34.3188, Review: Grammar in ELT and ELT Materials: Burton (2023)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-34-3188. Fri Oct 27 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.3188, Review: Grammar in ELT and ELT Materials: Burton (2023)

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Date: 27-Oct-2023
From: Jose Manuel Pagan Rodriguez [jmpagan1991 at gmail.com]
Subject: Applied Linguistics: Burton (2023)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/34.1885

AUTHOR: Graham Burton
TITLE: Grammar in ELT and ELT Materials
SUBTITLE: Evaluating its History and Current Practice
SERIES TITLE: Second Language Acquisition
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2023

REVIEWER: Jose Manuel Pagan Rodriguez

SUMMARY
Graham Burton’s new book consists of an introduction followed by seven
chapters in which the author offers a mixed methods approach to
investigate the content of the grammar syllabi commonly employed in
English Language Teaching (ELT) courses. Additionally, the author
examines the relevant primary sources (ELT textbooks) to explain how
ELT syllabi are constructed and the historical evolution of the field,
as well as how valid different textbooks are for teaching English
grammar. The introductory chapter outlines the focus of the book and
offers a definition and a description of pedagogical grammar in
general English courses. After explaining the book’s rationale, the
main principles that structure it, and the nature of the research that
it reports, the author concludes the introductory chapter by stating
the three research questions that the book aims to answer (p. 7): (1)
How, when, and where did the current consensus on the canon of ELT
grammar develop? (2) What is the canon today, and what is the
consensus that perpetuates and sustains it? (3) Does the canon reflect
evidence for how grammatical competence develops in English language
learners?
The goal of Chapter 2 is to provide the reader with an overall context
and a review of the literature on the fields of pedagogical grammar
and ELT syllabus design. This chapter is essential to understanding
what pedagogical grammar is and how it differs from other types of
grammar (pp. 11–15). The author also explores the nature of the ELT
publishing sector (p. 22), focusing on the influence of corpus
linguistics and the publishing industry at large as forces that shape
and perpetuate the grammar canon that is taught in general English
courses around the globe. In Chapter 3, Burton provides empirical
evidence for the existence of a canon in ELT (p. 28). After that, he
discusses the historical evolution of grammars of English, beginning
with school grammars from the 16th century and then moving to
scientific grammars, and finally focusing on pedagogical grammars from
the 20th and 21st centuries (p. 30). Through this historical overview,
the author identifies several crucial texts that contributed to
strengthening the consensus regarding ELT pedagogical grammars (p.
48). These key milestones are subsequently the textbooks on which the
author focuses his case study analysis.
Chapters 4 through 7 represent the main body of Burton’s research,
including his analysis of data collected from interviews and his study
of crucial primary sources (textbooks). Thus, for the qualitative data
analysis, Burton presents in Chapter 4 a highly detailed description
of the methodology that he followed in his interviews. Next follows a
structured thematic analysis of the data on the views and experiences
of several interviewees about what supports the existence of a grammar
canon today and how and why it is perpetuated (p. 58). Chapter 5
presents the interviewees’ views about the historical evolution of the
canon, including the origins of that canon and its evolution since the
middle of the 20th century. Finally, the author continues organizing
the qualitative data, using a thematic analysis (p. 87). This allows
the reader to understand different points of view about the evolution
of the ELT grammar canon.
Chapters 6 and 7 present Burton’s case study analysis of three
different areas of the grammar canon in English instruction. In
chapter 6 the author explains the methodological details of the case
study analysis (p. 106), which allows him to continue exploring how
different current and quintessential textbooks treat and sequence the
conditional tenses, relative clauses, and future tenses of English.
Burton provides specific and relevant criteria for the coursebooks and
the grammar forms he examines (p. 108). This supplementary case study
analysis compares the approaches of different textbooks to the
above-mentioned grammar forms to the descriptions of the English
grammar profile (EGP) and the Common European Framework of Reference
(CEFR) for English (p. 110). Chapter 7 provides an in-depth overview
of the evolution of these same English grammar features in grammar
books from the 17th century to the late 20th century. The book
concludes with Chapter 8, returning to the three main research
questions stated in chapter 1 and discussing the limitations of the
study and its potential implications (p. 178). Burton explains the
role of learner corpora as an inspirational tool for innovation in the
ELT grammar canon. The author also reviews the book’s historical
research to explain how teaching grammar has changed over time and why
current grammar syllabi were shaped during the last century.

