Luke Pearce
Luke is an Associate Lecturer at UCL, working on the Englicious project, and has worked as an English teacher for over 10 years, mainly in post-16 and adult education.
Location South London, UK
Activity
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Luke Pearce replied to Sorcha Keane
Lots of great ideas!
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Luke Pearce replied to Millicent Edmonds
Hello and welcome to the course!
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Welcome to the course!
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Luke Pearce replied to Sorcha Keane
Welcome!
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Luke Pearce replied to Oliver Pearn
We have experimented with a forum before but it's hard to maintain especially in the days of social media. If you follow us on X (formerly Twitter), we do have discussions there and would happily share any questions you might have!
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It's true we can get some meaning from just the sentences, but it would be far more meaningful when read in its proper context.
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Welcome to the course!
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I couldn't agree more!
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That's great to hear!
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Luke Pearce replied to Luc Wyn
Thanks for taking part!
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Luke Pearce replied to Clinton Henderson
I think this is a great text to use since it has such a great impact on the reader - for better or worse. Adverts like this are expertly designed to manipulate our fears as you said.
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Luke Pearce replied to Oliver Pearn
That's a very creative way to elicit reader response!
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Luke Pearce replied to Clinton Henderson
@ClintonHenderson Thank you for illustrating the point so well! Decontextualised examples can often lead to these kinds of confusions since language naturally exists in a wider context.
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Luke Pearce replied to Clinton Henderson
You must hear many interesting examples of translanguaging!
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Luke Pearce replied to Clinton Henderson
Seeing grammar as a set of choices rather than a list of rules is a big part of our approach!
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Luke Pearce replied to Oliver Pearn
Thank you!
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Luke Pearce replied to Oliver Pearn
I think you'll find this course very useful to build on this approach you have already laid out!
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Luke Pearce replied to Clinton Henderson
Beautifully put! Makes me want to learn an instrument!
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Luke Pearce replied to Piantadosi MC
Studying other languages is a great way to gain a better understanding and appreciation of grammar! I probably would not have become an English teacher if I'd never studied Spanish!
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Luke Pearce replied to Alan O'Riordan
I think you have a typo in the first line! :)
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Luke Pearce replied to Luc Wyn
Good question. This course is designed for mainstream teachers in the UK in which pupils are required to learn about grammar as part of their compulsory primary education. Therefore the activities build on that knowledge. But of course this relies on the learners already having a baseline of grammatical knowledge which would probably be taught through more...
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Luke Pearce replied to Luc Wyn
For second-language learners, it will always be necessary to do some old-school memorising. Like you say, the end goal should be to connect that knowledge to real, meaningful texts.
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Luke Pearce replied to Luc Wyn
Thank you!
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Luke Pearce replied to Luc Wyn
There are many who advocate 'no grammar' approaches to language learning. It's certainly possible, but only if you focus on speech and communication at the expense of writing and deeper analysis.
The terminology we use is that from the English National Curriculum (2014). Of course, there are many other terms out there, so use whatever is best for your...
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Luke Pearce replied to Clinton Henderson
Hopefully this course will give you some more options!
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Luke Pearce replied to Luc Wyn
Welcome! That sounds like an adventure!
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Luke Pearce replied to Ni Jacques
Welcome! I hope you enjoy it!
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Luke Pearce replied to Brigeen Gilroy
Welcome to the course and Happy New Year!
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Luke Pearce replied to Amina Harrison-Fletcher
Thank you! That's great to hear!
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Luke Pearce replied to F. Lucia Kohler
Thank you for taking part!
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That's a great question! You don't need to use the technical terms like deixis or proximal. Maybe try cutting out words like 'here', 'there', 'me', 'you' and asking pupils to place these in appropriate places around the room. Timelines are also a useful way to work with past, present and future.
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Luke Pearce replied to Amina Harrison-Fletcher
Great! These are the connections we want our students to start noticing.
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Luke Pearce replied to Elfi Troi
If you search for 'Englicious' you should find us!
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Luke Pearce replied to F. Lucia Kohler
Welcome!
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Luke Pearce replied to Iris Heinrich
Welcome to the course!
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Luke Pearce replied to Anita Law
After you submit your assignment, you should be assigned one automatically after you click 'Next' on this page.
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Luke Pearce replied to Nazlıhan Ulusoy
Welcome!
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Luke Pearce replied to Jo Blakemore
Great to hear! Many teachers avoid using grammar to analyse texts at GCSE level, but it's always useful to have another angle to use in the exam!
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Luke Pearce replied to María Verónica Spuntone
What is a diamante poem?
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Luke Pearce replied to Jo Blakemore
Greats ideas! Of course, in a real lesson, we could combine the grammar with analysis of other literary and poetic devices.
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Luke Pearce replied to Fátima Pereira
Starting with images is a good idea. Learners could write their own headlines to check their understanding of the genre.
