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Developing Metalinguistics Knowledge - Teaching

Grammar

Institution: UOW Learning Platform Printed by: Kate Lindner

EDGT930 (S125) Methodology in Date: Saturday, 17 May 2025, 9:40 AM
Site:
Second Language Teaching
x. Developing Metalinguistics
Book:
Knowledge - Teaching Grammar
 Table of contents

1. Readings and Resources

2. Introduction

3. Grammar Teaching

4. Dictogloss (Grammar Dictation)

5. Activity: Dictogloss
 1. Readings and Resources

Reading Task

This week's readings:

Ellis, R. (2006). Current issues in the teaching of grammar: An SLA perspective.

TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 83-107.

Read the article by Ellis (2006). Note the questions Ellis asks and the responses he
gives. These may guide your decisions about why, when and how grammar is to be
taught.

Schurz, A., & Coumel, M. (2023). Grammar teaching in ELT: A cross-national

comparison of teacher-reported practices. Language Teaching Research, 27(5),
1167-1192 - A great article to explore the Common European Framework (CEFR) in
action. For those teaching in Australian mainstream schools, what can you draw from
this article that is applicable to your own context?

Recommended reading. Don't just stop at Ellis, keep going and explore the
readings relevant to your teaching context.

de Silva J. H., & Burns, A. (1999). Focus on grammar. Sydney: National Centre for
English Language Teaching and Research. – Chapter 6: Grammar and Teaching
Spoken Language

As you read the chapter by de Silva Joyce and Burns (1999), work through the tasks
suggested by the authors. Then, reflect on the following questions:

What would you consider the main strengths of teaching grammar within a genre-
based approach?
What would the main problems be?

Bourke, J. M. (2008). A rough guide to language awareness. Teaching Forum, 1, 12-21.

As you read the article by Bourke (2008), think about this question:

What are the strengths and weaknesses of a language awareness approach to

grammar teaching and learning? Note the reference to ‘grammaring.’

Adair-Hauck, B., Donato, R., & Cumo-Johanssen, P. (2005). Using a story-based

approach to teach grammar. In J. Shrum & E. Gilsan (Eds.), Teachers handbook:
Contextualized language Instruction (3rd ed.) (pp. 189-213). Thomson Heinle, USA.
Read the chapter by Adair-Hauck et al (2005) and note the top-down approach to
teaching grammar drawing upon SCT theory. This chapter provides a strong argument
for its approach. You should note the discussion on ‘explicit and implicit’ teaching and
how the writers approach this issue which is also a current debate in Australian
TESOL. Consider whether you agree with their suggestions, whether ‘guided
participation’ is enough, and how you might use them in your teaching setting.

Post your responses in the Module 3 - Discussion Forum. Feel free to share
your thoughts with others if you feel comfortable doing so.

Further Readings

Consider skimming some of them with your current teaching context in mind:

Borg, S., & Burns, A. (2008). Integrating grammar in adult TESOL classrooms. Applied
Linguistics, 29(3), 456-482.

Ellis, R., & Basturkmen, H., & Loewen, S. (2002). Doing focus-on-form. System, 30.
419-432.

Jean, G., & Simard, D. (2013). Deductive versus inductive grammar instruction:
Investigating possible relationships between gains, preferences and learning styles.
System, 41(4), 1023-1042.

Scheffler, P., & Cinciała, M. (2011). Explicit grammar rules and L2 acquisition. ELT
Journal, 65(1), 13-23.

Valeo, A., & Spada, N. (2015). Is there a better time to focus on form? Teacher and
learner views. TESOL Quarterly, 50(2), 314-339.

And for further readings, click here.

 2. Introduction

In this topic we will start to examine issues around the teaching of grammar and
explore how this might link with other aspects of language teaching and learning such
as those we have explored to date in this subject. In our discussions of the teaching of
grammar, you will be drawing on what you have already learned about students,
teachers and their interactions as well as planning and programming more generally.

This topic is not aimed to give you a comprehensive understanding of the teaching and
learning of grammar, but to give you an introduction to some of the issues so that when
you examine these further in other subjects you will already have some familiarity with
the main concepts.

On completion of this topic, you should be able to:

identify materials and activities for grammar learning which are appropriate for
learners’ needs
use some techniques for integrating the teaching of grammar into the design of
units of work and lessons


Interactive Video

Click for accompanying notes

 3. Grammar Teaching

Grammar teaching has changed over the last half century. Here’s a quick summary of
some of these shifts:

In the structural syllabus, the grammar focus was on the forms that language took
rather than the way that language was used
In the 1970s and 80s, grammar lost its place in language classrooms, superseded
by notional-functional syllabuses in which the focus was on language settings and
purposes
More recently, grammar has made a significant comeback in the second language
classroom. The formal teaching and learning of functional grammar or language on
context has become an integral part of language learning and teaching:
http://letslearngrammar.weebly.com/functional.html

So what is Grammar?

