Second language grammar teaching: practices and rationales

Abstract

This paper draws on a qualitative study of second language (L2) classrooms to provide a comparative analysis of five teachers’ practices in teaching grammar and of the rationales underlying the teachers’ instructional decisions during such work. The database for the study consisted of 75 hours of classroom observation and 15 hours of interviews. The analysis presented here highlights the range of decisions teachers are faced with in L2 grammar teaching and sheds light on the personal understandings of L2 learning and teaching which influence how teachers make these decisions.