Heard the one about the cow inseminated by seamen? The plants sewn together or the rouge genetic elements? You will soon.

Grammatically challenged undergraduates from Imperial College London are about to be publicly shamed. Their tutor, Dr Bernard Lamb, was so unimpressed by their poor spelling, punctuation and choice of words that he started to keep a diary of every mistake.

There were so many blunders that in just over a term Lamb - unfortunately for his students, a member of the Queen's English Society - covered 24 sides of A4. Shocked, and occasionally amused, he decided to take the experiment one step further and publish it.

 

He highlights hundreds of spelling mistakes such as occassions, deffective, sufferrers, nuetral and genetisists. Some words proved a particular challenge. Lamb lists occcurs, ocour, occurence, occuring, occured and occures - all used in essays that were checked before being handed in. Some used herd instead of heard, fourth instead of forth, been instead of bean, and many of the writers were 'hopeless at punctuation'.

 

'Errors in the English of highly selected undergraduates', which will be published in the forthcoming journal of the Queen's English Society, lists a series of blunders made by 75 second and final-year students.

In one case, a UK-born, UK-educated student who has just been awarded a first-class degree wrote: 'It initats a undisired non-specific response in mamammals.' In another, a student wrote: 'insemination of these cows at the age of 3 with their fathers seamen.'

 

'There should be an apostrophe in fathers, three should be written as a word, and as for seamen ...,' said an exasperated Lamb. 'It is not just word confusion: there were wrong prepositions, wrong capital letters and very poor punctuation - apostrophes, semi-colons, colons. They were not even good with commas.'

 

Lamb said he carried out the research because 'bad English was spoiling their genetics', sometimes making sentences completely nonsensical. One of the most common mistakes came from students who managed to confuse complement and compliment.

Lamb said that the problems were not confined to Imperial College students. He spoke to an English tutor at Oxford University who complained about poor grammar among students and found guides sent to primary school teachers reminding them how to use apostrophes and tell the difference between 'easily confused words' such as two, to and too.

 

'The rot thus extends from top to bottom in education, from bureaucrats to schools,' Lamb concluded.

 

Source: The Observer

 

 

hmmmm

 

Where do I start?

 

In the wake of the Rose Report a few years ago changes are being introduced to the teaching of phonics / reading / spelling from the youngest children.

 

I this year took part in a pilot for the DFES (or whoever I work for today) which incorporated some quite radical changes to the way I taught phonics and reading (to 4 year olds) I will confess to veing VERY sceptical about some aspects of the pilot but followed it's recomendations.

 

Whilst I already considered myself an adequate teacher of reading etc I am always willing to try new ideas.

 

I have to say, in my class at least, I saw a huge difference. Not in the level of reading achieved, not the level of writing achieved (both these were were the level I expected) but the level of understanding of complex phonic manipulation 5 year olds are capable.

 

child 1 "I want to write third - which 'ir' grapheme shall I use?"

child 2 " well not the ER on because that one usually comes at the end - do the IR one because thirty has that one and they are both about 3"

child 1 wrote "Shreck the Third"

child 2 "I know the CK digraph usually comes at the end but it looks wrong"

(camera pans to Mrs ICR doing happy dance behind stock room door)

 

I do believe spelling is a skill that has been badly taught for many years. Weekly spelling tests are very unpopular and very "unpc"

... as is the parental support for children learning spellings.

 

oh and whilst at university I was advised against correcting a child's spelling too thoroughly as I may break their confidence .... oh and heavens above - don't use a red pen - apparently red pen is too aggressive :o

 

It is also very easy to rely on a spell checker - who needs to be able to spell - just get it almost right and the computer will sort it out.

 

But then again - I only learnt my spellings (and times tables) because Sister Maureen had a leather strap to motivate me :unsure:

 

So yes - often badly taught - often not taken as serious - and often used as a judge of a person's intelligence on job applications.

 

 

(.... but don't get me started on apostraphes :rofl: )

By the way the spelling "week" in the subject line was deliberate :lol:

i'm really relieved because i was just going to comment on that :lol:

i got invited to join a facebook group "dont abolish grammer schools" - i almost died!!

