The grammar gap

1. The grammar gap Dick Hudson Liverpool February 2010

2. Plan • Grammar in a normal world • How we got our grammar gap • Curriculum reform • The problem • The symptoms • The diagnosis • The remedy

3. 1. A normal world • Everyone needs some “knowledge about language” (KAL) • explicit knowledge • with established terminology • Why? • like biology: for interest and self-understanding • like literacy: for learning more • in L1 • in foreign languages

4. What is KAL? • External KAL: own language and others: • history • geography • Internal KAL: • varieties, e.g. standard/non-standard • pronunciation, e.g. IPA • vocabulary, e.g. synonymy, hyponymy, cognate • grammar.

5. Grammar in a normal world • ideas • e.g. compositionality and irregularity • categories • e.g. word classes • skill in analysing examples • skill in using analyses • in learning new language • in using old language

6. Grammar in a normal world • Accepted as part of the curriculum • like literacy, numeracy, IT. • Informed by research on grammar. • Taught by best methods • systematically • interestingly • relevantly

7. Where is this normal world? • Ancient India, Greece and Rome • Mediaeval Arabic civilization • 18th and 19th century Britain • France, Spain, Italy, … • Russia, Bulgaria, …

8. 2. How we got our grammar gap • At one time, English education was normal. • ‘Grammar schools’ taught Latin and other languages, including their grammar • the ‘trivium’ in mediaeval universities was: • logic • rhetoric • grammar • Grammar survived till the 1960s

9. GCE O-level English 1950

10. But between 1900 and 1950 … • HE: No research on language • except phonetics • No teaching of ‘language’ • except OE and philology • Schools: Traditional grammar taught and tested • but grammar for English was ‘Latinate’. • ‘ [it is] impossible at the present juncture to teach English grammar in the schools for the simple reason that no-one knows exactly what it is ’ (Board of Education 1921) • so grammar was marginal – one optional question

11. The turning point: the 1960s • The end of grammar teaching in schools • first in English • then in Foreign languages • The start of grammar research in universities • Quirk • Halliday • Chomsky

12. 3. Curriculum reform • Since 1990, grammar is back in the curriculum: • but not old-fashioned Latinate grammar • linguists have had a lot of influence • The National Curriculum • for English (1990, 1995, 1999) • for foreign languages (1990, 1999)

13. and of course, … • A-level English language appeared in 1985

14. What Ofqual expects in ALEL: • 3.5 AS specifications should require candidates to show broad knowledge and understanding of … • the characteristic speech sounds and intonation patterns (phonetics and phonology) • the vocabulary of English, including the origins, meanings and usage of words (lexis) • the forms and structures of words, phrases, clauses, sentences and texts in speech and writing (morphology, grammar and discourse) … • 3.6 In addition, A level specifications should require students to show deeper knowledge and understanding of … the following frameworks …: • phonology and phonetics, lexis, morphology, grammar, discourse …

15. 4. The problem • Young teachers don’t know grammar • Schools didn’t need to teach grammar 1960-1990. • Most university English and FL depts still don’t teach about grammar. • So since 1980 teachers have had to teach content that they probably didn’t learn either at school or at university.

16. 5. The symptoms • In 1986, educational linguists were worried. • So Tom Bloor constructed a simple test • for Aston University French Dept • and UCL Linguistics Dept • to be taken by new undergraduates: • 63 in language subjects (Aston, UCL) • 175 in other subjects (Aston) • one part involved grammar KAL:

17. The grammar test • From the sentence below give ONE example of each of the grammatical items requested and write it in the space provided. NB You may select the same word(s} more than once if appropriate. • Materials are delivered to the factory by a supplier, who usually has no technical knowledge, but who happens to have the right contacts.

18. The items requested • verb, noun, … • countable noun, relative pronoun, auxiliary verb, … • passive verb, past participle, …

19. % of students who ‘gapped’ 44% of linguists couldn’t find an auxiliary verb 85% of non-linguists couldn’t find a passive verb

20. A simple index of grammatical KAL • Averagegaps per student (max: 15): • linguists (inc French): 3.02 • non-linguists: 7.45 • Conclusions: • linguists had serious gaps • but they were much better than non-linguists • they must have learned it from A-level FL

21. What happened next? • NB from 1990 official policy requires grammar to be taught • but NOT tested • Did this reverse the trend? • 1992, 1994: Charles Alderson at Lancaster • tested students of French and of Linguistics

22. 1986, 1992, 1994

23. 2009 • Charles Alderson and I invited colleagues in LAGB and BAAL to repeat the test. • It was taken by 659 students at 11 HEIs • Including Aston and UCL

24. A typical FL undergraduate in 2009 French and Spanish at A-level ‘a describing word’?

25. How do students feel about it?

26. 1986 - 2009 Aston French: 11 UCL Lingx: 18

27. Moreover, other HEIs are worse UCL BSc

28. Effects of A-level • Foreign language A-level does teach grammar • 1986: it added 5 points to score • 2009: it only adds 1 or 2 points • English language makes no difference

29. 6. The diagnosis • Students aren’t learning grammar at school • in spite of the curriculum • But some grammar is being taught • So official policy is not working • Why not? Maybe because teachers • are anxious • don’t really understand • can easily avoid it

30. 7. The remedy • Official policy should test grammar. • Ofsted should ensure it’s taught well. • Linguistics and Eng Lang graduates should become school teachers. • Linguistics depts should teach English grammar for text analysis.