The place of grammar within the teaching of writing has long been contested, and a vast body of research has found no correlation between grammar teaching and writing attainment. However, recent studies of contextualized grammar teaching have argued that if grammar input is intrinsically linked to the demands of the writing being taught, a…

For most Anglophone countries, the history of grammar teaching over the past 50 years is one of contestation, debate and dissent: and 50 years on we are no closer to reaching a consensus about the role of grammar in the English/Language Arts curriculum. The debate has been described through the metaphor of battle and grammar wars (Kamler, 1995;…

Traditional grammar instruction is a challenging element of the English curriculum; both students and teachers struggle with the rules and dull nature of grammar. However, understanding grammar is important because students need to understand the language they speak in order to be effective communicators, and teachers provide grammar instruction…

The place of grammar in an English or literacy curriculum has long been a source of debate, one in which professionals, politicians and the public have often engaged with unbridled enthusiasm. As such, the debate has sometimes been characterised more by ideology or polemic, than by intellectual engagement with the core ideas. In part, this is…

Defends the place of grammar instruction in the language arts curriculum by distinguishing it from prescriptive and orthographic conventions. (HTH)

Argues that students must be taught specific techniques for adapting their prose through increasing the level of language. Suggests one technique of analyzing the choices of subjects and verbs in sentences that can help students produce more intelligent and powerful writing. (HB)

Describes the healthy discussions currently being undertaken concerning the teaching of grammar by English teachers. Argues for a variety of effective ways of teaching grammar. Gives attention to psycholinguistic models of grammar. (HB)

Traces the historical development of the authority of grammar handbooks and their current status as monitors of language. Focuses on the evidence that English speakers use the "singular they" and the "generic he." Interprets current handbooks in terms of their social roles and political constructions. (HB)

Presents information gathered informally from junior high English teachers concerning the teaching of grammar. Debates the question of the feasibility of grammar instruction in English classrooms. Prescribes reasons for the teaching of grammar and useful methods for its instruction. (HB)

Fourteen teachers present their views on the things that make English instruction difficult and the things that should be most important in English instruction during the 1980s, including curriculum design, writing instruction, student attitudes, teacher burnout, and grammar instruction. (RL)

Argues for a simple system of labeling words and groups of words as an approach to the teaching of grammar. Outlines a two- or three-week unit of instruction in which the system is implemented. (HB)

Discusses the ways that one English teacher researched her student's language patterns and used that information to adjust her teaching. Considers the difficulty of changing ingrained habits of nongrammatical usage in student speech and writing. (HB)

Considers teaching about language to be more important than teaching of grammar. (HOD)

This journal article focuses on the return of grammar in composition teaching. After about 2 decades of virtual banishment from the higher reaches of English teaching theory, grammar has returned as a subject of serious discussion. This is the result in part of a new assertiveness by a group of people who never lost interest in grammar as part of…

In order to support an argument for the teaching of grammar in a writing class, this report first summarizes the descriptive studies done by Kellogg Hunt in 1965 and 1970, and the comparative studies done by John Mellon and Frank O'Hare in 1969 and 1973. The second part of the report consists of five workshop handouts about the following topics:…