[The following document is part of a dissertation produced for a BA in English and Teaching English as a Foreign Language, uploaded with the author's permission.]

‘Grammar’s lack of prominence in the British school curriculum and the consequent impact on English

L1 speakers and EFL teacher trainees’

ByBecky Stock

For Coventry UniversityMay 2014

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Mr Elwyn Lloyd for his support throughout; Richard Hudson, Professor Debra Myhill and Dr Annabel Watson for their help; and a special thankyou to Nicola Eyles, Patricia Barton and Master Tobias Barton.

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Table of Contents Page Number

Abbreviations ……………………………………………… 5

Glossary ..……………………………………………. 6

Introduction ………………………………………………. 7

1.1 The Researcher ………………………………………………. 7

1.2 The Grammar Gap ………………………………………………. 7

1.3 Teaching other Languages ..……………………………………………. 8

1.4 Comparison Research ……………………………………………….. 9

1.5 The Future (a) ……………………………………………….. 10

1.6 Signposts ……………………………………………….. 10

Literature Review

2.1 A Brief History of Grammar Teaching in Schools …………………………. 11

2.2 Why Teach Grammar? ……………………………………………….. 12

2.3 A Deeper Look ……………………………………………….. 14

2.4 Steps Forward ………………………………………………. 15

2.5 Foreign Languages ………………………………………………. 15

2.6 The Future (b) ………………………………………………. 16

2.7 The Grammar Audit …………………………………………… 18

Methodology

3.1 Aims ……………………………………………… 19

3.2 Survey ……………………………………………… 19

3.3 Interview ……………………………………………… 20

3.4 Questionnaire ……………………………………………… 21

Quantitative Findings

4.1 Data Relating to Participants Educated Abroad ………………….. 23

4.2 Data Relating to Participants Educated in Britain ……………….. 24

4.3 Charts Illustrating Results of Questionnaire Scores ……………….. 25

4.4 Swiss Females and British Mothers ………………..……………………. 27

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4.5 Languages Spoken . …………………………………… 29

4.6 Some Miscellaneous Data ……………………………………… 30

Qualitative Findings and Discussion

5.1 Signposting ……………………………………… 32

5.2 Ideal Participant Groups ………………………………………. 33

5.3 Limitations of this Study ………………………………………. 33

5.4 Results of the Survey ……………………………………… 36

5.5 Interviews with TEFL students ……………………………………… 39

5.6 Comments from international participants ………………………… 40

Conclusion

6.1 The Grammar Gap Exists …..………………………………… 43

6.2 Descriptive Grammar Teaching …………………………………… 43

6.3 Changing Times ………………………………………… 43

6.4 First-Hand Discoveries ……………………………………….. 44

6.5 Benefits for Reading ……………………………………….. 44

6.6 Global Competition ………………………………………. 45

6.7 Lost Synapses ………………………………………. 45

References ………………………………………. 47

Appendices

Appendix 1 Original questionnaire ……………………………………. 57

Appendix 2 Correspondence …………………………… 58

Appendix 3 Questionnaire used for most participants …………………… 59

Appendix 4 Survey …………………………………………. 61

Appendix 5 Letter/email to international universities ………………………. 63

Appendix 6 Participant Information Leaflet ……………………………………. 64

Appendix 7 Questionnaire/Interview Consent Form ………………………… 65

Appendix 8 Risk Assessment …………………………………… 66

Appendix 9 Ethics Clearance Form ……………………………………. 68

Appendix 10 Correspondence …………………………………… 69

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Methodology3.1

Aims

This chapter will explain what the research was aiming to discover, and how the information was gathered. Ethics approval for the research was granted, and in all instances a ‘Participant Information Leaflet’ (See Appendix 6) was given to participants, and a ‘Questionnaire/Interview Consent Form’ (See Appendix 7) was signed by participants.

Some initial ideas for primary research in this study were:

to find out English grammar knowledge of British people of all ages, with a particular interest in whether those of over 50 years of age had a stronger grasp than those under that age

to continue Hudson & Alderson’s (2009) research by finding out the grammar knowledge of students in country/countries other than Spain. Ideally the results would show KAL of their first language, and of English

to find out what both British and non-British people are taught in school, with regards to 1 st

and 2nd languages To find out the KAL of British school-leavers to collect viewpoints from a wide variety of people, both British and non-British, about

schooling in Britain and abroad, with regards to language learning to find out whether, and to what extent TEFL trainees have difficulties in learning and

teaching grammar to L2 English learners

3.2

1 st Method Used – Survey

Three research methods were used to obtain results:

The first was largely a qualitative survey designed by the researcher (See Appendix 4), which primarily asked participants:

their age where they were schooled their first language

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educational history their job/course, and the year of their course which languages were compulsory at school and which they were currently proficient at whether their schooling was free whether they could explain certain grammatical terms, such as the infinitive, conditionals

and present perfect tense whether, if they were students of English, they had encountered a large gap between what

they had been taught at school about grammar, and what they were being taught at university

whether they had ever been surprised at how few British people are proficient at other languages

whether they thought British schools should focus more on other languages at an earlier age their views about the standard of English spoken by todays younger generations

Participants of the surveys included, at Coventry University:

7 students on the English/TEFL BA degree course 9 students on the English BA single or joint honours course 22 students on other degree courses

They were also given to:

8 people working in Coventry University 1 parent of a child at a village school

In gaining results from the surveys, they were either filled out in front of the researcher or taken away to be filled out, and given back to the researcher at a later date.

3.3

2 nd Method Used – Interview

The second method used was an interview. Participants signed the Participant Consent form and spoke to the researcher about issues surrounding their knowledge about language, how it affects them and how they think British schools should move forward in the way language is dealt with. This method was used with EFL teacher trainees.

