The issue of “grammar instruction” in Second/Foreign Language Learning Teaching is among the most hotly debated ones. Of course, there is no gainsaying that grammatical competence alone cannot account for what is involved in the mastery of a language. However, the reaction against grammar teaching which resulted due to the communicative approach revolution has certain inherent weaknesses. This article evaluates the role of grammar in Second/Foreign language pedagogy and subsequently goes on to show how grammar is, in fact, so important that it cannot be ignored. Hence the issue now is no longer whether grammar is to be taught or not but rather how grammar items are to be taught most effectively. With this end in view, the article looks into a model of task-based grammar teaching, which blends grammar instruction with communicative tasks so that accuracy is not sacrificed at the altar of fluency.

Grammar teaching in English as Second Language/ English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) pedagogy has always been a contentious issue. In fact, there has been a pendulum swing regarding whether grammar should be taught or not. Before the advent of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in the 1970’s, for instance, grammar was in a position of domination in language education, with curricula being organized around it. However, the supremacy of grammar was questioned when developments in the field of Sociolinguistics in the seventies challenged the traditional notions about the nature of language and learning. One of the primary reasons for the rejection of a narrow focus on grammatical forms and structures in language learning was the blurring of the notion of ‘correctness’ of language thanks to the investigation of language varieties. Also, sociolinguists like the American Dell Hymes went on to put forward a broader concept of ‘communicative competence’, which drew attention to language use in social context. This had a tremendous impact on language teaching, encouraging a more critical look at language and sharpening an awareness of the need to make language relevant to students’ needs and to provide opportunities for language use in the classroom. (more…)