Grammar matters: How teachers' grammatical knowledge impacts on the teaching of writing

Teaching grammar has been mandated in statutory curriculum documents in England since 1988. Yet despite this, research evidence continues to suggest that metalinguistic knowledge is an area of challenge for many teachers. Drawing on data from a larger study, this paper considers the role of teachers...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Teaching and teacher education 2013-11, Vol.36 (Nov), p.77-91
Main Authors: Myhill, Debra, Jones, Susan, Watson, Annabel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Classrooms
Content knowledge
Grammar
Learning
Metalinguistic
Metalinguistics
Pedagogical content knowledge
Teachers
Teaching
Writing
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Summary:Teaching grammar has been mandated in statutory curriculum documents in England since 1988. Yet despite this, research evidence continues to suggest that metalinguistic knowledge is an area of challenge for many teachers. Drawing on data from a larger study, this paper considers the role of teachers' grammatical knowledge, both content and pedagogical content knowledge, in mediating learning about writing in the classroom. It also illustrates how students' learning about writing is influenced by teachers’ metalinguistic knowledge. The study highlights that grammatical pedagogical content knowledge is more significant than grammatical content knowledge in supporting meaningful teaching and learning about writing. •Teachers' grammatical knowledge influences what students learn about writing.•Limitations in teachers' grammatical content knowledge can generate student misconceptions.•Teachers' ‘applied’ knowledge is more significant than declarative knowledge.
ISSN:0742-051X
1879-2480
DOI:10.1016/j.tate.2013.07.005