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Grammar-based instruction and English as a second language (ESL) learning: a retrospective account of an action research project
textThis action-research case study examines the potential benefits of explicit formfocused
instruction (FFI) on the English learning of Mexican-origin adolescent students
attending a middle school designated as low-performing. During the first year of the
study I taught two sections of English as a second language to students beginning their
second or third year in U.S. schools. At the beginning of the year I administered a pretest
to 20 students, and throughout the year I documented and reflected on my teaching and
my students’ learning through written and recorded notes. At the end of the year I
administered a posttest to my students. During the second year of the study, I collected
tests results using the same grammar test from students whom I had not taught and who
had attended U.S. schools from two to eight years. I reported the results and analysis of
the study through a retrospective narrative format. The findings suggest that grammar—
as the abstract system it is—is difficult to teach and challenging to learn for adolescent
immigrant students with varying degrees of prior knowledge. The findings also suggest
that immigrant youngsters appear to benefit in diverse ways from being taught through a
grammar-based approach. The retrospective narrative provides a description of research
process, the contexts of the study, the students, the teaching and learning that went on in
my classroom, and the results of the grammar test. Although the results of the grammar
test favored the students exposed to FFI, these findings cannot be generalized to other
students in other FFI classrooms. Limitations of the study are provided along with
suggestion for future research and implications for teachers.Curriculum and Instructio
Learning: A Retrospective Account of an Action Research Project
I would like to dedicate this work to my parents, Eleuterio and Pascuala del Valle, who sacrificed enormously so their children could have a better education. To my children, Gadi and Maya, whom I love and appreciate, and to my husband, Ami whose love, support, and patience has enabled me to complete this degree. Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge my dissertation committee members: Elaine Horwitz and Lisa Green, co-chairs, Keith Walters, Esther Raizen, Sharon Vaughn, Elaine Danielson, members. I would like to express enormous gratitude to Elaine Horwitz, my professor, graduate advisor, co-chair, and mentor. Elaine Horwitz has been a source of intellectual inspiration and support since I began my graduate study in 1997. Deep appreciation also goes to Lisa Green for the generosity she showed by meeting with me on many occasions and helping me to articulate the direction of my research. I am grateful to Keith Walters for his extraordinary teaching and the generosity he showed in agreeing to serve on both my thesis and dissertation committees. I am eternally grateful to Esther Raizen for being the example of a foreign language teacher I wished to become over twenty years ago. I am also thankful to her for agreeing to serve on my dissertation committee. I wish t