Grammar teaching in secondary school foreign language learning in England: teachers’ reported beliefs and observed practices

Abstract

This study investigates teachers’ beliefs relating to grammar teaching in modern foreign language (MFL) learning in England. Focus on grammatical form has been consistently supported by linguistic research and teacher practice, and has progressively been reinstated in England’s National Curriculum. However, MFL learning assessment in England has remained focused on generic communicative, skill-focused criteria, leaving teachers caught in the conflicting discourses of policy, linguistic research, teacher education and teaching practice. This exploratory–interpretive enquiry explored how eight MFL teachers translated grammar teaching policy and theoretical guidelines into their teaching practices. Data from interviews, observations and think-alouds were collected and analysed using an inductive approach. The findings revealed disparate interpretations of the concept of grammar and grammar teaching. In this period of ongoing reform of MFL examinations at age 16 in England, critical exploration of what happens in the range of MFL classrooms should inform clearer theoretical and methodological guidelines for MFL teaching and learning, leading to a more consistent pedagogic rationale and more consistent strategies for teacher education and MFL provision.