Why teach grammar in context?

Revista del Centro de Investigación de Lingüística y de Didáctica de la Lengua Inglesa (CILDLI) Año V, N.º 5

Instituto de Formación Docente ´Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Corazón´

Lugar: Córdoba Capital ; Año: 2017; p. 110 - 120

Grammar instruction is one of the most difficult issues of language teaching. At the same time, it has always been debatable whether grammar should be taught at all to EFL learners. In this sense, a number of authors (Emery, Kierzek & Lindblom, 1978; Tabbert, 1984; Hartwell, 1985; Ellis, 2006; Swan, 2006; Azar, 2007) claim that to be an effective language user, learners should study grammar because grammar skills will help them to organise words and messages and make them meaningfully. The purpose of this article is two-fold: first, we will give grounds to support the idea that grammar holds an important place for effective learning; second, we will argue for an alternative to the linear model which advocates for the teaching of grammar in context.