English grammar and linguistics
Our learning initiative
Garie studies English grammar and linguistics through a learning initiative. He also continues to put the teaching style of problem-based learning into action by finding a solution to the problem of independent writers/editors like him having all the necessary tools to achieve traditional publishing standards.
Problem-based learning
One of the specific benefits of problem-based learning is that one develops transferable skills. Garie has applied problem-based learning to create a continuing education strategy in the following areas:
- Typography/typesetting and orthography
- Website and digital content development
- Manuscript editing
- English grammar and linguistics
- Fiction writing and narratology
- Print book and eBook publishing
Problem-based learning can be used to exploit one’s own learning style. According to Melody Wilding, writing for Harvard Business Review, the mental process of “making connections and anticipating eventualities” is a quality associated with what is called the sensitive brain. “This means that as a sensitive striver you have the power to channel your thinking with greater precision.”
Harvey Weingarten, the author of Nothing Less than Great: Reforming Canada’s Universities, has noted one of the benefits of problem-based learning in educational settings. In a CBC Radio article titled “Why universities are failing to prepare students for the job market,” Weingarten has also said, “The research we have says they have very good labour market outcomes.”
We use problem-based learning as an innovation that supports education and research, the principle of which is: Work the solution out rather than find instant answers. This approach encourages intrinsic rewards, another benefit of problem-based learning.
Some of these key rewards that we have identified as intrinsic include the following:
- Growth mindset, which Stanford Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman has defined, “is not about attaching your sense of reward to the ultimate goal; it’s about attaching your sense of reward to the fact that you’re making action steps that are generally in the right direction.”
- Time, from a Kabalarian philosophical point of view, “is really ‘intelligence in motion’ because time is actually growth that starts from a point called seeding and extends through to fruition or harvest when completion of growth takes place and seeds for the next cycle are provided.”
- Fighting procrastination, which inc.com suggests to do to increase the quality of your work: “Force yourself to work on a task for just five minutes, with the understanding that you can quit after five minutes if you like.… This simple mental trick is usually just to get you started.”
Fields of study
Academic English
For consulting English corpora and sources of common errors and usage patterns, and to find discussions and collaborative efforts
When writers use these sources, which focus on the academic aspect of English, they are actively putting a spotlight on important discussions and indispensable collaboration that often result in conscientious works.
Literary and rhetorical devices
For applying English aesthetics
Aesthetics will always play a part in the decisions we make about how to express ourselves — and in our assessment of other people’s expression — but sometimes we need to do things that are aesthetically unpleasant in order to achieve other effects, be they polemical or diplomatic.
Regional spelling & usage
For vetting English editorially
The goal of these sources is to allow writers to editorially vet their work according to regional spelling. For example, while the British spelling retains the “e” in words like “knowledgeable” and “judgement,” American and Canadian English drop the vowel, i.e., “knowledgable,” “judgment.”
Dictionaries
For maintaining typographical (orthographic) standards
Spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word break, emphasis and punctuation all come together in the comprehensive and sometimes extensive guidance that could be found in a good dictionary. Each of these dictionary sources do an excellent job maintaining the integrity and standards of English.
Hyphenation
For forming ideas correctly to aid in meaning and readability
Interestingly, hyphenation is also used creatively to indicate that an idea that would normally be expressed by a phrase is being treated as a single word for communicative purposes because it has crystallized in the writer’s mind into a firm, single concept.
English Grammar and linguistics
For maintaining the rules while respecting the use of the language
Syntax and semantics are at the core of both grammaticality (the rules) and linguistics (how the language works). They provide an important and compelling reason to distinguish between grammatical form and grammatical function. These sources will be an indispensable tool as you navigate and effectively use dependent clauses and function words.