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The Canon of Pedagogical Grammar for ELT: a Mixed Methods Study of Its Evolution, Development and Comparison with Evidence on Learner Output

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The Canon of Pedagogical Grammar for ELT: a Mixed Methods Study of Its Evolution, Development and Comparison with Evidence on Learner Output The canon of pedagogical grammar for ELT: a mixed methods study of its evolution, development and comparison with evidence on learner output Graham Francis Burton Submitted to the University of Limerick for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Supervisors: Dr Anne O’Keeffe and Professor Michael McCarthy Submitted to the University of Limerick, June 2019 Abstract The teaching of grammar plays a key role in English Language Teaching (ELT). Pedagogical grammars such as English Grammar in Use and the Azar-Hagen Grammar Series are mainstays within the profession, their enduring appeal confirmed by the recent publication of fifth editions of both. Furthermore, most ELT coursebooks use structural syllabuses – essentially, lists of grammatical items to be taught – as a ‘primary organizing principle’ (McDonough, Shaw and Masuhara, 2013, p. 34). Yet how is the grammatical content of such ELT materials decided? And in the case of coursebooks, how is it decided in which order, and at which level, the grammar points should be taught? O’Keeffe and Mark (2017, p. 466) argue that over time a ‘canon’ of pedagogical grammar has evolved, which is ‘perpetuated and sustained through materials and examinations.’ However, what exactly is the nature of the system that perpetuates and sustains this canon? How, when and where did the canon develop? And does the canon reflect empirical evidence on the development of grammatical competence of learners of EFL? This thesis addresses these questions in three ways. Firstly, a thematic analysis of interviews with ten key figures in ELT publishing on the question of grammatical content in teaching materials is presented. Secondly, an analysis of the treatment of three areas of grammar – conditionals, relative clauses and future forms – in grammars and coursebooks from the 17th century to the present is carried out. Finally, the current coursebook consensus on how and when to teach different aspects of these three areas of grammar is compared with empirical evidence on the use of grammar by learners, in the form of the English Grammar Profile. The analysis shows that the process of evolution of pedagogical descriptions of these areas of grammar was slow, and largely undocumented. The ELT professionals interviewed frequently referred to the existence of a strong consensus on grammatical content and ordering that must be respected, the need to follow successful competition titles, the importance of market research and user expectations, the influence of school and state institutions, and the need to avoid commercial risk by diverging too much from the consensus and expectations. The comparison between the coursebook consensus and data from the EGP reveals some areas of agreement between the two, but also that learners are often able to produce grammatical structures before they are typically taught in coursebooks, and can often produce a wider range of grammar than is typically covered in coursebooks. i Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Anne O’Keeffe and Professor Michael McCarthy, acknowledging their work and support over the past four years. Without them, this thesis would not have come close to being written, and, indeed, without their openness and encouragement early on, I would probably not have even enrolled on a PhD programme to start with. I gratefully acknowledge the funding received from Mary Immaculate College through the PhD Teaching Assistantship I was awarded at the Department of English Language and Literature. My thanks also to Dr. Richard Smith, for allowing me to consult materials at the ELT Archive, University of Warwick, and the time he set aside to discuss my research – both by email and in person – at various points. I would also like to thank the ELT professionals who agreed to be interviewed for this research, and whose opinions and experiences have contributed so much to the thesis. Thanks, too, to both Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press for providing copies of coursebooks for my analysis. Thank you to Dr Deirdre Ryan for her generous guidance with conducting and writing up the thematic analysis reported in this thesis. Finally, thanks to Anita, Sofia and Leo, for never letting me forget what’s most important. ii Declaration I declare that this thesis has not been submitted as an exercise for a degree at this or any other university and it is entirely my own work. Signed: _____________________________ iii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................i Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ii Declaration ...............................................................................................................................................iii Table of contents .....................................................................................................................................iv List of figures ..........................................................................................................................................vii 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Grammar in teaching, learning and history .............................................................. 1 1.2 The grammar canon in English Language Teaching (ELT) ................................ 2 1.3 Rationale for the study ...................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Locating the study ............................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Research questions and thesis structure ................................................................... 6 2 Literature review ........................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 The scope of this chapter .................................................................................................. 8 2.2 Grammar and grammars .................................................................................................. 8 2.3 Grammar in linguistics ................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Pedagogical grammar ..................................................................................................... 11 2.5 Competency levels ............................................................................................................ 20 2.6 Second Language Acquisition perspectives .......................................................... 24 2.7 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 29 3 Canon and consensus: an evolutionary perspective ................................................... 30 3.1 Early accounts and Latin influence ........................................................................... 30 3.2 Descriptions in ‘traditional’ grammars ................................................................... 33 3.3 ‘The Great Tradition’: late 19th and early 20th century grammars ........... 38 3.4 Pedagogical grammar for ELT ..................................................................................... 40 3.5 The nature of the ELT publishing industry ............................................................ 40 iv 3.6 Historical overview .......................................................................................................... 44 3.7 Selected pedagogical titles ............................................................................................ 58 3.8 Levels in ELT ....................................................................................................................... 64 3.9 Overview ............................................................................................................................... 68 4 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 70 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 70 4.2 The value of qualitative and historical research ................................................. 71 4.3 Interviews and thematic analysis .............................................................................. 73 4.4 Conclusions and preview of analysis and discussion ........................................ 94 5 Thematic analysis 1: shaping grammatical content .................................................... 97 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 97 5.2 Global theme: input and influence ............................................................................. 99 6 Case studies 1: consensus and the EGP .......................................................................... 128 6.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 128 6.2 Case study A: conditionals ........................................................................................
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