Putting the G back in English: Preparing pre-service teachers to teach grammar
Abstract
Classroom teachers need to have a solid foundation in understanding and applying English grammar in order to buttress their content and pedagogical content knowledge and support their students’ literacy development. However, teacher preparation programs are challenged to incorporate this kind of content into the existing curriculum, which is heavily laden with other core requirements, including the need to prepare teachers for classrooms of diverse learners, many of them ELLs. How can we best prepare future teachers so that they have the requisite knowledge and skills, curiosity, and training to meet the language learning demands of today’s students? This case study explores a collaborative attempt to respond to the grammar challenge in teacher education involving a block of literacy courses and a linguistics course.
Reference
Hadjioannou, X., & Hutchinson, M. C. (2010). Putting the G back in English: Preparing pre-service teachers to teach grammar. English Teaching: Practice & Critique (University of Waikato), 9(3), 90–105.
Journal
English Teaching: Practice and Critique
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
- undergraduate preservice teachers
Preservice Sample Size
31
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- lesson plans
- Observation of PT lessons
- pre-/post-assessment
- reflections
Data Analysis Tools
- Descriptive statistics
- Thematic analysis
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
- Inside (studying their own programs)
Research Questions
How did participants’ growing awareness of language meta-knowledge evolve
through their participation in these experiences and assignments?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
How did participants’ knowledge of grammar-specific methodological
strategies develop as a result of these experiences and assignments?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes