• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

BJU Press Blog

  • Home
  • Shop
    • Shaping Worldview
  • Simplified Homeschool
  • Successful Learning

What Is the Bigger Purpose of English?

December 19, 2017 by Jenna

practice English

At times, it’s easy to start thinking that English is all about getting your kids to recite endless lists of grammatical rules or marking up their essays with red ink. But we should remember that, just as there’s a bigger purpose in science, there’s also a bigger purpose in studying writing and grammar.

At its heart, English is the study of written communication. And as followers of Christ, we believe that clear and effective communication best demonstrates Christlike character.

When your children are studying English, they should always know that they’re getting ready to share their testimony. Anything they write can either help or harm their testimony for Christ.

Veterans of the letter-writing generation may believe that the growth of technology means the death of the written word. On the contrary, written communication has exploded as more and more social media channels have appeared. Facebook users rely heavily on writing as they post status updates and comments on their friends’ updates. Even highly visual channels like Instagram and YouTube add written messages to pictures and videos.

Whenever your children enter the world of social media, whether they’re still at home or if they create accounts as adults on their own, they will be communicating their testimony in every status update and comment. It will not only come across in what they’re saying but also in how and how well they say it. Clear and effective communication can improve a believer’s testimony in two ways.

• Showing an appreciation and respect for truth

Clear communicators don’t want a small grammatical mistake to accidentally mislead the person they are communicating with. But in writing, grammatical correctness isn’t the only thing that matters. It’s also about being factual. Clear communicators double-check their facts and choose the best words for what they’re trying to say so that they’re understood. So long as your children are being careful in how they say things, people will value their honesty.

• Recognizing the value of people

The difference in today’s written word is that it’s highly condensed. If you want to share something online, you have to consider how much space you have to do it in and how much anyone will read. Those who learn to communicate effectively also communicate concisely because they believe that their messages have value and that people need to hear them. Today, many people may ignore a good message because it’s too long or too difficult to understand. Your children can show value for their friends’ time and energy by keeping messages clear and short.

This is what your children are working towards as they study grammar concepts or write essays in their English courses. They’re working to be able to communicate messages that matter, like sharing the gospel or encouraging a friend, so that no one will misunderstand or ignore them.

Filed Under: Shaping Worldview Tagged With: purpose of learning, teaching english, writing and grammar

Email Signup

Sign up for our homeschool newsletter and receive select blog posts, discounts, and more right to your inbox!
Avatar photo

About Jenna

Jenna, lead copywriter at BJU Press, holds a BA in creative writing and an MA in English. Though her homeschooling experience was somewhat unstructured, she appreciates the flexibility of homeschooling since it allowed her to spend most of her time reading. Now Jenna enjoys reading and writing fiction in her spare time. Read more posts by Jenna.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Disclaimer

The BJU Press blog publishes content by different writers for the purpose of relating to our varied readers. Views and opinions expressed by these writers do not necessarily state or reflect the views of BJU Press or its affiliates. The fact that a link is listed on this blog does not represent or imply that BJU Press endorses its site or contents from the standpoint of ethics, philosophy, theology, or scientific hypotheses. Links are posted on the basis of the information and/or services that the sites offer. If you have comments, suggestions, questions, or find that one of the links no longer works, please contact us.

Pages

  • About BJU Press
  • Conversation Guidelines
  • Terms of Use & Copyright

Archives

© 2023 · BJU Press Homeschool