FROM EITHER A FEAR OF STUDENTS OR A FEAR OF LANGUAGE AS IT ACTUALLY EXISTS, MANY ENGLISH TEACHERS HAVE PERMITTED GRAMMATICAL ANALYSIS TO DOMINATE THE NEW ENGLISH CURRICULA AND CONSEQUENTLY HAVE MADE LINGUISTICS IRRELEVANT. THESE TEACHERS PREFER THE MANIPULATION OF GRAMMATICAL SYSTEMS AS AN END IN ITSELF RATHER THAN THE USE OF LINGUISTICS TO TRANSFORM THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH INTO A CONTINUING PURSUIT OF RELEVANCE. A PRODUCTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO LINGUISTICS AS GRAMMAR WOULD BE THE DEVELOPMENT OF "LINGUISTICS AS THE RIGOROUS STUDY OF LANGUAGE SITUATIONS" (HUMAN EVENTS IN WHICH LANGUAGE IS USED TO SHARE MEANING). QUESTIONS ABOUT LANGUAGE SITUATIONS RELEVANT TO STUDENTS COULD DEAL WITH THE VARIOUS LANGUAGE SYSTEMS THAT IMPINGE ON THEIR LIVES (E.G., THE LANGUAGES OF ADVERTISING, NEWS REPORTING, POLITICS, RELIGION, AND SCIENCE). SUCH QUESTIONS, CONCERNED WITH THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF CURRENT EVENTS, FIRMLY LINK THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE TO REALITY AND AVOID THE "UNWORKABLE" TRIPOD CURRICULUM. (THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE "ENGLISH JOURNAL," VOL. 56 (NOVEMBER 1967), 1160-1165.) (LH)