Second Language Learning and Language Teaching

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2.6 The role of explicit grammar in language teaching
The role of explicit grammar in language teaching 39
Box 2.7 Alternative ways of using L2 sequences in
language teaching
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Ignore the parts of grammar that have a particular L2 learning sequence, as
the learner will follow these automatically anyway.
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Follow the L2 learning order as closely as possible in the teaching.
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Teach the last things in an L2 learning sequence first.
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Ignore grammar altogether.
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Did hearing about grammar from your teacher help you learn a second lan-
guage? In what way?
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How aware are you of grammar when you are speaking (a) your first lan-
guage (b) your second language?
Focusing questions
consciousness-raising: helping the learners by drawing attention to features of
the second language
language awareness: helping the learners by raising awareness of language
itself
sensitization: helping the learners by alerting them to features of the first lan-
guage
focus on FormS: deliberate discussion of grammar without reference to mean-
ing
focus on form (FonF): discussion of grammar and vocabulary arising from
meaningful language in the classroom
Keywords
It is one thing to make teachers aware of grammar and to base coursebooks, syl-
labuses and teaching exercises on grammar. It is something else to say that the stu-
dents themselves should be aware of grammar. Indeed, Chapter 1 showed that the
nineteenth- and twentieth-century teaching tradition has avoided explicit gram-
mar in the classroom. This section looks at some of the ideas that have been raised
about using grammatical terms and descriptions with the student. Though the dis-
cussion happens to concentrate on grammar, the same issues arise about the use of
phonetic symbols in pronunciation teaching, the class discussion of meanings of
words, or the explanations of language functions, all of which depend on the stu-
dents consciously understanding the rules and features of language.
One issue is the extent to which grammatical form and meaning should be sep-
arated. Mike Long (1991) makes a distinction between focus on FormS, which is

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deliberate discussion of grammatical forms such as ‘’s’ or the past tense, and focus
on form (FonF), which relates the form to the meaning arising from language in the
classroom. A linguist might object that grammar is a system for encoding and
decoding particular meanings; any teaching of grammar that does not involve
meaning is not teaching grammar at all. However, the distinction between FormS
and FonF does focus attention away from grammar explanation for its sake,
towards thinking how grammar may contribute within the whole context of lan-
guage teaching methodology, as described in Chapter 13.