The effects of a functional linguistics-based course on teachers’ beliefs about grammar

Abstract

This mixed-methods study uses concept maps to investigate the effects of an English pedagogical grammar course on the beliefs of teachers-in-training (n = 40) enrolled over a 2-year period at a private university in the U.S. Midwest. The course takes a functional approach to grammar based on systemic-functional linguistics and is typically the first exposure to functional grammar that these teachers-in-training experience with either their own language learning or prior coursework. As a result, this study was designed to explore the extent to which participants integrate this approach with their pre-course beliefs. Analysis of participants’ pre-course concept maps indicates that they mainly believe grammar to consist of structures at the word and morpheme levels. Quantitative comparisons of pre- and post-course concept maps reveal that this belief continues to hold even as participants show much growth in knowledge about grammar at the sentence and discourse levels. An in-depth qualitative analysis of maps from a subset of participants (n = 7) shows that only two substantially shifted their beliefs about teaching grammar functionally. The findings have practical implications for course design and overall programme design in language teacher education programmes.

KEYWORDS:

• Systemic-functional linguistics
• grammar pedagogy course
• teacher education
• language teachers’ beliefs
• concept map

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Feride Erku, Jennifer Killam, Linda O’Malley, and Elaine Tarone for their helpful comments on early drafts. The authors also thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The number of in-service hours is not specified in Nunan (1995).

2 Teach for America (TFA) is a non-profit organisation that recruits recent college graduates and professionals from all academic disciplines. Upon acceptance into the program, recruits (called corps members) commit to teaching for two years in high-need, under-resourced public schools. Corps members receive six weeks of intensive summer training before receiving a classroom placement. Some school districts require corps members to take additional graduate-level teacher education courses. This was the case for the students who participated in the current study. For more information about TFA, see www.teachforamerica.org.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bonnie Swierzbin

Bonnie Swierzbin teaches in the TESOL-accredited ESL Licensure programme in the School of Education at Hamline University (Saint Paul, MN, USA) and has taught ESL at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include integrating grammar with academic content in teaching and the relationships between visual and verbal texts in textbooks.

Julia Reimer

Julia Reimer is an associate professor in the School of Education at Hamline University. Her work involves preparing teachers to work with K-12 and adult English language learners. Her professional interests include grammar pedagogy, systemic-functional linguistics, and the development of writing skills among adult learners with limited formal education.