Grammar is the Key

Abstract

Ælfric, a tenth-century English monk, produced a grammar, glossary, and colloquy to help oblates learn Latin. His grammar, as the first Latin grammar written in English, reflects the emphases on both grammar and bilingual education from his own training. He adapted his grammar in several ways to help beginners learn to read Latin and prepare for advanced language study, such as using English instead of Latin as the medium of instruction, including full paradigms, organizing the discussion around declensions and conjugations, using familiar specimen terms, providing simple explanations, etymologizing the grammatical terminology, and using story-like examples. These features must have been appreciated, since Ælfric’s grammar became one of the most popular elementary grammars in eleventh-century England.