One of the key issues in second language learning and teaching concerns the role and practice of grammar instruction. Does it make a difference? How do we teach grammar in the language classroom? Is there an effective technique to teach grammar that is better than others?
While some linguists address these questions to develop a better understanding of how people acquire a grammar, language acquisition scholars are in search of the most effective way to approach the teaching of grammar in the language classroom.
The individual chapters in this volume will explore a variety of approaches to grammar teaching and offer a list of principles and guidelines that those involved in language acquisition should consider to design and implement effective grammar tasks during their teaching. It proposes that the key issue is not whether or not we should teach grammar but how we incorporate a teaching grammar component in our communicative language teaching practices.
Alessandro G. Benati is Professor in the
School of Education, University College Dublin, Ireland. He has held positions in several British and overseas institutions. He is known for his work in second language acquisition, and he published ground-breaking research on the pedagogical framework called
processing instruction. His research on processing instruction has been recently driven by the use of new online measurements (e.g., eye tracking, and self-paced reading). Alessandro has coordinated national and international high-impact research projects which have been influential in determining educational policy and had an impact in providing effective language teacher training programs. He is the author and co-author of several research monographs, peer-reviewed articles in high-ranked journals, and editor and co-editor of book series and scientific journals such as
Cambridge Elements in SLA and
Instructed Second Language Acquisition. He was a member of the sub-panel for Modern Languages and Linguistics for the Research Excellence Framework for England (REF 2021), AHRC Panel, and he is an Honorary Professor at Your SJ University (UK), University of Hong Kong (China), Adjunct Professor at Macquarie University (Australia), and Visiting Professor at Anaheim University (USA)
Maria Arche is Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Spanish,
University of Greenwich, UK
Cécile Laval is Principal Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, French & International Studies, University of Greenwich, UK.