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The studies presented in this book argue that exploring the grammatical system outside the communicative flow enables students to develop clearer knowledge of this system and to become more effective in their language use.
This approach is the outcome of research revolving around the role of metalinguistic knowledge in learning how to write. According to this research, language use and metalinguistic activity are interdependent.
The international debate on the effect of grammar instruction on writing skills has been dominated by an overly causal approach which ignores core considerations such as the teaching procedures that we use to reflect upon the grammar system in the classroom and the way we conceptualise this system.
This book highlights the need to encourage students to engage in metalinguistic activity, in which verbalisation and data manipulation should play a key role. It also emphasises the importance of conceptualising the grammar system as an organic entity resulting from the integration of form, meaning and the intention of the speaker.
List of contents
Content: Anna Camps: Metalinguistic activity in language learning - Marta Milian: Working on grammar at school - Ricardo Coronas: Evaluative analysis of the instructional approach to studying syntactic coordination in ten secondary school textbooks - Mireia Torralba: Verb tenses in primary school textbooks - Rosa Gil/Montserrat Bigas: The use of metalinguistic terms in writing activities in early primary school classrooms - Carme Durán Rivas: The notion of verb mood in students in compulsory secondary education - Mariona Casas: «When does that happen?» Recognition of the retrospective usage of the present tense among primary school students - Carmen Rodríguez Gonzalo: Reflexive knowledge of the past tenses in Spanish - Xavier Fontich: Grammar and language reflection at school: Checking out the whats and the hows of grammar instruction.
About the author
Teresa Ribas is a professor in the Department of Language, Literature and Social Sciences Education at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain). Her research interests focus on dynamic assessment in the writing process, grammar instruction and writing composition skills and teacher education.
Xavier Fontich, a part-time lecturer in the Department of Language, Literature, and Social Sciences Didactics at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (2005-2014) and a Secondary Education teacher in Barcelona (Spain); visiting researcher (2014-2016) at the University of Exeter (UK). His doctoral dissertation focused on analysing the effects of classroom interaction for grammar learning.
Oriol Guasch is a professor in the Department of Language, Literature, and Social Sciences Education at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain). His main research interests focus on the role of L1 on L2 communicative skills, metalinguistic activity and language education in multilingual settings.
