REGISTRY RESEARCH UNIT

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[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’
By
Becky Stock
For Coventry University
May 2014
1
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.
2
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
2.6 The Future (b)
2.7 The Grammar Audit
……………………………………………….
15
……………………………………………….
16
……………………………………………
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
………………..…………………….
27
4.4 Swiss Females and British Mothers
3
4.5 Languages Spoken
. ……………………………………
29
4.6 Some Miscellaneous Data
………………………………………
30
………………………………………
32
……………………………………….
33
Qualitative Findings and Discussion
5.1 Signposting
5.2 Ideal Participant Groups
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
…..…………………………………
43
Conclusion
6.1 The Grammar Gap Exists
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
…………………………………….
57
……………………………
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
Appendices
Appendix 1 Original questionnaire
Appendix 2 Correspondence
Appendix 10 Correspondence
……………………………………
69
4
Methodology
3.1
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 1st
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
1st 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
5

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
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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
2nd 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.
6
3.4
3rd 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):

And:




10 students of non-linguistic degree courses
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.
7
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.
8
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 1st 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
9


32 (84%) could identify an infinitive
22 (58%) have some idea of a conditional
4.1e) Out of 17 Turkish 1st 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:

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

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.
10
* 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.
Mean Score of 4 Countries
28
23
18
23.67
23.75
17.28
13
8
9.1
3
-2
mean score
French
Turkish
Polish
English
23.67
23.75
17.28
9.1
*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.
11
Mean score of questionnaires of those not at university
28
23
18
13
8
3
-2
Educated in Britain
Educated abroad
*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’?
% Comparison between those educated abroad
and those educated in Britain, on 4 main questions
International
Britain
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Conditionals
Present perfect
Infinitive
Noun
*Again, the international group scored over twice as much on most questions.
12
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.
Comparisons Between Participants Educated in
Britain and Participants Educated Internationally
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
International participants Participants educated in
Britain
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:
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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
13
The Swiss females, aged 24 – 58, range from teachers to accountants, and were educated in a
variety of countries:
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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:
Mean % results on
Specific Questions
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Auxiliary
verb
Conjunction
Infinitive
Present
Perfect
British
Noun
Adjective
Present
simple
Conditional
International
14
Figure 6
(Below) A comparison of overall mean results of the questionnaire, between the Swiss residents and
British village mothers.
Comparison of Swiss residents
and British Village Mothers' Mean
Questionnaire results
28
23
18
13
8
3
-2
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.
15
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.
% Speak more than 1 language
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
British heritage
International
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
16
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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.
17
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:
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

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:



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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.
18
5.2
Ideal Participant Groups
The ideal 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
19
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
20
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.
21
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
22
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.
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
23







‘Our English is awful – bad spelling, no use of capitals, no punctuation used at all sometimes
on social networking sites’
‘Extremely poor’
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’
24
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.
5.5
Interviews with TEFL students in their 3rd 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.’
25
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.’
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!’
26
2) ‘I'm rubbish with the names of things like this but write business letters for a living.’
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.
27
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
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 910, 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). First 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.’
28
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Available at: http://www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/08894/08894f5.html> [Accessed
20/4/2014]
Whitesmoke (2013) Lack of Emphasis on Prescriptive Grammar (Online) Available at:
http://www.whitesmoke.com/brafton18_prescriptivegrammar> [Accessed 20/4/2014]
Wordsworth D. 2012, The Telegraph: It’s Cruel Not to Teach Children Grammar (Online) Available at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9381417/Its-cruel-not-to-teach-childrengrammar.html> [Accessed 20/4/2014]
Wyse D. (2004) Grammar For writing? A critical review of empirical evidence. British Journal of
Educational Studies, 49(4) 411-427.
37
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
I write
I will have been writing
38
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 simple
Simple future with ‘going to’
Present perfect
Past perfect
Future continuous
Past simple
Past perfect continuous
Past continuous
Future perfect
Future perfect continuous
Present perfect continuous
Present continuous
Simple 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 2 nd 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
I will have been writing
40
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 simple
Simple future with ‘going to’
Present perfect
Past perfect
Future continuous
Past simple
Past perfect continuous
Past continuous
Future perfect
Future perfect continuous
Present perfect continuous
Present continuous
Simple 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?
School
Masters
some college
PhD
Degree
What is your job/course?
What year of course are you in?
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
42
found a large gap between what you learned at
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
reasons are:
No
Have you ever been surprised by how few
English people speak other languages?
Never thought about it before
Do you think English schools should focus more
on other languages at an earlier age?
Never thought about it before
Yes, the
No
Yes, in fact…..
No
Yes, in fact…..
As an English person, what are your views about
the standard of English in today’s younger
generations?
Possible causes?
43
Appendix 5
Letter/email to international universities, printed on headed paper with details of Mr Hudson’s webpages.
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
44
Appendix 6:
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 888198
Email: e.lloyd@coventry.ac.uk
45
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
46
Appendix 8
Risk Assessment
STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT RISK ASSESSMENT
Person(s) undertaking project:
Project supervisor:
Rebecca Stock
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)
n/a
Contact details at destination(s):
Yes / No
Contact details of next of kin in
case of emergency:
47
Approximate dates of travel:
Your supervisor must have details
of travel plans once confirmed.
Arrangements to maintain contact
with the University:
n/a
Emergency contact information:
School/Faculty contact (Daytime): 02476
n/a
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?
Yes / No
n/a
Has advice/vaccinations from GP been sought (where appropriate)?
n/a
Are medical kits required (i.e. in countries with poor healthcare facilities)?
Are there any warnings issued by the FCO* against travel to the area?
n/a
n/a
Have you registered with the FCO* service LOCATE? (British nationals only)
n/a
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
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
Work factors:
E.g.: dealing with the public,
interviewing on sensitive issues, lone
working, driving, working on boats,
laboratory work; biological, chemical
hazards etc
Precautions to be used
Site specific factors (in the field):
E.g.: remote area, construction site,
local endemic diseases, political
unrest, terrorism risk etc
If 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
Be in public view at all times. Never go into peoples’ houses for
interviews/surveys. Stay in daylight.
n/a
48
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”
49
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
50
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