Rhetoric Review Sep 1986

The evolution of nineteenth‐century grammar teaching

William F. Woods Wichita State University

Abstract

The teaching of English grammar in the nineteenth century can be a rewarding subject of study because it reveals attitudes toward language and language teaching that also shaped the pedagogy of rhetoric, composition, and literature during that period. The prescriptive attitude toward grammar and usage inherited from the eighteenth century was a powerful determinant both in grammar teaching and in the teaching of speaking, reading, and writing, where taste, facility, precision, and perspicuity (clarity) were central issues. And when continental notions of inductive (we would say progressive) teaching begin to have an effect on American education, the signs of change appear earliest in the school grammar texts. In this essay I will describe the main strands of theory and practice in early nineteenth-century grammar teaching and then show how these analytic and synthetic approaches were combined in grammar texts around the middle of the century, contributing to an eclectic theory of expression employed in both grammar and composition teaching by the 1890s.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
1986-09-01
DOI
10.1080/07350198609359129
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy teacher development grammar and mechanics
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Glau (1993)
    Mirroring ourselves? The pedagogy of early grammar texts1
    Rhetoric Review

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