“On the Teaching and Learning of Grammar: Challenging the

Myths”

By Diane Larsen-Freeman

Grammar structures have form AND function

• Grammar teaching is often reduced to transformational rules; meaning and purpose of structures is not given enough attention

• Teach grammar in context• “Knowing how, when, and why to say

what to whom” (from Standards for Foreign Language Learning)

Interlanguage

• Rule-governed– Errors are consistent, although there may be some

variability (e.g. Problem 3.2 “I don’t understand”, “I no remember”)

• U-shaped behavior, “backsliding”– Learner may appear to have acquired structures, but

they may be imitating

– Apparent backsliding may be the result of cognitive restructuring (e.g. Problem 3.1 [duju])

“Megamyth”: language instruction should mirror L1 acquisition

• Krashen; “Natural Approach”• Linguistics vs. pedagogy

– SLA theory attempts to describe what is minimally necessary for L2 acquisition to occur

– “what is minimally necessary for SLA to take place outside the classroom does not automatically constitute the most effective means of learning in the classroom”

– Teacher’s role is to “stimulate learning rather than to emulate acquisition”

Should grammar be taught?• ARGUMENTS AGAINST:

– It is possible to acquire grammar without overt teaching

– Student have difficulty learning and retaining concepts from traditional grammar

– “There is no relationship between grammar study and writing” (Krashen)

– “The teaching of formal grammar has a negligible or…even a harmful effect on the improvements of writing” (NCTE)

• ARGUMENTS FOR:

– Canadian French immersion programs – limited accuracy in French syntax and morphology

– Less salient grammatical features or those not crucial for comprehension are not acquired

– Self-reinforcing nature of peer interlanguage

*”me llamo es”

– Form-focused instruction converts “input” to “intake”

– Destabilize an incorrect rule

Error correction

• Krashen, UG – since L2 acquisition mirrors L1, linguistic forms will trigger appropriate parameter setting

• How do learners know a nonoccurrence of a possibility if they have no access to negative evidence *”John drank slowly the coffee”

• Do we have access to UG during L2 acquisition?• Linguistic theory vs. pedagogy: just because it

might not be necessary doesn’t imply it won’t help (Carroll and Swain, 1993)

Beyond SLA theory: What teachers know

• Individual learner differences• Some learners will be successful regardless of the method• Assessment techniques may not adequately measure what

has been learned• Learners need to be ready to learn• Time constraints – where to focus?• Persistence of errors (especially in the case of L1/L2

partial identity)• “Practice makes perfect”, or at least “better”• Metalanguage – talking about language