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Luke Pearce replied to María Verónica Spuntone
@MaríaVerónicaSpuntone This is exactly the kind of approach we will be taking later on!
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Luke Pearce replied to Alina Surdan
These are great! :)
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Luke Pearce replied to María Verónica Spuntone
Great definition!
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A mixture of both approaches is often a good way to go!
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Luke Pearce replied to Sian Davies
Great idea to make the writing task about something then learners can relate to. I find pupils love to debate things like DC/Marvel or Xbox/Playstation.
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Luke Pearce replied to Jo Blakemore
I'd agree - stick to whatever terminology is used most consistently in your context. Understanding the grammatical concept is more important than using the 'right' terminology.
Out of curiosity, does French grammar use terms like 'adverbial' or 'determiner'?
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Luke Pearce replied to Sian Davies
That's exactly the issue - a language test becomes a test of general knowledge. For example, the latest SATs tests had complaints because it partly relied on children knowing that Austin is a city and that Texas is a state.
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Luke Pearce replied to Sian Davies
That's a very interesting point! Linguists call this L1 interference. We have to balance correcting our learners with accepting that language evolves - especially in the UK with so many regional and international varieties of English being used! Many people speaking English as a second language make these persistent 'errors', but this doesn't usually hamper...
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Luke Pearce replied to Sneha Tomy
The teacher could show the pupils four different pictures and ask which one fits which headline the best. Like the sentences, the how the images are edited and framed also creates bias!
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Luke Pearce replied to Alina Șerban
What a great way to connect the reader's response to the themes of the advert!
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Luke Pearce replied to Sneha Tomy
Great ideas!
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Luke Pearce replied to Angelica Vega
Welcome Angélica!
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Luke Pearce replied to Marina Pohrib
This is called textual intervention and it's something we will look at often in the coming weeks! :)
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Luke Pearce replied to Sneha Tomy
A 'proxy definition' is a simplified explanation that stands in for the full, detailed definition. Teachers (and everyone else) use them because it's time-consuming to explain everything in detail and they are easier for pupils to remember. For example, 'adjectives are describing words' is a proxy definition. It's simple and easy to remember, but the big...
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Luke Pearce replied to Fátima Pereira
Welcome to the course!
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Luke Pearce replied to Ghadah Aljabri
Welcome!
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Luke Pearce replied to Ho Namgung
This is a great response! It certainly takes the reader on a journey! An advert like this could take advantage of the fact that people often use their phones to check the bus times, which connects to the imperative at the end.
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Luke Pearce replied to Marina Pohrib
I experienced that conflict between TEFL and the UK curriculum. EFL resources often talk about the 9 tenses, whereas I think most grammarians would say there are 3 or even just 2.
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Luke Pearce replied to Alina Șerban
Welcome!
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Luke Pearce replied to Angelica Vega
Welcome!
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Luke Pearce replied to Ho Namgung
That was an error! Thank you for pointing it out. It's now been corrected.
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Luke Pearce replied to Alexander Storey
Beautiful poem!
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Luke Pearce replied to Hisham Conor
Great questions!
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Luke Pearce replied to Karam Mahmoud
As you will see, we recommend prioritising the author's intention and purpose before identifying word classes etc.
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Luke Pearce replied to Rosario P
Very similar to our approach! :)
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Luke Pearce replied to Rawla Ahmed
I think the key here is making sure your learners know what forms of language are appropriate in different contexts. Abbreviations are common even in formal contexts and can become part of the standard language e.g. 'phone' for 'telephone'. I would take the opportunity to talk about how language changes as can be seen in their use of slang and abbreviations....
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Welcome to the course! I had a great time teaching in Spain a few years ago.
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Luke Pearce replied to Rawla Ahmed
Welcome to the course! I hope you find some useful techniques. Are you teaching children or adult learners?
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Luke Pearce replied to Ali Ca
@AliCa thank you! I will credit you as 'Ali, an ELT teacher working in France'
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Luke Pearce replied to Deborah Hill
Hi Deborah - thanks for your comment on our course. We would love to use it to promote the course on the FutureLearn website and on social media. May we have your permission to do this? We can of course anonymise your comments. Email l.a.pearce@ucl.ac.uk if you have any questions.
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Luke Pearce replied to Ali Ca
Hi Ali - thanks for your comment on our course. We would love to use it to promote the course on the FutureLearn website and on social media. May we have your permission to do this? We can of course anonymise your comments. Email l.a.pearce@ucl.ac.uk if you have any questions.
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Luke Pearce replied to Emily Phyo
Great idea. The students could make a mind map/table comparing dogs and cats (or other animals), and then write their own poems using these ideas as inspiration.
