Minnesota Public Radio announces Grammar Grater, a weekly podcast about English words, grammar and usage for the Information age.

Written and hosted by Luke Taylor, Grammar Grater takes a traditionally stodgy subject and transforms it through the magic of radio. The podcast features three- to five-minute episodes with topics ranging from word usage to punctuation to spelling. A written episode format accompanies an audio feature complete with sound effects, wry humor and dramatizations from the Grammatis Personae Players.

“With Grammar Grater, we acknowledge that language is constantly evolving,” said Taylor. “The goal is to activate discussion, not necessarily to be heavy-handed. We as staff have healthy debates on grammar all the time and find that there isn’t necessarily a single correct answer for all the rules in the English language, particularly as we look beyond borders and consider how the world is getting smaller.”

The Grammar Grater Web site links to a discussion group on Gather.com, which enables listeners a chance to weigh in and suggest topics for future episodes.

Users can listen to, download or subscribe to the Grammar Grater podcast for free by visiting www.mpr.org and clicking on the Programs menu. Episodes are also available via Apple’s iTunes.

You’ve heard of podcasts, you know what they are, but have you actually LISTENED to one yet? If not, it’s time to start; and there’s no better starting point for an English teacher than Grammar Girl.

Go on, go to the site and click on “listen now.” I’ll wait.

Wasn’t that good? Short, sweet, and to the point.

Grammar Girl, a.k.a. Mignon Fogarty, started podcasting in July 2006, and her audience developed quickly. Her background as a technical writer prepared her to explain the nuances of the subjunctive mood or the question of hanged vs. hung in clear, common-sense terms. The podcast was so successful that she quit her day job. In a March interview Fogarty said, “This was my hobby when I started. I thought maybe a few people would be interested. But never in my wildest dreams did I think it would become as popular as it has.”

Grammar Girl is a great resource for English teachers experiencing a moment of doubt (what IS that rule about which vs. that?). It might also be a good backup for the student who needs just one more explanation of a concept. A Grammar Girl-style podcast might also serve as a way for students to demonstrate their learning at the end of a writing unit.

Grammar Girl also serves as a reminder that what we do really counts for something. People DO notice lapses in style, and people DO want their writing to be correct. Never mind what your fifth period class told you about semicolons. (Mine called them “the world’s most boring punctuation mark.”) The day will come when they’ll be glad they know.