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3.4

3 rd Method Used – Questionnaire

The third method used is a solely quantitative questionnaire (See appendix 1). It is a device designed to ascertain KAL (Knowledge about Language) by Bloor in 1986, and was used again by Alderson et al (1997) and Hudson & Alderson (2009). In this 2014 study, due to the researcher’s additional interest in whether knowledge of verb tenses may affect language abilities, an additional section asking participants to identify thirteen tenses, or ways of speaking about time, was inserted overleaf (See Appendix 3). In most instances, participants are also asked if they can explain conditional, or ‘if’ clauses.

The first half of the questionnaire displays a sentence, and asks participants to select from the sentence different parts of speech, such as ‘adverbs’ from a list given subsequently. The second part of the questionnaire (overleaf) displays thirteen different sentences, such as ‘I will write’, and asks participants to match the sentences with thirteen different verb tenses, or ‘ways of speaking about time’. These ways of speaking about time include ‘Present perfect continuous/progressive’, and are listed below the sentences. Permission to use the original questionnaire was granted by Hudson via email in 2013 (See Appendix 2). All participants were asked not to check answers online or in a book.

117 Participants who responded to the questionnaire included (at Coventry University):

10 students of non-linguistic degree courses

And: 11 mothers of children at a village school 4 of the general public in Nuneaton and Coventry 82 students attending universities in France, Turkey and Poland 10 residents of Switzerland (who also volunteered opinions, viewpoints and personal

experiences about the teaching of grammar)

In gaining results from the questionnaires, a variety of methods were used. In the case of students at Coventry University and the general public, the questionnaires were filled out in front of the researcher. In the case of mothers, the questionnaires along with the participation information leaflet and participant consent forms were given and handed back to the researcher at a later date. The 10 residents of Switzerland were given all the necessary paperwork via a third party, and gave the filled out questionnaire and form back to the researcher via the third party.

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Finally, over 50 universities in 16 European countries were contacted via letters and emails, and invited to take part in the study by involving first year non-linguistic students. The letters/emails included an explanation of the study, a copy of the questionnaire, a copy of the Participant Information Leaflet and a copy of the Questionnaire/Interview Consent Form. The letter can be viewed in Appendix 5. This communication led to the collection of eighty-two participant responses from three different universities in France (38 participants), Poland (24 participants) and Turkey (20 participants). The responses were written in a classroom setting and each student read and signed the required ethics paperwork. The students’ main courses were not taught in English, and English was a small proportion of their work.

The students from Nantes University, France are mainly students of LLCE (Languages, literatures and foreign civilizations) and are in their first year. They have an English module.

The students from Anadolu University, Turkey have a module of English as a foreign language at prep-school classes, and vary from A to B2 level according to CEFR, in their first year. The majority of the students take engineering as a degree subject.

The students from Poland are fourteen students of Physics and ten students of Polish Philology. They have an extra English module on their courses.

The next chapter is ‘Quantitative Findings’. It will display data collected from factual questions asked in the questionnaires and surveys.

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Quantitative Findings

This chapter charts the quantitative data, with some discussion. The subsequent chapter displays the qualitative data found, with some analysis and discussion of both quantitative and qualitative data. Most percentages are rounded off to eliminate decimal points, and ‘mean scores’ are calculated by adding individual scores together, then dividing the total by the number of participants.

4.1

Data Relating to Participants Educated Abroad

All of the questions posed to the international participants were in English, about English.

4.1a) Out of 71 people educated internationally:

15 (56%) had some understanding of conditionals (They mentioned ‘if’ or ‘would’ in their answers.)

62 (87%) were either at university or had been to university

4.1b) Out of 90 people educated internationally, at least 81 (90%) of whom were at university at the time:

70 (78%) could identify the present perfect tense 55 (61%) could identify an infinitive 87 (97%) could identify a noun

4.1c) Of 24 1 st year Polish Physics and Philology students studying in Poland:

13 (54%) could identify present perfect tense 6 (25%) could identify an infinitive

* The question on conditionals was omitted on these questionnaires as the tutor felt the students would not understand the wording.

4.1d) Out of 38 people educated in France (in their 1st year of a degree focussing on languages and culture):

30 (79%) can identify present perfect

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32 (84%) could identify an infinitive 22 (58%) have some idea of a conditional

4.1e) Out of 17 Turkish 1 st year engineering students in Turkey:

16 (94%) can identify present perfect tense 6 (35%) could identify an infinitive 16 (94%) have some idea of a conditional

To view charts illustrating the results, please see Figures 1-6 beginning on page 25

4.2

Data Relating to People Educated in Britain

* Some data is under-lined to highlight.

4.2a) Out of 25 people educated in Britain:

7 (28%) had some understanding of conditionals at least 4 of the 7 (57%) had completed a TEFL course, and all 7 were at university

4.2b) Out of 36 people educated in Britain, 21 (58%) were at university and 7 either had done or were still doing an English single or joint degree. Out of the 36:

8 (22%) could identify an infinitive 2 of the 8 were over 50 4 of the 8 were TEFL students At least 5 of the 8 had studied at university At least 5 (71%) of the 7 people doing an English single or joint degree could not identify an

infinitive All those 7 were in their 2nd year.

4.2c) Out of 36 people educated in Britain:

21 (58%) were at university 11 (30.5%) could identify present perfect tense Out of the 11 at least 4 had done or were doing a TEFL course, and all 11 had done or were

doing an English degree.

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* All of the points under-lined illustrate the fact that in Britain advanced tenses and some beginner/intermediate grammar (e.g., infinitives, also auxiliary verbs, definite article) have not been taught to those leaving school from 1990 – 2009, and it is likely that even those with an English degree can escape learning a large amount of grammar (see question 4.2b).

