Linguistic practices in grammar

This article presents the analysis of a group interview with four teachers who, two years previously, had participated in a collaborative research project involving learners aged 9 to 11 and concerned with language (especially spoken) for learning and the teaching of grammar. The goal of the interviews was to establish what the teachers had understood about this specific use of language – which differs from everyday language usage – and to discover what actions they take to promote its learning and to assist learners in stance-taking in the grammar classroom. The analysis deals with visible features of discourse around grammar in utterances made by the two teachers as well as identifiable strategies they use in teaching as well as their perceptions of student stance-taking in the grammar classroom. We also try to identify the teachers’ own stance in relation to knowledge, language and grammar. Finally, we enquire about the transfer of grammar-related teaching practices to other knowledge in grammar and about the implementation of similar considerations in other subjects.