A bibliography of publications disfavouring grammar teaching

The following publications conclude that grammar should not be taught, in contrast with those that assume or argue that it should be taught.

The table is very flexible (it uses TablePress – highly recommended). It allows you to:

  • choose how many items to display in each page (e.g. 10 or 25).
  • choose which column to order by, and which direction to order (e.g. by date, either newest first or oldest first)
  • search for key words (e.g. “Myhill”, or “writing”)

Please tell me of gaps or errors.

YearAuthorTitlePublication TitleVolumePublisherEditorPages
1977Abrahamson, RichardThe Effects of Formal Grammar Instruction vs. the Effects of Sentence Combining Instruction on Student Writing: a Collection of Evaluative Abstracts of Pertinent Research Documents.
2005Andrews, RichardKnowledge about the teaching of [sentence] grammar: The state of playEnglish Teaching: Practice and Critique469-76
2004Andrews, Richard; Beverton, Sue; Locke, Terry; Low, Graham; Robinson, Alison; Torgerson, Carole; Zhu, DieThe effect of grammar teaching (syntax) in English on 5 to 16 year olds' accuracy and quality in written compositionEPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education.
2004Andrews, Richard; Torgerson, Carole; Beverton, Sue; Freeman, A; Locke, Terry; Low, Graham; Robinson, Alison; Zhu, DieThe effect of grammar teaching (sentence combining) in English on 5 to 16 year olds' accuracy and quality in written compositionEPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education - Research Evidence in Education Library.
1963Braddock, R.; Lloyd-Jones, R; Schoer, LResearch in Written CompositionNational Council of Teachers of English
1975Bullock, Sir Alan.Language for lifeDept for Education and Science
1994Elley, WarwickGrammar Teaching and Language SkillEncyclopedia of Language and LinguisticsPergamonAsher, Ronald1468-1471
1975Elley, Warwick; Barham, I; Lamb, H; Wyllie, MThe Role of Grammar in a Secondary School Curriculum.New Zealand Council for Educational Studies1026-41
1979Elley, Warwick; Barham, I; Lamb, H; Wyllie, MThe Role of Grammar in a Secondary School Curriculum.New Zealand Council for Educational Research
2007Graham, Steve; Perin, DoloresA Meta-Analysis of Writing Instruction for Adolescent StudentsJournal of Educational Psychology99445-476
1962Harris, RolandAn experimental inquiry into the functions and value of formal grammar in the teaching of English, with special reference to the teaching of correct written English to children aged twelve to fourteen.University of London
1986Hillocks, George; Mavrognes, N.Sentence combining.Research on Written Composition: New Directions for TeachingNational Council for the Teaching of EnglishHillocks, George142-146
1982Krashen, StephenPrinciples and Practice in Second Language Acquisition
1947Macauley, W.J.The difficulty of grammar.British Journal of Educational Psychology18153-162
1973O'Hare, FrankSentence Combining: Improving Student Writing Without Formal Grammar Instruction. Research Report No. 15National Council of Teachers of English
1960Robinson, NoraThe relation between knowledge of English grammar and ability in English compositionBritish Journal of Educational Psychology30184-186
1969Thompson, D.(ed)Directions in the teaching of English.Cambridge University Press
2001Wyse, DominicGrammar for Writing? A critical review of empirical evidence.British Journal of Educational Studies49411-427
1995Zobl, H.CONVERGING EVIDENCE FOR THE ACQUISITION - LEARNING DISTINCTIONApplied Linguistics1635-56
2017Wyse, Dominic; Torgerson, CaroleExperimental trials and ‘what works?’ in education: The case of grammar for writing.British Educational Research Journal
1979McBride, WilliamIt Bears Repeating: Grammar: The Stagnant Standard SourceThe High School Journal (Published by: University of North Carolina Press)6385-88
1906Hoyt, FranklinThe Place of Grammar in the Elementary School CurriculumTeachers College Record467-500
1913Briggs, ThomasFormal English grammar as a discipline, (also reprinted as Teachers College Record September 1913, pp. 1 to 93)Columbia University
1917Boraas, JFormal grammar and the practical mastery of English. Unpublished doctoral thesisUniversity of Minnesota
1923Asker, WDoes knowledge of formal grammar function?School and Society109–111
1964Wilkinson, AndrewResearch on formal grammarEnglish in EducationA124-26
1929Lyman, RolloSummary of Investigations relating to Grammar, Language and Composition32University of Chicago Press
1926Segal, D; Barr, NoraRelation of Achievement in Formal Grammar to Achievement in Applied Grammar,’ J.Ed. Research, 14 IDec., 1926), 401-2.Journal of Educational Research14401-402
1935Benfer, MabelSentence Sense in Relation to Subject and PredicateUniversity of Iowa
1931Symonds, PPractice vs. Grammar in the Learning of Correct UsageJournal of Educational Psychology2281-96
1962Heath, WLibrary-centred English. An experimentEducation Review14
1916Sears, Isabel; Diebel, AmeliaA Study of the Common Mistakes in Pupils' Oral EnglishElementary School Journal (USA)44-54
2007Hadley, TimothyThe Effect of Direct, In-Class Grammar Instruction on the Quality of Student WritingTexas Tech University
1945Butterfield, CThe Effects of Knowledge of Certain Grammatical Elements in the Acquisition and Retention of Puntuation SkillsUniversity of Iowa

 

 

Comments are closed.

Set your Twitter account name in your settings to use the TwitterBar Section.