The Off Topic Topic

[mongers]

I think it's a generational thing. Tyr and I were both educated in the 90s/early 00s and we didn't do grammar (and thinking about it we were probably the first kids to go through the national curriculum?). I think before then schools did teach it - especially grammar schools (). And I know it's back on the curriculum since 2010 because it's one of the Gove reforms (and is controversial). I think the idea was to focus on communication skills rather than abstract rules.

We've now probably gone way too far the other way (because Gove) but as someone who's then tried to learn another language - knowing the abstract rules is really helpful.

I went to grammar school 1968-74 and we didn't bother with grammar either; except in Latin and French of course.

I attended a proper comprehensive school 1975-80 and I vaguely recall being ill one day, which I think might have been the morning they covered all of the spelling, punctuation and grammar in the English syllabus. 

[Richard Hakluyt]

I'm fine with not teaching grammar. The people own their own language not some bloody academy 

[Duque de Bragança]

I'm fine with not teaching grammar. The people own their own language not some bloody academy 

Academy or not, it would be nice for reminding you that language is more than grammar, not directly related to dialects, and that the academy you are thinking of does not own nor claims to own the language. 

However, having grammar lessons might help learning foreign languages. 

[Sheilbh]

However, having grammar lessons might help learning foreign languages. 

Indeed. "Preterite is a past tense."

Me: "So there's more than one past tense?"

[Grey Fox]

If you have no grammar in english class. What do you do in English class?

[garbon]

If you have no grammar in english class. What do you do in English class?

Read literature.

[Duque de Bragança]

However, having grammar lessons might help learning foreign languages. 

Indeed. "Preterite is a past tense."

Me: "So there's more than one past tense?"

Even in English.

Wait until you discover than French can also use Présent (de narration) for past events.  Only to emphasize some key steps, in theory.

Try to think of passé simple as a simple morphological perfective past tense.  Wiki says so, with good reason.

As for somewhat original tenses, I like the Subjunctive Future in Portuguese, which fell in disuse in Castilian, though it may still be found in presumably old legal texts.
It's still a far cry from aorist in Ancient Greek which I still struggle with.

[Tonitrus]

I am still stuck at the shock of Brits not taught how to speak and write their own language. No wonder you have different accents after every second street corner.

I thought this was covered a long time ago in My Fair Lady. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAYUuspQ6BY

[HVC]

If you have no grammar in english class. What do you do in English class?

Read literature.

written in english no longer spoken

[Richard Hakluyt]

The lack of grammar lessons is almost certainly a contributory factor for British weakness at foreign languages. It will be interesting to see how the current crop of British youngsters (who are being crammed with English grammar from an early age) get on with foreign languages.

[Richard Hakluyt]

If you have no grammar in english class. What do you do in English class?

Read literature.

written in english no longer spoken

Yes indeed, Grey Fox got told off for using a double negative in another thread, but Chaucer used them for emphasis of course.

[garbon]

If you have no grammar in english class. What do you do in English class?

Read literature.

written in english no longer spoken

I know one year the head of English dept had our class play with a gendered toy of the opposite gender and then write an essay about the experience. The guys got to play Mall Madness.

[mongers]

If you have no grammar in english class. What do you do in English class?

Read literature.

When I went to school, we did two separate English 'O' levels, one English literature for as you say reading the classics etc and the other called 'English Language', but I'm now struggling to recall anything that we might have studied during that class. 

[Richard Hakluyt]

I recall writing essays and lots of comprehension exercises.

[Valmy]

If you have no grammar in english class. What do you do in English class?

Get long and tedious reading assignments addressing social issues you, as a young kid, have no context for. Wow this thing by Mark Twain making fun of some aspect of 19th century American society really makes me think.

I remember reading Maya Angelou's "Why the Caged Bird Sings" and I remember liking it but not understanding even slightly the social issues she was addressing in that story.