Is there a difference between grammar in speaking and grammar in writing?

What an interesting topic to explore and one of my a-ha moments in the TESL-0110 course. When I started teaching English, I thought their goals were quite similar – to get the message across to the reader/listener.

Later, I have come to realize that these two mediums are very distinctive.

Here is where I find the differences between grammar in speaking and grammar in writing:

Spoken and written grammar have different “filters”. If we are working with spoken language, we mostly focus on delivering our message in an easy way, so our listener could quickly get the idea we are trying to convey. Whereas, when working with written grammar, we usually ask ourselves if what we wrote is concise and clear.  

Spoken Grammar tend to be more simplified –for example, we use more contractions, substitutes and sometimes even miss words unless their meaning is crucial for understanding the idea of the speech. 

In spoken grammar we can convey the meaning of our message through our facial expression or intonation. In written grammar we would be using different tools, such as, for example, punctuation. Remember that example “Let’s cook, grandpa?”, which shows that a phrase can have completely opposite meanings depending on what we try to stress in a sentence.

Spoken grammar is more disposed to mistakes as it is, in general, more spontaneous and dynamic. I believe that the root of this is that spoken language came from the speech of ordinary people, whereas written speech came from literature, newspapers and other media.  

In written language we have an opportunity to treat our grammatical and discourse errors, when in spoken grammar we don’t have a chance to do it and have to some extent plan our thinking in advance. 

Spoken and written grammar work differently when serving different functions. When speech is more suited for expressing personal opinions and attitudes or explaining relationships and emotions, written grammar works perfectly for recording of facts and the communication of ideas as well as tasks of memory and learning.

How can this knowledge be applied in the classroom? 

I think it’s important that our students have a general understanding about the difference between written and spoken English. My IELTS students often start mixing those two when they begin practicing essay writing. Their speech begins to resemble reading out an essay with only complex sentences, passive voice phrases and newspaper “tone of voice”. In cases like this, I like to go back and refresh students’ knowledge of some characteristics of spoken language like the usage of idioms, redundant language and linking phrases. One of the activities to help students work on it is to take a text ( I like National Geographic) and convert it into his opinion. 

Looking forward to your comments and suggestions!