Teaching grammar in context

Abstract

From a grammatical perspective, many foreign language programmes and teaching materials are based on a linear model of language acquisition. This model operates on the premise that learners acquire one target language item at a time, in a sequential, step-by-step fashion. However, such a model is inconsistent with what is observed as learners go about the process of acquiring another language. In this article I argue for an alternative to the linear model which I call, for want of a better term, an organic approach to second language pedagogy. In the first part of the article I shall contrast both approaches, and look at evidence from second language acquisition and discourse analysis which supports the organic view. In the second part of the article I shall outline some of the pedagogical implications of the organic approach, illustrating them with practical ideas for the classroom. A strictly linear approach to language learning is based on the premise that learners acquire one grammatical item at a time, and that they should demonstrate their mastery of one thing before moving on to the next. For example, in learning English, a student should master one tense form, such as the simple present, before being introduced to other forms, such as the present continuous or the simple past. Metaphorically, learning another language by this method is like constructing a wall. The language wall is erected one linguistic 'brick' at a time. The easy grammatical bricks are laid at the bottom of the wall, providing a foundation for the more difficult ones. The task for the learner is to get the linguistic bricks in the right order: first the word bricks, and then the sentence bricks. If the bricks are not in the correct order, the wall will collapse under its own ungrammaticality. When we observe learners as they go about the process of learning another language, we see that, by and large, they do not acquire language in the step-by-step, building block fashion suggested by the