Teacher Trainees’ Explicit Knowledge of Grammar and Primary Curriculum Requirements in England
LESSONS LEARNED
The case studies gave insights about how trainees learned more about grammar and how they tried to explain it to young learners. They did not suggest quick solutions. They confirmed that we could not simply rely on a mandatory ‘grammar hit’ before the teaching practice and expect grammatical knowledge to be integrated smoothly into lessons for pupil consumption. However, video observation, SRIs and group interviews provided opportunities for reflection and development that taught us a number of important things to inform the PGCE program.
Linda showed us that we must instill confidence in the use of grammatical terminology before and during the teaching practice. Despite flaws in the NLS, children are becoming familiar with terms for parts of speech and sentence types; they are talking about language and trainees need to be able to tap into their knowledge and use of terminology without anxiety. To support this, applied linguists in teacher education need to incorporate more ways of working with grammar into the training program, even at the level of strategies for finding out what terminology children understand and use. In addition, we saw the weakness of meaning related definitions. We should explore and encourage additional approaches that engage trainees and pupils in thinking about the properties of parts of speech, what they do morphologically and syntactically, not just semantically.
To understand the challenge facing trainees (and perhaps also qualified teachers), we need to explore how children who have been taught in the NLS talk about grammar (currently an under-researched phenomenon). Research is also needed into the effects of asking children to think ‘grammatically’ when they are writing e.g. considering whether to use a subordinate clause, the focus of one episode in Holly’s lesson. At the present time, we have little evidence on which to call.
Catherine and Harriet showed us that before teaching practice we need to explore with trainees the uneven nature of learning about language, though this might be difficult when the NLS presents a linear term-by-term profile of grammatical items to be taught in sequence. The ability to reflect on language and engage in grammatical analysis is not learned by all pupils in neatly defined sequences (analysis of person for seven-year olds, tenses for eight-year-olds, passive voice at ten etc). Our trainees have learned this and applied linguists in teacher education need to voice this message to curriculum developers who should learn from our trainees’ experience and evaluate the extent to which 7-10 year old children acquire knowledge about language in the NLS order.
Our research demonstrated the importance and value of time in teacher education. Acquisition of grammatical knowledge is a continuing process. It does not all have to be in place before engaging in teaching the primary curriculum. Formulae learned at school (e.g. a verb is a doing word) are deeply embedded and time is needed for trainees to work through such limitations and resulting misconceptions. Grammar is an investigation of language, not just a set of facts. Trainees need time to reflect like other learners and try out the knowledge they acquire in safe settings (Czerniewska, 1994). To prepare to explain concepts in the primary classroom, they need to have a willingness and confidence to grapple with the concepts at a deep level – not just in terms of repeating a rule without awareness of the concept. At the end of the training year, we were confident that trainees realized this, and were ready, as reflective practitioners, to engage in further investigation of how language works with their pupils.
Finally, PGCE programs have to find ways to offer large numbers of trainees opportunities for reflection about grammar learning and teaching. We have to have the confidence and find the resources to do what our research methodology has shown us, i.e. to provide time to all trainees to work with grammar and to reflect critically on what children are being asked to do. Trainees need adequate time and scaffolding from knowledgeable and open-minded others. This is a huge challenge but our research, with video observation and SRIs, offers a way forward, if the authorities can be persuaded to make the appropriate investment of time and resources so that trainees can engage with school-based mentors in such reflective activities.
