The role of dialogic pedagogy in teaching grammar

Jones, P., & Chen, H. (2016). The role of dialogic pedagogy in teaching grammar. Research Papers in Education, 31(1), 45-69. doi:10.1080/02671522.2016.1106695

#=### Background

The authors highlighted that the Australian Curriculum: English was built around the three interrelated strands of Literature, Literacy and Language. Students across primary and secondary school years were expected to develop a deep understanding of the English language and how it works. Yet, it was reported that teachers had not been well equipped with sufficient linguistic and pedagogic knowledge to translate that knowledge into productive pedagogic practices.

Aims

The authors investigated what grammatical knowledge teachers needed in order to implement the Knowledge about Language strand of the Australian Curriculum, the nature of the metalanguage teachers should use with their students and what models of pedagogy teachers would use to implement the curriculum.

Sample

The participants were eleven teachers and approximately 150 students aged 5-13 years old in a Sydney primary school.

Method

The intervention comprised a sequence of teacher workshops, planning workshops, classroom trials and reflection on practice.

Findings

The results demonstrated that the teachers faced the challenge of embedding grammar teaching in existing classroom routines, during literate activities. They utilised all of the semiotic resources available – colour, gesture, images, written language as well as spoken language when teaching young students.

There was little evidence of the teachers drilling grammar concepts through repetition; however, recitation and exposition occurred as the teachers introduced new concepts and provided practice with identifying grammatical features.

There was explicit grammar instruction in which the teachers established or made connections between grammatical concepts, terminology, contexts, as well as between learners.

The games provided ‘languaging’ opportunities – talk for metalinguistic understanding as the teachers and students worked together to make deeper connections with grammatical concepts, and played multiple roles in the learning dialogue.

Implications

The authors highlighted that the study confirmed the potential of dialogic teaching in transforming grammar pedagogy in terms of how to introduce concepts, how to successively build and consolidate learners’ understandings as well as how to develop their dispositions towards working with language. However, there was a need to build up descriptions of grammar teaching with students of different ages, in different curriculum contexts and with different grammatical concepts.

Original article retrieved from Original article retrieved from Taylor & Francis.