Teaching (or not teaching) grammar in an ESL classroom.

Summary Abstract: Lack of grammatical accuracy has been often seen as a common issue in non-native English background students. With changing views on teaching English throughout ESL history, researchers and practitioners have argued about the best ways to teach grammar and whether teaching grammar was necessary at all. CLT was often perceived as a licence to abandon grammar teaching altogether. To explore this issue further a project was initiated in which classroom observations were conducted to see how much time and effort was spent on grammar in a typical 50-minute lesson. The conclusion was that teachers either avoid any grammar instructions, or have an explicit, systematic approach to specific grammar items, e.g. teaching passive voice. In addition, a number of observed teachers were interviewed to gain insight into their beliefs about teaching grammar. The presentation will also look at some methods to promote accuracy in production of English