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Luke Pearce replied to Alexander Storey
To me this reads neutral with a slight bias in favour of the police/government. I like how the 'battle' metaphor is continued throughout e.g. 'clashes', 'marched against' and 'repelled'.
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Luke Pearce replied to Emily Phyo
The brainstorm is a great idea. For grammatical cohesion, you could create some handouts/posters since these organising words and phrases will be the same whatever the topic is.
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Luke Pearce replied to Alexander Storey
Good point. Makes me think of the 'hidden curriculum' and how different markers/teachers have their own ideas of what 'good' or 'proper' English is. There are many rules that have fallen out of use, but some teachers will still see them as essential.
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Luke Pearce replied to Alexander Storey
Good idea to start with everyday language before moving on to technical concepts.
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Luke Pearce replied to Alexander Storey
This difference is - as far as I know - purely down to the preference of the grammarian. We follow the terminology used in the National Curriculum of England and Wales for clarity and consistency.
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Luke Pearce replied to Alexander Storey
Yes, that final sentence was intentionally confusing!
The main verb of that sentence is 'thinks' since it agrees with the Subject (Martin) and is conjugated in the present tense.
A doing word that ends in '-ing' does look like a verb and in many cases definitely is. For example, in a sentence using the present progressive - I am playing football - the...
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Luke Pearce replied to Barbara Montecchi
The trend in the English-speaking world has been to teach grammar less over the last 50 years or so. It will be interesting to hear how knowledge of grammar in one's native language helps learners with other subjects in your context!
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Luke Pearce replied to Ali Ca
It might work if you lead the textual intervention and only do it with a couple of example sentences to start with.
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Luke Pearce replied to Ali Ca
Great suggestions of writing tasks!
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Luke Pearce replied to Anup Pandey
Welcome to the course!
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Luke Pearce replied to Karen Cullen
We don't film the talks at English Grammar Day currently. Hopefully we will see you next year!
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Luke Pearce replied to Karen Cullen
This is a good way to stop learners feeling overwhelmed by grammar. By identifying one particular word class or feature to focus on, we make it more manageable. This does take some extra preparation by the teacher though! With stronger learners, you can leave it to them to pick out the interesting elements.
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Luke Pearce replied to Karen Cullen
That's a good point about Iroek: he is strong, but not a wild animal. He's definitely shown thoughtful in this scene.
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Luke Pearce replied to Karen Cullen
You could use the same techniques persuade the reader to make a choice between two things. I find younger learners can always argue about what's better between, for example, Marvel/DC, Apple/Android or local sports teams.
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Luke Pearce replied to Karen Cullen
Great point! We could talk about how these 'ungrammatical' fragments of sentences achieve those effects you mentioned.
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Luke Pearce replied to Ali Ca
'the doors' is a good one I didn't notice! That could be an example of metonymy.
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Luke Pearce replied to Ho Namgung
This is exactly the kind of close analysis that knowing the grammatical terminology can help us with!
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Luke Pearce replied to Laura Cacuango
Asking for another reader response after analysing the text and discussing how/if it changed is a great idea! @AliCa
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Luke Pearce replied to Nadine Fouché
Front-loading grammar means starting your lesson with a focus on an explicit grammar feature e.g. verbs or nouns. Instead, we recommend starting the lesson with the learners' response to an authentic text. After that, grammatical features will emerge as part of analysing meaning. In the next weeks, you'll see several examples of this.
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Yes, unfortunately, it can become 'feature spotting' quite easily! We always aim to connect grammar to meaning.
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Luke Pearce replied to ROWENA MARSCO
That is one of the confusing things about searching online for grammar resources. You will find so many terms from different countries, or different approaches, not to mention they become outdated. All the Englicious resources are tailored to the terminology as used in the current curriculum for England and Wales. Not to say that this terminology is superior...
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Luke Pearce replied to Nadine Fouché
'...grammar is something that enriches you with metalanguage, so you can therefore speak about the patterns that you observe.'
I couldn't have put it better myself!
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Luke Pearce replied to ROWENA MARSCO
I would be very curious to hear how English, other languages and grammar are taught in Scotland!
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Luke Pearce replied to Kiel A
Welcome! I hope you recover soon and find this course a good distraction!
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Luke Pearce replied to Erin Suchecki
Thank you! In that case, can I attribute your comments to 'Erin, a teacher in the US' or would you prefer to anonymise your name entirely?
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Luke Pearce replied to Erin Suchecki
Hi Erin, thanks for your comment on our course. We would love to use it to promote the course on the FutureLearn website and on social media. May we have your permission to do this? We can of course anonymise your comments. Email l.a.pearce@ucl.ac.uk if you have any questions.
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Luke Pearce replied to Erin Suchecki
I think it's best to ask this question to FutureLearn directly as it can depend on how you've accessed this course. Please get in touch with us if you have any issues. There are contact details in Week 5.
