Robert Livingston Allen
Encyclopedia
Robert Livinston Allen was an American professor of linguistics
and education at Teachers College, Columbia University
known for his development of Sector Analysis, a grammatical system used in the teaching and analysis of languages in the United States and around the world.
Born in 1916 in Hamadan, Iran, the son of Presbyterian missionaries, Robert Allen was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated as valedictorian
from Hamilton College where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his MA (1953) and PhD (1962) in Teaching of English with an emphasis on linguistics from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York.
in Istanbul, Turkey. After teaching in Turkey, Afghanistan, Burma, and Indonesia, he joined the faculty of Teachers College in 1959, where he served as the chair of the Department of Languages, Literature, Speech and Theatre from 1965-1969. There he met his second wife, Doris A.(née Condon Stotts) Allen who served on the faculty from 1965 to 1975. In recognition of his special gifts as a teacher, his work as a scholar, and his contribution to his profession, Dr. Allen was awarded a special professorship at Teachers College in 1976. He also held Fulbright Lectureships in Burma (1953–1954) and in Tehran, Iran (1978).
He was active in the founding of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) as an independent organization along with his first wife Virginia French Allen. He was a member of the English Teaching Advisory Panel for the U.S. Information Agency and a member of the Commission on the English Language for the National Council of Teachers of English
. Other organizations with which he was affiliated were the Linguistic Society of America
and the International Reading Association
. Dr. Allen also served on the editorial board of WORD, the publication of the International Linguistic Association
.
He also published articles, made presentations, and wrote monographs on a variety of subjects, including Time-Orientation and Time-Relationship in English, The Expression of Emphasis in Present-Day English, and Sector Analysis: From Sentence to Morpheme in English.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and education at Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education located in New York City, New York...
known for his development of Sector Analysis, a grammatical system used in the teaching and analysis of languages in the United States and around the world.
Born in 1916 in Hamadan, Iran, the son of Presbyterian missionaries, Robert Allen was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated as valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
from Hamilton College where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his MA (1953) and PhD (1962) in Teaching of English with an emphasis on linguistics from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York.
Teaching career
Allen began his teaching career in 1938 at Robert CollegeRobert College
Robert College of Istanbul , is one of the most selective independent private high schools in Turkey. Robert College is a co-educational, boarding school with a wooded campus on the European side of Istanbul between the two bridges on the Bosphorus, with the Arnavutköy district to the east, and...
in Istanbul, Turkey. After teaching in Turkey, Afghanistan, Burma, and Indonesia, he joined the faculty of Teachers College in 1959, where he served as the chair of the Department of Languages, Literature, Speech and Theatre from 1965-1969. There he met his second wife, Doris A.(née Condon Stotts) Allen who served on the faculty from 1965 to 1975. In recognition of his special gifts as a teacher, his work as a scholar, and his contribution to his profession, Dr. Allen was awarded a special professorship at Teachers College in 1976. He also held Fulbright Lectureships in Burma (1953–1954) and in Tehran, Iran (1978).
He was active in the founding of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) as an independent organization along with his first wife Virginia French Allen. He was a member of the English Teaching Advisory Panel for the U.S. Information Agency and a member of the Commission on the English Language for the National Council of Teachers of English
National Council of Teachers of English
The National Council of Teachers of English is an American professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education...
. Other organizations with which he was affiliated were the Linguistic Society of America
Linguistic Society of America
The Linguistic Society of America is a professional society for linguists. It was founded in 1924 to advance linguistics, the scientific study of human language. The LSA has over 5,000 individual members and welcomes linguists of all kinds. It works to advance the discipline and to communicate...
and the International Reading Association
International Reading Association
The International Reading Association is an international professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialogue about research on reading, and encourage the habit of reading....
. Dr. Allen also served on the editorial board of WORD, the publication of the International Linguistic Association
International Linguistic Association
The International Linguistic Association was founded in 1943 as the Linguistic Circle of New York. Its founding members were academic linguists in the New York area, including many members of the École Libre des Hautes Études in exile. The model for the new organization was the Société de...
.
Development of Sector Analysis
Allen was committed to the use of linguistic theory in teaching English in three major areas: reading, writing, and teaching English to speakers of other languages. He is best known for his work with the English verb in The Verb System of Present-Day American English (Mouton and Company 1966), and for his development of Sector Analysis, a structural grammatical system that has been used in language analysis and teaching around the world, a synopsis of which appears in English Grammars and English Grammar (Charles Scribner’s 1972).He also published articles, made presentations, and wrote monographs on a variety of subjects, including Time-Orientation and Time-Relationship in English, The Expression of Emphasis in Present-Day English, and Sector Analysis: From Sentence to Morpheme in English.
X-word Grammar
In education, Dr. Allen’s concepts have endured as X-word Grammar , which teaches the simplicity and predictability of English as seen through Sector Analysis in contrast to traditional English grammar methods that are still based on a comparison of English with Latin. X-word grammar has been applied to the teaching of English to speakers of other languages, to teaching writing in college level and business writing courses, in remedial English classes for native speakers, and in writing classes for the deaf.External links
- http://xwordgrammar.pbworks.com Xword Grammar Wiki; a clearinghouse for information on Xword grammar and its application.