This comprehensive and up-to-date book addresses the contentious topic of L2 grammar instruction.

Unique in combining theory, research findings, and practical activities, it is written in a very accessible and reader-friendly style. Neomy Storch, The University of Melbourne, Australia an important effort to make SLA theory and research accessible for language teachers. Not only do Nassaji and Fotos provide clear and concise descriptions of current thought regarding the role of grammar and communication in the L2 classroom, they also present classroom activities that are supported by the latest research in SLA. Given the controversy surrounding grammar instruction, this book will provide teachers with practical, research-based information, enabling them to make informed decisions regarding their own classroom practices. Shawn Loewen, Michigan State University, USA Recent SLA research recognizes the necessity of attention to grammar and demonstrates that form-focused instruction is especially effective when it is incorporated into a meaningful communicative context. Designed speci fically for second-language teachers, this text identifies and explores the various options for integrating a focus on grammar and a focus on communication in classroom contexts and offers concrete examples of teaching activities for each option. Each chapter includes a description of the option, its theoretical and empirical background, examples of activities illustrating in a non-technical manner how it can be implemented in the classroom, questions for reflection, and a list of useful resources that teachers can consult for further information. For thousands of years, grammar was the center of language pedagogy. Language teaching was equated with grammar teaching and grammar was used as content as well as organizing principles for developing curriculum and language teaching materials (Celce-Murcia, 2001a). It was believed that language was mainly composed of grammar rules and that knowing those rules was sufficient for learners to know the language. The centrality of grammar in language pedagogy stemmed from various historical reasons. According to Rutherford (1987), one reason had to do with the importance attributed to the knowledge of grammar in philosophy and science in the Middle Ages. During this period, there was also a close relationship between the study of grammar and other medieval disciplines (such as law, theology, and medicine), and the idea that knowledge of grammar was essential for the development of rhetorical skills. It was also believed that the best way of learning an L2 was through studying first language (L1) grammar. This belief led to the idea that the grammar of Latin, which was based on the eight Greek grammatical categories (nouns, verbs, pronouns, prepositions, adverbs, participles, articles, and conjunctions), was the best model for studying other languages (Fotos, 2005). Hence, the formal study of Latin grammar became an important component of the school system. Even when other foreign languages began to be taught in educational settings, the study of Latin grammar was still used as a model for language learning. Studying Latin grammar was also viewed as a means of developing the mind. In the 18th and 19th centuries, other foreign languages were introduced to educational settings (H. D. Brown, 2000). However, it was still believed that the best way of learning the grammar of another language would be through studying the grammar of Latin since it was considered the model for studying the grammar of any language (Rutherford 1987, p. 29). The emphasis on grammar manifested itself in various traditional grammarbased approaches such as the Grammar Translation Method, the Audio-Lingual Method, and other structure-based methods. Although different from one another, these methods are based on the assumption that the major problem

