Since I wrote Language for Life in 2013, more than a decade has passed, and in that decade, I’ve learned a great deal. The new edition reflects that learning in the following ways:
The first edition was written as a kind of download of everything I knew about grammar and syntax in a way that I hoped would assist others to understand and subsequently teach it.
This edition marks not only a renewed approach to teaching these subjects, but a deepening of my understanding of the relationship between knowledge of parts of speech and morphology, to proficiency as a writer.
Knowing how words work at the sub-word level, all the way through to the syntactic and text generation level, requires the formation of mental models of grammar. Language for Life is a step by step treatment of how to build robust schemas around grammar and syntax, to create a metalanguage between teacher and student that reliably allows clear instruction, dialogue and feedback.
There is a surge in educator interest in knowledge-building as part of a curriculum. When, in edition 1, the example sentences and passages were based on fictional characters and scenarios, this edition comprises units of study on one of my favourite topics: birds.
Our example sentences and paragraphs are about brolgas, Isa Brown hens, wedge-tailed eagles, king parrots, frigate birds and Australian ravens. I hope they give teachers and students as much pleasure in learning about them as I derived from writing about them. I love those birds.
I’m also very excited to share the work that my illustrators did on the parts of speech personified – I have likened the nouns, determiners, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions to people living in a busy city. They all have jobs, relationships and distinct behaviour. It’s been a lot of fun field-testing these characters!
These changes bring the work into line with the most up to date, research-informed pedagogical approaches, i.e. those which favour knowledge-building over generic skills-building.
There were a couple of chapters on language impairment that I’ve expunged, now that I know better about concepts like auditory processing (see this essential handbook for more information on that), and underlying cognitive processes involved in learning. Professor Pamela Snow from La Trobe University, one of the authors of said book, has written a very kind endorsement for the back cover.
Here is what Professor Snow kindly said about this edition:
‘The hallmark of Lyn Stone’s writing and presentations is her understanding of her audience and their needs. This new edition of Language for Life builds on the strong foundations laid by its predecessor and will make it even easier for teachers to overcome the daunting burden of having to teach concepts which in the majority of cases, they did not learn themselves, either at school or at university. Lyn understands what teachers need to understand and tells the story of language and its idiosyncrasies in ways that will boost teacher capacity, and ultimately, student achievement.’
Professor Pamela Snow, La Trobe University, Australia
The core business of how to teach parts of speech and their relationships still stands, as does the work on dictionaries. I’ve made updates to the prefix, base and suffix lists to reflect my understanding and my view on current practice in the morphology space.
This edition also comes with a scope and sequence document of suggested lessons from the Foundation year to the sixth year of school.
I’ve also used these images to create lesson resources and slide decks that come with the online and face to face training.
I have begun field-testing the lessons in some local schools, to be resumed next year.
The main question from people who have the first edition is, “Should I get this edition?”. My answer is yes. It needed an update and if you’re using the program, you should incorporate these updates in your practice.
If you’re new to Language for Life, I would suggest supporting your knowledge and practice with the training. You can enrol for the updated online guide to this program straight away. We are recording the updates throughout September and will place the first hundred participants on the online, on-demand course in October, in addition to granting access to the recording sessions. There are still a few places left.
Happy days!