The document provides an outline for a qualitative study on teachers' use of grammatical terminology in second language classrooms. It will involve fieldwork observing lessons and interviewing teachers at English language schools in Malta. The study aims to describe teachers' practices in using terminology and understand their motivations. It discusses arguments for and against terminology use and how learner variables may influence terminology selection. Four sample classroom episodes are presented that illustrate terminology use between teachers and students.

1. THE USE OF GRAMMATICAL
TERMINOLOGY IN SECOND
LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
A Qualitative Study
of Teachers’
Practices and
Cognitions

2. RESEARCH OUTLINE
 Introduction
 Arguments against and support terminology
 Learners variables influencing the use of terminology
 Significance of the study
 Purposes and context
 Research Framework
 Data collections and analysis
 Presentation of data
 Discussions
 Implications and limitations

3. Arguments against terminology 7
1. … terminology is of little consequence in the communicative or proficiency-
oriented classroom. (Mitchell, 1993 : 19)
2. if we encourage learners to learn terminology, they may develop an ability
to talk about the language rather than to use it for communication
(Halliwell, 1993)
3. … be not appropriate for learners (Bialystock 1081; Dekowska 1993; Garrett
1986; Sharwood Smith 1981)
4. metalinguistic complexity is a characteristic of bad grammar teaching and
good pedagogical rules should be non-technical (Larsen-Freeman 1991;
Mohammed 1996; Sharwood Smith 1994)

4. Arguments against terminology
5. Learners may study the terms without understanding the grammar they refer
to … (Mohammed, 1996)
6. … interfere with learning (Eisenstien, 1987)
7. Terminology-free grammatical explanations are more effective than those
presented on formal pedagogical grammar. (Mohammed, 1996)
In contrast,

5. Arguments in favor of terminology 3
1. In order to talk about a language easily learners need to be familiar with the
metalanguage of grammar (Huchinson ,1987)
2. Grammatical terminology has an important role to play in classroom discourse,
particularly in enabling students to communicate with teacher about language. (Faerch,
1985)
3. Label … can and must be used in formulating rules. (Berman, 1979)
/ variables

6. Learners variables influencing the use of
terminology
1. … ‘formulated in a way which is appropriate to the
maturity, knowledge, and sophistication of the learners (Corder, 1973)
2. … terminology is only useful when learners posses an appropriate level of
metalinguistic sophistication. (Jefferies, 1985)
3. … learners’ conceptual sophistication and its effect on the use of
terminology with reference to the principle of conceptual parsimony
(Swan, 1994)
4. levels of the learners (Chalker, 1984)
5. learners’ maturity and background (Stern, 1992)

7. Learners variables influencing the use of
terminology
6. learners’ expressed willingness to know grammatical labels (Eisenstien,
1987)
7. cognitive style and age are two factors which teachers should also consider
in deciding on the role of terminology in their work (Ur, 1996)

8. Objectives of the study
This study aims to;
1.describe the use of terminology in the practices of L2
teachers in an actual classroom, and
2. provide the emic perspective on the motivations for
teachers’ decisions in terms of using terminology.


9. Significance of the study
• To make to a fuller and more realistic understanding of
the role of terminology in L2 instruction

10. Research framework
• Naturalistic research design
• Perspectives: exploratory-interpretative

11. ?
We lack both descriptive data about L2 teachers’
practices during formal instruction as well as insight
into the cognition which underlie these practices.

12. Data collection and analysis
Fieldwork : 2 EFL. Schools in Malta
Duration : between April 1995 and March 1996
Learner levels : elementary to advanced level groups
Age : 18-35-year-old
gender : male and female
class size : between 6 -8 students
subject : 4 teachers who obtained TEFL qualifications and certificate

13. The research data base consisted of audio
recording of teachers’ lessons and of interviews
in which the teachers discussed the use of
terminology in these lessons.

14. DATA COLLECTIONS AND ANALYSIS
Each teacher has 15 hours of unstructed classroom observation ,3 hours
semi-structed interview
1. the first interview :establish a 4. post-observation interviews: teachers
profile of the teachers’ educational had the opportunity to talk about and
background, teacher make explicit the reasoning behind
education, experience of teaching their instructional decisions
and general views about L2 teaching
2. observation : a detailed 5. All interviews were transcribed :
account of classroom events a) check their accuracy
b) answer additional questions
3. analysis the observation data : 6. Decoded interview data and
key instructional episode observation analysis

15. FOUR CASES
Case 1
Name : Matha
Episode 1
Gender : femaleThe teacher asks the
students to look at the
Age: 24-year-old
grammar question on their
Qualification s: sheet. The question reads as
3 years in TEFL
follow;
Ss. Level : Interme diate
Native speaker:

16. EPISODE 1#
CONVERSATION BETWEEN MATHA AND HER
STUDENTS
 What is the difference between the Past Simple and the Past
Continuous?
T: (to the class) “What do you think? (she writes ‘Simple’ and
‘Continuous’ on the board)
S3: The continuous describes an action which is longer.
The teacher writes ‘longer’ underneath ‘Continuous’ on the board.
The students are not forthcoming. So she prompts them:
T: From the exercises we’ve done, what can you say about the
difference between the past simple and the past continuous?
S2: The continuous is made of the verb ‘to be’ plus the ‘-ing’ form
(the teacher writes ‘subject + v 2 to be + -ing’ on the board under
‘Cotinuous’) and the past simple is often the ‘-ed’ form of the
verb, the past participle (the teacher writes ‘subject + v 2 ’ under
‘Simple’

17. T: Is ‘past participle’ correct?
Some students shake their heads, and the teacher goes on to explain:
T: If we think of verns in terms of three forms. In regular verbs, the 2nd and
3rd forms are the same.
S2: Is the 1st form the infinitive?
T: Yes, it is.
S2: Do grammar books show the 3rd form of regular verbs?
T: Yes, they do, but don’t study irregular verbs as a list, it’s difficult. Actually
using them will help you to learn these verbs.