in learning a second or foreign language is learning The Grammar Translation Method was introduced towards the end of the 18th century and then spread throughout the world in the 19th century. Different versions of this method are still widely used in many places, particularly in foreign language contexts. Drawing on the approaches used in the teaching of classical languages such as Latin and Greek, this method focused exclusively on studying grammatical rules and structures. Based on categories of Greek and Latin grammar, the target language was segmented into various parts of speech (e.g., nouns, verbs, adverbs, pronouns, articles, participles, conjunctions, and prepositions), which were taught deductively through an explicit explanation of rules, with memorization and translations of texts from the L2 to the L1. With a focus on written language, other purposes of this method included exploring the literature of the target language, preparing learners to develop an understanding of the first language, and training learners academic capacities. Towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, with the rise of structural linguistics, the focus shifted from studying grammar in terms of parts of speech to a description of its structural and phonological characteristics. With the advent of World War II, a strong need arose for oral communication and the ability to speak foreign languages fluently. These changes, along with developments in behavioral psychology, led to the emergence of the Audio-Lingual and Direct Methods. The Audio-Lingual Method did not present grammatical rules in the same way as the Grammar Translation Method did. However, the focus was still on learning grammatical structures, and not on the development of real-life communication skills. Theoretically, this method was greatly influenced by behaviorist psychology that viewed learning as a process of habit formation and conditioning; thus, it considered memorization of structural patterns essential for L2 learning. It was believed that such memorization formed and reinforced language habits. The AudioLingual Method was also influenced by the American school of descriptive and structural linguistics that shifted the focus from studying grammar in terms of parts of speech to a description of its structural and phonological components. As such, lessons in Audio-Lingual teaching consisted mainly of grammatical structures sequenced in a linear manner, usually beginning with an easy structure and ending with more complex forms, with little attention to meaning or context. However, rules were taught inductively through examples and repetition of sentence-level patterns. The emphasis was mainly on developing abilities in oral skills rather than written skills. Instructional units typically began with a conversational dialogue, followed by some pattern drills. Many other methods emerged after the Grammar Translation and AudioLingual methods, such as the Reading Approach, the Oral and Situational Method, the Silent Way, and Total Physical Response. Although they somewhat differed in their underlying assumptions about how language is learned, in terms of syllabus, they were all grammar-based. That is, classroom contents were organized mainly based on analyses of language forms with little focus on language functions or real-life communication. Therefore, they all reflected what Batstone (1994) has characterized as teaching grammar as product, or what Wilkins (1976, p. 2) has characterized as a synthetic approach, in which language is segmented into different parts that are taught one by one in isolation. Grammar-based approaches are still used in many L2 classrooms. A very popular form of this approach is the PPP (Presentation-Practice-Production) model of language instruction. According to D. Willis (1996b, p. v), this approach is so widely accepted that it now forms the basis of many teacher

training courses. Different versions of the PPP model can be seen in various language teaching and teacher training textbooks for foreign and second language teachers (e.g., Celce-Murcia & Hilles, 1988; Harmer, 1996; Ur, 1988). The PPP is what many teachers conceive of as a basic lesson structure in many current L2 classrooms (Crookes & Chaudron, 2001). In the PPP model, grammar instruction consists of a structured three-stage sequence: a presentation stage, a practice stage, and a production stage. In the presentation stage, the new grammar rule or structure is introduced, usually through a text, a dialogue, or a story that includes the structure. The students listen to the text or read it out loud. The main purpose of this stage is to help students become familiar with the new grammatical structure and keep it in their short-term memory (Ur, 1988). The presentation stage is followed by a practice stage, in which students are given various kinds of written and spoken exercises to repeat, manipulate, or reproduce the new forms. The practice stage usually begins with controlled practices that focus learners attention on specific structures and then moves to less controlled practices with more open-ended activities. The aim of the practice stage is to help students gain control of the knowledge introduced in the presentation stage, to take it in, and to move it from their short-term memory to their long-term memory (Ur, 1988). Finally, in the production stage, learners are encouraged to use the rules they have learned in the presentation and practice stages more freely and in more communicative activities. The aim of this last stage is to fully master the new form by enabling learners to internalize the rules and use them automatically and spontaneously. In a sense, the aim here is to develop fluency. Theoretically, the PPP model is informed by information processing and skills acquisition models of learning, claiming that language learning is a cognitive skill similar to other kinds of learning. In this view, language is learned by processing information available through input and then accessed for subsequent comprehension and production. Skills acquisition theories (e.g., Anderson, 1982, 1983) claim that learning is a movement from declarative knowledge (i.e., explicit knowledge of rules and systems) to procedural knowledge (i.e., knowledge of how to use the system). Students first learn the new target rules and structures through the development of conscious knowledge, and then practice them in order to gain control of them. In this view, presentation and practice play a key role in the acquisition of language. It is believed that it is through practice that the material is most thoroughly and permanently learned (Ur, 1988, p. 10).