With the monograph What is English? – subtitled And Why Should We Care? – Tim William Machan has presented a difficult book. The dust jacket already prepares the prospective reader by stating that “Finding an account that fits the constantly changing varieties of English is, Tim Machan finds, anything but simple”. And this text continues: “But he [i.e. Machan] rises to the challenge, grappling with its elusive essence through episodes in its history.” It is the combination of a tremendous amount of information and the ‘episodic’ form of this monograph that makes this book quite challenging.

Since 1921 England’s governments have commissioned enquiries into English and literacy teaching, leading towards published recommendations and requirements for English grammar teaching. Governments’ officially sanctioned publications represent their policy aspirations for English and literacy. Research studies have explored the subsequent challenge for schools and teachers who must integrate grammar into a subject whose wider philosophies may conflict with an explicit grammar element. My study draws on critical theory to analyse the ideological discourses of English grammar these official policy documents reveal, and how they conflict or coincide with wider ideologies of English and literacy in schools. My study uses a two-stage analysis. First is an intertextual analysis using a corpus approach to identify the data’s grammar topics through its keywords and argumentation types. Second is a qualitative critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the documents’ main ideas and ideological discourses. The CDA analysis reveals three main ideological discourses of grammar, namely of ‘heritage and authority’, ‘standards and control’, and ‘life chances and skills’. These discourses are constructed from both prescriptive and descriptive traditions of linguistic thinking, and draw on ideological perspectives of teaching and teachers, learning and learners, and changing philosophies of English over time. The findings show no direct connection between the topic keywords policy authors use and the ideological positions they adopt. But there is a clear trend in argumentation approaches used to make hoped-for claims for grammar’s place and benefits in subject English. The discourses found question whether teachers are sufficiently prepared for grammar teaching and whether learners are sufficiently prepared for communicating in the workplace. The policy ideologies of grammar found in the qualitative analysis are finally re-mapped against wider philosophies of subject English to identify the broad policy trends.

This research compares the grammar in English schoolbooks with the grammar teaching practisedin a Swedish secondary school classroom. It explores the grammar content of two Englishschoolbooks from two different levels, and whether the teacher uses other materials when teachinggrammar: language websites with grammar and vocabulary exercises, and listening, reading andwriting activities, that are different or similar to the ones in the schoolbooks. The study also looks atdifferent grammar teaching methods, Grammar-translation method, Direct method andAudiolingual method, used in the schoolbooks. Throughout the years, different methods have beenused for teaching grammar, which is why it is interesting to see which ones are used here. Thegrammar content of two English schoolbooks and the classroom observations of year eight and yearnine English lessons were analysed and compared in order to find out whether the grammarteaching affects the pupils proficiency level and accuracy in their essays. This investigation isrelevant since language teaching has become more and more focused on communication, whichmeans that accuracy has a tendency of being forgotten, even though fluency and accuracy are bothequally important in order to achieve a communicative competence.

