learning grammar - When, Why, etc...

To the native English speakers and educators,

Please share with me your experience:

1. When (at what grade) do children in your country institutionally start learning grammar?
2. Do they concentrate on learning grammar for one year, or does the subject spread out over many years?

3. How many sessions and how many hours per session are considered adequate to form a good foundation?

4. How important is learning grammar compared to other skills in an English grammar curriculum?

The reasons for my asking are:

1. Countless ESL students in my country focus too much on grammar and they often do well in English grammar tests, particularly multiple-choices. However, rarely, I can find a student, who can write a good essay or speak well (at least make himself / herself understandable while worrying too much of making grammatical errors for concerning of sounding stupid).

2. I have seen many blogs on Internet do often contain fundamental English errors (from the grammar references that I have). Do you think those errors are there because specific groups of bloggers have their own acceptable ways to express themselves? If these bloggers consider speaking their way is cool, should I keep trying to correct my nephews and nieces, who love anything America (using my limited knowledge and experience) and take away their desire and fun of feeling belonging?

Thanks and Best Regards,
Hoa Thai

P.S. Cool Breeze advised me to start a new thread for each subject to help focus our discussion. However, I hope you don't mind of the many questions I've just asked since I feel they are importantly related for me to form a good picture before sending my two-cent worth to the Ministry of Education and Training.

Mister Micawber wrote:

Briefly:  American schoolchildren do not study grammar per se.  Grammar mistakes in the written language are pointed out when they began writing essays.  This can continue up into university level.

That's interesting!

I have been under an impression that sometime before going to college, an American pupil must has been exposed to a year of intense grammar training due to the existence of "my grammar teacher" in English literature.

So without a formal grammar class, how does "my grammar teacher" fit in?

How about other countries where English is the mandatory language used in school at all time? Anybody cares to comment?


Thanks,
Hoa Thai

Your replies gave me a sense that grammar is still important in American schools; however, it is not formally scheduled as a separated course, but as a corrective task to help students refine their English skills. That is how our language, Vietnamese, has been taught for hundreds of years. Nonetheless, when we must soon learn foreign languages, grammar is taught similarly to math - with rules and exceptions to remember - but without the logical reasoning behind! (perhaps, due to the remnants of the French educational system).

In any event, to confirm my new knowledge, I googled ‘anti-grammar movement’ and found that since 1970s, American scholars have been debating for the need of teaching formal grammar classes. What struck me was the differentiation between narratives vs. expository writings and the stress from the business world that demands for precise information delivery. Maybe, the better choice between not having a formal grammar class at all and teaching it separately and intensely at children's early age is to dedicate remedial grammar teaching within the context of business and technical writings for those in need; while helping children develop the love for writing / using the language sensibly more often.

Thank you all for sharing,

Hoa Thai