Teachers who seek to amplify student voice in the English Language Arts classroom must balance students' need for selfexpression with the TEKS requirement that students demonstrate command of standard English. Teachers also face a curricular landscape in which they are discouraged from teaching grammar in isolation but are held accountable for students' understanding of grammatical concepts. In this paper, we review recent research in linguistics and rhet/comp that speaks to these dilemmas. First, we explore the relationship between implicit and explicit language learning and what it means for formal grammar instruction. Second, we look at how the context of communication influences whether readers notice and are troubled by grammatical errors and consider what this means for grammar instruction. Third, we examine the grammaticality of nonstandard dialects and look for ways to bridge the gap between standard and nonstandard English. We also share research-based, classroom-tested assignments that go beyond grammar drills to raise students' metalinguistic awareness and increase their productive control of English.