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?

Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?

Research Approach

Case study
mixed methods

Geographic Setting

northeast US

Institutional Context

University based

Certification Level

Elementary

Programatic Focus

not stated

Research Location Context

University

Preservice Participants

undergraduate preservice teachers

Preservice Sample Size

Duration of Data Collection

4 semesters

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