This thesis presents an investigation into the beliefs held by practising teachers of L1 (first language) English in English secondary schools about the value of teaching grammar. Through case studies, it also relates beliefs to pedagogical practice. The study was conducted in two phases. The participants in the first phase were thirty-one teachers, all of whom were taking part in the ESRC-funded Grammar for Writing? project (grant number RES-062-23-0775). Participants taught three writing schemes to their year eight class over the course of a year, and were observed and interviewed once during each scheme. The interviews elicited their beliefs about the teaching of writing in general and about teaching sentence level grammar in particular. The interview data were inductively analysed to explore the participants’ espoused beliefs. The case-study participants in the second phase were three volunteers from the original cohort. These teachers were each observed for a period of three weeks, teaching their own writing schemes to key stage three classes. Stimulated recall interviews were used to capture their reflections on their teaching practices, and think-aloud protocols were used to capture their thinking as they assessed writing samples. Phase one and two data were analysed to explore some of the different ways in which teachers practise grammar teaching, along with the matches, mismatches and tensions between their practice and their espoused beliefs. The findings are presented using a model which explores teachers’ conceptual, affective and evaluative beliefs about grammar, along with episodic influences. The study is significant in offering an up-to-date picture of teachers’ beliefs and practice in this highly-contested aspect of English, as well as in offering insights into the relationships between conceptual, affective and evaluative aspects of belief, and into some of the causes reported by teachers for mismatches and tensions between beliefs and practices.

This study investigates the prevalence and proportion of explicit grammar practice activities in relation to a present, practice, and produce structure to find out if it is possible to derive an approach to grammar teaching that is used in the English language learning material Magic! 9. Current SLA research suggests that explicit grammar teaching facilitates L2 acquisition if grammatical activities focus on meaning over decontextualized form-focused drills. Additionally, researchers have not reached a conclusive answer on whether the inductive or deductive presentation of grammar is the most effective. By linking teaching approaches to the presentation, practice, and produce structure and the connected grammar activities, this study found that Magic! 9 favors explicit presentation of grammatical elements by name, while inductively presenting the grammatical rules of the elements in preceding non-grammar focused activities. Additionally, the explicit grammatical activities in Magic! 9 are primarily focused on form, and meaning is the secondary focus. Although not conclusive, the findings suggest that there are two possible answers as to which approach is used to teach grammar. The primary focus on form and drilling nature of the activities suggests that the audio-lingual approach is the most prevalent. On the other hand, the mixing of several approaches suggests that the post-communicative approach is the most prevalent.

本研究旨在探討英語歌曲練習文法和機械式練習文法對學生文法學習和記憶保留的成效。主要目標欲探究(1)兩種文法練習方法對於文法學習的成效；(2) 兩種文法練習方法對記憶保留的成效；以及(3)兩種文法練習方法對於高、低成就學習者在文法學習和記憶保留的影響。 研究對象為台灣中部一所公立國中兩班七年級的學生。此均質的兩個班被隨機指定為實驗組與控制組。實驗組於教授文法後施予英語歌曲練習文法，而控制組則施予傳統機械式練習文法。歷時十一週的文法教學後，兩組受試者接受文法測驗(EGT)，以得知兩組受試者文法學習情況。一個月後，兩組受試者再次接受相同文法測驗，以進一步得知其文法的記憶保留情形。本研究主要發現如下：(1)在文法學習成效方面，接受英語歌曲練習文法的實驗組學生表現顯著優於接受機械式文法練習的控制組學生。(2)在記憶保留方面，接受英語歌曲練習文法的實驗組學生表現顯著優於接受機械式文法練習的控制組學生。(3)利用英語歌曲練習文法對於高、低英語學習成就者而言，在文法學習和記憶保留上皆有正面影響。 (4)透過機械式文法練習亦有助於提升高、低英語學習成就者，在文法學習和記憶保留的成效。(5)對於高英語學習成就者而言，利用英語歌曲練習文法和透過機械式練習文法兩者對於其文法學習和記憶保留成效相同。(6)對於低英語高學習成就者而言，利用英語歌曲練習文法在文法學習和記憶保留的成效皆優於透過機械式文法練習。 最後，研究者對於英語歌曲在文法教學上之應用提供建議以作為教育學者們的參考。 / The study investigated the effects of “grammar practice through drills plus English songs” versus the effects of “grammar practice through drills” on students’ grammar learning and retention of grammar points. The study aims to (1) investigate the effects of these two kinds of grammar practices on grammar learning; (2) explore the effects of these two kinds of grammar practices on retention of grammar points; and (3) evaluate the effects of these two kinds of grammar practices on grammar learning and retention of grammar points for high and low English achievers. Participants were two intact classes of seventh-grade students in a public junior high school in central Taiwan. With the homogeneity of English proficiency, the two classes were randomly assigned as the experimental and control groups. The former received “grammar practice through drills plus English songs”, while the latter received “grammar practice through drills.” After receiving an eleven-week instruction, both groups received English Grammar Test (EGT), to assess their grammar learning. One month after EGT, the same grammar test—EGT were conducted to both groups to assess their retention of grammar points. The major findings are summarized as follows. (1) In terms of grammar learning, students receiving “grammar practice through drills plus English songs” outperformed those receiving “grammar practice through drills.” (2) In terms of retention of grammar points, “grammar practice through drills plus English songs” had a more positive influence than “grammar practice through drills.” (3) “Grammar practice through drills plus English songs” possessed a facilitative effect for both high and low English achievers with regard to grammar learning and retention of grammar points. (4) “Grammar practice through drills” benefited both high and low English achievers. (5) “Grammar practice through drills plus English songs” and “grammar practice through drills ” could enhance high English achievers’ grammar learning and retention of grammar points. (6) “Grammar practice through drills plus English songs” exerted a superior effectiveness on low English achievers’ grammar learning and retention of grammar points. Pedagogical implications based on the findings were also provided.

Today's global culture makes communication through writing in a foreign language a most desirable tool to expand personal and professional relations. However, teaching writing is a complex, time-consuming endeavor in any language. Foreign language teachers at every level struggle to fit writing into an already full curriculum and need the most effective methods and tools with which to teach. Technology may provide a viable scaffold to support writing instruction for teachers and students. The purpose of this research was to determine any benefits of weekly/structured, in-class, computer-assisted grammar drill and practice on the composition quality and quantity of intermediate university Spanish learners. A related purpose was to determine whether students who participated in such practice would access a computer-based writing assistant differently during writing than students without the treatment. The research design was a nonequivalent groups pretest-posttest design. Fifty-two subjects' compositions were graded with both holistic and analytic criteria to analyze composition quality and quantity, and statistical analyses assessed interactions of treatment and effects. The computer-based Atajo writing assistant, which could be accessed during composition, had a logging feature which provided unobtrusive observation of specific databases accessed by each student. There were no statistically significant differences found between the two groups in overall composition scores or in subscale scores. Improvements across time were observed in composition performance for both the experimental and control groups. The implementation of computer-based grammar and vocabulary practice did show a small to moderate positive effect; that is to say, students who received weekly, structured computer grammar and vocabulary practice had higher scores for composition quality and quantity on the posttest measure and accessed the databases less than the control group. The consistent positive trends in the composition data results intimate that over a more extended period of time, computer-based grammar instruction might enhance the quality and quantity of written composition in the foreign language classroom.