‘Grasping the nettle’: aspects of grammar in the mother tongue and foreign languages

Abstract

This paper looks at explicit grammar instruction (EGI) in relation to recent curriculum developments in L1 and FLs. After a brief historical view of L1 grammar teaching, aspects of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) are examined. Despite considerable merits, as a largely decontextualised framework, it contains avoidable weaknesses; its evidence base could also have been more robust. The NLS may well bring benefits for FL study, but these cannot yet be accurately assessed. The paper then considers EGI in FLs, specifically, possible uses of grammar rules. Objections to them are considered but it is argued that, within limits, TL grammar rules can be helpful. The judicious use of EGI in both L1 and FLs is justifiable. The lack of references to evidence in FL syllabuses is noted; but attention to current theory and research is surely necessary in L1 and FL policy-making.