Developing a cross‐linguistic grammar programme

The paper describes a preliminary attempt at an English grammar programme for the first year of secondary schooling in Queensland, linked to the grammatical features introduced in the students’ second language programmes. The stages of development are outlined, including: examination of the second language texts to determine what linguistic features were covered in the first year of learning; examination of English course books to see how such features were taught in them; deciding on a linguistic model that would incorporate the needs of English and Modern Language programmes in a clear manner, and also provide insight into the way the different levels of grammatical structure are related; developing the different sections of the programme syllabus. Extracts of the grammar programme are included showing the direction taken and how the links were made with the other languages. Some cross‐curricular and discourse‐linked aspects are also shown.