EVALUATION
Teaching and learning grammar at all levels of language proficiency is
one of the core components of most English language courses worldwide.
Additionally, coursebooks and syllabi are essential tools for
effective English grammar instruction. Burton makes an informative and
thought-provoking contribution to the field of research on
English-grammar instruction and syllabus design by considering the
grammar content of general English education syllabi. The most salient
feature of this study is the mixed-methods approach to its research
questions. Another significant source of this study’s value is the
enormous expertise and the many decades of experience of the authors
and editors who participated in the study as interviewees. Regarding
the case study analysis, it is important to highlight that the grammar
structures and their evolution in different textbooks are key
components of the EGP and the CEFR because of their relevance for
developing grammar competence among learners in any English-language
course. The comparisons between the EGP and CEFR descriptors are
essential to understand why and how the textbooks present and sequence
the three different English-grammar areas Burton studies.
Burton takes (1) primary sources, (2) historical research, and (3) the
views of the practitioner and the realities of current practice as his
three main parameters. The implication of this study is that the
influence of practitioners in the development of the ELT grammar canon
has always been essential. The author offers a critical view of the
current grammar canon, concluding that it is stagnant due to a lack of
innovation. He also argues that following the canon has become a
synonym for “best practices” in teaching English grammar. However, the
author does not address the main reason for the existence of a grammar
canon: The growing demand for standardized language testing among the
general population of English learners. The author also argues that
the conservative nature of the ELT publishing industry facilitates the
stagnancy of the canon. There is indeed a need for constant innovation
and improvement. However, it is also essential to understand that
having a grammar canon facilitates the daily practice of teaching
English and allows learners to perform successfully in different
communicative contexts (including and beyond standardized language
tests). Another source of stagnancy that this book indicates is the
lack of any deep understanding of the historical roots of the grammar
canon.
To the potential shortcomings of the study mentioned by Burton (pp.
177–78), I would add the presence in the references section of only
ten previous research studies published within the last five years.
But it is also important to note that this otherwise excellent book
could very well contribute to further research. It could easily become
a source of inspiration for other researchers and practitioners who
might be interested in exploring the existence of a grammar canon and
its origins and evolution in teaching other languages that might be
more heavily regulated than English. This type of research could also
be important for less commonly taught languages because reaching
consensus about a grammar canon might result in an improvement in
learners’ grammatical and communicative competence.
This book is suitable for a broad audience of both practitioners and
researchers seeking to gain insight into the areas of course,
syllabus, and ELT design or into the changing dynamics of publishing
ELT textbooks. The book promotes a deep understanding of the roots of
the ELT grammar content in general education courses. In addition,
Burton skillfully implements an innovative mixed-methods approach to
the study of the ELT grammar canon. Due to its detailed description of
its research methodology and its profound and well-organized data
analysis, the book also provides a notable example of a mixed-methods
research study that will be insightful for English teaching
practitioners, doctoral or even master’s students in the fields of ELT
grammar and syllabus and materials design.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Jose Manuel Pagán Rodríguez is a Spanish Applied Instructor in the
School of Languages and Literatures at the University of Tulsa
(Oklahoma, United States of America). Jose Manuel holds 2 MAs, one in
teaching Spanish to speakers of other languages from Universidad de
Navarra (Spain) and another in teaching Spanish and English as second
languages from The University of Southern Mississippi (U.S.). His
current work entails syllabus and course design and development at all
levels of proficiency, as well as teaching language courses. Jose
Manuel’s current research interests include the broader aspects of
second-language instruction and acquisition and second and foreign
language pedagogy.



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