왜 문법규칙은 배우고 익혀도 사용하기 어려운가?

Abstract

It is well-known that grammar rules learned in class are hard to use in communication. This paper explores an answer to this puzzle, focusing on the so-called third person singular present -(e)s in English. Observing that the core nature of the hard-to-use rules is best described in terms of 'form', rather than 'meaning' and 'use', the paper shows that the formal descriptions of the grammar rules presented to learners do not correctly represent the syntactic nature of the linguistic phenomena concerned. It proposes that an essential prerequisite for more efficient and systematic grammar teaching and learning is a comprehensive understanding of the linguistic nature of grammar categories and items to be taught to learners.