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Article published In: Pedagogical Linguistics
Vol. 2:2 (2021) ► pp.175–199

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The conceptual importance of grammar

Knowledge-related rationales for grammar teaching

ORCiD logo with link | Fontys University of Applied Sciences
ORCiD logo with link | Radboud University
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

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Published online: 18 May 2021
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https://doi.org/10.1075/pl.21008.van
Abstract
Knowledge about Language (KaL) is an important part of L1 language education around the world. A controversial part of KaL is grammatical or syntactic knowledge, i.e., knowledge about the form, meaning and use of sentences and phrases. In the current international discourse on L1 grammar teaching, grammar is principally motivated by the desire to enhance students’ literacy development, befitting the communicative turn in mother tongue education and following high quality research which has shown that contextualized grammar teaching can impact on students’ writing development. However, there are also other potentially meaningful reasons to teach grammar, which remain underresearched and underdiscussed in curriculum discussions: (1) the general importance of language justifies that L1 speakers understand how their language works; (2) grammar teaching provides more insight into the workings of the human mind; (3) grammar teaching can be used to facilitate students’ reasoning and stimulate their critical thinking abilities. These reasons for teaching grammar do not necessarily relate to literacy development; rather, they pertain to a general conceptual importance of knowledge about grammar. This paper explores these arguments and argues, partly based on empirical evidence from recent research, that knowledge-related rationales deserve a more prominent place in curriculum discussions about grammar teaching.
Article outline
  • 2.Knowledge-related rationales for Grammar teaching
    • 2.1The General Importance of Language Justifies that L1 Speakers Understand how their Language Works
    • 2.2Grammar Teaching Provides More Insight into the Workings of the Human Mind
    • 2.3Grammar Teaching Can be Used to Facilitate Students’ Reasoning and Stimulate their Critical Thinking Abilities
      • 2.3.1Grammatical Metaconcepts and Grammatical Reasoning
      • 2.3.2Metaconcepts and Grammatical Reasoning at the University Level
      • 2.3.3Metaconcepts and Grammatical Reasoning in Secondary Education
  • 3.Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Declaration of Interest
  • Note
  • References
References (146)
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Calafato, Raees
2025. Connecting beliefs, learning strategies, and daily language use: predictors of French grammar achievement in multilingual learners. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
de Swart, Peter, Emma Windau & Jimmy van Rijt
2025. The grammar curriculum through the eyes of Dutch primary school teachers. Language, Culture and Curriculum ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Hallab, Amina & Andreas Trotzke
2025. Linguistic reasoning for secondary school students: The case of identifying syntactic functions in L1 grammar education. Linguistics and Education 90 ► pp. 101467 ff. DOI logo
Marjokorpi, Jenni & Jimmy van Rijt
2025. Grammatical understanding predicts reading comprehension in secondary-level students: insights from a Finnish national survey. Language and Education 39:4 ► pp. 924 ff. DOI logo
O'Brien, Tess
2025. Grammatical structures in mathematics: a personal view. Teaching Statistics DOI logo
Pereira, Susana, Valter Rato, Bianor Valente, Teresa Leite & Andreia Ramos
2025. Grammar in Language Education: Insights From Portuguese Sixth Graders. International Journal of Applied Linguistics DOI logo
Strandberg, Agnes
2025. Grammar coming alive: Swedish L1 teachers’ reflections on using authentic texts when teaching grammar. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 69:1 ► pp. 108 ff. DOI logo
Strandberg, Agnes & Mari Nygård
2025. Visualizations in grammar education: from theory to practice. Language and Education ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Suhono & Bambang Yudi Cahyono
2025. An Error Analysis of Writing Products Made By Indonesian Islamic University Students. Jurnal Iqra' : Kajian Ilmu Pendidikan 10:1 ► pp. 228 ff. DOI logo
Topal, Ibrahim Halil
2025. EduMeme: using internet memes in foreign language education from an edusemiotic perspective. Chinese Semiotic Studies 21:3 ► pp. 391 ff. DOI logo
van Rijt, Jimmy, Michelle Bouw & Sven De Maeyer
2025. Measuring grammatical understanding. Pedagogical Linguistics DOI logo
Arinti, Yesi, Gulandom Hamraqulova Sodiq Qizi & Nurhaswanee Boto
2024. Analysis of Errors in Using Indonesian on Banners in the Selebar District of Bengkulu City. Journal of Language, Literature, and Educational Research 1:2 ► pp. 56 ff. DOI logo
Strandberg, Agnes & Jimmy van Rijt
2024. Grammatical and rhetorical reasoning in upper secondary students’ collaborative talk about a literary text. Linguistics and Education 84 ► pp. 101359 ff. DOI logo
van Rijt, Jimmy H. M.
2024. Learning how to think like a linguist: Linguistic reasoning as a focal point in L1 grammar education. Language and Linguistics Compass 18:3 DOI logo
DEMİREL, Ahmet
2023. Ortaokullarda Dil Bilgisi Öğretiminin Uygulamadaki Güncel Durumu: Sorunlar Devam Ediyor Mu?. Türk Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi 21:1 ► pp. 402 ff. DOI logo
Dovalil, Vít & Adriana Hanulíková
2023. Grammar and variation in the classroom. Pedagogical Linguistics 4:1 ► pp. 26 ff. DOI logo
Lin, Hong
2022. The Influence Mechanism of High School English Grammar Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics Teaching Model on High School Students’ Learning Psychological Motivation. Frontiers in Psychology 13 DOI logo
van Rijt, Jimmy, Debra Myhill, Sven De Maeyer, Peter-Arno Coppen & Christina Manouilidou
2022. Linguistic metaconcepts can improve grammatical understanding in L1 education evidence from a Dutch quasi-experimental study. PLOS ONE 17:2 ► pp. e0263123 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 29 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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