by its nature is unique to EFL/ESL learners. They use synonymy, ellipsis and substitutions. Many grammar textbooks are now focusing on such new items, including the use of infinitives, which the writer of the book focuses on. But the grammar simply does not simply stay there. It takes meaning to make sense. Even with the meaning represented by words and phrases, it may not be represented as dictionaries define them. Without context sentences do not make sense. But some patterns stand out alone to reflect the context at the semantic level. An example explained in the book in the use of “know” with and without the use of “to” as in

“Jane knows her to be intelligent.” and

“Jane knows that she is intelligent.” is particularly of interest to me. 

I do not want to exploit all the areas covered in the book. My idea is to use the explanations in the book in the teaching so that students become familiar with the use of the verbs mentioned. I went to a TESOL conference last year in Richmond, Virginia. The idea introduced in a book promotion program by the representative from Cambridge University Press was to teach grammar in context and in reading. Whenever there is a new pattern or use in a particular genre, the teacher can make use of it to the fullest extent to help his or her students become familiar with the new language. I would use the ideas and examples in the book in helping my students understand better because students in Asian countries want thorough explanations. It is possible to say something like, “Well, it is the way English speaking put it.” But in my opinion language learners learn better if they think they are satisfied. 

Of course it is not advisable for non-native ESL/EFL teachers to glorify themselves stupefying their students with seemingly unexplored niches in the study of grammar. It would be best to help students become communicative in the classroom, regardless of the skills which are the focus of the teaching. This is just to help knowledge-thirsty students with what they think they need so that they will be learning more efficiently.