Thursday, February 23, 2012

Correct Grammar Usage

Grammar is something we have learned since our childhood. As we grow up, we learn the advanced concepts in grammar. However, it has been observed that many people have the poor understanding of grammar, which reflects from their spoken as well as written English language. Writing correct grammar sentences can be achieved by continuous practice and good teaching. In the next paragraph, let us discuss the importance of correct grammar and punctuation.

Importance of Correct Grammar Usage


By using correct English grammar and punctuation, the people who read our written content would be able to understand it immediately. It would become rather difficult to understand the meaning of phrases and sentences written in a grammatically incorrect way. Correct grammar sentences are those in which there are no spelling mistakes and the writer has taken care to use the right tense. Using commas, inverted commas, hyphens, full stops, colons, semicolons, etc. at the right place is necessary to term a sentence as a 'grammatically correct one'. One can avoid making any kind of grammatical errors, only if we know the rules of grammar thoroughly. Correct grammar usage is essential for all forms of literature. The use of parallel construction for lists, compound elements and comparisons is highly recommended. You should make sure that the sentences being used are complete and not ended abruptly. A sentence should ideally contain a subject and a verb which is actually a word suggesting an action. One should strictly avoid stereotyping, as it is against grammar rules. The use of gender specific words should be avoided while referring to different occupations and instead, we must use universal terms which are neutral in gender. For example, instead of saying officer, we can simply say police official. Making the correct choice of words by taking into consideration the situation is vital in learning correct grammar and punctuation. In the next paragraph, let us discuss how to teach correct grammar and punctuation.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Longest Word in the English Language

Ever since we can remember, we have been trying to pick up new words, from people we meet in our day-to-day lives. English is truly an amazing language, uniting people across the globe by enabling us all to communicate our thoughts and ideas. It's a language that has been able to bridge gaps between culturally and economically different nations. Today, because of the common thread of English, we have the outsourcing business flourishing rapidly. However, how much do we know about the English language? Of the myriads of words in the vast sea of English language, have we ever wondered which is the longest word in the English Language?

Longest Word in the English Language


Determining the longest words in the English language is not a very easy task. The answer will vary depending on how one actually defines a word. There are various technical words that are simply very long, with the longest being the chemical name for the protein titin: Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl...isoleucine, which comprises 189,819 letters. However, if we consider chemical names, things will get really confusing. To make things simpler let's consider the English Oxford Dictionary as a reference. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the title of the longest word in the English language goes to the 45 letter word, 'Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis'.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Special Schooling

In the past centuries, school was not available for everybody. School was a luxury only few could afford, not necessarily because it was expensive but because it was selective. Minorities were not aloud to go to school, nor did women in some places, or peasants in others and in some places not even people belonging to a certain race, such as the Afro-American people. School was only for royal descendants or for the high class.

The contrary is what happens today. Almost everyone willing can go to school and moreover, there are also special schools, such as schools for blind people, schools for minorities, schools for girls or schools for boys. Is this way of specializing schools efficient? It may be for some categories, but it surely isn't for other.

In the first place, schools for moderate special needs children have proven their inefficiency. They seem not to stimulate enough the cognitive resources of the children and in addition they don't contribute to the socio-emotional development of these children. Being in a special school puts a permanent stigma on them and they also fail to integrate those children in the community later on. Of course, special schools are needed for severely affected children who represent a menace to other children or who are too impaired to be solely under the supervision of non-psychiatric or physical specialists. But in these schools one can find also children which have less serious impairments or problems. These are those who have physical disabilities, learning disabilities, ADHD, the Asperger syndrome or other mental impairments which the psychologists consider to be light and under control.