1.3 Charts Illustrating Results of Questionnaire Scores

Figure 1

(Below) Illustrates the mean total scores of the questionnaire. All were at university at the time, with only the French participants’ courses having any connections with languages.

French Turkish Polish English-2

3

8

13

18

23

28

23.67 23.75

17.28

9.1

Mean Score of 4 Countries

*The international students understood around twice as much English terminology than the British students.

Figure 2

(Below) Includes data from 13 British participants educated in Britain, not currently at university. At least 4 had a degree. The chart compares this data with 11 participants educated internationally, of whom it is estimated at least 5 had degrees.

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Educated in Britain Educated abroad-2

3

8

13

18

23

28Mean score of questionnaires of those not at university

*In the mixed groups the international participants understood well over twice as much of the English grammar terminology as the British group did.

Figure 3

(Below) A chart showing the comparisons between all participants educated abroad, and all those educated in Britain, with regards to four main questions:

Can they correctly select the present perfect tense? Can they correctly select an infinitive? Can they correctly select a noun? Have they full or partial understanding of ‘conditionals’?

Conditionals Present perfect Infinitive Noun0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

% Comparison between those educated abroad and those educated in Britain, on 4 main questions

International Britain

*Again, the international group scored over twice as much on most questions.

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Figure 4

(Below) A chart illustrating overall scores in the tense and grammar tests. Participants were a mix of those at university, and those not.

International partic-ipants

Participants educated in Britain

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Comparisons Between Participants Educated in Britain and Participants Educated Internationally

Mean % in the grammar test Mean % in tense test

* The British participants scored less than half as highly as the international group did.

4.4

Swiss Females and British Mothers

The next section will show results from 11 mothers of children at a Warwickshire village school and compare them with results from 10 females from a Swiss craft club, in Switzerland.

One of the British mothers was unemployed, and employment ranged from:

Senior Product Manager at a well-known bank part-time administrator midwifery student police-woman school road-side attendant 2 shop assistants cleaner music teacher a specialist English teacher

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The Swiss females, aged 24 – 58, range from teachers to accountants, and were educated in a variety of countries:

2 - Switzerland – both one question inaccurate 1 - Germany – three questions inaccurate 1 – Holland - one question inaccurate 1 – Belgium – two questions inaccurate 1 – Ukraine 1 question inaccurate 1 - Kyrgyzstan – 8 questions inaccurate 1 - Slovakia - 1 question inaccurate 2 - Britain, both 8 questions inaccurate

Figure 5

(Below) Shows mean percentages on a range of questions, for the British village mothers and Swiss residents:

Auxiliary verb Conjunction Infinitive Present Perfect Noun Adjective Present simple Conditional0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Mean % results on Specific Questions

British International

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Figure 6

(Below) A comparison of overall mean results of the questionnaire, between the Swiss residents and British village mothers.

-2

3

8

13

18

23

28

Comparison of Swiss residentsand British Village Mothers' Mean

Questionnaire results

Swiss residents British Village School Mothers

*The mothers at the school seemed particularly to find the questionnaire difficult, and some could not begin it, even to identify a noun. Nil had any understanding of a conditional.

4.5

Languages Spoken

Of 21 British people asked, solely of British heritage, three (14%) were proficient at more than one language

Of 10 people asked, whose mother tongue is not English, or were educated outside of Britain, nine (90%) said they were proficient at more than one language. Three of those were not at university at the time of asking, but two of those had previously been to university.

*It is understood that to gain a truer picture of how many internationals speak other languages, it would be better to travel outside of Britain.

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Figure 7

(Below) A chart showing the percentage of international participants, and participants of solely British heritage, educated in Britain, who speak more than one language.

British heritage International0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

% Speak more than 1 language

4.6

Some Miscellaneous Data

One Spanish participant, aged between 25 and 35, did not go to university and still resides in Spain. She:

Cannot speak any other language proficiently other than Spanish, but Can explain Present Perfect tense Can explain 1st, 2nd and 3rd Conditionals Can identify an infinitive

* This female did not go to a fee-paying school, and had a ‘usual’ education, according to her. She was taught all these in Spanish, and in English L2.

Out of 7 people in their 2nd year of BA English single or joint honours degree (not TEFL), 1 (14%) could identify the present perfect tense. That person was bilingual in Punjabi and English

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Of every person educated in Britain asked, 100% said they only remember being taught ‘simple past’ and ‘simple present’ verb tenses in their school. Their tense answers confounded their statements – see directly below

Of 12 students on non-linguistic degree courses, none could identify the present perfect tense

One 16 year old girl, whose family has a history of higher education, cannot explain the infinitive, the present perfect tense, or conditionals

One British specialist English teacher has a Masters degree in English, and cannot remember infinitives, the subjunctive, conditionals, advanced tenses, or the preterite

* These points all highlight that British participants have not been taught advanced tenses or even intermediate level grammar in schools; furthermore it is clear that very little importance has been placed upon learning meta-language in British schools.

The next chapter is ‘Qualitative Findings and Discussion’ which will display qualitative data and discuss both qualitative and quantitative data.

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Qualitative Findings

5.1

Signposting

This chapter will firstly discuss the ideal and actual participant groups for the study; whether these were used or not; and the limitations of some areas of the study. It will then display the qualitative data found from surveys (see Appendix 4) given to participants from a variety of sources, including at Coventry University:

Students on the BA English and TEFL degree course Students on BA English/joint honours Students of BA English Students of other disciplines Employees of Coventry University

And also: Neighbours Family and family acquaintances Mothers at a village school

Further data displayed will include qualitative information (viewpoints and opinions) from:

First-hand interviews Online sources Books Articles

Aside from displaying the data found, this chapter will synchronously discuss the data collected, and the issues and viewpoints surrounding the area of L1 and L2 teaching in schools. A substantial portion of the chapter focuses on participants’ viewpoints on the teaching of grammar, and includes participants’ personal experiences.

5.2

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Ideal Participant Groups

The idea l target participants for this study would have been :

1. A substantial volume of international students studying in one or more country other than Britain, studying a non-linguistic subject.

2. As above, but using the same questionnaire in their own language, about their language

3. A substantial volume of British students studying non-linguistic subjects in Britain

4. A substantial volume of non-student international participants (the general public) found in their own countries, to make the work un-biased

5. A substantial volume of British 16/17 year olds who had just left school, with varying employment or study plans, in Britain

6. (Possibly) a substantial volume of over 70 year old British people, in Britain, to ascertain whether KAL is higher among those taught before 1960

7. A substantial volume of TEFL students in any year (1, 2 or 3) in Britain

5.3

Limitations of this Study

Issues found in collecting data from participant group 1 were:

a) Time constraints – more time to focus on the work and to communicate with interested parties could have located a bigger, more suitable participant group

b) Financial restraints – Telephone calls could have made communications easier, and travelling to other countries to ascertain KAL among the general public, in their own language, would have been ideal research. Sending letters to universities is costly

c) Communicative issues – The researcher does not know other researchers in international universities, making cooperation less easy to achieve

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Despite over 80 highly-considered letters and emails sent to international universities, only three responses led to eventually useful responses. A common response given was that students and tutors were too busy. It is possible that the Polish, French and Turkish participants took part in the study because the tutors felt either that the students would achieve high scores. This could mean the research could be perceived as biased to a degree.

It is possible that had the researcher communicated with suitable researchers in one or more international universities, the research would have been carried out in a more controlled environment, and/or more participants may have been found.

Issues found in collecting data from participant group 2 (non-linguistic international students, questionnaire in their own language) were:

a) Communicative issues

b) Time restraints

This participant group would have been the most ideal for this study, in that non-linguistic students in England could have been compared with a similar group abroad. This would have ascertained the exact level of KAL of each group, in their own language. More time and better communication could have brought these useful results.

Issues found in collecting data from participant group 3 (non-linguistic British students) were:

Time constraints

It was not difficult to collect results from non-linguistic students around the university, however had the researcher had fewer other commitments, more participants would have been approached.

Issues found in collecting data from group 4 (non-student internationals found abroad) were:

a) Financial restraints

b) Time constraints

It was not possible to go to another country and interview participants or give them the questionnaire, however this would have brought highly useful results.

Issues found in collecting data from group 5 (16/17 year old British school-leavers) were:

a) Communicative issues

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b) Time Constraints

Ideally a cross-section of 16/17 year olds would have been used, but accessing teenagers in teen forums, clubs, or simply on city streets for this purpose proved to yield few results. To solve the issue of having to approach strangers, a number of sixth form colleges were written to. This achieved two interested responses, and one teacher accessed a class of young adults for the study, yet twice sent the results to the researcher by post, which never arrived. This cause was abandoned due to time constraints subsequently. Results of KAL of 16/17 year olds would have been very useful for this study, and it is suggested that the line of research be continued in the future.

Issues found in collecting data from group 6 (British over 60 year olds) were:

a) Communicative issues

b) Time constraints

The small amount of people over 60 accessed appeared to know no more than the younger generations, which highlighted the issue of knowledge possibly being forgotten if participants were taught so long ago. After researching the matter more thoroughly and discovering that the teaching of grammar began declining much before 1960, that line of enquiry was eventually abandoned.

Issues found in collecting data from group 7 (TEFL students):

a) Communicative difficulties

b) Time constraints

Seven TEFL students took part in the study. A larger group of 1st years were asked to contact the researcher however, but only one of those took part.

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5.4

Results of the Survey

This section includes answers from the survey which collected qualitative and quantitative results (See Appendix 4). 30 participants, most of whom had been to university before or were at university at the time, took part. They were mixed nationalities, mainly British, and most were either students at or worked at Coventry University. The results that follow are the views of the participants on language learning in British schools. Some answers are abbreviated to make room for other discussion:

Question 1

Twenty-four (80%) said they think British people should be taught languages at a younger age than they are already

Five said they do not Two skipped the question, two had never thought about it and one was not sure

Question 2

Fourteen (47%) said they have been surprised at how few English speak other languages Nine said they have not One skipped the question

Reasons given for teaching languages at a younger age were:

‘Children learn more easily at a younger age’ *1

‘More beneficial’ ‘It’s a necessity, simple’ It would help with their English grammar Omits the future need for translators ‘My son started French from 8 and went on to do a French degree’ *2

‘It would help with development’ ‘Major European languages should make up part of compulsory curriculum’

*1 It is widely accepted that especially when it comes to languages, children do learn at a faster pace than adults (O’ Grady 2005).

*2 Learning French at eight appeared to drive this son to do his French degree. Obviously it will not affect everybody in the same way – arguably some people are more pre-disposed to language learning than others. The closer focus from 2014 on grammar teaching however, if taught in the contextualised way that has been proven to work by Myhill (2012), and on foreign languages in primary schools, should enable those less able at languages to understand and use language with less confusion, and may springboard those who do have an aptitude for languages to learning two or more extra languages, such as those mentioned in 5.6 (10, 13 & 15) below.

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Reasons for not teaching languages at a younger age (all comments given are shown):

‘Schools should focus on English before other languages’ ‘I think they should, however it would raise the question of which language to teach’*

*This last point is of course a very important point to make – because English is the lingua franca, it is not difficult for international schools, governments and individuals to decide which second language to learn. For Britain it is unarguably a less obvious choice, but Gove et al in the new curriculum (2013) have decided on a choice of the next most dominant languages, plus Latin and Ancient Greek.

Other comments on the lack of language learning among British people include the following (all comments given are shown):

‘Only older people seem to speak Spanish’ ‘They should learn more [languages]’ ‘Surprisingly, few English people know more than 2 languages’ ‘Most English people I know don’t want to learn a language’ ‘We should be taught a little French and Spanish in primary schools’ *1

No surprise because ‘Everyone speaks English’ I am ‘a bit alarmed’ *2

‘English is everywhere’ ‘Laziness’ ‘It’s very poor’

*1 According to the new curriculum, children will have this choice.*2 During non-controlled discussions with non-participants, the opinion was occasionally expressed that it does not matter that the British do not generally speak other languages, and it is appreciated that people have different views. However embarrassment about the issue by British people has been commonly expressed in literature, online and by word of mouth, and this study’s title: ‘The Danish speak so many languages it’s really embarrassing’ (Lanvers 2012) expresses this point of view.

Question 3

A further question posed on the survey was: ‘What are your views about the standard of English in today’s younger generations?’ All answers given are shown:

‘They need to learn proper grammar’ - Iran ‘They don’t know how to spell, and don’t use grammar correctly’ - Romania ‘I think the English is awful – they speak in slang’ – Portugal ‘Our English is awful – bad spelling, no use of capitals, no punctuation used at all sometimes

on social networking sites’ ‘Extremely poor’

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three people said the ‘standard is dropping’ ‘In inner city areas, grasp of grammar and punctuation is relatively mind boggling’ ‘I think that it is lower than in some countries, my children’s [British] friends don’t talk

English – it’s disgraceful’ ‘I think current primary school children are probably being taught more than we ever

learned’ ‘It’s nothing to worry about because it is natural for languages to change’ *

*This last point appears to reflect Chomsky’s descriptive, nativist viewpoint.

Of twenty-five people asked, eighteen (62.5%) chose to say something negative about the way the younger British generations speak English. This could be argued to be indicative of the way society as a whole views language use in Britain today. Seven people skipped the question for reasons unknown, but only two non-negative points were made.

Question 4

The final question asked was ‘Possible causes [of the standard of English used in Britain]?’

All answers given are shown, apart from repeated reasons:

‘Society, school system, friends’ ‘Text speak, slang’ ‘Social networking sites’ ‘Grammar is no longer taught in school - results in poorer understanding of languages’ ‘Families, rap music, target-driven exam system’ ‘Americanised by media and media’s incorrect grammar. The current fashion for dumbing

down’ ‘Foreign people I have met value language more than us’ ‘Too much TV/gaming, internet, not enough reading, lack of continuity between language

spoken at home and school’ ‘I.T. corrects spelling, but people don't learn why it was incorrect.’ ‘International intermingling of younger generations and different levels have affected it’ ‘Language is an evolving tool, not fixed in stone, it’s just evolving faster at the moment’ ‘People in the UK seem more preoccupied with pronunciation than proper grammar and

sentence structure. A general relaxation of the education system has led to less focus on correct grammar’

‘Not drilled to learn rules like before’ ‘Laziness’

So people’s ideas on why the British are more relaxed in their communication are varied. Four people mention the education system and two cite families. Friends, other cultures and general laziness due to technology are also cited.

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5.5

Interviews with TEFL students in their 3 rd year at Coventry University

* Although some statements are abbreviated, it was deemed important to include all of the following statements in interview style rather than in charts or tables because the results are not factual, and impart the feeling, opinions and difficulties real people have. The TEFL interviews show the difficulties those who were not explicitly taught grammar face when attempting to learning the grammatical items and complexities presented to them to learn when studying for a CELTA course. Some of the most pertinent points made are under-lined, and names are not actual.

Kath 21:

‘I've always had difficulty teaching grammar, a lack of knowledge and therefore confidence in teaching. During the summer I taught at [an EF school] and got put with some advanced learners. I dreaded it because the level was so advanced. I studied the elements but one day we covered past conditionals. To save me having to tell them the rules, because I knew them but couldn’t explain them, I got them to peer teach. One day it went [very badly]. None of them could explain it and they looked to me to clarify their mistakes. It was horrific, I didn't know how to explain it, resulting in a lot of them leaving confused and subsequently [complaining about me] to other teachers. I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I felt like a bit of failure. I've just related it back to me not being taught explicit grammar at school compared to the non-native teachers.’

Sarah 31:

‘When I began my English degree, I did not know any grammar. We had to learn it, and the tenses especially are still not going in. I think it’s because we weren’t taught them and the pathways just aren’t there. Every time I teach I feel like I don’t really know what I’m talking about, and worry they are going to ask me something I don’t know.’

Josie 37:

‘I’m still finding it difficult now to remember all the tenses. I hadn’t heard of them [and] I feel like [the lack of grammar teaching] makes me less of a teacher.’

Sophie 32:

‘I do find it difficult to learn it all. Thankfully I’m planning to do a PGCE now, but I’m glad the government are going to change things in schools.’

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Ella 21:

‘I don’t really find it that difficult. I did English at A level.’

Miranda 20:

‘I haven’t had too many problems, though I did English at A level.’

Allie 19 (Romanian):

‘I don’t find it hard because I [had at school] (7 hours of English per week).’

*All of these cases are enough to show that the lack of current (or at least until 2007/8) grammar teaching in schools can negatively affect citizens greatly, and the effects had on TEFL trainees are some of the easiest to notice when they are training to teach English L2 learners who may know more than the trainee teachers.

5.6

Comments from international participants, many of which filled out the questionnaire, currently residing in Switzerland:

*It was deemed important to include all of the following statements in interview style, however some statements are abbreviated, and where it is said ‘we/I was not/were, it means ‘taught grammar at school’ The first language and country educated in are given beforehand.

L1 English - Britain

1) ‘Please bring back teaching English grammar! My education was lacking, my mother's generation were taught correctly! Most of my answers were guesses, some knowledge gained only as part of trying to learn French! (first time I'd heard of a past-participle! - and still don't understand!). Yet I have an IT degree and have held high management jobs!’

2) ‘I'm rubbish with the names of things like this but write business letters for a living.’

26

3) We were not, apart from nouns, verbs and adjectives... I am astounded sometimes at how colleagues of mine (not English) know all the rules and how to construct sentences so well.’

4) ‘My UK schooling was 65-76 and we were not.’ * This backs up Hudson’s statement of grammar not being taught from 1960.

5) I was not, ‘but I am a very creative, descriptive person. So, something worked.’

6) I was not, and ‘I have found it incredibly difficult to learn French and especially after doing the questionnaire, have wondered if there's a piece of my brain missing/not wired up because I just don't seem to pick it up like other people’ * This is similar to what Sarah* stated about pathways.

7) My husband was not and [similar to 6)].

8) ‘I'm sure my German wife understands the English language better than I.’

9) ‘I teach EFL in Switzerland and also had to learn the grammar before I was confident to teach.’

L1 English - US

10) I was, (in U.S.) as are my kids (in Switzerland).’ A German teacher told me that after a certain level of English grammar, if the kids were learning a second language, English grammar would be learned at the same time. My kids are on their third language and will be starting a fourth and fifth this year [in Switzerland].

L1 English - NZ

11) I had to learn all the grammar before teaching (EFL in Italy). My parents’ generation got the education, but we didn't. My Italian husband, who speaks excellent English, is constantly surprised at how many English grammar questions I'm not able to confidently answer. We missed out and this made it so much harder to learn other languages! And teach our own.

L1 French - Switzerland

12) ‘My first language is French, and I learned English between 13 and 18 in Geneva. The first half of your questionnaire is easy to answer, as French grammar is very complicated

27

and we had to learn all these categories. But I can't remember learning perfect, continuous, simple tenses…’

13) ‘Our eldest Daughter is 15, fully bilingual English and French, speaks Slovak fluently, has decent Czech, German & Latin.’

L1 Russian - Russia

14) ‘In Russia we learnt all the English tenses (which were introduced by the age of 10) by the age of 15 (obligatory school programme). We were already familiar with them [by age 10] from studying Russian grammar. Most of the terms are still introduced by age 9-10, and are operated in Years 5 and 6.’

L1 Bulgarian - Bulgaria

15) In Bulgaria I learned (20 hours per week) of English at school (age 14). F irst learned was Grammar, tenses, structure of the sentence, irregular verbs, exceptions. Later I went to England and my vocabulary was not rich at all, but I had the grammar so just learned words and now I speak excellent English. Now I learn French, beginning with the grammar and now just mixing with the French, so I build up my vocabulary. Grammar for me is the base of the language.’

References

28

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Appendices

Appendix 1:

(Original) Questionnaire on grammatical knowledge

From the sentence below please give one example of each of the grammatical items requested and write it in the space provided. You may select the same word(s) more than once if appropriate. Then please turn over for the 2nd half of the questionnaire. Do not worry if you cannot give many answers – these papers will be anonymously sent back to the researcher, who is trying to gain information about English grammar knowledge across Europe.

Materials are delivered to the factory by a supplier, who usually has no technical knowledge, but who happens to have the right contacts.

1. verb

2. noun

3. countable noun

4. passive verb

5. adjective

6. adverb

7. definite article

8. indefinite article

9. preposition

10. relative pronoun

11. auxiliary verb

12. past participle

13. conjunction

14. finite verb

15. infinitive

Thank you for your time; now please turn over for the 2nd half.Here are 13 different tenses/ways of speaking about time:

I will have written

I am writing

38

I write

I will have been writing

I have written

I will be writing

I will write

I had written

I was writing

I am going to write

I had been writing

I have been writing

I wrote

Now, without finding the answers in a book or on the internet, please write the tenses/ways of speaking about time, next to them, choosing from these:

Present simpleSimple future with ‘going to’Present perfectPast perfectFuture continuousPast simplePast perfect continuousPast continuous Future perfectFuture perfect continuousPresent perfect continuousPresent continuousSimple future with ‘will’

Appendix 2

Email to/from Richard Hudson asking/granting permission to use the grammar audit.

On 29/03/2013 00:19, Becky Stock wrote:Good Evening/Morning Dick,I'll just cut to the chase as they say; would you have any objections to me sending your grammar questionnaire to universities in countries other than Spain? I thought to gain balanced results it would be better used on students still in their own countries, as if they were in Britain they may already have proved themselves to be more able at languages.All the best, Becky Ps Obviously I'll happily contribute any answers to you and the database.

Dick Hudson Great - please do use that questionnaire, but please also share your results with me. I'd love to have data on more overseas countries. Dick Richard Hudson (http://dickhudson.com) 29 Mar 2013 Dick Richard Hudson (dickhudson.com)

39

Appendix 3

Questionnaire used for most participants. Printed on headed paper with details of Mr Hudson’s web-pages.

Questionnaire on grammatical knowledge

From the sentence below please give one example of each of the grammatical items requested and write it in the space provided. You may select the same word(s) more than once if appropriate. Then please turn over for the 2nd half of the questionnaire. Do not worry if you cannot give many answers – these papers will be anonymously sent back to the researcher, who is trying to gain information about English grammar knowledge across Europe.

Materials are delivered to the factory by a supplier, who usually has no technical knowledge, but who happens to have the right contacts.

1. verb

2. noun

3. countable noun

4. passive verb

5. adjective

6. adverb

7. definite article

8. indefinite article

9. preposition

10. relative pronoun

11. auxiliary verb

12. past participle

13. conjunction

14. finite verb

15. infinitive

Thank you for your time; now please turn over for the 2nd half.Here are 13 different tenses/ways of speaking about time:

I will have written

I am writing

I write

40

I will have been writing

I have written

I will be writing

I will write

I had written

I was writing

I am going to write

I had been writing

I have been writing

I wrote

Now, without finding the answers in a book or on the internet, please write the tenses/ways of speaking about time, next to them, choosing from these:

Present simpleSimple future with ‘going to’Present perfectPast perfectFuture continuousPast simplePast perfect continuousPast continuous Future perfectFuture perfect continuousPresent perfect continuousPresent continuousSimple future with ‘will’

For the last task, can you please give examples of 1st, 2nd and 3rd conditionals?

1.

2.

3.

Thank you.

41

Appendix 4

Survey

Name (optional)

Where are you from and where did you go to school?

Near which city?

Age 10-15, 15 – 25, 25 – 35, 35 – 45, 45 - 55, 55 – 65, above 65.

What is your first language?

What is your educational history?

What is your job/course?

What year of course are you in?

School some college Degree Masters PhD

Which languages were you exposed to at school?

Which were compulsory?

Which are you still proficient at now?

Can you speak any languages you did not learn at school? How did you learn them?

Was your schooling free or not? Yes/no

Have you heard of the International Phonetic Alphabet?

Yes/no

If so, where/when did you hear of it?

Can you explain the Present Perfect tense?

Equivalent in your own language?

Do you know what the Preterit is?

The Infinitive?

The Subjunctive?

Can you explain 1st, 2nd and 3rd conditionals?

When were you taught these?

If you are an English student, when studying for your English or English/TEFL degree, have you found a large gap between what you learned at

42

GCSE/A level, and degree level English?

Has this gap presented any issues? Please explain.

Have you noticed any differences between your country’s and England’s schools attitudes to languages? If so, which?

If you are not of British origin, do you think your country’s school system is better than England’s schooling system with regards to 1st and 2nd languages?

Never thought about it No Yes, the reasons are:

Have you ever been surprised by how few English people speak other languages?

Never thought about it before No

Yes, in fact…..

Do you think English schools should focus more on other languages at an earlier age?

As an English person, what are your views about the standard of English in today’s younger generations?

Possible causes?

Never thought about it before No

Yes, in fact…..

Appendix 5

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Letter/email to international universities, printed on headed paper with details of Mr Hudson’s web- pages.

Dear Sir/Madam, I have been studying for an English/Teaching English as a Foreign Language degree at Coventry University, England. During this time I have found that the learners of English can often be more knowledgeable of English meta-language and tenses than the British undergraduate trainee teachers. As a result, I am now researching the matter of grammar knowledge for my dissertation. A major part of my work will be a questionnaire for people of all ages, races and occupations/courses, to evaluate their grammar knowledge. I have found that Dr R. Hudson, professor of linguistics in the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics at University College London, has already carried out some research of this kind and published the results. Here is his home-page and information on the research: http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/home.htm

http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/ec/ba-kal/ba-kal.htm

The researchers used a questionnaire to gather information from undergraduates of both Spain and England (enclosed), to establish their knowledge about language (KAL) of English. The questionnaire was written in English, about English, but it was found that the Spanish had a higher KAL of English than the English students. The results were added to an international database.

I have asked Dr Hudson for his permission to use the questionnaire to establish KAL of students of other nationalities, to which he replied he would be, and that he would add any results to the database. I am hoping you might ask a number of non-language students if they would attempt this test. It could be translated in order to test them of their language, which would make interesting results, or be kept in English, about English. To have it done in both languages would be absolutely ideal, and 1st year students are better for the study. Students may have to read the participant information sheet (enclosed) and fill in a consent form (on the reverse of this paper) before taking part in the study.

If you have any questions, please email me, phone or write; I will be extremely pleased there is an interest in helping me with my research. Alternatively, please forward this letter to the person most likely to be able to help. Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,

Becky Stock

Appendix 6:

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Participant Information Leaflet

COVENTRY UNIVERSITY - FACULTY OF BUSINESS, ENVIRONMENT & SOCIETY

Department of English and Languages

PROJECT TITLE “The impact of a lack of explicit L1 grammar teaching at school on general communication skills and L2 learning, with a particular focus on trainee EFL teachers”

PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT

Thank you for attending the interview or filling out the questionnaire for Miss R. Stock, from the Dept. of English & Languages at Coventry University. The interview or questionnaire is to collate evidence for a dissertation about the grammar level taught in this country and abroad, and so your participation is very much appreciated indeed. It is hoped that you will also gain something from having participated..

PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROJECT WILL INVOLVE

Answering questions on paper or in an interview setting.

FORESEEABLE RISKS OR DISCOMFORTS

Taking part in this project should not cause participants any discomforts and there are no foreseeable risks involved. Participants can withdraw at any stage if they feel that the above were to be the case.

POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF TAKING PART

It is hoped that you will be contributing to a well-written and researched body of work, which may be seen as useful research into grammar teaching in the future, and it is possible you will gain further understanding of schools, study, languages and people by participating. WHO IS ORGANISING THE PROJECT?

This project has been organised Miss R. Stock, student at Coventry University.

WHO HAS APPROVED THIS PROJECT?

The project has been approved via the CU Ethics procedures.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR DATA?

Any data collected from the study will remain confidential and anonymous. The information will only be processed by the organiser, and no names of people or institutions will ever be used in the project. Any information about yourself, the institution or any other person that you share will be treated in confidence, likewise anything else that you say or write. No information relating to the work will be available to any person not connected with Coventry University.

Data that is stored electronically will use participant codes so that individuals cannot be identified. All data will be destroyed at the end of the project in compliance with the Data Protection Act.

If you have any questions about the research please contact Mr. Elwyn Lloyd, Senior Lecturer:

Room: GE319 (George Eliot Building)Tel.: 02476 888198Email: e.lloyd@coventry.ac.uk

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Appendix 7:

QUESTIONNAIRE / INTERVIEW CONSENT FORM

Participant Reference Code: _________

I have read and understand the attached participant information sheet and by signing below I consent to participate in the questionnaire or interview.

I understand that I have the right to withdraw from the research without giving a reason at any time.

By attending the interview / questionnaire I give consent for the researcher to refer to information I may give, without using my name.

I understand that my anonymity will be preserved.

Participant’s signature:

Name (CAPITALS):

Date:

Name of Establishment (CAPITALS):

Signature of supervisor:

Name (CAPITALS):

Date:

Thank you

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Appendix 8

Risk Assessment

STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT RISK ASSESSMENT

Person(s) undertaking project: Rebecca StockProject supervisor: E. Lloyd

Brief outline of project:Outline the types of activities that will take place or items fabricated i.e. face to face interviews, public surveys, water sampling, machining vehicle parts, brazing etc.

Face to face interviews, public surveys, public libraries, secondary source research (paperwork)

Dates of study (from – to) 01/02 /2014 – 01/05/2014

Location(s) of activity:Country and specific area.

Britain - Coventry

Will the project involve laboratory work?If yes, you will be required to complete separate risk assessment(s) prior to carrying out any laboratory work.

Yes / No

Will the project involve workshop work?If yes, you will be required to complete an induction and may carry out a separate risk assessment(s) prior to carrying out any workshop work.

Yes / No

Will the project involve travel? (If yes, complete this section as fully as possible. The form may require review prior to travel to add missing

details)

Yes / No

Contact details at destination(s):

Contact details of next of kin in case of emergency:

n/a

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Approximate dates of travel:Your supervisor must have details of travel plans once confirmed.

n/a

Arrangements to maintain contact with the University:

n/a

Emergency contact information: School/Faculty contact (Daytime): 02476

24hr University contact (Protection Service): 02476 888 555

Local healthcare/emergency services:

Has suitable travel insurance has been obtained? (Please attach a copy of certificate) n/a Yes / No

If EU travel, has EH1C card been obtained? n/a Yes / No

Has advice/vaccinations from GP been sought (where appropriate)? n/a Yes / No

Are medical kits required (i.e. in countries with poor healthcare facilities)? n/a Yes / No

Are there any warnings issued by the FCO* against travel to the area? n/a Yes / No

Have you registered with the FCO* service LOCATE? (British nationals only) n/a Yes / No

*FCO = http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/

PLEASE USE THE HAZARD CHECKLIST AS A GUIDE WHEN COMPLETING THIS SECTION.

Hazard Precautions to be usedWork factors:E.g.: dealing with the public, interviewing on sensitive issues, lone working, driving, working on boats, laboratory work; biological, chemical hazards etc

Be in public view at all times. Never go into peoples’ houses for interviews/surveys. Stay in daylight.

Site specific factors (in the field): E.g.: remote area, construction site, local endemic diseases, political unrest, terrorism risk etcIf travel abroad see FCO* website – list any risks greater than there would be for the UK

n/a

Environmental factors (in the field):E.g.: extremes of temperature, altitude, weather conditions, tidal conditions, cliffs, bogs, caves, mountains etc

n/a

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Equipment:E.g.: operation of machinery, use of specialist equipment, manual handling/transportation, compressed gases, etc

n/a

Other:Detail any special arrangements required, i.e. permissions required, accommodation, travel, catering etc

This assessment must be reviewed before any significant project changes are made.

Assessment carried out by:Signature:Position:Date:

Appendix 9:

Ethics Review Feedback Form

REGISTRY RESEARCH UNIT

ETHICS REVIEW FEEDBACK FORM(Review feedback should be completed within 10 working days)

Name of applicant: Rebecca Stock.................................

Faculty/School/Department: [Business, Environment and Society] English & Languages Dept

Research project title: “The impact of a lack of explicit L1 grammar teaching at school on general communication skills and L2 learning, with a particular focus on trainee EFL teachers”

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Comments by the reviewer

1. Evaluation of the ethics of the proposal:

This looks fine

2. Evaluation of the participant information sheet and consent form:

Yes, the forms are completed satisfactorily

3. Recommendation:(Please indicate as appropriate and advise on any conditions. If there any conditions, the applicant will be required to resubmit his/her application and this will be sent to the same reviewer).

X Approved - no conditions attached

Approved with minor conditions (no need to re-submit)

Conditional upon the following – please use additional sheets if necessary (please re-submit application)

Rejected for the following reason(s) – please use other side if necessary

Not required

Name of reviewer: Anonymous...............................................................................................

Date: 20/01/2014.....................................................................................................................

Appendix 10

Richard Hudson Email 2013

‘The fact is that it dwindled to a low point in the early 1960s, when the last (optional) grammar question was removed from O-level English, and then gradually started to revive. So I think the two sentences do fit, though somewhat awkwardly.

Dick

Richard Hudson (dickhudson.com)’

END

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