A description of the structure of language and the way in which linguistic units such
as words or phrases are combined to produce sentences in the language
It usually takes into account the meanings and functions these sentences have in
the overall system of the language. It may or may not include the description of
sounds of a language (Richards, Platt Weber, 1987)

More than Syntax

The order of words (syntax) in a sentence is governed by rules for expressing what
we mean
For example, John gave a book to Solange means something different to Solange
gave a book to John. Changing the order of words changes the meaning
Even though changes have been made, both sentences are meaningful because
the words still relate to each other; however, some sentences lose meaning when
they are reversed
For example: compare The cat climbed up the tree and The tree climbed up the
cat. Both are grammatically correct, but the second sentence does not agree with
our knowledge of the world
Deep and Surface Grammar

Some linguists have made a distinction between deep and surface grammar and
that each sentence is encoded with two grammars
Deep grammar occurs at a conceptual level; i.e., in the sentence John gave book
to Solange the speaker is expressing the concept of someone giving something to
someone else. This is according to what is assumed understandable to the hearer
Surface grammar occurs at the level of expression where the concept needs the
right words to be used in the correct tense and word order; i.e., in the sentence
John gave a book to Solange the speaker encodes the concept according to rules
of grammar

Learning and Teaching Grammar

The role of grammar in language learning and teaching has changed considerably over
the last half century. Within the structural syllabus, grammar constituted the main focus
of the language class, moreover, that focus was on the forms that the language took
rather than the way that language was used in social contexts. In the 1970s and 80s,
grammar lost its place in language classrooms, superseded by functional-notional
syllabuses. More recently, the formal teaching and learning of grammar within
language classrooms has been reassessed and grammar has once again become an
integral part of first and second language learning and teaching.

If you have time, watch the following video about teaching knowledge about language.
(Source:
PETAA http://www.petaa.edu.au/imis_prod/w/Teaching_Resources/Project_40/w/Teachi
ng_Resources/P40/Project_40.aspx#Diversity)

Project 40 Video 5 — Teaching knowledge about language

 4. Dictogloss (Grammar Dictation)

A useful activity to support the development of metalinguistic knowledge is the dictogloss. A

dictogloss is a dictation activity where learners work in groups to recreate a heard text based on
their notes . It aims to:

Provide an opportunity for learners to use their productive grammar in the task of text creation.
Learners' linguistic resources are used to bring together their notes, considering a range of
language options.
Encourage learners to find out what they do and do not know about English. They realise this
through the text reconstruction.
Upgrade and refine the learners' use of the language through a comprehensive analysis of
language options in the correction of the learners' approximate texts.

Can you see hints of theories of learning peeping out at you through this task?
The process of conducting a dictogloss involves:
1. Preparation: Context building (discuss topic/vocabulary).​
2. Dictation: Listening to the text read aloud twice. Students are asked to note down key
words as they listen to the text for the second time.
3. Reconstruction: Learners in small groups reconstruct the text based on their notes.
4. Comparison: Comparison of different versions of the text.

According to Wajnryb (2003) the value of using a dictogloss is that learning is active. Students
make many and varied and constantly changing hypotheses about language. For the teacher,
it's away of testing while teaching. Think about it...as they are engaged in reconstructing the
text, you are observing and gaining insight into their strengths and challenges. It also provides
an opportunity for students to b creative, using grammar in context.
Source: Wajnryb, R. (2003). Grammar dictation . Oxford University Press. pp. 7-13
Great Ideas: Dictogloss
Source: Bell Foundation https://www.bell-foundation.org.uk/eal-programme/guidance/effective-
teaching-of-eal-learners/great-ideas/dictogloss/
 5. Activity: Dictogloss

Now it's your turn to ahve a go at a dictogloss. Let's draw on one of Wajnryb's (2003,
p.99) suggested activities . When choosing a text, you need to select one that is
appropriate for the level of your learners. The text we will use here is geared at
advanced learners. The topic is: The gun debate.

Let's begin. Brainstorm the following:

Guns - what comes to mind?

Should guns be banned - yes or no?

Post your thoughts and responses on the Padlet.

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Dictogloss - Preparation
Brainstorm by providing responses to the following: Guns-what comes to mind?, Should guns be
banned: yes or no?

At this stage in the lesson, you might spend some time looking at some key words that come out
during the brainstorm.
Now for the real fun. Listen to the text being read. It will be read 2 times at normal speed. As
you listen, jot down key pieces of information. Go old school and use paper and pen/pencil.

Now, look at your notes and have a go reconstructing the text. Don't relisten. Fight the temptation.
The aim is to use what you have to recreate the same meaning but in your own words. How close
do you think you got to the original text?.

Type your reconstructed text into the box below.

How close did you get? (But remember, it's not an
accuracy test. Just see how similar or different
your text is to the original)

 Check

Embed 

Some things to reflect on:

What resources did you draw on to complete this task?

What theories of language do you see reflected in this activity?
Where would you use dictogloss in your teaching?