Poor spelling and punctuation is one of my all-time pet peeves, especially when you consider that foreign students coming over here seem to have a better grasp on the language than many English people. It's incredibly frustrating to see half the mistakes people make, especially with regards to apostrophes - Eats, Shoots and Leaves is my bible! :dancing:

Weak spelling and punctuation, Hmm... so THATS where I'm going wrong! :rofl:

The danger with even discussing this topic in print on a forum is that we all make mistakes on here. The words pot, kettle and black spring to mind! (Rereads post four times before posting!)

I know what you mean! I suddenly feel very aware of my grammar and punctuation!

I love Eats, Shoots and Leaves too; it's a very well written, funny book.

this is a forum, I cudn't give too toots about my speeling on here :P I know I have excellent vocabulary and grammar in the REAL world. ^_^

Well seeing as I'm going to be an undergraduate in a few months (:cry:), I can completely understand this. I like to think my spelling is very good but the attention I pay to it is very rare amongst people I know :lol: Some of my friends just can't spell to save their lives and it's a lot more severe than putting an extra "s" in occasion... :lol: Most of them are going to uni too. It's not very good when I think about it, but it really doesn't shock me in the slightest.

What happened with those plans for University applicants, to have to write a mini-assignment to demonstrate their writing skills, or has it just been restricted to those Universities who think they're gods?

Just looking around Buzzjack in general there seem to be certain misspellings that occur again and again.

 

An obsession with the letter A: excellant, independant.

 

Using 'of' instead of 'have' or 'with': should of, bored of.

 

These are surely ignorance rather than keying errors in the heat of the moment.

 

Any others you guys see again and again?

people often write embarressment not embarrassment!

i don't go to a god-like uni and i had to write a personal statement...but that was a few years ago.

people often write embarressment not embarrassment!

i don't go to a god-like uni and i had to write a personal statement...but that was a few years ago.

Everyone has to write a personal statement when they're applying which is totally different from doing an assignment.

I don't know - I'm doing an English degree so maybe it is different, but what was one of the most important things for our statement was spelling, grammar, syntax and our general expression. Sure, it was important that we could blow our own trumpets, but it also gave the university a good measure of what standard of work we could produce. We were also asked to send 1 piece of coursework along with our statement.

I don't know - I'm doing an English degree so maybe it is different, but what was one of the most important things for our statement was spelling, grammar, syntax and our general expression. Sure, it was important that we could blow our own trumpets, but it also gave the university a good measure of what standard of work we could produce. We were also asked to send 1 piece of coursework along with our statement.

Well that explains it! Considering your whole course is about that you needed to send an example of your skills as that was a good way to find the best skilled possible students.

I could be an honorary member of the grammar, punctuation and spelling police. It's my pet hate. It doesn't bother me at all on an internet forum but from what I see at my work, standards amongst the younger generation are truly atrocious.

 

I deal with elderly people. The letters I receive from them are so well written. Spelling, punctuation etc is excellent. Then I see the letters my staff send out in reply. Oh dear Lord. A total embarrassment. I've to sit and re-write most of them. And I'm talking about members of staff with college and university degrees. The mind boggles. :wacko:

 

Something has gone seriously wrong with our education system. In my humble opinion it's time we stopped wasting precious time teaching children the 'fluffy' stuff and concentrate on the basics. We are ending up with generation after generation of illiterates. :(

 

 

My pet hates-

 

1) The mysterious 'of'. Should of, could of, would of..... What's that all about?

2) The rogue apostrophe. ''I'm off to the shop's''. It's just a plural. It doesn't need a bloody apostrophe!

3) Crocodile sentences that go on for 20 lines with neither a comma, hyphen, capital letter or full stop in sight.

4) The 'mix and match' of where/were; whether/weather; there/their.

