The Effectiveness of Teaching Traditional Grammar on Writing Composition at the High School Level
Gina Jaeger
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
School of Education and Counseling Psychology
Dominican University of California
San Rafael, CA
May 2011
Teaching Traditional Grammar 2
Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Madalienne Peters, for her support and guidance
through out this process. Her insight has been invaluable, and I am grateful to her for her tireless
dedication to aiding the progression and evolution of this paper. What started out as a seemingly
overwhelming, nebulous project became manageable and clear under her direction. Additionally,
I would like to thank Dr. Sarah Zykanov for sharing both her expertise and her personal
experience with the creation process. She helped assuage my fears, and she provided useful
instruction for many different facets of this paper.
I would like to thank Tom Lippi for allowing me to tap his genius for insight into my
research question. As always, he was generous with his time and an enthusiastic participant in
the process. Thank you for always striving to better understand your craft.
Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Bryan Jaeger, for his unending, unconditional
support. Your encouragement to undertake this journey spurred me to challenge myself to take
my education farther. This has been a tumultuous process, one I would have given up on, had it
not been for your enthusiasm, positive feedback and help. You have helped me see this through
to very end, and I could not have asked for a better partner.
Teaching Traditional Grammar 3
Table of Contents Title Page........................................................................................................................................1 Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................2 Table of Contents............................................................................................................................3 Abstract...........................................................................................................................................4 Chapter 1.........................................................................................................................................5 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................5 Statement of Problem.................................................................................................................6 Purpose Statement......................................................................................................................6 Research Questions.....................................................................................................................6 Theoretical Rationale..................................................................................................................7 Assumptions...............................................................................................................................7 Background and Need.................................................................................................................8 Chapter 2 Review of the Literature...............................................................................................10 Introduction...............................................................................................................................10 Historical Context.....................................................................................................................11 Review of the Previous Literature............................................................................................12 Interview with an Expert...........................................................................................................13 Summary...................................................................................................................................15 Chapter 3 Method.........................................................................................................................16 Sample and Site........................................................................................................................16 Access and Permissions............................................................................................................16 Data Gathering Strategies.........................................................................................................17 Ethical Standards......................................................................................................................17 Chapter 4 Findings........................................................................................................................18 Description of Site, Individuals, Data.......................................................................................18 Findings....................................................................................................................................19 Chapter 5 Discussion....................................................................................................................21 How Present Study Compares to Previous Research...............................................................21 Summary of Major Findings.....................................................................................................21 Limitations/Gaps in the Literature............................................................................................22 Implications for Future Research..............................................................................................22 Overall Significance of the Literature......................................................................................23 A Model for Grammar Instruction............................................................................................24 References.....................................................................................................................................26
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Abstract Traditional grammar instruction is a challenging element of the English curriculum; both
students and teachers struggle with the rules and dull nature of grammar. However,
understanding grammar is important because students need to understand the language they
speak in order to be effective communicators, and teachers provide grammar instruction with the
express purpose of improving students’ writing.
The problem lies in the method of instruction; does traditional grammar instruction
improve the quality of students’ writing? This study examines the effectiveness of traditional
grammar instruction on improving the quality of students’ writing. Earlier studies conclude that
traditional grammar instruction has little to no effect on composition. The findings parallel the
previous research, and the English community needs to reevaluate their pedagogical approach to
grammar instruction.
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Chapter 1
Introduction
Every year that I teach freshmen, they struggle and I struggle with learning the building blocks
of grammar: nouns, pronouns, conjunction, etc. As Roberts (1992) accurately communicates “a
grammar unit can be daunting and frustrating for both teachers and students…” (p.1). The
students find it very dull, they struggle to learn and retain the various components, and it,
unfortunately, does more harm than good to their grades. Who cares about the traditional
components of grammar? I do not, and they certainly do not, so why do we torture ourselves
every year? When we talk about the components of good writing at the upper division levels, we
never discuss parts of speech, and rarely do we discuss parts of a sentence. I am not entirely sure
if this is because we assume they have internalized the process or because it is not an essential
piece. I would love to take a very difficult and painful part of the English curriculum out if it
does not hold any instructional or pedagogical value.
Perhaps the grammar is important and inevitable; indeed Gill (2000) directly affirms one
of the three main goals of English is “to instill mechanics and the subtleties of grammar” (para.
2). If that is the case, then it is the pedagogical approach that influences efficacy. Andrews,
Torgerson, Beverton, Freeman, Locke, Low, Robinson & Zhu (2006) conclude, “We should
continue to ask whether the teaching of formal grammar is helpful in improving young people’s
writing” (p. 52). Formal, traditional grammar instruction does not influence the quality of
students’ writing. If one of the ultimate objectives of English curriculum instruction is to teach
students to communicate effectively through composition, then the grammar instruction needs to
help them with their writing. Traditional grammar instruction teaches students grammar
separately from their writing. There does not seem to be any effective application within the
Teaching Traditional Grammar 6 writing. Students make grammatical errors in their essay that they have demonstrated they
understand.
Statement of Problem
The traditional grammar elements seem unrelated to effective writing, so might we edit high
school English curriculum to reflect a more real-world application of grammar within writing.
As students develop their writing abilities, they need to master the language in order to
effectively communicate their ideas. If the purpose of grammar instruction is to provide students
with the tools for bot