Trends toward Grammar Instruction in the Context of Second Language Acquisition

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to review the historical background of grammar instruction in ESL/EFL to find out its present status, and to suggest how to approach grammar instruction. Language teaching methodologists have not presented consistent advices to teachers about the role of grammar in language teaching and learning over the past some decades. Even today the situation is not clear because of the many conflicting positions taken in the methodological literature. The status of grammar in second or foreign language teaching and learning has shifted to a considerable degree. The shift of grammatical status has been from a position of central importance to disregardful status, and back to a position of renewed importance. Some focus on form is necessary for many learners to achieve accuracy and fluency in their acquisition of a second or foreign language. Grammar interacts with words, and it is resources to create and negotiate meaning and communication between speaker/writer and listener/reader. Structures are not learned in isolation, and language learning is an organic process characterized by backsliding, leaps in competence, and grammatical elements