ELT Journal Advance Access originally published online on March 15, 2008
ELT Journal 2008 62(3):221-230; doi:10.1093/elt/ccm042
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
Teaching grammar as a liberating force
Richard Cullen is Head of the Department of English and Language Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK. His research interests include classroom discourse, teacher and trainer development, and the teaching and learning of grammar, with a particular interest in spoken grammar. He has worked for the British Council on teacher education projects in Egypt, Bangladesh, and Tanzania, and has also taught and trained teachers in Nepal and Greece
Email: rmc1{at}cant.ac.uk
Received for publication 1 October 2007.
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Abstract |
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The idea of grammar as a ‘liberating force’ comes from a paper by Henry Widdowson (1990) in which grammar is depicted as a resource which liberates the language user from an over-dependency on lexis and context for the expression of meaning. In this paper, I consider the implications for second language teaching of the notion of grammar as a liberating force, and identify three key design features which, I propose, need to be present in any grammar production task in which this notion is given prominence. These are: learner choice over which grammatical structures to use; a process of ‘grammaticization’ where the learners apply grammar to lexis; and opportunities to make comparisons and notice gaps in their use of grammar. I then discuss, with practical examples, types of grammar task which exhibit these features. These tasks all derive from traditional ELT practice, but have been revitalized to support an approach to teaching grammar which emphasizes its liberating potential.