18. Case 2
Name : Eric
Gender : male
Episode 2
Age: 40-year-old
Eric was here leading
Qualifications: 15 years in TEFL
students to correct the
(cert. and Dip.)
Ss. Level : - sentence ‘Do you want
Native speaker that I come back home?
: English

19. EPISODE 2#
CONVERSATION BETWEEN ERIC AND HIS
STUDENTS
T: What do you say if you offer someone a cup of tea?
Ss: Do you want a cup of tea?
T: What do you want to say if you invite someone to the cinema?
SS: Do you want to go to the cinema?
The teacher explains: ‘With a verb, ‘want’ takes ‘to’ and we can follow it
with an object if there’s someone else.’ (Some of the students look
puzzled)
T: If I say ‘subject’, ‘object’ do you understand?
S1 says she does not, some of the other students say they do.

20. T: ‘Want’ is the verb. Who wants?
S6: You.
T2: So ‘you’ is the subject. ‘Me’ is on the other side of the verb. ‘Me’ is the object.
It’s not necessary to know these words, just to understand grammar books.

21. Case 3
Name : Tina
Gender : female
Episode 3
Age: late 30s It occurred during the
Qualifications: analysis of the ‘third’
over 10 years
in TEFL and CTEFLA
condition with an
advances class.
Ss. Level : adcanced
Native speaker : English

22. EPISODE 3#
CONVERSATION BETWEEN TINA AND HER
STUDENTS
T: Ok, so we’ve got two clauses. What’s in the ‘if’ clause?
What have we got in the ‘if’ clause, ‘if’ I had liked it?
S3: Past perfect
T: What have we got in the other clause?
The students aren’t sure. The teacher writes on the board
[If + past perfect] [would + have + past participle].
T: Let’s call it ‘would + have + past participle’.
S3: What do you mean ‘let’s call it’?
T: I’m not sure that it has a name.

23. S3: (laughing ) Nameless construction
T: I’ve never actually seen that described or termed as anything. When
I teach that tense I always call it ‘past perfect + would + have + past
participle’. I’ll look. I’ll ask around the staff room and see if we can call
it anything.

24. Case 4
Name : Hanna
Episode 4
Gender : female
Age: 27-year-old provides the starting point
It
Qualifications: 4 years in
TEFL for an analysis of the use of
and Cert.
grammatical terminology in
TEFL
Ss. Level : - her work.
Native speaker : English

25. E P I S OD E 4#
C ON VERS ATION BE TW E E N H A N A A N D H E R S TUD E N TS
T: Can you think of any other ways of asking this kind of? [i.e. making a request]
Can you think of any other forms that you might have heard. Can you try to form
one with the word ‘mind’?
S2: Would you mind to lend me an umbrella?
T: It’s nearly right, not exactly, but it’s that kind of sentence. Try again, Walter(s3).
S3: Would you mind me to?
T: Would you mind?
S2: Would you mind to?
T: No, we say ‘would you mind lending me your umbrella, please?
So you have got ‘would you mind’, and what have you got next? Can you try
another one, ‘change my money for me?

26. S5: Would you mind changing me, changing my money for me?
T: Yes, very good. ‘Call me a taxi’?
S1: Would you mind calling a taxi?
[Later in this lesson the teacher is reviewing the different ways of making
requests elicited earlier on]
T: And mind?
S2: A continuous form
T: Well it’s not really a continuous form but you do have an –ing at the end of the
verb. It isn’t really a continuous form.
S1: We call it gerund.
T: Yes it is a gerund.

27. DISCUSSIONS
1. Teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning are influenced by significant
educational and professional experiences in their lives.
2. Different education background is a key factor in the development of cognitions
which are highly personalized.

28. IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS
The descriptive and interpretative data expand on current conceptions of the role of terminology
in L2 teaching by shedding light on hitherto un explored facets of
- the cognition
- the manner
Limitations: The instructional context studied here involve four native-speaking teachers, trained
In the British EFL tradition teaching adult learners with heterogeneous
The use if terminology from the perspective of students was not analyzed.

29. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
1. The nature of teachers’ interactive decisions has been an area of intense interest in
research into teacher recognition.
2. An understanding of the contextual factors which encourage L2 teachers to use or
to avoid terminology in their work is clearly another issue to explore in the study of
this facet of L2 instruction.

30. REFERENCE
Borg, S. (1999). The Use of Grammatical Terminology in the Second Language
Classroom: A Qualitative Study of Teachers' Practices and Cognitions.
Applied Linguistics, 20(1), 95 - 126.