The diploma thesis investigates the measurable progress in the ability of upper-secondary school students to form and use the passive voice after having been exposed to two online lessons on this grammar item. The theoretical part describes distance education, its varieties, and the tools that are assumed to make it effective. The empirical part of the thesis is based on the analysis of the two online lessons,the analysis of the students' development based on short pre- and post-tests developed to evaluate the students' knowledge, and an interview with two of the students.The thesis will attempt to reach a conclusion on whether there is a measurable development in students' understanding of the subject matter when taught in an online environment.The thesis proved that despite the distance form of education of the two lessons, the acquisitionof the grammar item was successful.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T18:24:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Renato Jose de Souza.pdf: 1125375 bytes, checksum: 20ee12261403972757ec5114b1773f19 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-29 / This study aims at describing and interpreting, from the perspective of public High School teachers of English, two phenomena of human experience lived in two distinct moments: the teaching of English grammar before and after the implementation of Proposta Curricular do Estado de São Paulo, in 2008. This study is theoretically based on the constrast among the structuralist, communicative and literacy view on language, as well as on the conceptions of grammar as discussed by Celce-Murcia & Hilles (1988), Odlin (1994), Possenti (1997), Travaglia (2002), and Larsen-Freeman (2003). The methodological orientation is the hermeneutic-phenomenological one, as perceived by van Manen (1990) and Freire (1998, 2007). The research involves four high school teachers of English from distinct public institutions, who provide information through questionnaires sent by e-mail, followed by online interactions that aim at conforming some of the details previously informed. The outcomes of this study evidence that teachers recognize a new approach to grammar in Proposta Curricular, however, their pedagogical practices are still attached to the structuralist approach. The results also reveal that reproduction, and attempts on changing are the themes that constitute the phenomenon teaching English grammar in High School public institutions until 2007. As from 2008 on, the living of the phenomenon on focus is structured on differences and difficulties. Such a perception provides subsidies for new considerations on teaching grammar in public schools, and for the conceiving of teacher education programs that address contents regarding the teaching of grammar / O objetivo deste estudo é descrever e interpretar, sob a perspectiva do professor de inglês, dois fenômenos da experiência humana, vivenciados em dois momentos distintos: ensinar a gramática da língua inglesa no Ensino Médio, na escola pública estadual, até o ano de 2007 e a partir da Proposta Curricular implementada pela Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo, em 2008. Esta pesquisa está teoricamente fundamentada no confronto entre as orientações estruturalista, comunicativa e letramento; bem como nas concepções de gramática discutidas por Celce-Murcia & Hilles (1988), Odlin (1994), Possenti (1997), Travaglia (2002) e Larsen-Freeman (2003). A abordagem metodológica utilizada é a abordagem hermenêuticofenomenológica (van Manen, 1990; Freire, 1998, 2007), e a pesquisa envolve quatro professoras de inglês de diferentes escolas da rede pública, que responderam, via e-mail, questionários específicos, seguidos de interações online, visando à confirmação de algumas informações obtidas. Os resultados obtidos evidenciam que as professoras participantes reconhecem um novo enfoque dado à gramática na Proposta Curricular; contudo, suas práticas pedagógicas continuam atreladas a uma concepção normativa ou estruturalista. Os resultados também revelam que reprodução e tentativas de mudança são os temas que constituem o fenômeno ensinar a gramática da língua inglesa, no Ensino Médio, na escola pública estadual, até 2007. A vivência do fenômeno a partir de 2008 revela que diferenças e dificuldades são os temas emergentes dos textos coletados. Tais resultados fornecem subsídios para novas considerações acerca do ensino de gramática da língua inglesa na Escola Pública, bem como para programas de formação docente

The aim of this study is to investigate the similarities/differences in the views on and practices of grammar teaching of a Swedish teacher of English (FL – Foreign Language) and a UK teacher of English (L1 – First Language). Furthermore, the study tries to explain how the differences found in the comparison can be connected to each country’s different steering documents and to the different teaching conditions involved in teaching English to L1 learners compared to FL learners. The two participating teachers were both interviewed and observed. The results of this study show that the teachers’ grammar practices are very similar since they include explicit formal instruction both inductively and deductively, but with a focus on the latter. These are typical ‘Focus on FormS’ related practices even though both teachers want to achieve a ‘Focus on Form’ directed practice. Furthermore, both teachers use metalanguage in their teaching. The main difference between the teachers’ grammar approaches are the aims that they have with their teaching. The UK teacher aims at plain accuracy in her pupils’ written production whereas the Swedish teacher aims at developing all-round communicative abilities among her pupils. This is explained with the different accuracy-focus which each country’s steering documents hold.

<p>The purpose of this essay was to investigate how films and TV-series were used in a Swedish lower secondary school, but also the pupils’ and teachers’ attitudes towards using television media. A questionnaire was handed out to 49 pupils asking them, for example, if they thought they learned grammar from watching films. In addition two teachers were interviewed and asked questions about what they thought about using television media in their teaching and how often they used it in their teaching. The results showed that both teachers and pupils were positive towards television media. The pupils thought they learned grammar, pronunciation, improved their listening comprehension and learned new vocabulary. They also stated that a lesson based on television media was more fun than a usual lesson and something they would like to see more of . However, the pupils were doubtful whether they learned more during such a lesson than a lesson based on the textbook. Copyright problems were an issue for the two teacher and they also stated that it requires more time to plan a meaningful activity involving television media compared to the traditional teaching. However, they felt that when they took the time to plan such an activity, it was worth it and the pupils reacted in a positive way.</p>

The purpose of this essay was to investigate how films and TV-series were used in a Swedish lower secondary school, but also the pupils’ and teachers’ attitudes towards using television media. A questionnaire was handed out to 49 pupils asking them, for example, if they thought they learned grammar from watching films. In addition two teachers were interviewed and asked questions about what they thought about using television media in their teaching and how often they used it in their teaching. The results showed that both teachers and pupils were positive towards television media. The pupils thought they learned grammar, pronunciation, improved their listening comprehension and learned new vocabulary. They also stated that a lesson based on television media was more fun than a usual lesson and something they would like to see more of . However, the pupils were doubtful whether they learned more during such a lesson than a lesson based on the textbook. Copyright problems were an issue for the two teacher and they also stated that it requires more time to plan a meaningful activity involving television media compared to the traditional teaching. However, they felt that when they took the time to plan such an activity, it was worth it and the pupils reacted in a positive way.

In almost all teaching, in all of the school subjects, teachers use materials to help them conduct their work. But how do coursebooks that are designed for the subject of English in Sweden tackle the subject? This study aims to investigate how coursebooks for the subject of English at Swedish upper-secondary school take account of the subject area of grammar. To cover this aim two research questions were formulated, namely:    In what ways do coursebooks for the subject of English at upper-secondary school take account of grammar? In what ways do coursebooks for the subject of English take account of grammar in relation to what is said in the syllabus?    The method of this essay consists of a content analysis of three coursebooks used at upper-secondary school. To support the analysis, the concepts of deductive and inductive approach to grammar teaching were used to categorize the books. The results show that grammar is featured in connection with a text or a theme to various degrees in the books. One of the books has a clear deductive approach to grammar presentation. The other two have either a clear inductive approach or a mix of both of them. All of the books examined can be considered to adhere to what the syllabus says regarding grammar. Based on the results one can say that it is important for teachers to reflect on the material they use.

The question of how to teach English grammar has been a pervasive one for a long time, but the topic has scarcely been the subject of contemporary research in a Swedish context. This study aims to gather insights related to the beliefs and pedagogical practises of a small sample of English teachers in the Swedish school system. For example, insights such as whether the teachers indicate a preference towards Inductive or Deductive instruction of grammar and how they tend to approach the teaching of English grammatical patterns. Because of the nature of this goal, this study necessitates the utilization of previous research and frameworks created in the fields of both pedagogy and linguistics, respectively. Without either field, this study could not be conducted, as both fields are vital in understanding the teaching of grammar.  The corpus this study utilized was transcribed from four 18-35 minutes long semi-structured interviews with upper secondary school teachers of English. These interviews were transcribed manually, and they were analysed and categorized using a mix of both the Inductive and Deductive approach of analysing interviews. The results found no overarching preference between Inductive and Deductive grammar teaching among the four teachers, and three out of the four indicated the utilization of both. The teacher who did not indicate this always preferred to teach grammatical structures explicitly. Communication was seen as important by all of the teachers, but only two of the participants indicated the usage of Communicative Language Teaching. The remaining two teachers indicated a preference towards either Task-Based Language Teaching or the Grammar-Translation approach. This variety among the teachers of the study reflected previous research conducted on the topic.