Ask the Grammar Maven
Anne Ediger
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| Anne Ediger |
The Question:
Previously, I explained why ESL teachers need to know grammar. The natural next question, then, is whether ESL teachers need to teach grammar.
Does research support the explicit teaching of grammar?
Response:
While not all research supports it, the literature on second language acquisition does indeed support the explicit teaching of grammar.
Since the 1980s, the issue of teaching grammar has been a “hot potato” and has gone through several “pendulum swings.” Krashen and Terrell (1983), arguing for “natural” language acquisition, viewed comprehensible input as essential and sufficient, while explicit grammar teaching was to be avoided except as a side activity when communication was not the focus. Based on this, many teachers have avoided teaching grammar, and some schools in fact, have actively prohibited teachers from explicitly teaching grammar.
A broad range of research since then, however, has questioned Krashen and Terrell’s recommendations. In one critical study, Harley and Swain (1984) found that when French immersion classes in Canada provided ample comprehensible input, students were able to achieve some communicative competence (in discourse and strategic competence), but significantly lacked grammatical and socio-linguistic competence. Ellis (2002) says “it is now widely acknowledged that L2 learners, particularly adults, fail to achieve high levels of grammatical competence even if they have ample opportunity to learn the language naturally” (p. 18).
One reason for this may be that although input-rich language classes are adequate for helping students learn to communicate to achieve high-level, target-like mastery of the L2, they need more. Allen, Swain, Harley, and Cummins (1990) demonstrated that the language environment in classrooms where the focus is solely on comprehensible input is limited in certain significant ways unless students are pushed explicitly to produce certain kinds of output.
Other researchers say focusing on meaning alone in learning L2 communication is not enough—because students often need their attention called to certain grammar forms through noticing or consciousness-raising activities (Rutherford & Sharwood Smith (Eds.), 1988), or need to be told explicitly when and where they have made errors (White, 1987). Doughty and Williams (1998) argued for a “focus on form” within meaning-focused communication activities. Norris and Ortega (2000), reviewing studies looking at explicit teaching of grammar, found that instruction bringing together an explicit focus on form and meaning resulted in the highest gains in language acquisition, higher than implicit focus on grammar, a focus on meaning alone, or a focus on explicit grammar teaching alone.
There are other powerful arguments for the explicit teaching of grammar: students need grammar knowledge in order to read and write effectively. One critical component of reading ability is understanding morphology and syntax (Grabe, 2003). Recent studies of various texts in different genres (Schleppegrell & Colombi, 2002) suggest that because language is used differently in different genres, we teachers need to notice such usage and teach it to our students, including various grammatical structures, ways of presenting information, and choice of vocabulary.
This doesn’t mean that any old grammar teaching helps. Many of us spent years studying decontextualized grammar in foreign language classes without learning to communicate much at all. How we teach grammar is equally important; in fact, grammar knowledge and (explicit) teaching are really only helpful if they contribute to students’ ability to use the language better. But that is a topic for a future installment.
Bibliography
Allen, P., Swain, M., Harley, B., & Cummins, J. (1990). Aspects of classroom treatment: toward a more comprehensive view of second language education. In B. Harley, P. Allen, J. Cummins, & M. Swain (Eds.), The development of second language proficiency (pp. 57-81). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Doughty, C., & Williams, J. (1998). Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, R. (2002). The place of grammar instruction in the second/foreign language curriculum. In E. Hinkel, & S. Fotos (Eds.), New perspectives on grammar teaching in second language classrooms (pp. 17-34). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Freeman, D., & Freeman, Y. (2000). Teaching reading in multilingual classrooms. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Grabe, W. (2003). The role of grammar in reading development. In J. Frodesen, & C. Holten (Eds.), The Power of Context (pp. 129-139). Boston, MA: Heinle.
Harley, B., & Swain, M. (1984). The interlanguage of immersion students and its implication for second language teaching. In A. Davies, C. Criper, & A. Howatt (Eds.), Interlanguage (pp. 291-311). Edingurgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Hinkel, E., & Fotos, S. (Eds.). (2002). New perspectives on grammar teaching in second language classrooms. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Krashen, S., & Terrell, T. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom, New York: Pergamon.
Norris, J., & Ortega, L. (2000). Effectiveness of L2 instruction: a research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. Language Learning, 50, (3), 417-528.
Rutherford, W., & Sharwood Smith, M. (Eds.). (1988). Grammar and second language teaching. New York: Newbury House.
Schleppegrell, M., & Colombi, M. C. (2002). Developing advanced literacy in first and second languages. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
White, L. (1987). Against comprehensible input: The input hypothesis and the development of second language competence. Applied Linguistics, 8, 95-110.
Send your questions and comments about grammar to Anne Ediger at: dialogue@nystesol.org.
Anne Ediger (Ph.D., Applied Linguistics, UCLA) is currently Chair of the Dept. of Curriculum & Teaching and Professor in the TESOL MA Program at Hunter College. She has taught ESL/EFL to students ranging in age from 5 to 75, and trained teachers in Japan, Korea,
Mexico, and the US for over 30 years.
