Geoff Pullum has posted a new bit on Language Log describing another negative review by Rodney Huddleston of some pedagogical grammar articles (see here for an discussion of his review of the Cambridge Grammar of English.) What can I say? Few teachers know anything more about grammar than what they learned in elementary school (if grammar was even addressed there). Even TESL teachers seem to learn most of their grammar from textbooks written for language learners.
Anyhow, I can add a little to the back story. Coincidentally, I e-mailed Huddleston on June 25th, 2007, to bring his attention to a move to make grammar a required part of teacher training in New South Wales. This was just a day before he got wind of the first Queensland article with the botched explanations. At the time I asked him if he had been invited to comment, and he said that, no, he had not, but that he was considering offering some input. Apparently, it wasn't really welcome in Queensland. I'll ask him if things went any better in NSW.
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