 

Aaaaaaaagggggghhhhhhhh :arrr:

 

I'm going for a lie down now. I'm coming out in a rash just thinking about it. :drama:

 

 

I could be an honorary member of the grammar, punctuation and spelling police. It's my pet hate. It doesn't bother me at all on an internet forum but from what I see at my work, standards amongst the younger generation are truly atrocious.

 

I deal with elderly people. The letters I receive from them are so well written. Spelling, punctuation etc is excellent. Then I see the letters my staff send out in reply. Oh dear Lord. A total embarrassment. I've to sit and re-write most of them. And I'm talking about members of staff with college and university degrees. The mind boggles. :wacko:

 

Something has gone seriously wrong with our education system. In my humble opinion it's time we stopped wasting precious time teaching children the 'fluffy' stuff and concentrate on the basics. We are ending up with generation after generation of illiterates. :(

My pet hates-

 

1) The mysterious 'of'. Should of, could of, would of..... What's that all about?

2) The rogue apostrophe. ''I'm off to the shop's''. It's just a plural. It doesn't need a bloody apostrophe!

3) Crocodile sentences that go on for 20 lines with neither a comma, hyphen, capital letter or full stop in sight.

4) The 'mix and match' of where/were; whether/weather; there/their.

 

Aaaaaaaagggggghhhhhhhh :arrr:

 

I'm going for a lie down now. I'm coming out in a rash just thinking about it. :drama:

 

I couldn't agree more. Fortunately, from what I've read recently, things are beginning to improve. The powers that be finally seem to have rediscovered the importance of correct spelling, grammar etc.

 

I think the problem has been exacerbated by technology. People rely on spellcheck even though that can only check whether each individual word is a valid word. It can't check that they have used the right word. Also, people type something and submit it without reading it through first. That might be acceptable in a quick e-mail to a friend. It isn't accaeptable in a formal letter.

 

End of my rant :angry:

1) The mysterious 'of'. Should of, could of, would of..... What's that all about?

That may be to do with the accent :lol: I remember when my (very good) English teacher around four years ago confronted all of us because many of us kept saying 'should of' instead of 'should have' and she blamed it on our accent and where we're from, also Should've sounds like should of so that could be where people picked it up. Not that I'm making excuses for anyone. (btw I knew it was should have)

 

Also due to my disability (mild dyspraxia so I have problems with my co-ordination, making readable writing, taking longer than most people to take in what I'm learning about and more) giving me a few problems I had problems all the way through until A Levels with punctuation and I still do now considering some of my sentences last for about five lines but if I can basically sort it out then just about anyone can as long as they get the right help. :D Especially considering I wasn't supposed to do well at my GCSEs let alone go to University!

 

Anyway I personally think that the structure of my posts on here are perfectly fine unless there are any objections :P (get out your red pen ICR ;) ) I always like typing proper English on the internet as I hate trying to figure out what people mean in txt language. -_-

I could be an honorary member of the grammar, punctuation and spelling police. It's my pet hate. It doesn't bother me at all on an internet forum but from what I see at my work, standards amongst the younger generation are truly atrocious.

 

I deal with elderly people. The letters I receive from them are so well written. Spelling, punctuation etc is excellent. Then I see the letters my staff send out in reply. Oh dear Lord. A total embarrassment. I've to sit and re-write most of them. And I'm talking about members of staff with college and university degrees. The mind boggles. :wacko:

 

Something has gone seriously wrong with our education system. In my humble opinion it's time we stopped wasting precious time teaching children the 'fluffy' stuff and concentrate on the basics. We are ending up with generation after generation of illiterates. :(

My pet hates-

 

1) The mysterious 'of'. Should of, could of, would of..... What's that all about?

2) The rogue apostrophe. ''I'm off to the shop's''. It's just a plural. It doesn't need a bloody apostrophe!

3) Crocodile sentences that go on for 20 lines with neither a comma, hyphen, capital letter or full stop in sight.

4) The 'mix and match' of where/were; whether/weather; there/their.

 

 

it comes from should've sounding like should of ........ and total laziness

 

 

@Grandwicky - nothing wrong with a little red pen :naughty:

Edited August 17, 200717 yr by ICR