An inductive approach to grammar teaching in Grade 5 & 6 Irish immersion classes

Abstract

This article describes quantitative findings from a mixed-methods exploratory study of the effectiveness of an explicit-inductive approach to grammar teaching in improving the linguistic accuracy of Grade 5 and 6 (n=274) students in 12 Irish immersion classes. A series of form-focused materials were designed to explicitly draw learners’ attention to the use of the genitive case in Irish over a four-week period. Students engaged in collaborative meta-talk when uncovering rule-based knowledge and they recorded explicit grammatical knowledge in a reflective language-learning journal. Results from a pre-test, post-test, delayed post-test design showed a highly statistically significant increase in the mean achievement of pupils from pre- to post-test, with a levelling off at delayed post-test. Interestingly, students’ increases in achievement were not dependent on initial student competency. This study points to the potential effectiveness of a social-constructivist explicit-inductive approach to improve the linguistic accuracy of students in immersion programmes.